If your husband has a full-time conventional job, then we can guess the drill. He has to wake up early every morning, with barely any time to get anything ready for the day, and then he’s off, only to come back home in the evening, tired and in need to relax. Are we close?
And here’s the biggest problem with this kind of routine: the lack of time and energy ends up costing you money. For example, when you have to buy lunch.
If your husband doesn’t have the time to prepare a packed lunch, then he will inevitably have to spend money to buy something to eat. And over time, these costs begin to add up.
But what if we told you that there is a way to easily make packable lunches for your husband, that won’t take too long to prepare, and that will therefore save money?
And we’re not talking about just sticking a simple sandwich and a bottle of water into a bag and calling it a day. We’re talking about good and healthy packable lunches that make for a satisfying lunch.
Now, there are many ways to go about this, because the trick is to pre-prepare the packable lunches and to have them thought-out beforehand so that the execution of them is fast and easy.
And the packable lunches themselves…well they can be anything you like! All sorts of foods can make for excellent packable lunches!
We can’t tell you exactly what packable lunches to make. But instead, we will give you some tips on how to make packable lunches more possible, and we will also give you our top favorite ideas for packable lunches that are delicious, practical, and easy to make.
Does that sound good? Then let’s get right into it!
Tips And Tricks For Making Packable Lunches Easier And Cheaper
In order to get into a routine of your husband having packable lunches, it is important to find a way to make them easy and fast, so that they don’t take up too much time, effort, or thinking.
And in order to save money by using packable lunches, you have to make them as cheap as possible, while retaining quality and deliciousness!
Here are some of our top tips and tricks that can help you make easy packable lunches, for as cheap as possible:
Buy Food In Bulk
Buying food in bulk can save you quite a lot of money in the long run, and it also means that you are stocked up at home, so there is no need to constantly make trips to the grocery store, just to be able to make the packable lunches.
Things like snacks, fruits, and similar, can be bought in bigger pack quantities, making them cheaper, and they will last a long time in storage.
Don’t be afraid of buying the big packs, because you can then separate them into smaller quantities for each packable lunch!
Use Reusable Containers And Materials
This one is pretty obvious, but you should absolutely have a set amount of reusable containers in which to pack the lunches so that they can be used day after day. Simply wash them once your husband gets home, then pack the next lunch!
It is also worth getting a few good reusable containers, rather than many bad and cheap ones. All you need is a two or three, that you can rotate between. Make sure they have a good seal, and that they are a suitable size for what your husband needs.
Create A List Of Go-To Lunches
Thinking up the different possible packable lunches can be a lot of effort, and you’re going to eventually run out of ideas. So make it easier by simply compiling a list of go-to packable lunches that are convenient, easy, and well-loved by your husband.
You should switch it up so that there is variety, but there is nothing wrong with having a few ones that are repeated week after week. Stick with what works!
Buy Food On Sale, Then Freeze
Do you know when you’re browsing the grocery store, and you get to the aisle with all the sale items? Sure, they’re on sale because they are all going out of date soon, but you can freeze them!
That way they will last until you are ready to prepare them, and they will have been a lot cheaper!
Find Alternatives To The Normal Sandwich
The standard bread sandwich is simple, fast, and the go-to for many people. But here’s a secret, you can make a sandwich without bread. That way you still have a packable lunch that is fast and easy, but you switch it up a little so that it looks fancier, and so that it adds variety.
For example wraps, rolls, or buns. You’re basically still making a sandwich, but a little differently, so it’s a good low-effort alternative!
Make Food The Night Before
Although you probably have very little energy left by the time evening comes around, you’re still going to be making dinner, right? Well, why not multi-task, and make lunch for the day after, at the same time?
You can cook two things at once, and you can essentially pre-prepare the packable lunch while you are making dinner so that both things get done! That way, all you need to do in the morning is get the packable lunch out of the fridge, and hand it over to your husband as he leaves for work.
Use Food Leftovers
Food leftovers are incredibly underrated, but they can provide you with a very easy lunch. You made pasta last night and there was too much to finish it? Stick the rest in a reusable container, and boom, lunch.
This goes for almost any type of meal. Your husband can either eat it cold or warm it up in a microwave, as most work environments have a microwave to do so.
You can also revamp leftovers to turn them into a whole new meal, that is easy and low-effort!
