Lunchville.com

An Eye-Opening Look at the Price of Lunch

Laurie — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:13:34 +0000

A reusable bag and nontoxic food containers like these from Lunchville.com can help you pack a lunch from home and save considerably on daily expenses.

Is your mid-day meal an expensive habit you need to break? If you’re a fan of takeout, delivery, or restaurants, take note: the average American worker spends nearly $2,000 on lunch! That’s more than their travel expenses getting to and from work (about $1,500), according to the staffing and accounting firm Accounting Principals. They conducted a survey of 1,000 working adults last month and found that two thirds of them bought their lunch in 2011, spending an average of $37 per week. American workers also spent plenty of their hard-earned cash on coffee—nearly $20 per week, or $1,000 a year. Not exactly chump change.

“Small —but consistent— expenses add up quickly over time, and it can be difficult for consumers to realize it because they’re only spending a few dollars at a time. But, as our survey shows, those few dollars can quickly turn into a few thousand dollars,” said Jodi Chavez, senior vice president, Accounting Principals. “Additionally, when you look at it over a worker’s lifetime, that number grows exponentially. Consider the average American who works for about 40 years, starting their first job around age 22. By the time they retire at age 62 they would have spent at minimum $120,000 on coffee and lunch, not including inflation.”

This is especially true for young American workers. The survey found that younger professionals (ages 18-34) spend almost twice as much on coffee during the week than those ages 45+ ($24.74 vs. $14.15, respectively). They also shell out more for lunch, spending an average of $44.78 per week on lunch compared to their older colleagues who spend $31.80 per week.

However, it seems American workers of all ages are starting to realize the effect this incremental spending has on their personal bottom line. According to Accounting Principals’ survey, one-third (35 percent) of employees have made it a financial goal to bring lunch instead of buying it in 2012.

Five Packaged Foods You Never Need to Buy Again

Laurie — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 23:03:20 +0000

From soup to cereal, here are five packaged food staples you can forget about purchasing at the store again. Making these items from scratch is cheaper, tastier, and infinitely healthier. This post from Grist.com originally appeared on My Five Acres.

Make your own stock from vegetable peelings, cores, and stems. (Image from My Five Acres.)

SnackTAXIS are Sustainable Gift Wrap for a Modern World

Laurie — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:42:02 +0000

One more reason to love SnackTAXIs: they make excellent gift wrap. Planning on sending gift cards to teachers, a coach, or your mail carrier? Nestle them in a SnackTAXI for a festive and practical twist on traditional gift wrap. SnackTAXIS are also perfect for delivering homemade candies, jewelry, and other small presents.

Poisoned Apples: The Truth about Apple Juice

Laurie — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:22:55 +0000

Consumer Reports tested top brands of apple juice this fall, and found levels of arsenic that were so high, the juice wouldn’t pass federal standards for drinking water. Mind you, there are no standards for apple juice–yet. Read their report here.

Photo: Consumer Reports

The Case for Leftovers

Laurie — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:00:03 +0000

Leftover turkey and trimmings may not be what you’re craving after Thanksgiving, but here’s a compelling reason to eat the food you buy instead of throwing away the leftovers. According to Dana Gunders on Grist, about 1 million tons of CO2, 95 billion gallons of water, and $275 million will be thrown away this Thanksgiving in the form of leftover turkey.

Photo: Patrick Gage Kelley (Flickr)

Do One Little Thing to Help Reform the Food System!

Laurie — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 03:25:38 +0000

In the interest of safer, healthier food for all Americans, we at Lunchville.com urge you to sign and support a citizen’s petition posted at www.whitehouse.gov. It seeks to protect people, animals, and the environment from the harmful effects of factory farming.

Cows on an American factory fam

How to Keep BPA off Your Thanksgiving Menu

Laurie — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:24:08 +0000

A typical Thanksgiving dinner that's made with canned fruits and veggies may contain a heaping helping of BPA.

Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate family and enjoy wholesome, homemade foods together. But if your Thanksgiving shopping lists includes canned foods such as pumpkin, green beans, broth, or corn, you could be getting a side of the harmful chemical BPA. Here, Jenn Savedge and Mother Nature Network share the results of a new study from the Breast Cancer Fund about BPA in canned Thanksgiving food. The bottom line: avoid canned foods, until the U.S. has banned BPA in the lining of food cans.

Soup Central

Laurie — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:18:40 +0000

Nothing says fall like a pot of homemade soup simmering on your stove. Heat up your kitchen and send tantalizing aromas all over the house with one of these soup recipes, courtesy of FoodNetwork.com.

And don’t forget to pack your leftovers for lunch the next day in one of Lunchville’s fantastic food jars, made of food-safe stainless steel.

Cream of broccoli soup is pure, green goodness.

The Best Halloween Treats? Homemade, of Course

Laurie — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:53:35 +0000

Happy Halloween! Today is the most sugar-packed holiday of the year. If you’ve got some time to spend in the kitchen and are looking for something healthful to add to your celebration, click on the images below for a roundup of wonderful recipes. We think the Salted Pumpkin Caramels, Falafel Spiders, and Cheddar Witches’ Fingers sound scrumptious!

Salted Pumpkin Caramels, One of Eight Homemade Halloween Treats

Falafel Spiders, and Other Recipes for a Very Foodie Halloween

Cheddar Witches' Fingers—Give 'Em a Hand

Our Treat: 20% off Klean Kanteen Classic Bottles!

Laurie — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:55:00 +0000

Klean Kanteen Classic Color 18 oz. bottles are the perfect size for purses, briefcases, and backpacks. Quench your thirst, responsibly.

Happy Halloween! Our treat to you: 20% off the list price of all Klean Kanteen Classic drink bottles, through November 1. Use the coupon code “kleantreat” when you place your order at lunchville.com to get the special price. Sweet!