Bang for Your Buck: Easy Packed Lunch Ideas for Uni, Work or School

Making lunch has never been easier 😋

You’re walking across campus, on your way to find a good spot to sit down and eat lunch and do some extra study.

On the way, you pass a line of food trucks, then the café.

You know you’ve got a ham and cheese sandwich somewhere in your bag, but you’re tempted by the café…and the dumpling food truck…and the sushi truck.  You’ve already agreed to Friday night dinner with your friends, but $15 doesn’t seem like much over budget. You’ll hardly even notice at the end of the month. Right?

We’ve all been there.

According to a recent survey we conducted, 67 per cent of our members are getting a tax return, with 43 per cent planning to save it (YouthInsight, 2024).

So, what can you pack to get yourself to stick to your eating-out budget and eat your homemade lunches instead? We’ve compiled a few easy, packed lunch ideas you can make the night before, stick in the fridge and grab as you’re rushing out the door on your way to school, uni or work.

Mason jar noodles.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Kylie Sakaida MS, RD (@nutritionbykylie)

You might have seen these on TikTok or Instagram from accounts like @nutritionbykylie: healthy versions of your fave two-minute noodle packets, packed with veggies and flavour, stacked into a mason jar with vermicelli noodles.

They’re super simple and best of all: customisable. If you don’t like the veggies or protein you see being used in a TikTok recipe or you don’t have it in your fridge this week, you can easily sub out any component and the recipe will still taste just as delicious.

These jars can be made in batches and kept in the fridge for days, ready to whip out when you need a quick lunch fix with a method as simple as just adding water.

An Italian salad.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by ALFIE STEINER (@alfiecooks_)

One of our favourite recipes is by @alfiecooks_ on Instagram, for a version of Italian panzanella, a tomato salad that’s easy to make and refreshing but moreish to eat. This salad is like bruschetta in a bowl and takes advantage of all the best parts of seasonal salad-making: fresh tomatoes, garlicky croutons, and an amazing salty-sweet dressing.

You can even bring some crackers and use this salad bowl as more of a dip, making your own mini-bruschetta breads to have for a quick and healthy lunch. This option is also great if you’re on the go; no utensils needed, and you can save some for later if you get interrupted and need to come back to it.

Chia pudding.

Maybe you want something sweet for brekky but you don’t have the time or extra cash to hit your favourite café. If this sounds like you, chia puddings are your new best friend.

These are a real love-it-and-leave-it recipe: the chia seeds take a few hours to soak in the milk to make the pudding, so you can make a few for the week ahead and leave them in the fridge overnight.

They are also another amazingly customisable option: don’t do cow’s milk? Feel free to use almond, oat, or even coconut milk as a substitute. Like it sweeter? Add honey or cocoa granola. These little tubs of goodness will you a great filling, nutritious start to the day, and taste like a sweet treat.

Bento boxes.

it’s like girl dinner, but aesthetic (and nutritious!)

Clean-out-the-fridge day just became your new favourite day of the week. Bento boxes really only require one thing: a compartmentalised box. Even small containers and a bigger plate will do.

Everything else is completely open to your interpretation.

Have three forkfuls of leftover pasta, fruit, some hummus and veggies? Congratulations: you’ve got the ingredients for a bento. These boxes are really the easiest lunch option to put together, and don’t require a trip to the grocery store to get lunch made for the next couple of days.

If you need some more inspiration, have a scroll through what Instagram and TikTok have to offer.

Or if cooking and making food is just not on the table this week, check out some of our food deals so you can grab lunch for cheap. Happy lunching this week!

Student Edge recommends maintaining a well-balanced diet. For more information, please visit the Heart Foundation.