Lunch can be one of the most difficult meals to prepare.

Not necessarily because it is so difficult, but because it takes place in the middle of the day amid a flurry of other activities. The last thing we want to do as moms is have to stop and figure out a new meal from scratch.

With so little time, it can be a challenge for us busy moms to eat healthy on a tight budget.

Fortunately, there are ways to still have tasty lunches without having to put in much effort or resort to expensive and unhealthy convenience foods.

I have a friend who was able to eat healthier and save about $4,800 by doing easy lunches from home instead of eating out with her husband every day.

Here are some ideas for you:

Beef stew poured over rice
Make a big batch of beef stew in the slow cooker alongside a big batch of rice. The stew and the rice together essentially double the lifespan of the batch. If you want to be extra healthy, you could use brown rice or quinoa instead of white rice.

Chili or soup
Chili and soups typically have more flavor after being left in the fridge overnight. You can make a large batch for dinner and eat the leftovers for lunch throughout the week. Some people even prefer chili cold.

When preparing soups, it’s best to keep it simple if you’re short on time. Try to stick with soups that have five or fewer ingredients such as a simplified Caldo Verde.

Pizza
Some might see this as odd, but I actually enjoy cold pizza (and I don’t think I’m alone). If you don’t like your pizza cold, you can quickly heat leftover pieces in the microwave. To avoid the pizza getting dry (or if you’re concerned about the potential hazards of regular microwaves), you can use a steam microwave. They’re a little pricey, but keep an eye on your local store ads for deals on kitchen appliances.

Pre-cooked batches of ingredients
This tactic can work especially well if you’re trying to feed picky eaters. You make large batches of a single thing, such as a whole head of cooked broccoli, a whole box of pasta, or a whole roasted chicken. You can store the portions in the fridge and use them to assemble your meals throughout the week.

One of the best benefits of pre-cooking your ingredients is that you can buy larger quantities of food at once in order to save money. If you combine this technique with other ways to eat healthy on a budget, you can get a good variety while still benefiting from the leftover concept.

Sandwiches and fried eggs
In an ideal world, you’d always have delicious leftovers or a meal in the slow cooker. Sometimes that just doesn’t happen. Life gets busy. Maybe you had to eat out the previous night. When all else fails, you can fall back on the trusty sandwich and fried egg. Quick and easy.

Learn to love leftovers and slow cookers. Cooking extra food for dinner and bringing the leftovers for lunch is one of the most economic ways to eat better without having to put in any effort to preparing lunches.

After all, a good meal often takes at least one to two hours to prepare. Why would you put in all that effort just for one meal?

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Author: Gwendy Taylor

Apprentice Editor: Kristen Bagwill / Editor: Catherine Monkman

Image: Lisa Clarke/Flickr