When I was younger, I was a hot lunch kind of kid. I almost couldn’t even confess that to you right now. Why? Because it pains me to watch my students buy fast food hot lunch every day for lunch to fuel their minds and bodies for the rest of the afternoon.
My hot lunching had nothing to do with the fact that I didn’t like making my lunches either (lie). I hated making my lunches — and my mom firmly believed we were old enough to slap some PB&J on two slices of bread and call it a day. That, or we were getting hot lunch.
If my school offered nutritious, vegan, and gluten free choices, I think my choice to be a brown bagger would be different these days. However, pigs don’t fly and America doesn’t put enough emphasis on providing nutritious options at schools (without paying mucho dinero) — therefore I stick to my beloved lunchbox.
I’ve gone through many lunch boxes throughout the last two years of my life. There was of course, the purple one….
Don’t even pretend you didn’t make your mom take a picture on day one of your very first big girl (or boy) job. I know you’d be lying. That lunchbox, however, sadly was handed down to my brother in law. I miss the purple.
Mid-year last year, I bought a new companion. He was bright blue, but not so roomy.
There were many days when my lunchbox simply would not close. It had nothing to do with the fact that my (still) lazy butt couldn’t put salad dressing into a small Tupperware container either.
The blue guy got far too many stains for my liking, and well — I’ve never even been a blue person. I don’t know what I was thinking with that purchase.
So when CSN stores offered to let me review one of their items, I knew exactly what to choose: a new lunchbox.
But it isn’t any old lunchbox.
This baby rocks. Would you like to see why?
The top compartment opens up to an insulated bag — and even has a mesh pocket for silverware (which I clearly did not use).
It also opens up on the bottom, featuring another insulated area, complete with a vacuum sealed Tupperware container (which I can’t figure out how to work).
Today’s main course featured leftover campfire baked beans, a salad with avocado and hummus, and apparently a lot of carrots.
I know you want to be cool like me, so you can find it here. You can thank me later. Preferably in the form of baked goods.
Let me know if you start seeing pigs outside your second story window. I’m really sick of packing my lunch.
Question: Do you pack your lunch every day?
{ 82 comments… read them below or add one }
Yep! I pack my lunch everyday. That was I’m saving money and knowing what I’m eating - or cleaning out the fridge of leftovers
Such a trendy lunch bag! Thank goodness they’ve gotten cuter than the old ones.
I pack lunch everyday. Since I’m an intern and work for FREE (urgh), there is absolutely no way I can afford to buy lunch.
I know - I have no choice either. There’s no way I could afford lunches out either.
Stay at home mom here so I make my own lunch everyday. Back in my teaching days I brought my own lunch. The school lunches were barely edible.
you’re my favorite vegetarian ever.
That brought tears to my eyes.
I had a lunchbox since my very first day of kindergarten! I refused to eat anything offered in the school cafeteria. And it had nothing to do with my Mom telling me that the food there was horrible. Nothing ever appealed to me. So I had a packed lunch every single day- through kindergarten, middle school, high school, and now while working at a school! I need to know what’s in my food and the only way to do that is to make it myself.
BTW, love your new lunchbag. It’s adorable!
EVERYTHING appealed to me - my favorites? pizza, chicken patty, and chicken nuggets. So horrible.
Don’t get me wrong- I loved all that stuff too! Just not from the school cafeteria. My mom would heat chicken nuggets at home in the morning and wrap them in foil for my lunch. The cafeteria ones just weren’t the same!
That lunch bag is the cutest I’ve ever seen. I used to pack my lunch all through elementary/middle & high school.
How cute is the green lunch box?!? I would pack salads and turkey wraps everyday… in a perfect world! but in reality I usually grap a starbucks green tea and protein bar mid-day
You make my lunches look so pitiful. I’m inspired!
In all actuality (is that a word?), today’s lunch was pretty pitiful.
That lunch bag is SO cute!! Almost as cute as the Powerpuff Girls one I had as a kid. Almost.
