My husband is on-the-go most of the day, so he needs cold lunches that can be eaten without microwaving. I’ve been terrible at getting lunches ready for him lately so I wanted to put together a long list of lunches as reference.
When he doesn’t have a lunch, he does one of the following: a) doesn’t eat at all, b) buys crackers and milk, or c) spends at least $5 on lunch. I would rather make sure he takes a good lunch from home that doesn’t cost all that much. When he doesn’t eat at all, he comes home extremely hungry and grows impatient if dinner isn’t ready yet.
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My Plan to Give My Husband Better Lunches
Just like when I decided to take charge of my family’s breakfast menu, I am going to take charge of my husband’s lunch menu by making a list of everything he will eat. It does no good to have this list of lunches unless I actually start to use it, so I will be putting this list on my fridge where I can always refer to it.
I know that if this is going to work, I’m going to have to spend more on groceries each week. I will be increasing our grocery budget by $15 to start. I need to find out if $15 is too much, too little, or just right to pay for all his lunches. It seems like a lot because over the course of a month, that is $60 extra for his lunches, but it’s a whole lot better than him spending $100 to eat out or not eating anything at all and going hungry.
I would like to start preparing many of his lunches over the weekend or at least the night before. It’s just too much for me in this season of my life to try and get his lunch together in the morning.
His lunches should be healthy and balanced,  so I will be making sure he has protein, starch, fruit, veggies, a snack, and water for each lunch. This may prove to be too much work or too much for him to try and eat, but I want to try it and see how he likes it.
Healthy Cold Lunch Ideas
Here are the ideas:
Main Course
- Sandwiches (mayo, mustard, tomatoes, lettuce, onion, etc.)
- Chicken
- BLT
- Turkey and pesto
- Egg salad
- Chicken salad
- Tuna
- Bagel with cream cheese and lunch meat
- Lunchables (salami and cheese with crackers)
- Pinwheels (tortillas, cream cheese, lunch meat, and spinach)
- Soup in a thermos
- Pita pockets
- Herring with crackers
Sides
- Potato salad
- Pasta salad
- Fruit or fruit salad
- Raw veggies
- Popcorn
- String cheese
- Nuts
- Trail mix
- Pretzels
- Crackers
- Yogurt
- Pudding
- Jell-O
- Gummy bears (his favorite!)
- Chips and salsa
- Dried fruit
- Olives
- Guacamole
- Hard-boiled eggs or deviled eggs
- Salad with dressing on the side
- Muffins
- Bread
- Graham crackers
- Milk in thermos
- Apple juice
- Fruit snacks
- Hummus
- Granola bars
- Baked veggie sticks
- Pumpkin or sunflower seeds
Just like our breakfast plan, this lunch plan will work best if I make sure to write down a menu each week, in addition to our breakfast and dinner plan. It can get overwhelming when there is so much to plan each week, but it’s necessary since I want my family to eat well.
If you’d like to print out a lunch ideas sheet, please click here.
The lunch box he currently uses doesn’t do such a great job at keeping things cold, so I wanted to find one that would work better. I came across this particular lunch box
 on Amazon and I think it will be great for less than $10. We have used these Freez Paks
in the past, but I don’t know what happened to them, so I think I might buy a pack of 3 just in case the lunch box is not as cold as he would like it to be. It’s really a chore to fill his lunch box with ice from the freezer each day.
What cold lunch ideas could you add to this list?
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Oh, my poor hubby could definitely benefit from my creating a list and shopping just for him! We got out of the habit when he was eating a really strict diet and packed his own lunch. I always tell him to “just pick up some food from the store for your lunches” but it never seems to happen. One of us is going shopping tonight, so I’ll put it on the list again.
Yes, Janeen! I hope your husband can get some yummy homemade lunches from now on!
I’m always looking for more healthy lunch ideas. I can’t wait to give a few of these a try! Thanks for sharing!
Oh good! I’m glad that you were inspired by some of these ideas, Leesha. Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you for this list. It’s very helpful. My fiance and I are moving in together over this week. In an attempt to save money for the coming wedding he will start taking his lunch to work everyday which means I have to make it for him.
Congrats on the wedding! Glad I could help you out. 🙂
Thank you! My husband works in construction and I’ve been meaning to get a list together of ideas to make each week. I’m blessed because he will literally eat anything and his work site is close enough where he could come home a few days a week for lunch. I love the idea of being able to prep things beforehand….I’ve been getting up so early!
You’re welcome, Crystal! Good thing your hubby isn’t picky 🙂
Have you run this list by your husband yet? I think you should. My husband works evenings. Try that for meal Planning, fun, I can tell you. He will eat anything, yes. But if everybody’s ordering out, it stays in the fridge while he buys pizza, pasta, sweets, ice cream, etc. Or will eat both. A green salad is rabbit food. Pasta Salads I’m trying this summer. This Winter we’ve been fairly successful with crockpot meals, Soups & Stews, but he has access to a microwave. As for sandwich meats, they are loaded with salt & assorted other nasties, plus your grocery bill will skyrocket. Will he eat tuna, salmon, sardines, herring? If he loves the Anchovies they might be of interest. My father loved cold meatloaf sandwiches. Perhaps cooking up, chicken or pot roast in the slow cooker, barbecuing a little extra meat & veggies on the grill. My Sister doesn’t go for green salads, but cold chicken, hardboiled eggs, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, carrot sticks, celery sticks, radishes, cut up melon, mango, berries, with a dressing for veggies, soft taco roll up sandwiches, the Ideas for the egg, coleslaw, potatoes, & pasta salads are great, but what about man sized main dish portions. There are women who prep a section of the fridge with healthy snacks for the whole family. My suggestion is, sit down with your husband over the lunch idea, get his feed back. He might add some ideas, or thumbs down some. Also the meal prep idea is good. You are pregnant & getting off your feet will become a priority. Perhaps get him on board with helping you prep his lunches & family snacks for the fridge. You will need them too. If he comes home hungry, he can choose a snack from the fridge, & maybe help finish dinner prep with you. Don’t forget sandwiches freeze well & help keep lunch cool. They also sell compartmentalized lunch kits on Amazon, complete with freezer brick. Don’t forget to count the water in your groceries, Bill. It costs $20.00 on my 2 week list – I’m allergic to the chemicals in city water. I like your Summer menu plan, but you may need to start some pre prepping ahead, another reason to get Hubs on board with helping out. You will need to delegate before giving birth, to rest. When you get home you will have all this + back to the newborn madness schedule. I wish you well Mom.