Packing lunch is pretty much a superpower. Because it helps you save BIG.
The simple, daily act of packing your lunch bag everyday for a year can help you save:
👉 thousands of dollars; and
👉 thousands of disposable items from the landfill.
Here’s the thing.
When it comes to buying lunch at work, 9 times out of 10 you’re going to opt for what’s fast, cheap, or both.
It’s questionable whether the ‘fast’ stuff is even food, and the ‘cheap’ stuff isn’t exactly cheap.
And it always comes with an absurd amount of plastic packaging, single-use throw-aways, and like 100 napkins. Seriously though, why does every fast food place make it rain napkins??
Fast food joints making it rain—but with napkins (photo via imgflip)
For these reasons, you should prep your food at home and bring it to work for lunch. You’ll save money. Save calories. And save the planet.
You hero, you!
In case you need some convincing, this article is here to share 3 valuable reasons why you should bring your lunch to work.
All you need to do is meal prep and mayhaps invest in the perfect lunch bag or lunch box for adults.
1. Saving Calories
If you're trying your best to maintain a healthy lifestyle, cooking your own food and bringing it to work for lunch is the best way to do so. No fooling. Removing temptation is over half the battle.
Imagine this:
It’s lunch time and you’ve had a stressful day at work. Your boss yelled at you because of a mistake someone else made, and your gossip coworker won’t stop talking about her new air fryer. You’re drained.
Do you think your willpower is going to steer you to the salad bar and resist the siren call of a $10 burger-fries-soda combo?
Ya, I didn’t think so either.
When you pack lunch everyday, you do yourself 3 big favors: you eat healthier, you eat better, and you curb unhealthy cravings.
Eating Healthier
Meal prepping (aka packing lunch) is a staple in people’s weight loss and fitness journeys for a reason.
It’s the only way you can monitor portion size and have a sense of your caloric intake. And when you cook your own food, you can easily control the amount of oil or sugar that you consume, unlike if you were to eat outside!
The Government of Canada literally recommends cooking more often. The US Government would too if corporate lobbyists were less powerful.
Not to mention you’re not going to cook with toxic fillers, additives, and preservatives.
Only the good stuff pls! (photo via tenor)
Eating Better
You know that saying: “your body is a temple?”
Well, it’s true.
If you want to live a rich, healthy life, then you need real, quality food.
I hate to break it to you but the chicken nuggets offered from the golden arches are barely chicken. And your fav fast food chilli is made with the unused meats from the day before. 🤮
Meal prepping makes a big difference in ensuring you eat quality food. That said...you obviously need to make sure you’re opting for lots of fruits, veggies, and lean proteins at the grocery store.
Packing your lunch bag isn’t a guarantee you’ll eat nothing but quality food after all.
Technically you can still pack donuts for lunch...
Curbing Cravings
You can’t compete with multi-billion dollar fast-food corporations. They know how to market to you. And how to get you at your weakest.
Thankfully, by packing your lunch you save yourself from their clutches.
You don’t need to resist those massive neon signs and the allure of purposefully wafted fried food. Because you’ve already got food in your trusty lunch bag for adults.
If you want to be satisfied with what you eat for lunch, preparing your own meal can go a long way. Of course, it makes sense to take responsibility for what you're craving. Just be sure you're preparing healthy dishes that your body can benefit from. As it's your body, you have the ultimate decision of knowing what to put into it for your overall health!
2. Saving money
Buying food at a nearby restaurant during lunch break or eating at a fast-food joint is often the easier option, but it's wildly expensive in the long run. We are talking thousands of $$ a year.
When you do the math, you'll be surprised at how much you are spending on a weekly or monthly basis.
Depending on where you live, a takeaway lunch will cost anywhere from $10 to $25. While a packed lunch generally runs under $5.
Assuming you manage to only pay $10 per day on bought lunches (unlikely) you will still spend $1,250 more than if you packed a lunch bag everyday.
If you pay $15 per day (more likely), then you're spending $2,500 more.
Those lunches add up!
3. Saving the planet
My biggest beef with bought lunches is the packaging. I’m not above greasy meals and paying for the odd lunch here and there. But the waste is too much.
Your average takeaway lunch comes with 5-10 single-use disposables.
You’ve got the main container, containers for sauce, a cup or bottle, straw, cutlery, napkins (usually way too many), and a bag for it all to come in.
If you buy lunch everyday for a year, you’re looking at 1,250 to 2,500 single use items that will mostly go into landfills.
Sustainability is pretty big for us here at rü. It’s why we use recycled materials for our sustainable lunch bags, and it’s why we’re such heavy pushers of the ‘bring lunch to work’ agenda. You might even say it’s rü (short for reuse) exists.
It's easier to go waste free when you pack lunch in a rü!
4. Conclusion
I hope I’ve convinced you at least a little bit that bringing lunch to work is a legit super power. It enables you to save calories, save money, and save the environment.
So if you don’t currently bring lunch to work, maybe try bringing lunch just once a week and see how it feels.
If you need an accountability buddy, I can think of a certain sustainable lunch bag for adults that could definitely help you out!
—Scott
co-founder
via @mlle_ina
Do you want to start bringing your lunch to work? We've got you covered with some of the most sustainable lunch bags in Canada! Our products are ethically and sustainably made, keep in 99% of spills, and wash easily in the washing machine. Check our selection of prints and pack your next lunch in a rü!