Brown-Bagging Lunch Bags Big Savings (NAPSA)—A solution to stretching your food budget dollars may be in the bag—the brown bag,thatis. Many workers are changing their lunchtime habits to save cash. Instead of indulging at a high-priced lunch every day, they are brown-bagging meals from home. According to a Zogby International survey of 755 people, nearly half had reduced their outside food purchases. To figure out why, you only need to do the math. Thecost of eating out averages about $6 a day, which can add up to $30 a week. The cost of packing a lunch for five days is $11. That can result in a savings of $19 a week, which in 52 weeks can add up to almost $1,000. How do you get started? Here are sometips to help: Make your taste buds happy. When making your sandwich, add slices of fresh tomato, some fresh basil, spinach, sprouts and French mustard. If youre worried about the sandwich getting soggy, pack the ingredients separately and combine when you are ready to eat. Keep condiments in your workplacerefrigerator. Variety is the spiceoflife. Try different types of sandwiches on different breads and with varying ingredients. One day you may want to try smoked turkey on rye and on another you may want to savor hummus andpita bread. Enjoy leftovers. Soup, chili and pasta make great lunches and it takes so little effort to make some extra dinner. Bagging your lunch can save you about $20 a week andit’s easier than you might imagine to get into this thrifty habit. * Can it. Take a can of soup to heatin the office and serve with a roll. Makeit fun. Pack an everchanging variety of sweet and salty snacks, such as nuts, fruit or yogurt. Finding a satisfying snack that is both tasty and convenient is easier than ever. There are plenty of tasty grab-and-go snacks such as Pringles Snack Stacks, Stix or Minis. The stackable shape of these chips—called Dovals—starts with a delicious potato-based dough that is placed into saddle-shaped molds. Then the chips are crispcooked in pure vegetable oil and lightly, precisely salted. The result is snackability and stackability. * Get it together the night before. Pack up leftovers and organize snacks. Then all you have to do in the morningis grab your lunch and go. With a little imagination and fun foods, brown-bagging can be very profitable for you.
