The Prudent Pantry: Tips for Packing Cheap and Healthy Lunch Bags

My husband works full time, and I stay home with our children (and do freelance work in my "spare" time). I do most of the cooking, though my husband has really come to love cooking in the last few years. Fact is, though, that I am home more so it falls to me most often. Luckily, I love to cook.

The children are small enough that my son grazes all day and my daughter only nurses, so breakfast is a free-for all among the adults and dinner is the family meal. We are apart for lunches, which are easy for me (whatever I want to make or can scavenge in the fridge) but not so much for him (not having access to the fridge).

It's important to our budget that my husband brings his lunch to work. We do occasionally splurge on purchased lunches--his workplace has a terrific cafeteria and sometimes he wants a hot sandwich--but most days he packs a lunch from home.

I have adjusted the way I cook to make this as easy as possible.

Sometimes I just make extra food for dinner. Leftovers for lunch = the easiest thing ever. Some meals aren't suited for leftovers, though, so I have a few standbys for those days.

Tuna salad. He makes this himself, day of, and either makes a serving of pasta to go with it or takes crackers. Our version of tuna salad has diced red onion, capers, celery, a very small amount of mayo, a splash of olive oil (or we use the tuna packed in olive oil) and a squeeze of lemon juice. The exact recipe varies based on what's in the fridge.

Fajitas. We buy frozen chicken breast tenders, and he can defrost one in cold water in under five minutes. He pan grills it with spices and onion and pepper and brings that with a few tortillas and a small jar of salsa (we clean and reuse little jars whenever we can so he can use them for sauces).

And, of course, sandwiches. We keep meat and condiments on hand, and there is always bread dough in the fridge. (More on my bread-making next week...) He can bake rolls in the morning and assemble a sandwich before he has to leave. Making the bread ourselves saves a little money and allows us to choose healthier ingredients, but plenty of people get by just fine with store-bought!

What do you do for lunch? Any favorite shortcuts?

Annika Barranti is a writer living in Los Angeles and blogging at Through the Looking Glass. She and her husband are raising two children and trying to eat well on a tiny budget.