How I’m giving Pret the push: Week 1

Ever wondered how much you would save on both money and calories if you were bringing lunch to the office a few times a week? I do. Almost every month.

Of course it requires a little bit of will and a little bit planning, but there are very easy dishes that won’t take more than 10 minutes of actual cooking (and 1hour+ in the oven or on the stove), are delicious, quite healthy and will last you for a few days! Why don’t I do that every day, right?

I bring my lunch at work pretty much every Monday and as the weeks goes by, I get tired and lazy!  There are also a few external forces that sometimes just work against me. I pretty much always forget to take the food from the fridge in the morning, and only realise when I get out of the tube station (cue much swearing in French). Also my boyfriend is a 6’7” tall American guy who will just eat whatever is on the table … this actually makes it hard to keep any leftovers for the day after!

Here is what my typical week  looks like at the moment:

Monday : Actually bringing the chilli from the day before at the office – £1.50 (see recipe below)

Tuesday: Getting food from Sainsbury’s – £3 (good girl!)

Wednesday: Splurging on sushi at Abokado  – £5.70

Thursday: Getting cosy at the café next to work – £5

Friday: Pub lunch with the team- £13

Which adds up to an average of £5.60 a day!

So let’s face it, I’m not going to stop going to the pub or any restaurant for lunch on Friday because for me that’s a social activity, a chance to have a good time with my colleagues and I will not have leftovers at my desks while everybody is having a burger at the pub. I am strong, but not THAT strong!

However, bringing my food on Wednesday as well (and maybe even Tuesday… let’s get crazy!) would save £4 to £8 pounds a week (= £20 a month) which could be spent somewhere else.  As a consequence, in my will to save money, stop eating so many sandwiches and be able to buy one more dress a month (there need to be at least one incentive!), I will try from January 2012 to bring lunch at work at least twice a week. Three times would be even better but I still have an active lifestyle and twice a week will be considered as a win! I will let you know how it goes and will share my favourite so-easy-my-boyfriend-could-cook-them recipes that you can do the night before!

Recipe #1 : American Chilli (from my giant boyfriend’s mother)

This chilli cost approximately £6 (at least once you’ve got the spices) and serves 4 (very large) people, or 2 diner and 2 lunches! You can serve it with rice to have a full meal and of course sour cream, cheddar depending on how you like it!

By the way, I am healthy but I am not a health freak. As every mid-twenties (French) girl, I love vegetables but will never say no to some Foie gras! As a consequence, I consider that chilli, if not eaten with 1 pint of sour cream and cheese is not worse for you than a sandwich.

You will need:

500g beef mince

2 onions (chopped)

2 cloves garlic (chopped or minced)

2 cans chopped tomatoes

1 can kidney beans

2 cubes of beef stock

2 teaspoons cumin

2-3 tablespoons chilli powder (hot and/or mild depending on your taste!)

Pinch oregano

Salt and pepper

Add the beef mince, onions and garlic to a saucepan and heat until the beef is browned. Drain off the grease and stir in 2 large cans of chopped tomatoes. Add 1 can of kidney beans (I normally throw in a can of black beans too) and 1 can of water. Add the beef stock, cumin and chilli powder (I usually put 2 tablespoons of mild chilli powder and 1 of hot, but please go for whatever suits you!), a pinch of oregano and season with salt and pepper. Let the mixture stew on a low heat for as long as possible.

Then enjoy for dinner… and lunch! In fact it actually tastes better the day after!

How are you tuning up your finances in 2012?

{Image: Ruth and Dave}