Our Top 10 Favorite Packable Lunch Options
As we said at the beginning of this article, we can’t tell you the exact packable lunches that you should be making for your husband.
At the end of the day, each individual has different dietary needs and preferences, and your husband’s lunches should be made according to what he wants and needs, as well as what is convenient.
That being said, we do have a few favorites that we wanted to share. Besides, you can try a few of them out, and they can also serve as inspiration so that you come up with your very own list of go-to packable lunches!
So yeah, here are our favorites packable lunch options:
Bacon And Chicken Wrap
A bacon and chicken wrap is super easy and incredibly tasty. Plus, it is practical for eating on the go, especially if your husband’s lunch break isn’t very long!
We recommend cooking the bacon and chicken the night before. In fact, you can prepare the entire wrap the night before, and have it ready in the refrigerator.
You can add chicken and bacon to the wrap, along with some spinach, cheese, peppers, and anything else you want, coated with some ranch dressing and seasoning of your choice.
Just make sure to be careful about how much you are filling the wrap up. If it is too full, it will burst open and become a mess that is hard to eat. It’s best to have two smaller wraps, than one big one that might come apart!
Charcuterie Board
A charcuterie board is an excellent idea for a packable lunch. It looks fancy, you can include as many or as few ingredients as you want, it is easy to pack and to eat, and it is super tasty and enjoyable!
And no, we’re not talking about handing your husband a full cutting board. We’re talking about including a collection of the typical ingredients you would find on a charcuterie board and placing them in the container to take on the go.
You can include different types of curated meats, some cheese, some crackers, some olives, some nuts, some dips and chunks of bread, a piece of fruit or two, and any other thing you can think of!
Plus, this is good not only as a packable lunch, but also as a picnic option, or as a source of snacks throughout the day and in between meetings!
Chicken Salad And Chips
Chicken is featured in many packable lunches because it’s easy to make the night before, by just sticking it in the oven while you do other things, and can be kept in the refrigerator for several days as you ration it for packable lunches.
One of our favorite combinations is chicken salad and chips, and it can be done in many ways to best accommodate your husband’s taste.
For example, you could dice up some cooked chicken and mix it in with some salad, along with any dressing or seasoning of your choice. And to top it off, you can have a separate container with some chips that can be used as an extra, for example, tortilla chips for scooping up the chicken salad and the dressing!
Basically, get as creative as you want with this one, and try out different ingredients to switch it up every time.
Eggs And Vegetables
Eggs and vegetables are a bit vague as a packable lunch, but hear us out. It can be any form and combination of eggs and vegetables, and the possibilities are endless, so you can come up with plenty of different lunches, all of them healthy and delicious.
And let’s face it, cooking some eggs and some vegetables isn’t exactly hard, and isn’t exactly time-consuming either, which is why we love it!
You could hard-boil some eggs and steam some vegetables, for a super-healthy and light lunch. You could also scramble some eggs, or make an omelet, and then add vegetables to the mix, or serve the vegetables on the side.
You could even use leftover vegetables from the night before, and stick a freshly cooked egg on top to revamp it! As we said, the possibilities are pretty much endless.
Meat Salad
Salads are seriously one of the best options for easy and cheap packable lunches. They fit perfectly into a reusable container, they can be as varied as you want, and they only take a few minutes to prepare. It is no wonder they are the go-to lunch for many full-time workers on the go!
But here’s the thing, salad by itself can be kind of…boring. And if your husband isn’t a big fan of the greens, he might outright refuse to eat salad for lunch, and will instead be tempted to buy something tastier during his work break. So how do you make a salad more appealing? Simple, add some meat.
You can cook the meat the night before, or at the beginning of the week (meat will last several days in the refrigerator, so you can bulk cook it and then ration throughout the week). Alternatively, you could use leftover meat from the evening before!
The point is, you can make a normal salad, and then add pieces of meat, and your husband will instantly find it a lot more appealing, as it will be a lot tastier.
Orzo And Shrimp Salad
An orzo and shrimp salad might seem very fancy, and not quite suited to being a packable lunch, but we’re here to prove that your husband’s packable lunches can look and taste amazing while being easy and cheap to make. And yes, that includes making orzo and shrimp salad possible.
