Food prices are rising, and eating out for lunch each day is putting more pressure on your pocket. You can stem the tide of your hemorrhaging purse by brown bagging it.

Now there are so many benefits to taking your lunch to work and they far outweigh the preparation time. It’s not just about counting calories or carbs; it’s about counting your pennies! Packing lunch can save you about $5 a day – which could easily translate to $1,000 a year! Imagine that! It’s like getting your tax returns without the check.

If you have a refrigerator and a microwave at work, then great! But if you don’t, you can still pack your lunch and have a delicious meal. It does take a little planning and getting the right items to prepare your lunch daily.

You will need a lunch bag (a durable one that’s large enough to fit lunch and snacks); some ‘Tupperware’ type plastic containers (different sizes) If you don’t have a fridge at work, pack your lunch with cold compresses… or freeze bottled water and take it in your lunch container. Neat trick, huh?!

Get your favorite salad dressing and keep it in the fridge… that way you don’t have to share out small amounts every time you take a salad to work.

When you grocery shop, pick up a little extra for lunch for the week, whether it’s sandwich breads, sliced turkey, ham, mayo, tomatoes etc. for sandwiches. Also pick up some napkins and perhaps disposable forks and spoons. Or, if you have a place to wash dishes, keep metal utensils at work.

The hardest decision to make is what to take to work.

Cook a little extra the night before so you can pack a lunch of whatever-you-had-for-dinner. Or you can make something else out of dinner, for example, if you cooked chicken breasts, you can dice one of them and toss it on top of a bed of spring mix salad greens or romaine lettuce, top that with some cranberry raisins, sliced almonds and grumbled goat cheese. Excellent salad for lunch!

Salmon or chicken breasts are great for making filling sandwiches. If you like tuna sandwiches, then you’ll love salmon sandwiches which are richer in flavor and nutrition benefits.

Pack some snacks… healthy ones!

Bring fruits to work… it’s so much better than stuffing yourself with greasy, salty fries. In fact, some baby carrots, celery sticks and a dip can make excellent snacks. Or bring nuts, almond, cashew or your favorite nut, along with cranberry raisins.

Though your lunch ideas will be unlimited, this doesn’t mean you can NEVER eat out for lunch, but taking your lunch with you means you will have a handle on what you eat, and how much fat grams or carbs control you consume, especially if you are trying to eat healthy.

Now, taking your lunch with you doesn’t mean you have to sit at your desk, if you have a lunch room, use it. You can find a cool quiet place outside to eat as well. But make sure you’re comfortable. And you won’t spend the whole hour lunching. That might give you time to run an errand or two.

Besides, apart from saving money on the food itself, think about the drive to get your lunch – that’s more gas, it’s savings all around.