Fill me up for a fiver, please.

April 19, 2007 10:58 AM

My wife (a spectacular cook) is out of town, I have $5.00 for lunch, and I'm not in the mood to make something for myself. Since this will probably be my only meal of the day, what's the most filling food I can buy for ~$5.00?

I'm open to fast food, slow food, food from the gas station; just as long as I don't have to cook or prepare it myself.

posted by bjork24 to food & drink (34 comments total)

there's this restaurant called Subway that you may want to investigate. My favorite is the cold cut on white, with everything, plus mayo and salt and pepper. You can also get a drink with it, I'd recommend Coke, it's really good if you've never had it.
posted by andrewzipp at 11:02 AM on April 19, 2007 [2 favorites]

Can you get a jacket potato anywhere near by? With beans and cheese, or chicken or what have you they're really filling, with complex carbs for sustenance. And yummy!
posted by goo at 11:03 AM on April 19, 2007

It'd be a challenge to get more calorie bang for your buck than 5 double cheeseburgers from the McDonald's dollar menu. (440 calories each!)
posted by ferociouskitty at 11:04 AM on April 19, 2007

Filling, as in it will stop you being hungry again for the longest, you want to choose something with protein, a little fat, and complex carbs. Avoid white bread or anything sugary like coke as you'll be hungry again in an hour.

A three egg omelette and homefries, with wholewheat toast and butter, is not a bad choice if you can find it under $5 at a diner.
posted by unSane at 11:06 AM on April 19, 2007 [1 favorite]

If you have any Chipotles near you, you can get a burrito with just rice and any one side for $1.16. If you got four of these I'm pretty confident you'll be stuffed. Then you can ask for a water cup for free. This is coming from a poor high schooler, so I've learned how to get lots of food cheaply.
posted by catdog at 11:07 AM on April 19, 2007 [2 favorites]

A box of cereal and a half gallon of milk.

A handful of frozen burritos.
posted by OmieWise at 11:08 AM on April 19, 2007

Little Caesar's large pepperoni "Hot 'n' Ready" which you must pick up yourself. Made to make profit at $5, but pretty tasty. Don't forget the Spice Pak and the packet of dried peppers.
posted by The Deej at 11:14 AM on April 19, 2007

Instant white rice is about a dollar a box at the grocery store, and I almost guarantee that 2 boxes will be more than you can eat. Pay someone in your office the other three bucks to heat up hot water for you.
posted by chrisamiller at 11:22 AM on April 19, 2007

A 5 Pounds for Three Dollars bag of baking potatoes and two containers of plain yogurt.
posted by KRS at 11:25 AM on April 19, 2007

20 packages of Raman.
posted by bondcliff at 11:28 AM on April 19, 2007

I like the pizza idea. I have a Little Ceasar's just down the road. Huzzah!
posted by (bb|[^b]{2}) at 11:36 AM on April 19, 2007

Going with catdog and OmieWise: Burritos are the way to go.
posted by spec80 at 11:56 AM on April 19, 2007

Do you realize how much rice and beans you can make for five bucks?

A lot.
posted by nathancaswell at 12:08 PM on April 19, 2007

a bowl of pho.
posted by luriete at 12:12 PM on April 19, 2007

A box of instant oatmeal and a few select pieces of fruit for variety. Do you have a Trader Joe's near you? Their Flax Oat Meal is the best instant oatmeal I've come across, and it'll really stick to your ribs.
posted by numinous at 12:27 PM on April 19, 2007

"Hi, I'd like my own website, but I don't want to learn HTML. Can anyone recommend a cheap WYSIWYG website service?"

Answers: Learn PHP!

Seriously, what do you people not get about the fact that this dude does not want to cook?

I think some people, bjork24, are a bit surprised that you aren't willing to do some cooking yourself, especially since it's so much cheaper than going out to eat.

That being said, I have a compromise: go to the nearest grocery store, and get yourself one of those meals in a box. Most of them are in the high $3 range or more, but there are some budget brands that run closer to $2 and change. Buy 2 of those, one for lunch, and one for dinner. This is assuming you have a microwave and fridge at work and a microwave at home. Even if you're a cooking phobic operating a microwave (especially if you follow exactly the instructions on the side of the box) should not be too difficult and should give you more food for the money, I think.