All you have to do is boil up some orzo, or any small pasta of your choice, and let it cool. You can do this the night before to save time so that in the morning your husband just has to grab it and go.
You then add some pre-cooked frozen shrimp, which is super fast to make as it just needs to be heated up for a few minutes, and can easily be kept in the refrigerator overnight to be eaten the next day.
We would also recommend adding some vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumber, or olives, to add a little taste. And maybe some cheese, or dressing, and seasoning of your choice!
This lunch ends up being easier than you think, and your husband will 100% enjoy it.
Potato Salad
If your husband is the kind of person who has a big appetite, and a simple salad or small lunch simply won’t satisfy his hunger, then you can make a more filling kind of packable lunch that is still easy and cheap to make.
For example, a potato salad. It is easy, convenient, perfect to pack and take on the go, and it can also be made in many different ways so that you add variety each time you make it!
The regular potato and mayo salad is great, easy to make, and can be kept in the refrigerator. Plus, it can be enjoyed cold, so your husband doesn’t even need to warm it up at lunch time!
But then, you can also add extra ingredients such as bacon, egg, cheese, vegetables, and many more! Anything to combine all sorts of different flavors.
Soup And Snacks
During the winter season, your husband might prefer a packable lunch that is nice and warm, and able to heat him up. Maybe something that isn’t as heavy, and that is easy to enjoy.
Something practical, warm, easy to make, and cheap. And one of our favorite options for this specific combination is soup.
You might be thinking, “hold on a minute, how am I supposed to pack soup for my husband’s lunch?”. But not everything has to be solid food. Ever heard of a flask or thermos cup?
Usually, people use them for coffee or tea, so that it stays hot all day long. But you can use one of these for soup, making it easy to transport, and keeping it warm throughout the entire day.
And the best bit is that there are soups of all kinds! From instant soups, which take only a few minutes to make, to making your very own soups and broths with different ingredients (also pretty fast to make).
It is seriously a great option, and perfect for cold weather, or for when your husband is feeling a bit ill.
And because soup is sometimes not as filling as other foods, you can then pair it with some tasty snacks, or even some bread to dip in the soup itself!
Tuna Macaroni
Macaroni pasta doesn’t take very long to make, and it is so easy that almost anyone can make it. Plus, it is super cheap to bulk buy! And it also keeps for a few days in the refrigerator, so you can make a lot and ration throughout the week.
Not to mention that it is easy to place in a reusable packable lunch container, to take on the go. (You might want to warm it up in a microwave before eating though!)
Of course, macaroni by itself can sometimes be a bit boring, but one of the easiest and cheapest ingredients to pair with it is tuna.
Or any ingredient similar to tuna. You can then also add some cheese, some mayo, some meat, some vegetables, or anything that your husband likes!
Turkey And Bacon Rollups
Last, but not least, on our list of favorite packable lunch options, we have this absolute classic: turkeys and bacon rollups.
These are especially popular and common during the festive season or around Thanksgiving when you have lots of leftover turkey to get through.And overall, they are delicious, super easy to make, and very practical as a packable lunch.
To make them, all you have to do is cut a slice of turkey, place some bacon on top, and roll it up into a little round roll. It’s like making finger food, which you then place in the reusable container, along with other snacks and ingredients, and hand over to your husband for lunch!
We also recommend placing some cheese in the rollups, to make them extra tasty, and to maybe add some sauce or dressing within the rollup too!
Final Thoughts
If your husband works a 9 to 5, he probably has to get up early, with very little time to prepare lunch in the morning, meaning he ends up buying lunch at work, which over time racks up a bit of an expense.
The solution to cheap and easy packable lunches is to prepare them the night before and to make them out of ingredients that you buy in bulk, and that can be left in the refrigerator for a few days.
Making a packable lunch practical and cheap doesn’t mean making it boring or plain either, you can make plenty of delicious and unique meals that are simple, fast, and great for placing in a reusable container to take to work.
We hope that some of our favorite packable lunch options serve as inspiration, or at the very least give you an idea of what to make for your husband. And if you use the tips we gave you, you should be able to save money while simplifying lunch for your husband, so everybody is happier!
Hi, my name is Deborah White, and I love to save money where possible. I will be the first person to admit that I am frugal, but when you have three children and two low income salaries, saving money makes all the difference. This is why I decided to set up this site, to help others save money too.
