Easy Monday

Monday can be rough, so we’ve put together a low calorie and very quick to pack bento lunch to start the week off on the right foot. What’s in your lunch box today?

  

Orange Bell Pepper Slices

Mini Plum Tomatoes

Spinach Dip

Sweet Potato Chips

Pineapple Salsa

Blackberries and Orange Slices

Nutritional info:

516 Calories / 44g Carbs / 35g Fat / 9g Protein / 651mg Sodium / 22g Sugar

Click here to view the details on this lunch.

Making Bento Lunches

Ever wondered how our amazing bento lunches come to life?

Be sure to check out our new weekly, "How To" series on the Laptop Lunches YouTube Channel. Here you'll see real life Laptop Lunches users making real life lunches such as in this video featuring co-founder Amy Hemmert:

      

If you make bento lunches at home and want to learn how to become part of our series, email us at: info@obentec.com and we'll be happy to help get you started.

Enjoy!

Making Lunches Work

By Marissa Vicario, Marissa’s Well-being and Health (MWAH!)

Eating the same deli salad for lunch day in and day out can get boring and going to the nearest restaurant chain with co-workers can quickly pile on the pounds. Well-portioned lunches that travel well from home to office are well worth the minimal effort they take to prepare and result in a fatter wallet and slimmer waistline. Try some of these ideas for a healthier, more satisfying lunch.

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      Last Night’s Leftovers: Make more than you need and enjoy them the next day.

• Nori Wraps: Nori, the seaweed that is used to make sushi, can be used to wrap any leftovers from the refrigerator. Get creative with your combinations or try this: leftover cooked brown rice, romaine lettuce, sliced avocado, sliced apple, a few basil leaves, some cilantro sprigs and leftover cooked greens like kale.
• Super Salads: Deli salads don’t stand a chance next to homemade mixes that pack organic, high quality ingredients and loads of superfoods. Make your own dressing or keep it simple with lemon juice and olive oil or a splash of balsamic vinegar.
• Homemade Soups: Make soup loaded with beans, grains and veggies ahead of time in a large batch and freeze any excess for a later date.

But just because you’re bringing lunch from home is no excuse to overdo it on the serving size. Use this guide for smart portion control: 

•          Keep meat/poultry/fish to 4 ounce servings - or the size of your palm
•          A serving of whole grains should be the size of your fist, one cup
•          Two ounces of organic cheese is the size of two fingers
•          Fill half your plate with green vegetables and limit second helpings to greens
•          Eat sweets only on occasion and plan ahead

About Marissa Vicario

Marissa Vicario is lover of all things health and wellness and Founder of Marissa's Well-being and Health (MWAH!). As a Certified Holistic Health Coach, Marissa  works with urban professionals who want to lose weight, control their cravings and feel more energized without dieting, deprivation or calorie-counting. Having navigated her way to health while working in the corporate world, Marissa knows how to balance health and wellness with a demanding workload. She regularly lectures on corporate wellness, teaches cooking classes and is a believer in motivating women to kick off their stilettos and break in their stove tops as a first step in adopting a healthier lifestyle and kissing their unhealthy habits goodbye. Marissa blogs on health, wellness, spirituality and self love at www.whereineedtobe.com

6 Reasons to Start Brown Bagging Your Lunch to Work

This week we're lucky enough to have a blog contribution from David Bakke of Money Crashers. We hope you'll enjoy his insight and advice on saving money by taking your lunch with you to work. 


David Bakke writes about different ways to save money and live a frugal & green lifestyle on the Money Crashers personal finance blog. 


Like the morning coffee run to your favorite shop, one of the high points of the working day is to take a nice, leisurely lunch break - if you're lucky. 


Perhaps you head to your favorite local café each day with coworkers or clients, or maybe you rush down to a fast food joint for some cheap, quick bites. Regardless of where you go and how much you spend, one thing is sure: Eating out each day hurts your finances. Surely, you think, spending only $6 or $12 each day isn't really causing any damage to my budget, right? Well, not necessarily - at least not compared to larger, more extravagant purchases and expenses. Besides, you've got to eat, so food is a "need" not a "want," like a new flat-screen TV. But all those small expenditures add up, and you may save yourself hundreds of dollars every month - and thousands per year - just by taking a healthy brown bag lunch to work. 


There are a number of benefits to opting to bring lunch instead of buying:


1. Save Money The most obvious reason to bring your own lunch to work is to save money - lots of money. For example, let's say you spend $6 per day eating out, which is a very conservative estimate - chances are you spend nearly twice as much. But even at only $6 per meal, you will spend approximately $1,500 per year. However, if you bring a sandwich, some fruit, and a drink from home, you'll only spend around $3 per meal. You'll cut your expenses at least in half, and have an extra $750 or more in your pocket at the end of the year. 


2. Save Time I have been brown bagging my lunch for years now, and it has saved me a great deal of time, allowing me to enjoy my lunch at a leisurely pace. Traveling even short distances to a restaurant can make you feel rushed. For instance, if it takes 15 minutes to get to your destination, then half of your lunch break could be wasted in a car. And if you are a small business owner, time is money - you can get a few extra things done each day during lunch instead of spending time in a car. 


3. Save Gas In addition to the $750 or more you'll save on food, you'll also spend less on gas. If the restaurant you frequent is only five miles from your workplace, you will drive a whopping 2,400 miles per year. If your car averages 25 miles per gallon, and a gallon of gas costs $3.50, you'll save an additional $335 per year, just by not driving during lunch. Not to mention, 2,400 miles adds a bit of wear and tear to your vehicle. 


4. Reduce Stress Racing out to lunch each day and rushing to finish your meal before the hour is up can be a stressful routine - especially if the wait for your food or your table is particularly long. Don't you have enough stress in your day? By simply strolling back to the break room, you can eat your meal in peace and clear your head before the second half of your workday begins. 


5. Eat Healthier Eating a lunch that you prepare at home can be beneficial to your health, especially if you focus bringing healthy portions of fresh fruits and vegetables, and avoiding prepackaged foods. Many restaurants serve food that is sugary, high in calories and fat, and heavily processed. If you prep your own meals, you'll have a better idea of what you consume and be able to eat healthy on a budget.

6. Be Environmentally Friendly You don't have to put your lunch in a brown bag every day. Instead of spending money on paper bags, plastic baggies and wrap, and plasticware, purchase a few reusable lunch containers. Laptop Lunches provides a wide array of attractive and environmentally friendly lunch kits, cutlery, carriers, and drink bottles. You'll save money and create less waste. 


Final Thoughts Once you've cut down on what you spend at lunch each day, consider identifying other ways to reduce daily costs. For example, you can clip coupons, create weekly menus, buy generic food items, purchase in-season produce, and find other ways to save money on groceries. Brown bagging your lunch instead of buying it at a restaurant is only one of many things you can do to save thousands of dollars per year. It may seem like a small expense, but trimming minor expenditures from your budget will add up at the end of the year. 


What do you think about brown bagging it to work?