IDEA #10 Waste Less, Spend Less, Eat Well

I work the lunch shift at my sons school every monday. 

*side note on how this came to be...don't be a guest for someone on a bunko night!  Too many glasses of wine for me and the mom sitting next to me complaining about how she couldn't find enough mom's to cover all the lunch shifts.  At least I still had some sanity to tell her "I will only work one day!".  That comes from years of being suckered into too many volunteer positions!!!

Okay, sorry I digress.  So every Monday I walk around the lunch room to see what the kids have brought for lunch.

 I have definitely  realized buying lunch is not the healthiest way to go.  They do a great job with all the sides but the main meal is not really food.  Now I say that, but know until this last week my son bought lunch every day!!  But after seeing that the food isn't even prepared on site, I realized I needed to finally listen to him and make his lunch.  Yes he has been requesting to take his lunch all year, I just didn't want to deal with making it.  So we compromised, I make the sandwich part and he packs the drink and sides.

The other thing I have really noticed is many moms are trying to make better choices with what they are packing especially with the crackers or the juices, but when you really look at the labels it is just tricky marketing making you think the item is a healthier choice.  This makes me so mad!
So how do you not fall victim to marketing.  Read the labels for one but what really can help you out is don't buy any prepacked items for your lunches.

Now finally, to the point of my blog.  When my daughter was in elementary school I stumbled onto to the most amazing little boxes called Laptop Lunches.  I loved them because I didn't have to use any plastic baggies to pack her lunch and I could send little dips as well.  These little boxes have become very popular today.  In fact I saw them at Whole Foods just yesterday.  But you can also get them from their website:  http://www.laptoplunches.com/

Laptop Lunches are American-style bento boxes designed to help families pack nutritious, environment-friendly lunches for school, work, and travel. Our sustainable lunch containers--which come with a book of healthy lunch ideas and lunchmaking recipes--are reusable, recyclable, and dishwasher safe. Our lunchboxes, recently featured in both Parents and O Magazine, do not contain phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), or lead.

Want to read their newsletter for this month: http://www.laptoplunches.com/newsletters/2010/JanuaryNewsletter_2010.html

Laptop lunches are a wonderful investment for your family but also for the environment. Just to pack a lunch you would use at least three plastic bags and possibly some plastic silverware. I loved that these little boxes were all reusable.

The funny thing for me…I gave mine to my sister and now that Jack is eating lunch at school again I need to buy a new set!