One of the benefits of making your own lunch – cost-cutting aside – is that it lets you control what you’re eating. When we buy lunch out, more often than not, we end up with something that’s not what we really want, because it’s what’s on offer. Steering clear of the array of artisan baguettes dangled in front of us is one thing, but even if we successfully bypass them and make it to the salads, there’s no guarantee it is going to be healthier than a triple decker BLT, what with all the grated cheese and gloopy mayo supermarkets seem to insist on adding. So here is our guide to making a decent salad from ingredients bought from the shops near your workplace. Just make sure your office has a can opener...
• If you want to give yourself a treat, look out for cooked king prawns on special offer and make a Vietnamese-inspired salad. Spicy, garlicky prawns are the ideal here and, if you can bear only to eat half of them, then the remaining ingredients should be enough for two further lunches. Add to half a bag of leaves, along with halved cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber, coriander and half an avocado if you’re feeling really decadent. Coat with the juice of half a lime and salt and pepper.
• Buy a bag of pre-chopped carrot sticks, give them a further slice and add a can of tuna, green olives and some French dressing from a bottle (this will keep happily on your desk).
• Open a can of butter beans and add chopped spring onion, cherry tomatoes and flaked mackerel or cooked, flaked smoked salmon. Depending on your appetite, this makes enough for two days, so store half in your office fridge for the next day.
• Get a bag of pre-washed salad leaves and a box of cooked chicken drumsticks (these are often the cheaper option among the cooked chicken on offer). Strip the meat off the drumsticks and add to the leaves. Add fresh basil, half an avocado if you wish and some French dressing. A piece of crusty bread would not go amiss here either.
• Make an omega 3-packed lunch with just four ingredients: drain a tin of sardines and pick out any large bones. Break into chunks, and place on top of a small bag of watercress, emptied on to a plate. Add a few slices of sliced pickled beetroot (slice it into smaller pieces if you want to be elegant about things). Grind over black pepper, and eat with a blob or two of jarred horseradish sauce.
