Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Why I love Containers

One of the simplest ways to cut costs in your grocery budget is to bring your lunch to work. I'm sure you've heard it over and over again, but buying prepackaged food is ridiculously expensive. Even if you do take your lunch to work often times you'll go through ziplock bags like there's no tomorrow.

When we lived overseas ziplock bags were treasured items, and since we've returned to the states I've had a hard time throwing them away, even if we do live in the land where ziplock bags are readily available. When I think about how wasteful it is to throw a perfectly good bag away I'm encouraged to try to use containers as much as possible, and because I HATE to wash ziplock bags. I absolutely love these ziplock and glad containers. Not only are they cheap but you can fill them will all sorts of goodies that bring a little zest to your lunch, they will pay for themselves before you know it. Now I don't condem using ziplock bags, but we try to limit the number we use and it's amazing how infrequently we have to use them.

By doing the prep work for these containers before the week begins or Monday morning it's easy to grab a container in the morning and throw it in my husband's lunch box as the week goes on. Which makes this mama, who is not a morning person, very, VERY happy!


Here are some ideas you can fill your ziplock and glad containers with that are great cold:

  • Crackers (chips are often too big)
  • Homemade cookies, just make them small enough to fit into these containers
  • Hummus
  • Veggie Slices, or Cherry/grape tomatoes
  • Veggie Dips/Salad Dressing
  • Fruit Slices
  • Fruit Dip
  • Applesauce
  • Baked Apples
  • Pudding
  • Cottage Cheese
  • Chex Mix
  • Rice Cakes
  • Peanut Butter
  • Dry Cereal
  • Homemade yogurt
  • Dried Fruit & Nuts
  • Cubed Cheese
  • Summer Sausage
  • Chicken Salad/Tuna Salad/Egg Salad
  • Salad Toppings so your lettuce will stay nice a crisp
  • Cold Quesidillas slices
  • Salsa
  • Chip Dip (On of my hubby's favorites!)
  • Mini Muffins
  • Small peices of cake
  • Cole Slaw
  • Potato Salad
  • Macaroni Salad
  • Pasta Salad
  • Ants on a Log

The possibilities are endless. So now that you've read my list, what do you add to your lunches to make them a little less boring? Post a comment and share your idea with the rest of us. I always love new ideas.

For more great ideas this week check out We're THAT Family for Works for Me Wednesday.

8 comments:

  1. I invested in the Laptop Lunch system for my hubby and I will be getting another one AJ as he heads to school. While they are 50.00, they are perfect for lunches. They are very durable! I imagine we will have our for a long time.

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  2. I usually pack leftovers but seperate the sour cream, salsa, etc. into small glad containers when he takes something like that. Olives are something else that goes in that.

    I prefer to use containers too. I hate throwing away bags and hate washing them.

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  3. Great idea! I just saw cute kid-themed containers (tootsie rolls, cheerios, etc) at my dollar store--kids may be more likely to bring them home again for reuse if they look like toys :) After 18 lunches you'd make your $ back over quart size ziplocs (Target brand @ 2.19 for 40)

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  4. I love containers as well and many of them are so reasonably priced

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  5. A great list of cold lunch ideas!! Thank you for sharing. I also love ziplocs containers - especially the ones that I can twist and lock.

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  6. I put hubby's chips/pretzels in small baggies for the week and store them in a metal tin to keep them fresh for the whole week.

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  7. I am going to have to do this. We have been going through a lot of bags here this last month.

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I'd love to hear from you. Let me know what you think.