What’s in YOUR Lunchbox? Saving Money

In the last post of the What’s in YOUR Lunchbox? series, we talked about tips for making quick and easy lunches. Today, we’re moving on to a topic even more dear to my heart… saving money! I suppose there are people who can purchase food at will without consideration of cost or budget, but I’ve never met them. All the people I know are very concerned about the exorbitant cost of food and do what they can to get around it. Lunchboxes can add even more expense to the food bill - that is, unless you have a few tricks up your sleeve.

Here are my tricks for saving money on lunches.

Saving Money on Lunches

The number one rule of saving money for lunchboxes is: Don’t ever buy individually packaged foods.

The cost by weight is considerably more than if you buy large bulk packages of the food in question. This goes for pretty much every kind of food, including juice and other drinks. All you have to do is take a few minutes after shopping to divide it up yourself into individual portions. As a plus, this helps with portion control as well!Here are a few items you may not have considered purchasing in larger portions:

• Yogurt - buy a quart of yogurt instead of the individual yogurt cups. Or scroll down further for an even cheaper yogurt option.
• Cheese sticks - Sure, cheese sticks are a fun, relatively healthy, kid-friendly option, as are their cousins Laughing Cow and Babybel. But WOW, are they expensive. You can buy them cheaper at a warehouse store like Costco, OR you can just buy a large block of cheese and spend a few minutes chopping it up into cubes.
• Juice boxes/pouches - You save a lot more money if you buy large bottles or cartons of juice and pour it into individual re-usable drink containers. Or just invest in good stainless steel water bottles and forget the other drinks altogether.

Purchase re-usable containers.

Try these stainless steel boxes by Lunchbot and you don’t have to worry about plastic at all. They are dishwasher safe just like their counterparts.The downside is that they cannot be used for liquids or liquid-y foods (like pudding or applesauce) and they cannot be used to reheat foods. They are perfect, though, for sandwiches or other dry foods.

My personal favorite type of lunchbox container is glassware. It’s sturdy, safe, can go in the freezer, oven or microwave, and can be used for anything.

For sandwiches and the like, try these super cute re-usable SnackTaxi sandwich bags. They can be machine washed or simply wiped dry for less messy foods. You can find similar items at Target or even on Etsy!

Of course, it goes without saying that if you haven’t already, you need to replace that brown paper bag with a nice sturdy lunchbox. Using products like these will save you tons of money on packaging - have you ever realized how much money goes down the drain on plastic sandwich bags and zippered bags? Plug the money drain and make a one-time purchase that will last for years (with good care!).

Don’t forget about the silverware either! Forget the pricey plastic stuff: You can buy cheap silverware at thrift stores and garage sales so you don’t have to worry about it getting lost.

Make it yourself.

There are very few exceptions to this rule: making it yourself almost always saves money. Your ability to do this, of course, depends somewhat on the amount of time you have. If you think you don’t have time to make anything for your lunchboxes from scratch, think again! Here are a few quick ideas:

• Bar cookies - Instead of buying Oreos or Chips Ahoy (horrors!), make a batch (or double batch) of brownies or blonde brownies once a week. These, and similar recipes, go together in less than an hour and most of that is baking time, so you can definitely afford the time investment. Your wallet and your child’s health will thank you!
• Sandwiches - Excuse my brutality, but I think it’s pathetic that companies actually make and sell pre-made sandwiches. Does it really take that much time? If someone is that busy, perhaps some self-evaluation is in order. Everyone should have time to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The benefit to making it yourself is that you can control what goes in it - pesticides, sugars, GMOS, and trans-fats OUT, whole grains and healthy sweeteners IN.
• “Lunchable” kits - Anyone can put together a kit with (whole grain) crackers, (nitrate-free) lunch meat, and sliced cheese - and it doesn’t cost a fortune either! Add some grapes and yogurt and you have an even better lunch for half the cost. Use the same “kit” idea for any number of foods: sandwiches, salads, wraps, etc. Place the items in individual containers so the child can assemble them himself.
• Soups and the like - I touched on this in my most recent post, but it fits here, too. Soup doesn’t have to come from a can - it can come from your slow cooker! Or even from a pot on your stove; it doesn’t matter. The point is, soup is easy to make at home, and much cheaper.
• Breads - Use a bread machine or the 5 minute a day method to make all kinds of bread cheaply and relatively quickly. The possibilities are endless: sandwich bread, rolls, wraps, pitas, English muffins, bagels.
• Yogurt -A simple yogurt machine can cost as little as $25, and the savings are incredible. You can take one yogurt cup (or some already-made homemade yogurt) and 3-4 cups of milk and turn it into 6 yogurt cups! Find the instructions here. Alternatively, you can purchase yogurt starter at a health or organic foods store and potentially save even more money. The cost of milk is a lot less than the cost of yogurt, so at any rate, it’s a great savings!

Skip the convenience foods.

Instead, enlist your kids to help you prep. Those pre-packaged containers of sliced carrots and dip, or sliced apples, really cost SO much more than simply purchasing whole carrots and whole apples.

Pack leftovers.

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating. Make extra for dinner and pack the rest for lunch the next day. This saves a LOT of money on sandwich goods or other prepared foods. And it’s almost always a healthier option (depending, of course, on what you had dinner!)

More in this Series

Quick and Easy Lunches

Healthy Lunches