I bought myself a pink lunch box.  I went to Target specifically to find a lunch box, and when I found this cute little Igloo playmate, I couldn't resist.  It was either that or the Hello Kitty lunch box, and frankly Hello Kitty didn't look like she could handle the load I pack.

I think the more appropriate name for this would be my "snack box", because every morning I load it with all the goodies I think I will need or want throughout the day.  I spend several hours on campus, going to classes and working in the office, followed by a shift at my retail job.  My day usually starts each morning at 6am and doesn't end until sometime around 11pm each night.  I have to consider all my eating options in between those hours, and so packing essentials takes a lot of the guesswork out of the equation.

Coffee is a serious part of my day.  I cannot function without it.  If I don't have it in the morning, I am missing it throughout the day.  It's not just about me needing it to wake up, because in all actuality it no longer does that for me, but it is more about the habit of me having that hot liquid first thing in the morning.  Our apartment is only equipped with one of those small four-cup coffee makers, so it's usually just enough for me to fill up my travel cup and have a cup at home before I leave.  Prior to my buying the travel mug, I was giving the campus all my money by spending at least $20 a week getting coffee in the cafeteria.  Our school proudly brews Starbucks coffee, which is yummy and tasty, but an expensive habit to say the least.  I was motivated to buy the travel mug when I realized that my own homemade Folgers was coming out a lot better than the brew they make here at school.  I've already saved money carting my own coffee, and thus had that extra money in my pocket.

What I like most about this lunch box is the two compartments.  There is the larger box part, which holds the majority of my vittles for the day.  It didn't come with any sort of plasticware of its own, and I have been as yet unable to fit any of my current Gladware in there, but sandwich bags and snack bags are your friends. 

My goal each day is to have several filling "mini meals", so that I don't have any spurts of feeling hungry.  Hunger usually leads to cravings, and without my lunch box, my cravings would undoubtedly lead to multiple trips to the vending machine.  I have learned to curtail that behavior by having lots of snacks of my own.  I don't necessarily eat everything that gets packed into my lunch box each day, but the knowledge that it is there is enough to calm down my inner greedy pig.

One of the things I've had to work on the hardest since beginning to get healthy is my constant gnoshing and snacking.  Prior to my no junk rule, I'd be back and forth to the vending machine for things like Twix bars, Kit Kats, chips, cookies, donuts etc.  All of these things were a) not good for me and b) not as filling as I would have liked.  I've become a better grocery shopper though, and I buy a lot of 100-calorie snacks, fruits and my all-time favorite portable vegetable, carrots.  If you are looking for a healthy snack that you can overdose on without feeling guilty, carrots and hummus are the win.  A serving of the Athenos Hummus I buy is two tablespoons and is worth only 50 calories.  Compare that to your favorite ranch dressing and you are already way ahead of the game.  Add to that the fact that hummus is a lot tastier, you can use less of it, and it is a lot more filling than any ranch dressing on the market.  I prefer the classic greek style myself, although their original flavor is not that bad either.

Packing my own food has actually made me seek out and find more healthy snacks that fill me up, because as much as I like the 100-calorie snack packs, I found out the hard way that not only can you not subsist on them alone, but you can also overdo it with sugar and carbs if you eat too many of them.  The first few weeks I was brown bagging it, I was packing nothing but snacks, and blowing through them halfway before my day was over.  I've since learned my lesson, and include more choices for myself so that I am not starving by day's end.  I still bring the 100-calorie packs, but I also have yogurt, apples, low-calorie cheese slices and the occasional sandwich to help get me through the day.  The best part about all of this is that packing my own food has put me more in control of my "diet". 

I would also like to state for the record that I am not really on any type of "diet", but rather I am changing my habits so that I can change me.  This doesn't mean that I don't eat out or enjoy myself.  Quite the contrary.  I'm learning that there are more healthy choices out there than people would think, and with a little imagination and some careful planning, you can pretty much eat anywhere and anything you want.  My retail job subsidizes lunch for us.  Each day they put out a choice of places that they will order the next day's lunch from.  I only participate when there are places that I can create a reasonably healthy choice from; my all-time favorite being Loose Leaf.  My favorite on their menu is Nanci's famous.  We are having them today, so I packed my snack bag with that in mind. 

Since I will be at work until 8:30 tonight, the Loose Leaf salad will be my dinner, and everything in my snack bag will serve before that.  I've been working on not eating anything really late at night so that I don't go to sleep on anything heavy.

Today's snack bag consists of two turkey breast and cheese sandwiches.  The turkey breast is 50 calories for a two ounce serving, which I divided up into the two sandwiches.  The bread I use is Sara Lee 45 calorie per slice, so even with the two sandwiches, I'm still not equaling in bread calories what most people in one sandwich.  Of course, last night at the market they did not have the 45 calorie bread, and I got the kind that is equal to 150 calories per sandwich, so my meal choices are going to be a lot different when I break open that bag of bread. 

I of course have my yogurt and granola, a fruit leather, cherries, an apple, two 100-calorie packs of chips: one doritos and one sun chips, a granola bar, and yes, my carrots.  I didn't bring hummus today, because I need a way to cart it without carrying the entire container with me. 

Last night I told my roommate that I am really proud of the way I have been eating lately, and it's true.  I enjoy packing my lunch each day and knowing that I have the snacks I have even if I end up bringing the majority of them home. 

For a foodie like me, sometimes just knowing it is there is enough, and again, not having to guess at what I'm going to have takes a lot of the stress away.

So, what's in your lunch box?