The brown bag lunch. For some of us, this is a very familiar sight. In elementary school, I could always count on my mom handing me a brown bag filled with a turkey sandwich, some fruit, and other treats and snacks for me to eat while I was at school.
Unfortunately, as we grow older and the burden of finding meals falls more on ourselves, we see a regression in the number of people bringing their own lunches to school or work, and more and more people turning to fast food options as a quick and easy alternative. This is especially true here at Penn State! How often have we all been in a time crunch, and pulled through the closest drive-thru or gas station for a quick meal before or after class? If you’re living on campus, long lines in the dining hall may also lead you to grab the quickest available option, like a burger or french fries, or worse yet, opt to skip meals altogether.
Though convenient, many quick service restaurants and eateries often serve food high in calories, saturated fats, and sodium. For example, an orange chicken and fried rice bowl from Panda Express has 900 calories, 29 grams of fat, and 66% of your daily recommended sodium intake. That 12 piece chicken nugget and french fries combination from Chick-Fil-A? That has 750 calories, 42 grams of fat, and a whopping 71% of your daily recommended sodium intake.
Fortunately, by going back to the good old days with a brown bagged lunch, we can do some good to not only our nutrient intake, but our budget too! Want to try it out yourself? Well, this Thursday, May 25th, is National Brown-Bag-It Day, where we celebrate the idea of bringing your own lunch to school or work. Join in the fun by packing your own lunch and remember to keep it nutritious by including the following staples: 
By following this guide, you can ensure you’re providing your body with the right fuel to get you through the day. These are the same guidelines I follow everyday when I’m packing my own lunch to eat at work. Below is a picture of the lunch that I prepared for myself today:
I have some spinach and lettuce with Italian dressing in the tupperware container on the left, and some brown rice and chicken in the container to the right. I also have some guacamole, sour cream, and salsa mixed in another container, which I add after the rice and chicken are microwaved.
A good tip is to take time out of your weekend to make big batches of food that you can store and space out throughout the week. It only takes me about 45 minutes of my entire Sunday to make 3 chicken breasts and a big batch of rice, and then I have lunch for the entire week! The best part is that I know exactly what I’m putting in my food, so I can limit how much salt I use, watch my portion sizes and completely cut out the use of added preservatives. It’s easy to feel better about what you’re eating when you made it yourself!
So, make sure to celebrate Brown-Bag-It day this Thursday by packing your own healthy lunch and see how you like it!
What are your favorite foods to pack for lunch? Let us know in the comments below!