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Brown bag lunch had a whole different meaning back in the day. Can you imagine "trading" lunch with a coworker, your boss or your professor? You probably don't drink Capri-Sun's very often either.
We're not twelve anymore, and hopefully we don't act like we are, at least, not all the time.
As grown-ups, taking our lunch to school or work will save us a lot of money and allow for healthier eating. If you haven't had a brown bag lunch since middle school, packing a lunch may seem akward to bring to work. Not so. We just need to adjust it to our more grown-up needs.
Paper? Plastic? Box? Cooler? If you are over the whole brown bag idea, there are other options. You can buy fabric bags similar to coolers. You can actually use a mini-cooler. You can try reusable plastic containers or you can just toss it in your bag that you take to work or school, though this can lead to squashed food and a messy bag if you aren't careful. Be creative. Step out of the box—lunch box, that is!
Lunch is really about the food, so the storage options aren't that important. You have to actually want to eat what you have in your lunch if you want to avoid the "I'll just buy something today" temptation. Remember, you're packing your own lunch now so you can control what you put in. Here are some options:
Leftovers are probably the number one thing that adults bring for lunch. Cook a little extra the night before or get a doggy bag at dinner and get two meals for the price of one. If you are visiting your parents or any relatives for a meal, they are likely to ask you to take food home with you ... don't turn them down!
Sandwiches are easy to make and easy to take. You can move beyond peanut butter and jelly and try chicken breast, turkey, veggie burgers, tuna, Portobello mushrooms and more. Spice things up a bit with trying different mustards, breads, cheeses and veggies to get away from the standard meat and cheese sandwich. Stop by the grocery deli and you'll be amazed at the choices. They give free samples, too!
Soups are wonderful if you have access to a microwave, especially in chillier winter months. Reusable containers are great for taking soups. If you are looking for healthy products, check the sodium content of your can of soup. Brands such as Healthy Choice and Campbell's Healthy Request are usually much lower in salt.
Salads present an excellent opportunity to eat light, get those veggies and use up last night's dinner leftovers. Make sure to mix up the veggies you use (think lots of color: dark green, orange, yellow, red) and pack a small container of dressing on the side. Add some chicken or beef from dinner last night for protein. Garnish with some walnuts, almonds, or sunflower seeds, and sprinkle with some feta, gorgonzola or parmesan cheese and you have a nice, healthy, well-rounded salad.
Frozen entrees give a whole meal in a box. They're fast and easy, but you do need a microwave. Again, check the sodium content, as well as the calories and overall bulk. Some frozen meals are too small to keep you from looking for a snack at 2:00.
Yogurt and cottage cheese are easy to pack and healthy if you opt for the low fat or fat-free versions with lower sugar content. You can enhance them by pairing them with fresh fruit and granola.
Fruit, veggies, pretzels, a roll, string cheese, crackers, a few cookies, pudding, applesauce, gelatin and other side dishes round out your lunch. There are many, many options, so choose what goes best with the rest of the lunch. Just remember, these are extras, not the whole meal!
Drinks are important, too. Your number-one beverage is water, of course; you can't get enough. Try sparkling or flavored for something different. If water doesn't appeal, milk is still a great beverage and provides calcium and protein. Juice is good too, but can be highly caloric. Soda should be a last option. The sugar content (unless it's Diet) will send you sky-high and have you crashing down hard in just a few hours.
Whatever choices you make, don't leave your lunch packing until morning. If you do and time is running out (as it always seems to) you will be tempted to skip it and buy lunch "just this one time." You know that "one time" really won't be "one time" if you don't ever leave time to make and pack it. Pack it the night before and you can just grab it on your way out the door. Get in the habit and you won't even think twice about it.
Brown bag lunches are great. They save you money, allow you to control the quality and quantity, they're healthy (if you make them that way) and they're really easy. You won't be alone when you sit down at the table with a lunch from home; it's actually quite common.
Enjoy it. Just don't get too caught up in the nostalgia of it all: you don't need to raise your hand to be excused; you can just get up!
Published 07/06/07
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Brown bag. Right away you think, fourth grade, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on Wonder bread with the crusts cut off, a carton of milk, a baggie full of carrot sticks, a Chips Ahoy cookie, and maybe even a little note from Mom tucked in there somewhere. If you didn't eat most of your lunch, you would be trading your food for your buddy's turkey and cheese sandwich, Doritos, and Capri-Sun. 