But echoing the sentiments of some of the other answer posters: maybe now would be a good time to think about learning how to cook. Obviously trying to do it today is a bad idea (you'll starve, or eat carbon), but maybe the next time the wife is cooking something, you can ask, "Hey honey, can I help/watch?"
posted by Deathalicious at 12:32 PM on April 19, 2007

Donuts!
posted by kitty teeth at 12:32 PM on April 19, 2007

Seconding pho.

Shawarma also makes an excellent lunch and should come in around $5.00.
posted by benign at 12:33 PM on April 19, 2007

Of course, it's entirely possible that you're an excellent cook who just doesn't feel like cooking on this particular day. (But then why bring up the wife?)
posted by Deathalicious at 12:34 PM on April 19, 2007

Well, I ended up eating a couple beef tacos and bean burritos from Taco Bueno... plus cinammon chips, for $4.16 or something. Quite satisfying, but I'd be surprised if I'm not hungry in a couple hours.

I can cook for myself - simple things mostly - but I wasn't in the mood to do it today. I only brought up my wife b/c she loves to cook, so whenever she's around, I don't have to make such decisions.

Thanks for all the opinions, everyone. I'm sure I'll return to this post for filling food references in the future.
posted by bjork24 at 12:44 PM on April 19, 2007

Pho.
posted by kdar at 12:46 PM on April 19, 2007

Bean burritos at Taco Bell.

On preview, I must be prescient.
posted by konolia at 12:51 PM on April 19, 2007

Go to Buckingham's across from Bass Pro and get the Smokehouse potato. It's a giant baker with BBQ pork and Beef w/BBQ beans and Coleslaw all on it for about 5 bucks. Must weigh about 2 pounds. And you're shopping local!
posted by sourwookie at 12:59 PM on April 19, 2007

Nice, I hope when you ordered the tacos you told them the internet sent you.
posted by andrewzipp at 12:59 PM on April 19, 2007 [3 favorites]

The Cheezie's on Kimbrough and Cherry is about 5 bucks for a large pizza.
posted by sourwookie at 1:00 PM on April 19, 2007

Thirding the Pho, though that's only good for about half a day.
posted by Phire at 1:38 PM on April 19, 2007

Thank you for making my late lunch/early dinner decision for me. Taco Bueno it is! ;)
posted by wierdo at 1:42 PM on April 19, 2007

I know you already ate, but this is for posterity. Rotisserie chicken from the supermarket!
posted by advicepig at 2:32 PM on April 19, 2007

a loaf of whole wheat bread and a jar of peanut butter. that's a lot of pretty filling sandwiches (9 or so), minimal preparation, and possibly a little money left over depending where you get it. adding sliced bananas to the sandwiches rather than jam or honey would probably be your cheapest and most filling sweetening option.

though i'm not sure that beats a million packets of ramen, if that's not too much preparation for you.
posted by lgyre at 4:50 PM on April 19, 2007

If you can find a meat-and-potato pie anywhere, one of those should be pretty damn good. You might be able to find one at a diner or a food cart. I think some big food company also sells frozen, microwavable meat pies; they're nowhere near as good as fresh, but they're still very filling for the price.

(can you tell what I lived on during college?)
posted by yomimono at 7:06 PM on April 19, 2007

Hitchhike to California and go to In-N-Out.
posted by granted at 9:01 PM on April 19, 2007

Ah, gotta say, Hurf Durf, Butter Eater. Buy a pack of cigarettes. Or three cans of pseudostew. Whichever. Cigarettes worked for me as a student.
posted by converge at 2:09 AM on April 20, 2007

(I'll also take every chance to say "Hurf Durf Butter Eater," so please ignore me if that wasn't your inclination already. Sorry.)
posted by converge at 2:14 AM on April 20, 2007

(Nevertheless, cigarettes did help.)
posted by converge at 2:15 AM on April 20, 2007