Lunch time


Lunch, almost by definition, is on-the-go.  Often, it is the most pre-packaged, least nutritional meal of the day.  Usually, it is the most expensive.  We can avoid these pitfalls by joining the growing trend of carrying your brown bag to school or work.  Deborah Pankey of the Daily Herald reports that “weekday lunches carried from home hit a new height in 2007, with adults carrying some 8.5 billion brown bags that year.”    Become a trendy brown bagger, help the environment and receive these benefits:

Reduce waste

Brown bagging creates less waste, particularly if we are not purchasing “Lunchables”, single-serving packages of Doritos or 6 oz bottles of juice.  The average American child produces 67 pounds of trash each year from school lunches alone.  That doesn’t include my trip to Quizno’s.  We can bring this down by

  1. Packing leftovers. 
    Americans throw away a lot of food.   A 2004 study from the University of Arizona indicates that “On average, households waste 14 per cent of their food purchases.  An average family of four tosses out $590 per year, just in meat, fruits, vegetables and grain products. Nationwide household food waste alone adds up to $43 billion, making it a serious economic problem.”
  2. Filling reusable containers and lunch boxes.  Target usually carries a good variety of lunch boxes in both the back-to-school section and the camping section.  The inventory includes some that are certified lead-free.
  3. Using reusable bottles.  There are so many reasons to break the bottled water habit.  Visit https://www.newdream.org/water/reasons.php .  If you would like to buy non-plastic, easy to wash, reusable bottles, Diane Peterson ( 630-406-8267/ 707 Morton Street, Batavia/ DianneLPeterson@hotmail.com ) sells Klean Kanteens for $15.50-$20.  Or you can pick up a SIGG at Dicks Sporting Goods on Randall in Geneva for $20.  These options are also available on-line.

Save money 

Eating out is expensive.  So are prepared, prepackaged ingredients like Oreos, Cheese-Its and juice boxes.  You save money by packing from scratch.  Saving money is the primary reason most people choose to make their own lunch.    Calculate the savings at http://www.mortgage-calc.com/cgi-bin/lunch.cgi.  If I invest my lunch savings over the next 10 years at just 4%, I’ll have an extra $10,500.  Wow.

Eat Healthier

You get to pick what goes in the lunch box.  The internet is filled with ideas and recipes, but the standard apple, carrot and PBJ sandwich offers a well balanced healthy lunch too.  It doesn’t take much to improve on the big meal deal from McDonalds.

Enjoy Convenience 

Yes, the lunch box routine can be convenient.  If we pack it at night, there is no morning rush.  Come lunchtime, we don’t need to hop in your overheated car, fight the traffic on Randall and wait in line at Jimmy John’s.  Just find a spot under a shady tree with your favorite co-worker and enjoy.  For the kids, there is no lunch line and no wilted lettuce.

So enjoy your lunch.