And I take lunch every day!! Even if healthy vegan options WERE offered, I’m a cheapo so I’d still take the packed lunch. As for my lunch bag, I may or may not still use my Powerpuff Girls one…
That lunch box looks awesome! I need it
I pack my lunch every day but dont take precautions and use insulation/coolers. oops!
WHY DO YOU MAKE ME LAUGH SO HARD WITH YOUR STUPID JOKES!
I <3 you Chelsey!!
I totally want a lunch box like yours!!!
I’m just a stupid joke kind of girl!
I bought lunch in school, but now I pack lunch every day for work. I have a pretty big Target lunch bag, but that one with all the compartments is making me jealous!
That is the sweetest looking lunch kit I’ve seen! Seriously. It makes me wish I went somewhere where I needed to bring a lunch kit.
I definitiely prefer to pack my lunches! I like being in control of the ingredients and preparation that goes into my food!
I pack my lunches most days also. It’s nice to know where my food is coming from!
My grandma got me a cute Vera lunchbox for my first day of big girl job and I totally took a picture too
I love that lunch bag! I need to find a new pretty one myself.. my last one wasn’t big enough and I may or may not have lost it (forgot it haha) at work. I always used to want the hot lunches at school but my momma made me bring one all through school (unless I wanted to use my allowance on it) and in high school… well nothing looked edible and the line ups were too long anyway!
I pack my lunch almost everyday, sometimes I have time to run home. It really is tough to find a good lunch box to fit all your needs! I might have to check this one out. It’s roomy and stylish!
I pack my lunch everyday. Haven’t missed a day since I started kindergarten [my mom taught us at an early age that lunch was super important]… minus high school because it was totally uncool to bring your lunch to school.
I pack my lunch everyday….i just like knowing that what I’m putting in my body that day is going to be stuff that’s good for me. Just for the record, I totally want one of your cute lunchboxes! I usually throw my tupperware into my massive tote and hope that nothing spills. Eeeek. One of these days, I need to make that lunchbox investment.
I do! I prefer to eat throughout the day, so I pack lots of healthy snacks for myself. I think the people that sit around me think I’m a pig! LOL!
I’m a teacher and I happen to work at two schools- one in the morning and one in the afternoon, so b/c of that I’m not able to eat the school’s lunch. I’m not sure I’d eat the hot lunch even if I could though. At one of the schools that I was at before I ate the hot lunch A LOT, and though they were the ‘good kid’ meals (and good adult!), they were so starchy, high in carbs and fat. I’ve done pretty well with bringing my lunch and able to have more nutritional foods when I take it.
Cute lunch box! I don’t brown bag my lunch, but I do have the luxury of going to my apartment at lunch time and eating. (The perks of living across the street from school!) Definitely saves me money and I feel better about what I am putting into my body.
Holy cute and practical!!!
That lunch bag is seriously awesome. I think I would be inclined to pack my lunch more often if I had one. Right now, I try to pack at least 3 of the 5 days… it’s so much easier (and cheaper) to eat healthy that way!
I’m a stay-at-home mom now, but when I was working I always packed my own lunch. I had a couple cute lunch “holders” (not bags). Nowdays, I pack my son’s lunch and my husband’s lunch. My husband’s gigantic lunch (plus 3 re-usable water bottles, snacks, and sometimes dinner) goes into a medium sized cooler. It’s not very attractive, but extremely functional for his needs.
I love your new lunch bag!
Thanks! The Husband has a cooler too!
I pack lunch everyday but my box is nowhere near as cute as yours! I just end up using a resusable shopping bag. Well, it’s one of the nicer shopping bags that is dedicated as my “everyday” bag, I should clarify that.
I was so finicky as a child. I didn’t like hot lunch, but I hated anything packed, too. When my mom would point out that I always ate the exact same sandwiches as at home, and I would counter it with “but they don’t taste good when they’re packed. It’s the saran wrap!”
That is so funny - I was not a picky eater EVER!
I totally feel ya on being sick of packing a lunch. It takes me forever! But I just recently retired my favorite Little Mermaid lunchbox (I know, I am like 8) due to the insane amount of balsamic vinegar stains. Now I have a rockin’ lunchbox from Target that my fiance picked up for me a few weekends ago. It’s similar to your CNS one. I love that it’s cute like a purse!
