Resolution #3: Bringing Lunch to Work

As people rack their brains for ways to pinch pennies during this rough economy, many will surely add packing their own lunch for work to their list of money-saving practices. And while yes, in the long run bringing your lunch to work can save you some major bucks, that is not the primary reason I am proclaiming this as a resolution for 2010. It’s because I want to know where my food is coming from!

I’m sick of trying to navigate around the out-of-season foods that pervade menus when I go out for lunch. The mushy tomatoes in sandwiches, the imported figs on salads, corn on the cob accompanying BBQ chicken…the list goes on and on. And while I love those little hole-in-the-wall joints as much as the next guy, I know that (for the most part) the meat they serve didn’t come from Judy’s farm down the road. By eating something I’ve brought from home, not only will I know the origins of what I’m putting in my mouth, I will have more control over eating the extra/hidden calories that go along with eating out. Who can say no to the bread baskets, chips that come with your meal, or the fresh-baked cookies staring at you at the register?

I know eating in every day isn’t realistic – sometimes eating out is the only way to drag ourselves away from our computers for a few minutes – so I’ll start by aiming for home-cooked meals 3 days a week. If you’d like to embark on the journey with me, I thought I’d share a few tips I’ve learned that will help us all commit to bringing something from home:

• To cut down on daily prep time, make your lunches for the entire week on Sunday then store them in single serving containers so they are ready to bring each day. Make up a big batch of chili, a large bowl of tuna fish or roast a chicken for a quick-and-easy sandwich.
• Freeze your sandwich bread. This will help keep the filling chilled and the bread will be perfectly thawed by lunch.
• Splurge on a re-usable lunch bag. Not only will you be looking jazzy while you dine, you are cutting down on paper waste.
• Buy separate condiments for work rather than schlepping things back and forth each day. Load up on peanut butter, mustard, and hot sauce so you aren’t in danger of bland meals at the office. A small salt and pepper shaker will also go a long way!
• WebMD offers some great Brown Bag lunch ideas, so you don’t get stuck with the same old meals.

Good luck!

Tagged as: homemade, lunch, work