Make a $1.00 Satisfying Lunch

Some of my coworkers noticed in the past that I would bring in a single sandwich to work everyday. I’m going to start using that practice again. I did my normal shopping, and got my sandwich ingredients. I varied my recent build today by adding french bread instead of the usual baker’s buns. I figured that in the days of the economy being shit, you don’t have to eat cheap to still save money, just inexpensively.

Bread

I normally try to get something that comes well-prepared. Buying normal hamburger buns is a waste of money, they don’t keep well, and when frozen/thawed they get rather dry. I’ve always gone with a baker’s bun because of their size and they keep really well. I may be spending more to get these, but they are a big part of why the sandwich actually satisfies my hunger (keep in mind, I’m 6’7″ and weigh about 335lbs.) Today I went with French bread. Cub had them on sale for a 20″ roll. That tells me four 5″ sandwiches, which is typically more sandwich than I usually have.

Meat

Today I threw beef and baked ham deli slices on the sandwich. I always make sure to have two different kinds of meat on the sandwich because it allows me to eat the same thing for lunch each day. If I had only one meat on there, I would get bored and break down and go out to lunch at some of the delicious places within walking or 5 minute car ride from the office. That effectively defeats the purpose of making inexpensive lunches.

Cheese

I’m a pretty simple guy. So I buy Kraft singles. This time it worked out perfectly, they happened to be on sale and they had 16 per package. Previously, I’ve purchased the 3 or 5lb. packages, which gets me a cheaper sandwich, but I’m trying not to make 30-40 sandwiches at a time, because I start eating them not for lunch but snacks, therefore eliminating the savings I get.

Ingredients to not add

Do not add condiments to your sandwiches. Mayo and Mustard don’t freeze well, and thaw even worse. Keep the sandwich simple, add stuff later if you need to. I usually will add black pepper or Tobasco sauce, but nothing before freezing it.

The Math

Gross: Amount spent on all ingredients
Pieces/Cont: Pieces in total container (used and unused)
Pieces/SW: Pieces used on each sandwich
Net: Cost of ingredient per sandwich

Images

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