Lunchbox essentials when you are bringing your own food to campus

Are you convinced that bringing lunch to work or school is for you? Do you not know how to get started, or are you all in and want to wrap your sandwich in beeswax and drink from biodegradable straws from the start?
My personal suggestion: just start. Start with what you can afford, or modify, to what you need as you can afford it. The purpose of a lunchbox is basic and the options are plentiful.

 In an article discussing finding the right lunch box for your child — which can easily be for you, an adult, with or without children — The Root Cause acknowledges that “If you think of lunchbox tools just in terms of the money you have to outlay, then they are an annoying expense – a necessary evil. However, if you flip the conversation around to what these tools can do for you, then the money you spend actually becomes an investment in your sanity.”
The Root Cause details “lunchbox tools” which include the lunch box, a cooler bag, a drink bottle, and other things you might need, such as for salad dressing, salsa, soup, or hot drinks. If you are worried about not using disposable plasticware, Walmart has you covered with reusable utensils. The price $8.56 is affordable, especially when compared to the price of a package of white disposable plastic forks, which is $5.50. 

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According to The Organized Housewife, deciding the size of the lunchbox depends on how much you plan to eat, and where. Will you be eating in the cafeteria, or will you be eating on the run in your car between classes? If you are eating at work, will you stash your lunch in your car or have space under your desk or in a refrigerator? She suggests that you get an insulated bag even in cool weather because it keeps the contents fresh.
Doing a simple shop search, you can find lunch bags in stainless steel, neoprene, and tin. You can find “a chic, functional alternative to the traditional lunchbox… crafted of soft vegan leather” for $189 at Saks, or you can find variations of lunch bags, lunch boxes, and bento boxes at Walmart for less than $25. There is something for every budget and taste. Keep in mind that there is nothing wrong with brown paper bagging it, but paper bags tear easily and can fall apart fast in a backpack.
I went to a Walmart in Eagle River where there was a selection of bento boxes, meal prep containers, drink containers, and insulated lunch boxes. Walmart is not the only place to pick up lunch preparation items, but I found the options plentiful and readily available.

The blogs from which I gleaned ideas were also concerned with how easy the boxes are to clean. How likely are you to remember to bring your lunch box inside your kitchen and wash the containers out and start over again for the next day? There are some wonderful divided containers that you can buy that are designed to go with certain bags, but if you don’t plan to wash them out, or think you will be too busy, you are wasting your money. Plan on buying ziplock bags or prepackaged food until you are ready to spend a few minutes washing your containers.
It is always fun to share recipes, but you will fill your lunch bag with what you like to buy and make. When my children were little, I remember teachers telling us to send our kids to school with “healthful choices.” If I didn’t put food in that they liked, kids would eat what they wanted and the rest came home to be tossed. Like children, adults probably won’t eat what they don’t like, and this includes the person paying for the food. 

‍Houston Methodist Hospital, which is affiliated with Houston Medical Center, says that a “well-balanced meal — lunch included — consists of lean protein, fiber-rich sources of carbohydrate and veggies, and healthy fats.” No matter how you fill your lunch bag, be it with gourmet food that you make from scratch or with mostly prepacked food you enjoy, fill it with what you like and make lunch be something you savor.Bon appétit!