Taking a sack lunch to school or work is a great way to save a few dollars every day. Here’s a few ideas to make your brown bag lunch greener and save a little extra money as well.
Make your own convenience snacks. Instead of buying individual packs of baby carrots, raisins, chips and cookies, save some money by buying in bulk and dividing up the snacks into small reusable containers. Erin at $5 Dinners broke down the prices for some of the more popular school lunch snacks here, and she calculated that you could save several hundreds of dollars each year by making your own. Check out her post here. In addition to being budget-friendly, divvying up your own convenience snacks is also the eco-friendly choice because all those plastic wrappers aren’t ending up in the landfill. Search Etsy for “snack bag” and you’ll come up with lots of options to replace disposable plastic snack sacks. Another option would be to use small stainless steel or plastic containers, but be aware that there is concern about the toxins certain types of plastics release over time.
Use a reusable lunch sack. There are several cute and stylish options for reusable lunchboxes for both kids and adults. Many retailers from Walmart to Land’s End carry a line of lunchboxes. For handmade options, check out Etsy. For eco-friendly lunchbox options, you might want to check out Healthy Green School.
When my daughter needs a lunch box, I think I’ll buy her a bento box. Bento boxes often have smaller interior containers that will encourage me to pack her a lunch that is the correct portions of protein, carbohydrates and fruits or veggies. Packing a nutrionally-correct lunch does not require a bento box, however. A general rule of thumb for packing a bento box is three parts carbohydrates, one part protein and two parts fruits and vegetables. Check out Lunch in a Box for tons of great ideas and fun foods to include in a packed lunch.
Fill your lunchbox with reusable items. In addition to packing snacks in reusable containers, look for ways to wrap sandwiches without plastic wrap. A square plastic container would do the trick, but so would a cloth bag similar to the snack sacks mentioned above. Another option is to cut up a cereal bag and reuse the paper as you would use waxed paper. It works wonderfully!
Instead of using plastic silverware, pack reusable forks and spoons and throw in a cloth napkin as well. Since your child will be toting the lunchbox home, including reusable items should make the trip home, too. Reusable items require a little more washing up but the cost savings make up for the inconvenience, and the amount of water used is negligible compared to the environmental impact of plastic and paper waste that would otherwise occur.
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