Packing a Lunch for the Office: 3 Fabulous Ways to Go Beyond the PBJ Brown Bag

Bored by your brown bag lunches for work? Jaundiced by the jelly in your daily peanut butter and jelly sandwich? if your office lunch puts you to sleep with its monotony, make a resolution for 2011 to step it up a notch with these three fabulous tips:

1. Say buh-buh to the brown bag (or dented Batman lunch box that your ten-year-old tossed out).

Because I'm on a budget, I always pack a lunch for the office. The challenge: finding something to carry it in. I tried recycling various types of packaging (plastic bags, brown bags, etc.), but they never lasted long - and even worse, occasionally someone at the office grabbed my lunch from the office fridge. Result: vending machine fodder for lunch!

I considered various options at the store. However, they all seemed to be made of non-environmental materials. And that didn't thrill me. What does float my boat? Sailor Bags (no pun intended!). Highly practical, Sailor Bags are made from sailcloth fabric. Blissfully lightweight, highly durable, plentiful pockets, and waterproof, they come with a lifetime guarantee. Various sizes and colors are available, and I'm the envy of the office as I tote in my bag each morning.

2. Move out that musty mug.

I scrubbed it. I soaked it. And then, inevitably, I lost the lid and had to start all over again with a NEW travel mug. When it comes to that first cup of coffee to kick off my work day, I like to brew it at home and tote it along to the office.

Sounds so simple. But I could never find a mug that was easy to clean. Moreover, inevitably, I spilled my coffee on the way from the house to the car, or lost the lid somewhere in the office.

Now I'm hot (and so is my coffee) for Contigo's Autoseal Stainless Steel Mug. Why I love it: you can't spill it because of the clever design. It's easy to clean because of that design. And about that lid: negative on that. It doesn't have a lid, so that you've got nothing to lose.

Be charmed (and rev up your protein and dairy) with gourmet low-fat cheese.

Back away from those potato and corn chips and savor the joys of gourmet cheese for a lunchtime luxury. And no, we're not talking about those plastic-wrapped slices of fake American cheese either (ick). Sargento now offers an extensive and fabulous variety of reduced fat cheese. From 4-cheese Mexican to reduced fat Swiss to light string cheese (my personal favorite for the office), these options are tasty AND good for you (high in protein and dairy; low in fat and calories).

Vary those cheese options with Alouette Cheese, including a fat-free Feta variety with incredible flavor and zero fat. Just one caution: almost every day, someone at the office asks for a taste! So bring extras to share the flavor and fun.