I started making bag lunches for my brother and I when I was in junior high. For three of my four university years, I lived off campus and carried a bag lunch almost every day. Then, throughout our teaching career, I made bag lunches for my husband, our children, and I. That’s over 40 years and thousands of sandwiches!
When we retired, I was excited that I’d never have to make bag lunches again, but then came the dilemma that I still live with 18 years later. What should I make for lunch today? In retrospect, making sandwiches every day was easier than having to decide what to feed us for lunch every single day for the rest of our lives!
When my parents were in their later years, they ate the same simple lunch almost every day. It consisted of Laughing Cow cheese and fresh buns from the bakery down the street from their apartment. How boring, I thought, but now I understand! While I don’t think hubby would go for that, he’d probably be happy with mac and cheese or eggs and toast every day. Me, not so much!
I decided to ask ChatGPT for ideas. If you’re not familiar with ChatGPT, it’s a free and easy to use artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, a tool that can do everything from recommending a book for you to read to helping you plan a trip. In a matter of seconds, it gave me several possibilities. Some include ingredients that I won’t find in my small town grocery store, but others are very doable. I had to laugh though when I saw that the final item on the list was peanut butter and banana sandwiches, something that often appeared in those bag lunches!
The photo was also generated by ChatGPT.
Now it’s your turn. I’d love to hear some simple, nutritious lunch ideas! What are your favourite things to make for lunch?
Following Augustine 
At our house, it’s “every man for himself” for breakfast and lunch. It’s more than enough to make dinner every night! Lunch is always a mixed bag. Leftovers, sandwich, fruit, raw veg, a salad.
That’s how we do breakfast!
Of course one of our favs was tomato soup and grilled cheese, who doesn’t like that. Mom would also on days she was making bread fry up pieces of bread dough and put butter and sugar on them. They were very filling. Back in the day things weren’t filled with additives and preservitives like they are now and most of us were a lot more active back then. She also made soups from scratch which I still do from soup bones or chicken and make my own egg noodles which my family still enjoy. Not hard to do just time consuming. Home made soups do make the house smell very yummy.
I also enjoy making homemade soups!
It is always a question! So is dinner…picking what to make is the hardest!
I would rather have a salad type lunch and hubby would rather have lunch meat and cheese, even without bread. Here are some simple things we repeat:
Bean Salad: 1/4 to 1/3 cup of rinsed canned beans (like black beans or chickpeas), sliced cucumbers, grape tomatoes, teaspoon of olive oil, drizzles of balsamic vinegar or lemon juice, some feta crumbles. One can gives us four to six servings.
Boxed macaroni and cheese with either broccoli or peas and hot dog. Good for two days.
Quinoa (3 cups cooked) salad with (1/2 to 1 cup each) diced sweet peppers plus frozen peas (no need to defrost) plus (1 can rinsed) black beans, all dressed with approximately 1/3 cup each olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Doesn’t take a lot of dressing. Keeps well.
Tuna salad or chicken salad (from canned chicken) in a tomato or lettuce leaves. Tuna melt: one slice bread toasted, tuna salad, slice of cheese. Broil till cheese melts and browns a bit.
Soup – love to make soup. Tomato basil from fresh or canned tomatoes. Homemade chicken with vegetables and rice or separately cooked gluten free pasta if desired. Lentil soups. Vegetable soups.
Vegetable chili with desired toppings: sour cream, yogurt, avocado, corn chips, corn muffin.
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, of course, or peanut butter and sliced apples or sliced apples and a cheese stick.
Many days add a side of hummus with carrots, celery, sweet peppers, cuke, whatever we have. Other sides: cup of applesauce, some cottage cheese, pickles.
You and I think alike, Kim! I don’t mind the actual meal prep, but it’s the planning that I find difficult. I’m definitely going to try some of your suggestions! Thank you!