Brown bag from lunch

Reasons To Brown Bag It

The little brown lunch bag can be good for you in more ways than you think. If you want to live a better life, here is why you should consider taking your lunch with you to work.

1. You Save Money

Okay, this is obvious so I am just going to get this one out of the way. Buying your lunch every day is expensive and taking your lunch can save you a lot of money.

Even a simple fast food meal can cost close to $10. If you go to a full service restaurant, the bill can be higher and you will also have to tip. At $10 a meal, you would save 50 dollars a week or 200 dollars a month by bringing your own lunch. That amount could be closer to 400 dollars if you regularly dine full service.

2. It Is Healthier

Besides, saving money, this is the second most obvious reason to take your lunch to work. Fast food, and most restaurant food for that matter, is loaded with unhealthy fats.

In addition, the typical serving is usually way bigger than what is needed.

The average American woman needs 2000 calories a day to maintain their weight. The average male needs 2500 calories a day. A fast food meal of a burger and fries can easily reach 1200 calories and that is without a drink. So, one meal might be over half of your daily needs.

It is far easier to portion your meal when you bring it from home.

3. It Will Give You A Longer Break

Think about how much of your lunch hour you spend commuting and waiting. You might spend 20 to 25 of those minutes just driving to go get your food. Then you have to order and wait longer for it to arrive. By the time you get your meal, you have to suck it down in a matter of minutes so that you can get right back to work. Not much of a break.

Now, lets look at what happens when you brown bag it. You can either eat in your office or you can simply walk to the park or some other tranquil setting where you can get some privacy. This means little to no commute time. You can then eat your lunch, which is ready to go and then enjoy the rest of your lunch hour to do with as you please. You might have 30 minutes of free time that you are not used to having.

Use your free time to catch up on social media, read a book or even take a nap.

4. You Can Get Some Exercise

We all want to find time to get to the gym or get some exercise but it can be tough. Brown bagging might just be the solution that lets you get in shape. It takes about fifteen minutes to eat your already prepared lunch. This leaves you with forty five minutes to do with as you please.

If you have a gym membership, you can go get a quick workout in. If you are not a gym person, a nice daily walk can help you stay in shape. Getting a little exercise will help you in so many ways. It can help you slim down, protect your heart, protect your bones and will make you more productive during the rest of the work day. Try a daily walk for just 3 months and see how you feel at the end of that time, It could be life changing.

5. You Can Get More Done

Perhaps breaks are not your thing. If that is the case, you can still use the time that you save to make yourself more productive.

If you add up the time you would have spend driving to a meal and then waiting for that meal, that could easily be 45 minutes in a day. That is 225 minutes a week or almost 4 hours of time. What could you do with an extra four hours to work.

Get more done with your shorter and healthier lunch or perhaps just leave work 45 minutes earlier each day. That could even help you avoid rush hour traffic, further increasing your time savings.

6. You Might Enjoy Your Meal Better

You know your tastes better than a fast food worker. When you bring your own meal, in addition to saving money, you get to prepare it just how you like it. Just the right seasoning, just the right ratio of lettuce to tomato.

Nobody will be able to prepare something to your liking as good as you. In addition, you can probably bring things to work with you that you might not be able to get at a fast food place. It might be a certain type of cheese or a hard to find brand of pita chips.

Making Your Lunch Better

Now that you have decided to bring your lunch to make your life better, let’s take a look at some ways to make taking your lunch easier and better.

  • Get A Lunch Box
    Brown bagging is the name for the principle only, you do not have to actually use a brown bag. In fact, you would probably be miserable doing so. Instead, get yourself a good insulated lunch box. It will make things easier to pack and keep them fresher for you.
  • Buy A Reusable Ice Pack
    It can be a pain trying to find a refrigerator to store your food, plus you have that possible food theft to deal with. Instead, get a reusable ice pack. They will keep your food cold enough until lunch and won’t cause a mess as they thaw.
  • Cook Extra Food At Dinner
    Plan for your lunch the next day by prepping more food the night before. You will already be cooking one meal so making your next days meal will not be much more work. If you go out to dinner, consider dividing your meal into a portion to bring home for tomorrows lunch. Since most meals served at restaurants are oversized, you should have plenty to spare.
  • Go Beyond The PBJ
    You can do better than the simple sandwich. Jazz it up by using pita bread or french sourdough. Tortillas and some leftover chicken from the night before can make an excellent fajita. When all else fails, you can make an ordinary turkey something special with some good cheese and fresh vegetables.