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!
I pack a lunch almost every day and try hard to vary what I am bringing. Salads, soups, sandwiches, veggies and hummus, lots of fresh fruit.
1. I always pack my lunch. I used to be a take-out girl, and waste tons of money, calories and plastic containers until I read The Art of Eating In by Cathy Erway. I like to pack the night before if I have to be up early, that way I can just grab and go.
2. I usually have a salad. I put the dressing in a separate container and sometimes I leave an avocado on top of the salad so that I don’t forget to slice it in. I’m also a fan of leftovers if there will be a place to heat it up.
3. Who doesn’t love cookies in their lunchbox? Yours look delicious!
Your posts make me go nutzz!!
All I want right now is to quit my job, shift next to your house and then play the role of the ideal neighbour by visiting you exactly at the time you were eating!! lol
But you do make me jealous, okay!! :D
I used to really rely on store bought energy bars, but I got *too* dependent on them & began eating them all the time. Now I find it easier to simply look for a place to eat – usually there’s a sandwich or salad I can buy/ order. I like bringing bananas & apples (and some nori sheets/ dried fruit) with me when I travel, and I bring more food on (longer) car trips, but I stay away from the store-bought energy bars on the most part (I now find them too sweet).
hey Lady!
I pack lunches for the two of us. We prepare them the night before, so the day of, it’s just packing them into the lunch bags and adding ice packs and cutlery.
In the winter/fall, we generally have leftovers (to be re-heated at work) as the main course. In the spring/summer, it’s salad and veggie sticks/hummus. We also pack greek yogurt, cheese strings, almonds, and fruit salad as side dishes/snacks for the rest of the day.
I’m like Scott – I don’t like business lunches at all: they don’t serve food that agrees with me, it’s heavy, and I don’t feel the best in the afternoon. I’ve developed the reputation for bringing my own food (snacks + lunch) to meetings (where they usually order in, as opposed to going to a restaurant).
happy thursday!
xo
I bring my own lunches to work, always have. My mom packed all my lunches as a kid, but I was allowed to eat at school once a week (a treat!).
My husband used to make his own lunches about half the time (I am of the belief a man should be able to make his own food, plus we like different things). But with his new job he gets all lunches, no matter where or the price, free. His co-workers are into healthy eating like he is, so they usually go to some decent places.
Mmmm….I’m jealous of Scott’s lunches!!!! Can you come to PA and pack me a lunch too?!? :-)
Hey!
I am visiting your blog after a while and hence have not been through many of recent articles.
Pardon me for my last comment, I never knew she was just the one :)
But she’s too sweet anyways.
Regarding the article, I wish my wife had the same sense of food that you have :). I wish :)
I have to pack my lunch for my summer job and I’ll sometimes pack it at school, depending on my class schedule. I’m so repetitive with my lunches – I almost always pack a hummus + avocado sandwich, an apple, some sliced veggies, and a snack of some sort of homemade granola bar or cookie. Somehow I never get bored of this lunch! But you’ve just given me so many new ideas for snacks to make! Those chocolate PB microwave bars look amazing! :D
I always pack my lunch! In fact that’s what I’m getting ready to do before work. :) You can pack mine if you want to! My Dad would always pack our lunches for my brother and me. He would always go plain and simple with a small treat, but he always made the best pb and J… super thick.
Gosh I loved those oatmeal creme pies though (we never had them which was probably why they were so exciting!)
I always pack some food up when i’m working… it normally consists of fruit, roasted veg, homemade granola (if I have time) some nuts and maybe a little something sweet! :)
I feel like I could reach out and grab an apple. That’s how fatalistic your photos are!
thank you so much :)
I love having packed lunch or snack for the hubby and me even when I am out running errands. What more, than to enjoy summer produce with great flavors :)
Hello there! Cannot believe it’s thurdays already. Crazy.
I always pack mine and Tom’s lunch. Tom’s is usually very boring as he’s picky about what he’ll have for lunch- marmite and PB sandwiches, fruit (apple, banana), cereal bar (nutrigrain usually), bag of low-fat crisps. That usually sorts it for him. For me, I tend to pack any sort of raw vegan snacks, salad, rice, roasted veg, fruit, trail mix. Tom would cry if we mixed these lunches up! :) I always love finding chocolate in there… it would also be amazing if a hot cup of coffee would just magic itself into existence right at the moment when I’m having my 20 min lunch break! Dreaming…
xxx
I pack a huge lunch for my boys every day they are in school. They ALWAYS have fresh fruit in it and eat a ton. They are so thankful that I pack them a lunch instead of having to eat food from a vending machine or from the school! My kiddos are healthy and I want to keep them that way! :-)
When I was in high school, my mom always packed me a lunch, too. The funny thing was, I was super into ketchup at the time! Kinda like you, Averie! haha…Anyway, I would ask my mom to pack anything that I could dip in ketchup from the cafeteria and she did, i.e, sandwich, pretzels, carrots, you name it…if I could dip it in ketchup, I would! :-)