Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 07:07 AM
Every now and then, I let you all take a peek inside my lunch bag. When you work for a Nutritional Scoring System, people are always curious about what foods you choose.
Like so many parents – and non-parents (is that a word?) – I have a really long day. I’m up between 4:30 and 5 in the morning – just so that I can squeeze in some exercise before my day really starts flying. I either go to the gym, I run with neighborhood friends, or I work out at home. After getting everybody ready for school and work, my breakfast is typically a whole grain English Muffin and egg sandwich that I eat while commuting to work. I know, I know. It’s not ideal to eat and drive, but Boston-area commutes are brutal, so somethings gotta give.
I prep my lunch and snacks the night before. Always. There is zero time for lunch-prepping in our morning routine. The only prep that I do in the morning is that I move lunches from little holding containers in our refrigerator into the actual lunchboxes/lunch-bags with ice packs. That’s it.
About an hour into my workday, I’m already hungry again! I’ve been up for over four hours, I’ve worked out, I’ve gotten kids ready for school and I’ve battled Boston traffic. That’s enough to make a girl hungry. Even if she has already eaten an egg sandwich! So I nosh on some almonds and a banana.
- Almonds: NuVal score of 81
- Banana: NuVal score of 91
What do I like to eat for lunch? Funny, my six-year-old daughter asked me that same question recently. “What’s your favorite lunch, Mom?” I told her that it was salad. But I would also say that dinner leftovers are a strong favorite as well. For the record, my daughter’s favorite lunch is soup.
This lunch is leftover cod baked with whole wheat bread crumbs, cous cous and grean peas. For dessert, I have an orange and dark chocolate chips.
- Atlantic Cod: NuVal score of 81
- 4C 100% Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs: NuVal score of 25
- Near East 100% Natural Plain Cous Cous: NuVal score of 48
- Food Club Frozen Green Peas: NuVal score orf 96
- Orange: NuVal score of 100
- Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: NuVal score of 13
In the afternoon, my tummy starts to grumble – usually around 3 pm or so. I always want something crunchy. And a little salt would be good.
- Tribe Red Pepper Hummus: NuVal score of 48
- Carrot Sticks: NuVal score of 99
- Celery Sticks: NuVal score of 96
I would also love a cup of coffee, but instead, I opt for some caffeine-free tea.
Time to head home. Traffic again! And when I get home there is a big danger zone lurking – that time when I’m in the kitchen making dinner. I’m starving – the kids are too! So, I eat a pear either right before I leave the office or on my way home so that I don’t eat an entire box of crackers while making dinner.
I really love my pear packer!
So, that’s what’s in my lunch bag. That lunch bag, by the way, was sent to me courtesy of the nice people at Built NY. I love it and I throw it in my washing machine now and then when it gets icky. It holds my giant lunch and it never lets me down!
Question of the Day
What’s in your lunch bag today?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Dreamfield's, Hot Cereal, Lunch
Tags: BuiltNY, Lunch Bag
Monday, June 27, 2011 at 07:07 AM
Good Morning Blog Friends! Every now and then, I like to give you all a glimpse inside my lunch bag. Well, it’s not just my lunch – it’s my food for the day.
I have a big food bag every day! I remember once, back when I worked for a very large corporation here in the Boston area, I was walking into my office building in the morning when I was accosted by a crabby woman. “YOU,” she said with a sneer, “have a HUGE lunch bag.” Yup. I do. But it is filled with nutritious foods for a morning snack, a healthy lunch and an afternoon snack. And it keeps me away from any vending machines. So, what can I say?
I try to pack lots of fruits and veggies throughout the day. Remember, MyPlate! The recommendation is now that half your plate should be fruits and veggies. And I try to get some protein.
Since I start my day so early (up at 4:45 am), I definitely need a morning snack. An hour into my workday, I’m already hungry, even though I had breakfast. Today, my snack is Freihofer’s 100% whole wheat bread (which I toast in the toaster in the NuVal breakroom) smeared with some Barney Butter (my favorite almond butter). Seriously, I could eat the whole jar.
For lunch, I brought my standard salad mix (romaine lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers), topped with chick peas:
I also brought a little cheddar cheese to add…
and an avocado. Which I slice up and put on my salad.
And a little of my simple balsamic vinaigrette.
It’s just olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Kosher salt and black pepper.
And of course, my daily dose of chocolate chips.
Later in the afternoon, around 4 pm, I’ll munch on these carrot sticks
dipped in hummus
So, how does my lunch bag score?
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- Freihofer’s 100% Whole Wheat Bread: NuVal score of 36
- Barney Butter Smooth Almond Butter: NuVal score of 36
- Romaine lettuce: NuVal score of 100
- Cherry tomatoes: NuVal score of 96
- Cucumbers: NuVal score of 93
- Eden Organic Garbanzo Beans No Salt Added: NuVal score of 100
- Cabot Cheddar Cheese: NuVal score of 23
- Avocado: NuVal score of 89
- Olive Oil: NuVal score of 11
- Balsamic Vinegar: not scored
- Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Chips: NuVal score of 17
- Carrots: NuVal score of 99
- Tribe Roasted Red Pepper Hummus: NuVal score of 48
Question of The Day
What’s in your lunch bag today?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Lunch
Tags: Lunch Bag
Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at 08:13 AM
I love my Built NY Lunch Bag! Isn’t it just so colorful and happy? Long-time readers of A Better Bag of Groceries might remember when I bought it last year and then the nice people at Built NY sent me one to give away to all of you. They also sent me a bright pink laptop sleeve that I use every day.
