What's in my Lunchbox?

I am a HUGE fan of taking lunch to work because with only 30 minutes to eat, read and relax, I get so miffed if I spend half of it in line waiting to buy lunch. I recently found a great discovery at the store and wanted to share.

Does anyone else LOVE Kings Hawaiian Bread? We usually have it for Thanksgiving as side rolls, but I was at the grocery store and saw that they had a BOGO for a new snack sub. Thought I'd give it a try. OMG IT IS SO GOOD! I love this bread, it is sweet and yummy. I am also a big fan of only eating half of what I am given (as I feel portion control is a huge part of being healthy), so this sub is the perfect size sandwich. I want to eat two, but one is perfect with chips or another side. I usually make what I call the Mini-Dagwood which has slices of honey ham mixed with slices of turkey and a big slice of cheese. I just recently added spinach for lettuce to add to the taste too.

I have also recently found that the size of yogurt cups kind of suck. Granted I like yogurt, but most companies, they are like shot glass of yogurt. I want a real size cup. Yoplait 4 pack is a good size with only 80 calories (though I don't count them). It is slightly larger than the regular size, but not too big that it doesn't fit in my lunch box. They're also a wide enough mouth to pour in granola to mix which I really like to do. I just put it in a snack plastic baggie to bring with.

When I am in dyer need of veggies (or honestly too tired to care if I am drinking vegetables which is always good to down in the morning before I have officially waken up) I have found that Naked Juice has really good drink shakes. And I have to say the look on my team's faces when they see me drinking a thick green drink is so worth it (think Thomas Crown Affair drink).

I am also fond of a late/mid morning snack and love scones. I have found these orange scones are so good when heated up for about 10 seconds. They are crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside. Great with coffee or milk. I do not know the brand, but they are sold at Target and available at the local health food store as organic as well.

Late day snack consists of a few things - either a FiberOne bar or Target brand Archer Farms nut mix or cheese sticks. I honestly never thought I would like FiberOne bars, but oddly enough when healthy becomes a factor, I'll eat just about anything. And the archer farms mix is just a nice change. I like the Sweet Chili. I am a complete crazy person for cheese. I love cheese cubes, cheese sticks, cheese slices - you name it.

Things that occasionally make it in to my lunch, but I don't generally crave are Apples and Peanut Butter (or apples and caramel sauce), Applesauce, sliced watermelon and Grapes.

Years ago I also treated myself to a really nice lunch bag which makes it oh so much better to take my lunch rather than a plain old grocery bag. BORING!! I have two - lol - one is BuiltNY and bright color stripes and one is square with brown and green flowers (Target, I think). Depends on the day which one I like to take. I also really like how easy they are to clean when spills occur. I also invested in a few water bottles, one of which I keep at work on my desk and one I keep at home on my nightstand (which coincidentally I stole from Saint who can't stand my cats drinking out of his glass).

WHY is this such a big production, you may ask? Because I have found that I spend anywhere from $5 up to $15 when I buy lunch AND I DO NOT ENJOY IT AS MUCH as when I bring it from home. As I mentioned before, it also kills so much of my time and time is so important. When I bring lunch I am spending $15 - $25 for the week on lunch. HUGE SAVINGS!!

What about you? Do you have any MUST HAVES in your lunch??