Breakfast, lunch and a snack!

Breakfast - maple blueberry refrigerator oatmeal! (small jar)

Lunch - blueberries (the dark spot in the center top), half an apple, cucumber slices, 2 hard boiled eggs, salt, cherry tomatoes, strawberries

Snack - lifesaver and wasabi & soy sauce almonds

Beverage - lemon ginger refrigerator iced tea

It's all delicious!  And happy!  And easy!

Sorry it's not the greatest picture.  I was very tired last night and not so enthused about making things.  Making things in bulk seems to be the way to go (like boiling the eggs and making several jars of oatmeal).

Today's Breakfast/Lunch/Snack

Today's breakfast/lunch/snack.  Wasabi almonds, hardboiled egg (with salt), raspberries & blueberries, salad (lettuce, tomato, broccoli & cucumber), babybel cheese, strawberries, salad dressing & lifesaver in Planetbox. Strawberry vanilla refrigerator oatmeal in jar.  Freeze dried peaches in tin.

I may not eat it all, but for 2.5 meals, 725 calories isn't bad.  Still leaves more than half of my budget for dinner!

SnackTaxi

Just a quick little post today.

My friend Michy bought me two SnackTaxi sacks, one sandwich sized, one snack sized.  Snack Taxi sacks are essentially reusable sandwich baggies.  With fun fabric designs on the outside and a nylon coating on the inside, they can be used over and over.  They are safe for the washing machine (though i often just turn mine inside out and use a sponge).  They have a velcro flap that allows for a fair amount of give in packing.

Snack Taxi's (CNBC/Snack Taxi)

As part of my plan to get healthier, i've been religiously bringing fruits and veggies to eat at work, and using these bags all the time.  For some reason i couldn't find one this morning and i had to use a regular ziploc style bag.

It made me realize how much i love the reusable bags!  It felt so wasteful to use a regular baggy!

The cost of the sandwich sized bags are around $9.  According to Target, a box of 225 Ziploc baggies is around $6, so depending on how often you use it, it may take a year or  more to be financially more worthwhile, however environmentally the results add up more quickly.  Also, your lunch looks more fun, how cool is that?

Laptop Lunchbox

I love my Laptop Lunchbox.  Packing a lunch can save you lots of money, ZenHabits posits as much as $3,000 per year.  Although I understand why some folks need to go out to purchase lunch (socialization, anti-socialization, lunch meetings, etc) I prefer packing my own when I can.

The Laptop Lunchbox system is sort of American Bento.  It's a box with interchangeable compartments, that divide the space up into 1 large and 2 small or 2 medium and 2 small spaces (although you can get creative about that).  There is also a designated spot for utensils, and it comes with a fork and spoon.  It also fits neatly in a desk drawer (or under my desk drawers).  With a system like this you could make ahead several lunches and store them in the fridge (or just components) to save time.  You're also helping the environment by not using single-use containers, like plastic bags

I have a nightly habit of packing my lunch as I make dinner.  Although sometimes I can't help it, I try not to pack the same thing every day, so I don't get bored.  Favorites are salad, leftovers or sandwiches as a main component, with apples, pears, mandarin oranges or grapes as one side and goldfish crackers or gummy fruit as a second side (OK, I do sort of eat like a kid).  I also like this lunchbox because it is very helpful for portion control.  On salad days I sometimes wish it was a little bigger, however, usually I pack the right amount of food for me.  Since I am not my ideal weight, every little trick that helps me eat better is good!