Living on a Budget Gourmet
After working at Starbucks for almost a year I discovered that eating out at local fast food places gets very expensive very quickly. So, seeking out smaller, less greasy, and less expensive portions I started to experiment at the local supermarket. The idea was to find ways of throwing together cheap, no preparation meals on the fly during my thirty minute lunch breaks at work. I wanted to share a few things I discovered here, and invite anyone else to share any tasty lunch combinations they've come up with.
The Olive Bar: Olive bars have always struck me as kind of expensive, but when you're just getting yourself a quick lunch they can actually be surprisingly affordable. I made a habit of stopping there to buy a few different kinds of olives and a few pieces of fresh mozzarella or feta. I could usually get away with a plate of olives and cheese for around $3, which isn't too bad for a quality lunch. My favorite thing to do at the olive bar was combine sweet peppers, fresh mozzarella, and marinaded mushrooms on toothpicks and eat them like kabobs.
Fruit: Just combine a banana and some decent dark chocolate. The fruit and the bar will run about $2, and the dark chocolate compliments the banana really well.
Granola: A fist full of granola from the bulk bins costs hardly anything, and works well with either fruit or some yogurt. Another $2-3 affair.
Dolmas: If you can find them, little cans of dolmas usually aren't very expensive and are more than enough food for a hearty lunch. Just add a toothpick. Usually $3-4.
Anyone else have anything they like?
The Olive Bar: Olive bars have always struck me as kind of expensive, but when you're just getting yourself a quick lunch they can actually be surprisingly affordable. I made a habit of stopping there to buy a few different kinds of olives and a few pieces of fresh mozzarella or feta. I could usually get away with a plate of olives and cheese for around $3, which isn't too bad for a quality lunch. My favorite thing to do at the olive bar was combine sweet peppers, fresh mozzarella, and marinaded mushrooms on toothpicks and eat them like kabobs.
Fruit: Just combine a banana and some decent dark chocolate. The fruit and the bar will run about $2, and the dark chocolate compliments the banana really well.
Granola: A fist full of granola from the bulk bins costs hardly anything, and works well with either fruit or some yogurt. Another $2-3 affair.
Dolmas: If you can find them, little cans of dolmas usually aren't very expensive and are more than enough food for a hearty lunch. Just add a toothpick. Usually $3-4.
Anyone else have anything they like?