Roll on the Revolution!

We know that we all have to cut back a little. An ideal way of doing this is to make your own “recessionista” lunch.  It’s cheap, cheerful, and you’ll get a great deal of satisfaction from taking your own Tupperware to work!  The lovely deputy editor of LoveFood magazine, Jacqueline Strawbridge, sends us her top tips for lunch specials:

If you spent €5 a day at the sandwich shop, it will add up to a staggering €1200 in a working year, not including the afternoon latte. Knocking something up at home is half the price at least – here are some of Love Food’s great tips to motivate you…

The most important thing to remember is leftovers, leftovers, leftovers!  I am the Queen of Not Throwing Anything Away (honestly, you should see my wardrobe!) and I firmly believe that nothing should go to waste.  Roast chicken turns into Italian chicken sandwiches, and delicious warming chicken broth.  Leftover veg can be whizzed into nutritious soups in minutes. Last night’s pasta (does anyone cook the right amount of pasta?), can mean a filling pasta salad for lunch.  With a little imagination you could be eating healthy, nutritious home-made lunches – and be the envy of your colleagues with their tired old deli sandwiches.

Tuna and Cannellini Bean Salad

The only things in my fridge today were a dusty onion, the remains of a jar of marinated peppers, and some olives.  In the cupboard, I found a can of tuna and one of cannellini beans.  I diced the onion finely, added a little garlic, the chopped peppers, olives, tuna and beans, a little seasoning, olive oil and balsamic and hey presto, lunch! This is the perfect lunch – high in protein, it will keep you full and maintain concentration levels throughout the afternoon.

Other high-protein options include leftover roast meats, with a little salad and maybe a chunk of wholemeal bread, or what about some hummus and crudités or pitta?  You can have shop-bought, but home-made hummus can be whizzed up in seconds – it’s a doddle to make, cheap and delicious!

The full text of this article appears in Love Food magazine, in today’s Irish Independent.