I really stuff my lunch bag and it can handle the pressure (and heft) of my daily haul. What’s in my lunch bag today?
I know – I eat a lot of food!
Let me break it down for you.
First, there’s my morning snack. I do eat a rushed breakfast in the morning, but between my early workout, the rush of getting kids and self ready for school and work and then the long commute, I am hungry again about an hour into my workday.
Banana: NuVal score of 91
Almonds: NuVal score of 81
In the winter, I like a warm lunch. Today, it was some leftovers:
Leftover Parmesan Pesto Salmon from Dream Dinners. (Salmon scores an 87 on the NuVal scale, but there is some cheese and pesto that needs to be accounted for!)
Parboiled Rice: NuVal score of 82
Corn: NuVal score of 91 for Steamfresh frozen corn (with no additives)
Tomatoes: NuVal score of 96
Clementines: NuVal score of 94
After lunch I have a little dessert:
A few dark chocolate chips to satisfy my chocolate craving.
Ghiradelli 60% Cacao Dark Chocolate Chips: NuVal score of 8
Late in the afternoon (usually around 4), I eat another snack. If I don’t, I find myself in a dangerous situation: starving and cooking dinner which leads to ravenous snacking on anything edible. So, to keep hunger at bay, I choose crackers and hummus or fruit and yogurt. Today, it was fruit and yogurt!
Cantaloupe: NuVal score of 93
Blueberries: NuVal score of 100
Pineapple (you can’t see it, but it’s under the cantaloupe!): NuVal score of 99
Chobani Plain Non-Fat Greek Yogurt: NuVal score of 94
So what about beverages? Well, I love both coffee and tea. Sometimes I’m looking for a little caffeine boost and other times I’m just looking for warmth sans caffeine, so I put both in my lunch bag:
The Starbucks Italian Roast gives me quite the energy burst! It’s like rocket fuel. My husband got me hooked on the Starbucks instant coffees when he put them in my Christmas stocking. Love them! I bet you’re wondering how these score. They actually don’t. We are not scoring coffee and tea at NuVal because they have no nutrients in them.
And of course, I bring the ultimate beverage to work: H2o
Water is another beverage that we are not scoring at NuVal (again, no nutrients). This is one that we debate about at NuVal – should water get a 0 or a 100? I mean, it really is the perfect beverage.
So, yes, I stuff a lot of food into my lunch bag, but I’m pretty proud of the high NuVal scores that go in that bag. By the way, one of the best things about that bag – when something spills in there (and it inevitably does), you can just throw the lunch bag in the washing machine. How cool is that?
Question of the Day
What is in your lunch bag today?
Yesterday’s Giveaway Winner
Congratulations to Commenter #28, Waheeda! You’ve won the Not-Boring, High-Scoring Rice Giveaway! Hooray for you! Please send me an email at abetterbagofgroceries@gmail.com with your mailing address so that I can mail your prize out to you. Thanks to everyone who entered!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Lunch
Tags: Lunch, Lunch Bag
Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 07:31 AM
First of all, don’t you just love my lunch bag? It’s new! My old one, which I purchased at LL Bean last year, was looking a little too mom-frumpy. Like it was the lunch bag equivalent of a fanny pack. Not a good look – even if you’re just carrying it, not wearing it. So this weekend, I found myself in Staples, trying to decide how to use my about-to-expire Rewards check for $24. I probably should have spent it on something practical, like an ink cartridge for my printer, but I couldn’t resist this new bag. You can also find it here on the Built NY website.
So what’s in my lunch bag? A good, healthy lunch. Every Day. I am a Bringer, not a Buyer. It is definitely the way to go. It keeps nutrition up and costs down. My husband, who takes the train every day from our house in the ‘burbs to his office in Boston, tells me that lunch bag carrier-ship is definitely on the rise. It is a sign of our recessionary times.
Since my own lunch gets made after my son’s and my daughter’s, it is usually very quick and simple. Today’s fare is a pretty good example.
- Joseph’s Flax, Oat Bran & Whole Wheat Flour Pita Bread (NuVal score of 65) with Boar’s Head Buffalo Chicken and Cheddar Cheese
- Steamed yellow squash, leftover from last night’s dinner (NuVal score of 98)
- Cherry Tomatoes (NuVal score of 96)
- Clementine (NuVal score of 94)
- Ghiardelli Double Chocolate Chips (NuVal score of
I eat a lot, don’t I?
You may be wondering about the scores on the Boar’s Head deli products. NuVal has not yet scored items from the full service deli, but we will. We will score everything that you find in the grocery store. In the meantime, I feel pretty good knowing that the rest of my lunch gets a super NuVal score. Well, except for those chocolate chips. But I have a thing for chocolate. It gets me through the day.
Looking at this photo of my lunch makes me realize that I sort of have a high-rent lunch. The Boar’s Head deli items are pricey, but I am really picky about cold cuts, so they are the only kind I like. I buy the Nature’s Sweetest Cockail Tomatoes (2 bags for $5 at my local supermarket), but they are absolutely delectable. Worth the price of admission. Clementines, as you may have noticed, only got cheap for about 2 weeks this winter. Most of the time, they’ve been averaging $8 per box. But again, the sweet goodness is worth it to me. It is still cheaper than eating out every day – and SO much healthier. My lunch is an investment in my health and it deserves to be carried in style!
Or at least that’s what I told my husband when I came home from Staples with a cool new lunch bag instead of ink cartridges!
Question of the Day
Are you a Buyer or a Bringer? And if you’re a Bringer, what’s in your lunch bag today?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Lunch
Tags: Lunch Bag
