By: Mary Ellen
We say we want to have more time and more money, and while we are at it – be healthier. There is truth in those ideas somewhere, but have you ever noticed that people wait in line for a spendy specialty coffee drinks? Some people will mindlessly suck in exhaust fumes from the car in front of them while waiting for their nutritionally questionable fast-food meal deal to be prepared. And even if you saved five minutes today – you can’t really spend it tomorrow… or can you?
Perhaps the more important question is not if you are saving time, money and your health, but are you spending them to get the results you want. Let’s take the idea of lunch. You have options. You could dash into your car, order at the drive-up, eat in your car and get back to work with just enough time to go to the bathroom. The upside of this meal is that it got you out of your office. The downside is that you gobbled a sodium-laden, likely high calorie meal, used gas and time, and generated a sack of garbage.
Another way to experience lunch is to spend a bit of effort and money ahead of time by making your own lunch, giving you an actual respite to your midday. I spent a little time wheeling my mini-shopping cart around Fred Meyer in Lacey to gather ingredients for a Mexican flavored lunch. It was traditional: fluffy tortillas, refried beans, cheddar cheese, corn chips, and a drink. I didn’t go for the cheapest anything nor did I pick the most expensive.
My costs were (approximately) $5.00 for a pound of cheddar cheese, $.99 for a can of refried beans, $2.30 for 6 big flour tortillas, $2.28 for 12 ounces of corn chips, $2.50 for a 24 ounce jar of black bean and corn salsa and $3.50 for a giant jar of instant Nestea. That jar is equal to 120 eight-ounce servings. Lettuce was $1.50 for a head of lovely green leaf.
For less than $2.00 each, I could roll up 6 impressive burritos. Let’s say I made two for lunch. That’s $4.00. If I added a third of the bag of chips (which is actually FOUR servings) that would bring my lunch up to $4.76. You could stir up a mega-drink of tea – let’s say 24 ounces for an extra dime. Now your lunch is up to $4.86. Add an apple for 75 cents.
Personally, this lunch is way more than I ever would eat at lunch – I could eat 1 burrito, 2 servings of chips, the tea and the apple. My lunch would cost under $3.50.
The cost of a comparable meal at a local fast food chain would cost around $7.00. Although my meal may not really be part of a sodium-reducing plan, it would contain less sodium than the other.
You could pack your lunch in a recycled bag and put your tea in a reusable bottle. But you might want to consider investing in a reusable lunch container that includes an ice pack. The back-to-school aisles are jammed with choices, many more than when I was a kid. They are more fashionable, too. Most are insulated, some have extra inside containers and compartments, and you can get plain blue or your favorite cartoon character. Prices ranged from $5.99 to $12.00. This small investment will save a ton of trash that you won’t be getting from the fast food joint. You can pick up a 32 ounce BPA free liquid container for your water, tea, juice or whatever you decide to drink. That’s under $5.00.
You might be asking – whose has time to make lunch? Are you kidding? Pull out the tortilla from the package, spread with beans, grate or slice cheese, lay a piece of lettuce of the top and roll up. That takes way less time and gas than driving anywhere. Plus you don’t have to wait in line. Or talk to a giant menu. You can sit outside on the park bench, enjoy the sunshine, talk to a friend or have a relationship with your phone.
You might not want a burrito every day, but even within the realm of burrito there are abundant variations:
Tortillas: wheat, corn, flour, tomato-basil, spinach, and more
Cheeses: cotija and other Mexican varieties, cheddar, Monterey Jack, goat
Beans: black, chili, Great Northern, pinto
Leftovers: seasoned chicken, beef or pork, roasted vegies, rice
Sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado
AND, you can get local tortillas at Ramirez Mexican Store and Tortilla Factory in Tumwater. Buy local cheeses and vegetables at the Coop (web address: OlympiaFood.coop) or Farmer’s Market. (www.olympiafarmersmarket.com)
Take care of yourself. Find a fun lunch container. Take a few minutes the night before to prepare your lunch. Know that you are saving calories and making time to have a peaceful lunchtime. The environment thanks you as well.
Eat Well – Be Well.
Mary Ellen Psaltis, B.Ph., lives locally and thinks globally. You can reach her at TheRecipeWriter@hotmail.com. She is a Certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultant.
