Bring Your Lunch!

If I could start my own food movement, I think it'd be to convince people to stop wasting money and calories eating out every day and instead bring your own lunch. Strangely, our fast-paced society has eschewed the traditional boxed or bagged lunch in favor of garbage designed to kill you slowly over time.

I've talked to many who fight for their right to pay $7 for lunch. The best excuses I've heard are:

• I don't have time to make lunch
• I can get better food out at a restaurant
• Eating at my desk sucks

To which I say "Horsepucky!" I give you exhibit A:

Feast your eyes at this monster! This passes for the regular daily fare of my officemate Kurt at Propane Design (he's pretty handy with a camera and Photoshop). In case you can't tell this is a mountainous sandwich of avocado, tomatoes, meats (plural), cheese, pickles and various condiments with some gourmet chips and a soda.

Now for all those counting calories, this may be a tad heavy. Kurt gets away with it because he rides his bicycle to work everyday (but that's another post). But this example proves my point nicely, that lunch-bag food doesn't have to be boring or bland.

While others are out spending an hour trying to fight the lines at your usual McBurger joint, Kurt makes these sandwiches in our break room and is back to work in half an hour or so. And it goes without saying that these sandwiches are far cheaper than anything else you can get in a "restaurant".

Jenny and I frequently make twice as much food for dinner as we need, then bring in the leftovers for lunch the next day. This takes even less time, since you're already cooking for dinner.

As for the claim that your desk sucks, I agree. So don't eat alone at your desk. This is where the movement takes off! If you can get more people to bring their lunch, then it doesn't have to be boring.

If you'd like a high-res image of Kurt's sandwich for your desktop or for making posters, you can download it here (750k).