Oh my gosh that is the cutest lunch bag! I’m pretty sure my lunch would taste 34% better if I just packed it in a cute bag, instead of using the lame grocery bags I tend to pack it in
I have the same purple lunch box, only in pink! I love the vacuum sealed Tupperware in the bottom of that lunchbox-how nifty!
We are lunchbox twins!!!
Omg I have the cutest little lunch bag that looks like a puppy! It’s at work but I’ll have to post a pic of it soon cuz it is just adorable. I pack my lunch every day. It’s cheaper, healthier and I work through lunch so I can get my work done to leave at a decent hour. School lunches is such a hot button issue right now, I hope that changes soon.
Believe me, with the amount of budget cuts IL is going through with education, school lunches are at the bottom of the totem pole.
I have a gift card to CSN and I think I am going to get a lunchbox now! I pack a lunch to take to school / work, and I’m really bad about letting things that need to be put in the fridge sit out.
I pack my husbands lunch every day
if I didnt..he would resort to taco bell haha! What a cute lunch box!
so would mine!
I always pack my lunch now. In school though, my mom would let us pick one day a week to bring a lunch. We HATED hot lunch. Unless it was pizza. Which is so gross to think back on, but yeah. True.
I do my best to pack my dinner every night.
I love your tote! I got mine in 2007 at a 5k and it’s starting to rip. I definitely need to upgrade.
I always pack my lunch! I use a Built brand bag for my lunch which is made of neoprene material, and my bag is *always* overflowing!!
I’m so jealous of that lunch box! It’s too cute.
Luckily I’m usually home for lunch, but when I do have to eat at school I’ll pack my own.
I wish I could just drop in for lunch!
DANG! that is a legit lunch box! i usually go home for lunch, but I have a feeling when I start getting into the job- business, I will deffos be using a lunch box! who says they’re for kids? such LIES
I try to pack everyday, but when I don’t my favorite places to eat are the make your own salad spots and a heaping pile of grilled veggies with balsamic vinegar.
That lunch box is pretty awesome, btw
I love those places too! Unless they weigh it by the pound - then I go broke
I pack my lunch for school and this post was a Godsend because my current lunchbag is not working for me! It’s big enough (haha I love that that is a chief complaint), but the handle is a pain in the bum.
I like packing my lunch on the days I go to my internship=) It makes me feel all ready for my day! My lunch box isn’t too fancy but it’s cute and has my name embroidered on it, my mom gave it to me=) Your’s is a little cooler though I must admit!
Jealous! I got my friend Annie one like that for her birthday one year… they are so awesome. I have no idea why I don’t get one for myself. But my little red canvas bag (that I got as some race swag) works pretty well for carrying all my tupperware madness…
If the name of my blog doesn’t give it away - then yes, I pack my lunch every day! And I’m so jealous that you got that new lunchbox! It’s so cute!!
I pack my lunch almost every day. I’d say I buy lunch maybe once every two weeks? I try to bring mine so I will eat healthier and spend less money. We have lots of options around, but it’s all “fast-food” style and I’m not into a lunch that will make me feel blah & cost me upwards of 600-700 calories. No bueno!
thats the cutest little lunch box ive ever seen!
I want to be cool like you!
I throw things in a bag and roll (head of lettuce, tub of hummus..etc.) My office has a kitchen and big fridge and I work with family…so I pretty much “cook” at the office. However it becomes way to easy to not eat roundly..I want to start packing up a meal.
I also pack my lunch daily. I thank my mom for that because she probably also thought we were old enough to make our own lunches while we were in school, but she wanted to do it for us, so I always had something homemade and the hot lunch option doesn’t appeal to me.
I have fallen into being so lazy that I bring dressing bottles as well and yesterday when I was out of small tupperware containers, I brought my whole jar of peanut butter instead of scooping some out for my apple afternoon snack! My bag is bitty. I need to look at some of those bigger options!
