Think Outside of the Brown Bag Lunch

Packing a healthy lunch from leftovers and foods found at home is much cheaper than buying lunch out. When you are hungry it is easy to make poor dining decisions. You already know not to go to the grocery when you are hungry eating on the run has the same negative impact.

There are two very good reasons for you to pack a brown bag lunch to take to work. The first reason is to save money and the second reason is for your health. Food and eating tends to be a social activity not a nutritional necessity. When you are going out to lunch and participating in weekly pitch-ins at the office, both of these are adding to your financial and caloric budgets.

Packing a healthy lunch from leftovers and foods found at home is much cheaper than buying lunch out. When you are hungry it is easy to make poor dining decisions. You already know not to go to the grocery when you are hungry, eating on the run has the same negative impact. By preparing your lunch in the morning or even the night before, you are more likely to pack up some extra nutritional value.

Limit the snacks available at work. Bring grapes or carrots and avoid the vending machines to save even more. Remember to maintain portion control and provide yourself with a variety to include all of the basic food groups. If you crave sweet or salty snacks, try the prepackaged 100 calorie sized portions to stay inside of your limits.

Bring your own iced tea or coffee if the office does not provide beverages at work. My office provides coffee and ice. I drink their coffee when I want some, but I bring my own tea. This saves me money at the vending machine and I am not tempted to buy a high sugar soda.

When everyone brings a dish to the office to celebrate a birthday or other occasions, pay attention to what you put on your plate. One excellent trick is to use a dessert sized plate rather than the large dinner plate. You can still taste a sample of what everyone has brought, but you eat smaller portions so they will fit on the smaller plate. Plan to bring a healthy dish as your contribution. Often overlooked is a fruit salad for dessert or a blender full of smoothies, easy to make at the office, different and healthy.

When you find yourself participating in a business lunch, you may think you can eat whatever you want if you are not picking up the tab. While this may be true, what you eat may be costing you in cholesterol, carbohydrates, heart burn, waistline and diabetic issues long after you have left the table.

It is easy to find creative ways to save money or eat healthier at the office, just think outside of the box, and try packing lunch into a brown bag instead.