Every day I pack Scott’s lunch for him. He never gets anything too earth-shattering in his lunch.
But life isn’t always earth-shattering. Sometimes its just lunch.
And it’s always based on what I have on hand and can throw in his bag.
For instance:
Apples
Fresh pineapple chunks
No Bake Coconut & Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites
Homemade Trail Mix with whatever odds and ends I have to throw into it
Do these count as getting my Blue Food in for the day?
Leftover Sesame Ginger Maple Tofu
Microwave Chocolate Peanut Butter and Oat Snack Bars
Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Bars
It’s so easy to make your own bars. You can customize them and save lots of money in the process. And keep out what you don’t like. And add more of what you do like. More chocolate chips maybe?And maybe if I’m feeling generous and don’t want to hog them all for myself, I’ll give him some of whatever baked goods I have on hand or is in rotation.
This week it’s been Magic Eight Bars but they are almost gone.
Must make more.
From my last post, Officially Summer, I’m glad you liked the discussion of why it’s customary to do 108 sun salutations in yoga when marking the Summer Solstice.
And it was fun to read what you like to do and eat now that summer is officially here!
Questions:
1. Do you pack your lunch?
I always pack food with me to work or even on errands. You never know when that granola bar is going to save the day. Having anything in my purse is key and of course, yes, if I know I will be out of the house over mealtime, I pack something because I am too cheap and too picky to rely on “finding something” when I’m out and time is of the essence and I need to be at work.
2. What do you include in it?
I am the queen of planned leftovers from the night before so that’s where things like leftover tofu or a container of Cheesy Taco Casserole come in handy.
I also put a lot of fresh fruits and veggies in lunches from carrots sticks and apples to cucumber slices and grapes. This isn’t rocket science or fine dining.
This is lunch that he can eat at his desk and it serves the purposes of:
keeping him healthy, i.e.not going out to restaurants or delis, and being able to control what he’s getting because I know I packed it and it came from home and my kitchen. He actually tells me he hates client luncheons now because he leaves them feeling stuffed with food that doesn’t make him feel good for the rest of the day and he would have never chosen had it not been a business lunch.
it saves tons of money. We both like this.
it saves time! Not having to chase out over the lunch hour is a major time savings for him and one that he always tells me he appreciates.
3. What makes you excited when you reach into your lunch and see it or did you used to get excited when your mom would pack your lunch about a certain item?
My mom was a no frills lunch packer. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, some fruit, a little box of raisins, maybe a baggie of chips (Doritos excited me!), maybe something she had baked like a cookie or a bar or a brownie <—exciting.
But seeing a Twinkie or a Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie in my lunch was the.best.treat.ever. Not that she did it very often, but when she did, it was really a thrill.
I loved Oatmeal Creme Pies!
P.S. Thanks for the continued Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Giveaway entries. Contest ends Friday morning so enter if you still need to!
The hubby usually packs lunches … I always take leftovers and fruit.
I love that you pack your husband lunch! I HATE eating at work. I work at a living foods kitchen, and they have a staff fridge which they stock with organic produce, so I usually just eat from in there. Talk about saving money!! My love comes home for lunch, so he never has to worry, and just eats whatever is fastest. I was like you growing up. Lunches were pretty simple. Once my mom started making us pack our own lunches, I would either have left overs, or pizza pockets. I LOVED pizza pockets!! Now I think that I would be very disappointed to see one of those as my lunch.
I pack paul’s lunches. lately i’ve slacked and let him eat subs from the work gas station. It makes me cringe. piles of ham and processed cheese and mayo… I die… but it makes him so happy.
1 year of marriage down. by year 2 I plan on having him scared of lunch meats too ;) haha!
great lunch options Averie! I love the taco casserole!!!
married 10 yrs, together 12.
wasnt til year 3 or 4 that we did away with lunch meats for the most part…he still eats some when out (there are worse things) but I dont buy it anymore :)
We’ve been together for 6 years and once I get a few more vegan and vegetarian options that he adores, i’m getting just plain sneaky.
though I envision him sitting in his car with a packet of lunch meat like he’s cheating on me or something. bahaha! oh man.
I love this post! I often struggle with what to pack my kids for preschool and what to pack for myself for my 12 hour work day… the simpler & fresher, the better :) Keep up the awesome work girl!
mom to mom, thanks for reading and being a great mom and packing lunches for your fam :)
I alway spack all 4 of our lunches! The kids like sandwiches or leftover in their thermos. Jason and I ALWAYS eat leftovers….I plan it that way. ;) I also pack myself a muffin or bar for a morning snack b/c I hit up the gym at lunch and need some fuel, then fruit for my afternoon snack. These days it’s raspberries, pineapple or watermelon. YUM!
thanks for you lovely comments, busy lady :)
hope you and the fam are doing great!
I’m all ABOUT packing my lunches, it saves me money and allows me to control my portions despite most of my friends at work liking to go out and grab foods to bring back.
leftovers are some of my favorites, with salads a close favorite, and sandwiches rounding out the rear. Yummy.
my mother was a great cook and made home made everything….a treat in the lunchbox was–i kid you not–a hamburger wrapped in tin foil…
funny thing, i wanted to make some veggie burgers for my girls to take to school–they gave me that puzzled look–a hamburger? for school?…my oldest is at that age that’s she’s self conscious about what she has in her lunch box…i tried to explain how cool i was when i had a hamburger and other kids didn’t…
i’ve been learning about all sorts of amazing vegan burgers–i want to share this discovery with my girls…they’ll eat them for dinner–no problem…so easy to pack in a lunch for them…i’ll keep working on them!
I love oatmeal pies too! My mom never packed my lunch, I was always a “hot lunch” kid. It apparently didn’t have a big impact on me, because I don’t even really remember what I used to get for lunch as a kid. Probably pizza and fruit.
Luckily, I eat lunch at home so I don’t have to worry about packing anything with me. Which is awesome because I am so super picky. I can never bring snacks with me when I’m going to be out because I haven’t found anything I can do that with!
“Tips” I read everywhere such as bringing a piece of fruit or some string cheese don’t work for me. I like my fruit cold and diced up and I like all dairy products cold. I don’t find granola or snack bars filling enough, plus I need ice cold water to drink with them. Some things I like directly from the freezer, such as nuts. I can’t bring a baggie of trail mix because the nuts will be all warm and the dried fruit just makes me shake from the sugar. <– too darn picky for my own good!
I pack my lunch most of the week, but snacks in the purse are an ALWAYS. Almonds, dried fruit, bars – there is always something in there to tide me over or for a situation where there’s nothing available for me to eat.
I always pack lunch for myself, usually in the form of leftovers. I’m a picky eater and prefer my own food. Plus, it’s a lot cheaper than eating out every day! Fruit are a great snack between meals, I always pack some berries, apples or bananas.