OMG!!!! I wanted that bag SO badly when it was at WF’s over a year ago. Every time I walked in the store I would go and pet it. It was $20 and I couldn’t justify buying it though. SO LOOKING ON CSN STORES RIGHT NOW.
I pack my lunch everyday too. But I don’t have a lunch bag, so I just throw the containers in my school bag. It’s probably not the best idea though because my apples always get smooshed by my school books.
Bringing lunch to work everyday was on of my goals in 2011. So far I have been doing great!! I have a fridge and microwave at work so just about everything I eat at home can come with me at work. If I ate out everyday it would be expensive and not as healthy
Love that lunchbox it’s so pretty!
I do pack my lunch everyday. If I didn’t, there would be nothing to eat! For my lunchbox, I use the small wf recyclable bag.
Once again we are so alike. I spent an hour in target finding the best lunch box for me and what tupperware would fit perfectly into it. Billy thought I was a weirdo….but packing my lunch is a big deal. Our school (charter school) actually has an amazing lunch with a HUGE salad bar and everything is super wholesome except pizza on Thursday (hey at least it is a wheat crust:) I wish I could get the salad bar everyday but it is 3 bucks and Billy hates when I spend money on food so I bring lunch everyday. Sorry for the novel…hope you are having an amazing day!
Just another reason why I love you so much!!!
I’m usually too lazy to actually put my lunch IN a bag, so I might have you beat there.
The components of my lunch usually just float around my lunch bag until I put them in the fridge at work. That lunch bag is so cute I might have to consider buying it, though!
That is hilarious!
This makes me want to go back to grade school! (And that, trust me, is saying A LOT!) The thought of bringing lunch to work in a bag like is only making me pray harder for a job come graduation
I lvoe your lunch box!
It is so cute!
xoxox,
Kathleen
wow, great pick! I love how adorable and functional that is!
I’ve always been a lunch packer, but a frequent napkin and/or utensil forgetter. This makes for quite the awkward lunch.
Fun lunch box! I’m a sucker for fun patterns, especially damask, or damask-inspired, ones.
I pack my lunch every day, the night before. I pack breakfast too, since I hit the gym before work. I generally make 3 breakfasts on Sunday night and then another 2 on Wednesday night, that way I can just grab-n-go. I am also a leftovers freak and just pack my tupperwear at the same time I serve up my dinner dish. But if I have the odd-day where I forget my lunch then our school cafeteria isn’t too shabby. We’ve got a pretty nice pre-packaged salad and sammie bar with fruits/veggies galore.
I love damask too - did you notice the bed spread I took the picture on?
oooooo boy am I jealous! I’m super excited to get one so I can, I don’t know, fit all my darn food in bag! Thanks so much for this!!
I am a total lunch packer. And some days I’m a lunch AND dinner packer. It’s hard sometimes but so worth it to not have to spend money to buy lunch.
I take my lunch to work every day because as much as it pains me to say, the only thing worse than a school cafeteria is a hospital cafeteria! You couldn’t pay me to eat in there!
I’ve been through so many lunch boxes, I’ve lost count. I always like them at first, until I try to cram an odd shaped bowl or a banana in there with the rest of the goodies! Mmm, nothing like a bruised up banana for lunch!
It makes me so sad that at the hospital, where people go to get healthy (!!!!) the food is horrible.
such a great idea to get a lunch bag with your CSN moolah! I desperately need a good one and I’ll be working with CSN soon, so now I know what I’m getting!
I pack my lunch or go home for lunch. Usually I eat out for lunch 1-2 times a month. I can’t stand spending all that money and not really knowing exactly what I’m eating if I eat out too much.
that is an awesome lunch box!! I want one!
I bought one! The advertising worked! I have wanted a stylish, yet functional lunch bag for awhile, and well I am over having my food stolen out of the fridge at work so I went and got one! Cant wait for it to get here so I can retire the plastic bags and look a little more professional! Great post!!
Awesome!! Let me know how you like it!
Hey Chelsey!!
Where can I find that lunchbox? Do you know what the name of it is?
Thanks!