Why I Carry My Lunch Every Work Day

This a simple and quick lunch of soup, crackers and an apple. Easy and quick to prepare. Much healthier than a lot of fast food.

I still work full time and I carry my lunch from home every day. Of the 15 people in my office, only two or three of us carry lunch from home. The rest race off to a fast food joint somewhere down the road, then race back and gulp down their food in the 15 or 20 minutes they have left of their lunch hour. Which I don’t get at all.

I bring a book, listen to music or a podcast, and relax for an hour for my lunch. It is a nice break in a hectic day. If others are in the lunch room, we chat for an hour or so. People often say, “I should start doing that too.” But they never do.

I carry my lunch for a variety of reasons:

• I have to stay gluten and dairy free. The only way to be sure that I am eating safe is to fix it at home. Problem solved.
• It is way less expensive to eat leftovers or something made specifically for lunch than to eat out. I ate out just yesterday and got a cup of soup and a drink and it cost me $8. The soup was supposedly gluten free but my stomach is telling me today that it wasn’t. Won’t do that again. For $8 I can make a nice homemade soup that I know is GF and have enough for lunch for 2 or 3 days at least. I’ve lived long enough to be appalled at how expensive things are now days, so I save money wherever I can.
• It is much less hectic and more Earth friendly because I’m not driving, dealing with traffic, burning gas, creating pollution, dodging pedestrians and so on. Some days it is the only chance I get to read my most recent National Geographic or Mother Earth Living. I keep my bullet journal with me and make notes for recipes to follow up on or other ideas that come from what I am reading. I love bullet journaling and that is a whole other blog post. I keep one for daily, one for garden and one for recipes and patterns I am working on.
• Bringing lunch allows me ample time to take a walk at lunch. I get a full hour for lunch, so in good weather I can walk for 30 minutes then eat lunch after I walk. I have a friend who takes a quick ride on local mountain bike trails at lunch, then eats lunch in his office as he works.

You can follow #lunchbox or #packalunch or #packlunch on Instagram for ideas or follow me on Instagram at #neeniemakes. I also have a board on Pinterest, Lunch Ideas, where I collect lunch ideas.

Just a few relatively inexpensive items are all you need to carry a healthy and nutritious lunch every day. I have an insulated lunch box, a variety of containers with lids and a stainless steel Thermos with a foldable spoon which allows me to carry almost anything I care to eat at lunch. Follow the links below to purchase on Amazon if you are interested. I do earn a small amount as an affiliate, but that in no way changes the price you pay.

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