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Get Recession-Ready: Brown Bag It

Kelly Rossiter, Toronto

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By Kelly Rossiter
Toronto, Canada | Sun Mar 23 17:21:00 EDT 2008

If you eat your lunch out every day, you might not realize just how much it is costing you. If you have soup and a sandwich and a drink, you are probably spending at least of $10.00 a day, maybe more. Now think about how much further that $50-plus would go if you used it to buy groceries. I don't normally spend more than $10 per day for all three of my meals that I cook at home. This is probably one of the quickest ways for you to start saving money.

There is no question that taking your lunch to work every day takes some planning, but once you get used to it, you won't find it hard. As I mentioned in my first recession-ready post, you should invest in a thermos. You should also invest in some reusable containers as well as a reusable bag so that you aren't creating more waste.If you are remembering the soggy sandwiches on Wonder bread that your mother sent to school with you, think again. There are so many fabulous breads and fillings available now, you could make lunch interesting every day. Take a homemade soup in your thermos, or a leftover bean dish from dinner last night. If you keep a container of cleaned, cut-up vegetables in your refrigerator you will always have them ready to eat alone, or with a low-fat dip.

Here is an easy recipe for hummus that takes about 10 minutes to prepare. Make it the night before so you are ready to go in the morning. You can take pita bread and vegetables with you and either use the hummus as a dip, or put them together and make a pita sandwich. Add some yogurt or fruit for dessert, and you have a healthy lunch at a fraction of the cost of buying it at a deli.

Hummus

1 19 oz can chick peas
6 - 8 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1 clove garlic
1/4 tahini (sesame paste)
1 fresh hot red chili, chopped finely, or 1/2 tsp dried chili flakes
Olive oil to drizzle over

1. Puree chick peas in a food processor with lemon juice, salt, garlic, tahini ,and about 3/4 of a cup of water, or enough to make it the consistency you desire. Stir in chilies and taste for salt. Add more chilies if you want it hotter.

2. When you put it in your reusable container, drizzle a little olive oil over the top.

From Hot and Spicy Cooking by Cynthia Wine (1984, Penguin Books)

Difficulty level: Easy

 
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