Bringing lunch from home? Here's how you can do it for under $5!

Starting Uni, TAFE or heading back to the office can make life busier than usual. As the competing priorities begin to stack up, packing a healthy lunch can often fall to the wayside.

It might seem easier to grab a packet of chips from a vending machine, or a $10 meal deal from the takeaway shop, but bringing a healthy lunch from home can take less time than waiting in line. Plus it will save you money and keep your body fuelled well throughout the day.

It doesn’t have to be hard to pack a healthy, nutritious (and most importantly) delicious lunch. Some key tips to keep in mind are to:

• Plan your lunches ahead of time using a meal planner

• Use up leftovers i.e. dinner from the night before

• Prep your meals ahead of time (freeze what you can and reheat when you’re ready)

To give you some inspiration, here are five lunches you can make for under $5 that are quick, easy and nutritious!

Lunch 1 - $3.28

• Add one serve of Vegetarian Mexican Mix to a:

  • wholemeal wrap OR 1 cup of brown rice

  • and ¼ of an avocado

• 1 cup of watermelon

• 2 stalks of celery sticks with 1 x serve Hummus

Lunch 2 - $4.16

• 1 x Quick Chicken Quesadilla

• 1 x Gingerbread Muffin

  • Pop any excess (that won’t get eaten while fresh) in the freezer!

• 1 x serve Veggie Chips with 1 x serve Healthy French Onion Dip

Lunch 3 - $4.52

• 1 x serve Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

• 1 x serve Al’s Pickled and Fresh Fennel side salad

• 1 x serve Spiced Trail Mix

Lunch 4 - $3.80

• 1 x serve Vegetable Frittata

  • Eat the other serve for breakfast the next day!

• 1 x serve Carrot Cake Bliss balls

  • Use the rest for lunches throughout the week, or freeze if you won’t eat them straight away.

• 1 x serve Popcorn

Lunch 5 - $4.70

• Salmon & Pasta Salad

• 1 cup of carrot sticks with 1 x serve Healthy Greek Tzatziki

• 1 apple

Do you have a ‘go-to’ lunchtime recipe? We want to know about it!

We are looking for new recipes and want to feature YOURS on the NMNT website! Tell us about a family favourite recipe that's been passed down, or one of your own creations here.

Working out

Lunch 1 - $3.28 to $3.45

• Add a serve of Vegetarian Mexican Mix ($1.20) to a:
  • to a wholemeal wrap ($0.25) or one cup of brown rice ($0.17) and ¼ of an avocado ($0.28)

    • Add 1 cup of watermelon ($0.18), and 2 stalks of celery sticks ($1.25) with hummus ($0.12)

Lunch 2 - $4.16

• One Quick Chicken Quesadilla - $2.75

  • Add a Gingerbread Muffins - $0.41 Pop any excess (that won’t get eaten while fresh) in the freezer!

• With one serve of Veggie chips and Healthy French Onion Dip - $1

Lunch 3 - $4.52

• One serve of Pumpkin Mac & Cheese - $2.55
  • With a side of Al’s Pickled and Fresh Fennel side salad - $1.58

    • Followed by Spiced Trail Mix - $0.39

Lunch 4 - $3.80

• One serve of Vegetable Frittata - $3.60 (Eat the other serve for breakfast the next day!)
  • With a Carrot Cake Bliss balls - $0.15

    • Popcorn - $0.05

Lunch 5 - $4.70

• Start with a serve of Salmon & Pasta Salad - $2.40
  • Add a serve of Healthy Greek Tzatziki ($1), with 1 cup of carrot sticks ($0.74)

    • With 1 apple ($0.56)