Love, Money and the Packed Lunch

Several years ago Alvin Hall on one of his life-and-money-coaching programmes highlighted the cost of lunches at work. I used to spend £3 or more a day on a sandwich and other bits (ok, a pie) from a shop near my office, and my wife did likewise, though her choice was more salady. Work that out over the year and we were spending about £1.5k annually on not great quality food - lovely though S+K pies are, I guess most use mechanically recovered meat - not pleasant; and shop salads tend to focus on the bulk of boring iceberg lettuce.

Since I changed career and don't have to rush off at 7:15 every day I have made a point of preparing a salad for my wife's lunch. It's a gesture of love as well as economy. Like too many women she is convinced she needs to lose just another pound, just another, while loving good food.

It really is economic. Today she will be tucking into what was facetiously - it is December - dubbed a sunshine salad. Costs are a rough guestimate, but won't be far out - I really don't spend all day weighing produce and calculating costs to the nearest tenth of a penny. Matchsticks of carrot (5p), ginger (2p), half a yellow basic-range pepper (13p), plus the skinned segments of two satsumas (25p - extravagant fool that I am), dressed with the squeezed juice from the satsuma remains, a dash of olive oil (wonderful stuff from Aranda, only used for dressings), a sprinkle of salt (it is a salad), a few cumin seeds for interest, and a dusting of cinnamon. Say 50p for the whole thing. Her university canteen would charge £2.30, M&S probably £3 or more for the same thing if they had anything like that. With a banana and a yogurt it is near as makes no odds £1 for her lunch. Economy needn't be unhealthy or life-sappingly boring.

With my eco-hat on the salad is carried in a click-sealed container washed and re-used, rather than several layers of disposable plastic packaging, another reason of course for it being cheaper. and this salad could even make us money if it wins the lovethegarden.com Christmas Carrot recipe comp!