The other day, I opened my banking app to pay off my credit card and was surprised to see a larger total owed than I expected. I hadn’t bought any clothes, makeup, accessories, or really any objects over the last few weeks, so I couldn’t figure out where the expenses came from. As I further inspected, I quickly realized the mystery costs were all food. I, like many students, spend the entirety of my day on campus, which usually also falls during lunch and dinner times. On top of this, most days I choose to sleep in longer, rather than allowing myself time in the morning to eat a proper breakfast. Essentially, on average, I’m eating two meals a day on campus (not including little sweet treats/pick me ups). These costs add up incredibly quickly. Last semester I didn’t have as big of a spending problem on food, but that was because I used to “meal prep” the night before.
The term “meal prep” tends to intimidate a lot of people. Specifically those who don’t excel in the culinary world or are indecisive and aren’t sure what they’ll be craving ahead of time. Even though I’m quite comfortable in a kitchen, I’m also very lazy and despise going to find a microwave on campus. This is why I started meal prepping using a bento box.
If you aren’t familiar, a bento box is a container with multiple dividers of various shapes to hold different food items. In these I can fit quite a few options for snacks. Some examples include, cheese pieces, lunch meat, sliced fruits or vegetables, olives, crackers, hummus, the list goes on. The variety works very well for me since I am indecisive when it comes to food. This way I can continuously switch from sweet to salty with every bite.
Another added bonus apart from saving money is that usually when you go out to buy food, the options aren’t the healthiest. To be honest, most of my expenses were from the Tim Hortons in the lobby of my building. Specifically, most purchases were the chocolate chip muffins. When I’m at home, or even driving out and about, I’ve never gone out of my way to buy a chocolate chip muffin. Clearly I don’t crave them, which means I must only buy them for convenience. Genuinely, I would much rather eat some sweet fruits if given the option. So, by bringing a bento box lunch to school, I can make healthier choices simply by creating convenience.
As someone who lives at home, my parents also love that this ensures I consume the produce in the fridge. A lot of times I’m a convenience eater, so I’ll eat what’s available. At home, I may not opt to eat the fruits that are nearing the end of their days, but if I pack it in my lunch I’ll eat it no questions asked. Not only does this option reduce food waste but it also helps me avoid buying prepackaged foods. My bento box can be washed and reused a million times over. But the paper bag, receipt, wrapper, condiments, etc that come with my Harvey’s meal are all single use plastic or just waste in general. I tend to be quite the environmentalist, so I’m a huge supporter of this side effect.
If you’re someone that enjoys packing full meals, or prefers purchasing meals, by all means continue what you’re doing. However, if any of the perks I’ve mentioned sound tempting or worth it to you, I highly suggest testing out a bento box!