Lunch Packing Part 2: Tips & Supplies

My Last Post was on Why to Pack you lunch (snacks / meals), so now here are some more tips on the How- tos


Tips:

•  Small steps add up! Packing a meal once a week or packing one snack a day can also make a difference. 

• If you have a desk/ locker etc at work- keep a few healthy items there, this will make it even easier!

• Canned or dried soup
• granola bars

• nuts
• trail mix
• dried fruit
• cereal
• oatmeal

•  Get in the habit:  Pack your lunch and snacks the night before,  saves you the hassle of doing it in the morning

• Freeze left overs in individual portions:  easy to grab and go at a moments notice

• Prep ahead: Don’t have time to pack a lunch every night? Prep part or all of your meal over the weekend.  Check on my post on Healthy Eating for the Busy Person 
•  Portioning veggies and dip into baggies
•  Cut up fruit and make a fruit salad for easy picking
• Prep sandwiches (you can keep bread on the side to keep it from getting soggy)

Considerations about bringing your meals: 

• Food Safety 
• If you bring anything perishable be sure to have an insulated bag and cold pack. Or refrigerate if possible.  
• Ease of carrying: 
• Especially if you are on the run, having a bag that is easy to carry is key! Try one with shoulder straps, or small bags that fit into other bags you already carry.  
• Leak Proof: 
• Invest in good Tupperware. A spilled or leaking lunch can ruin all of your food, or get on your clothes.  
• Some recommendations: Rubbermaid, Lock &; Lock, Pyrex storage 

What You’ll Need:

·      A lunch box/ bag

·      Good leak-proof Tupperware in various sizes

o   Small containers are great for bringing dips and dressings on the side

·      Plastic or Re-useable baggies

o   Try Snack Taxis or Lunchskins

This is my adorable gnome snack taxi!

·      Re-useable water bottle

·      Travel Beverage Mug

I love my BPA free Aladdin cup- it never leaks! 

·      Cold Packs

o   Recommend having two to freeze one everyday 

Frozen water bottles, or frozen yogurt can also be used in an insulated bag   

A Few Lunch Box Recommendations:

·      Thermos Brand:

Trusted name brand with great insulation.

Many different sizes and styles

·      BuiltNY  (BuiltNY.com) 

This company offers a variety of classy totes, laptop cases, lunch boxes, water bottle and wine bottle carriers.

Their bags are soft neoprene material and insulated.

Have accessories such as shoulder straps

·      LunchBots

Take on the Japanese style Bento Box

Can be carried alone or in another bag 

See my love of Bentos Here as well 

Reasons to pack your lunch

Still buying your lunch at work, or going out most days of the week? Here are a few of my favorite reasons to start bagging it :)

Reasons to bring your own meals & snacks:

·      Economical:

o   Spending $10+ a day on lunch/ coffee and snacks adds up fast!

o   You get much more value shopping at a grocery store and prepping food yourself than you do purchasing convenience items.

·      Saves time and hassle:

o   Yes, packing a lunch can take some time, but will save you the time of having to go and purchase your lunch during your work day.

o   You can eat it anywhere! Save the time and hassle of going somewhere to eat.

·      More nutritious:

o   Frequently “forget” to eat because you are so busy? Regular meals and snacks help improve your metabolism and help maintain your weight.

o   Planning and packing lunch more likely to get well rounded meals.

o   If you wait until you are hungry, more likely to give into temptation.

o   Food companies and restaurants often load their food with salt and unhealthy fats to improve taste.  Bringing your own food allows you to control ingredients.

Versus

·      Eco-friendly

o   All of the packaging associated with buying food out adds up! 

(The Average Office worker uses 500 disposable cups a year¹)

o   You have much more control of the sources of where your food is coming from (organic, local, sustainable sources) 

Tightening the belt buckle

This past week I have been completely freaking out about everything I have to do, and even moreso, about money.

Right now, I am technically doing ok moneywise… I have some savings, and an adequate amount to pay for bills/rent/loans/food etc. etc…. unfortunately- the key word is NOW!

I am doing a lot of forward thinking right now (which is good and bad.)

Next year I will be doing my internship and grad school full time. It is HIGHLY inadvisable to work during... which means, right now I basically need to save up enough money for living expenses and tuition for the next year.

Unfortunately a lot of expenses are nonnegotiable e.i, I do not think my landlord is going to suddenly come down on my rent, and now that I legit have to be commuting a lot more, I have to resign myself that paying for gas is inevitable.

three of the only "expenses" I can really control, are food, going out and shopping. Shopping: I technically do not NEED to go shopping at all... other than for some household items like toilet paper, tooth paste, etc. In regards to going out, I am already relatively frugal, and most of my friends are too (clubs with covers? psht, overrated) so that makes it a little easier... however, based on my mental health, I refuse to become a hermit, so I will be budgeting in some 'going out money'

Finally there is food. I am really good at not spending money EXCEPT when it comes to food (girls gotta eat, you know!) I rarely go out to eat, but I can do some serious damage at the grocery store.

I believe I have mentioned in the past, I have a slight obsession with Mint.com-- which is basically a budgeting website.... based on this website I have concluded that I spend about $230 on food (including groceries, restaurants and alcohol) a month (excluding what I pay for with cash,.... which is very rare.)

Since I am constantly talking about the topic of 'Eating Healthy on a Budget' I am going to put myself on a budget and test my own capabilities! I started doing this a bit throughout January-- but for the sake of officially keeping track I am going to start February 1st.

Since I usually spend $230 a month,

(Here's the summary of the last year...)

I am going to attempt to cut that in half and go down to $115. We shall see how this goes....

(You can imagine there is another $100 there. C'mon! If I had $115 to photograph, I wouldn't be in this situation!)

since I am not completely starting from scratch it is not 100% fair. I do have some food on hand. and throughout January, thus far, I have spent $200 on food, which I don't think was THAT bad considering the fact that throughout the month of December I seem to have let myself get down to the bare bones. At the end of the month I'll do a sum up of everything I am starting with.

Also, I have the issue that the $115 is supposed to just be for me. Which, generally I do only shop for myself, however, with two- four other people "living" in my house, it doesn't always work out that way.

On the other hand, I also have the benefit/ problem in this experiment that Jordan likes to go out to eat etc rather frequently, in which case, he pays, since if it were up to me, I'd just cook. I am going to inform him of my plans, and perhaps he'll get on board, otherwise I'll just consider anytime we go out and he pays null, considering how much of my food, etc. he eats/uses. (Perhaps we'll consider it his 'rent').