Success:::Monique

We went to Casper today for my husband's post-op doctor appointment.  I knew this was coming up, and since his appointment was at 10:30 a.m. I knew we'd be there for lunch because we had grocery shopping to do as well.  Thanks to Jenn's post, I started thinking about what to take yesterday.  First, I decided to hard boil some eggs.  Then, I asked my husband what else he would add to make packing a lunch better for him.  He suggested adding some fruits and vegetables.  So this morning I cut up some cucumbers, green peppers, and baby carrots.  I also took a few bananas.  This morning I packed everything in my L.L. Bean canvas bag.  Here's the list:

6-7 cloth napkins

knives

spoons

loaf of bread

peanut butter

jelly

container of hard boiled eggs

bananas

granola bars

bag of sliced veggies

I also made everyone some watered down juice in their new water bottles.  Liam got one of these for school and I liked it so much I bought everyone one.  It is nice to make them all at once in the morning and everyone has their water/juice for the day.  

We ended up going to Sam's before we ate so we had a few additions.  The daughter refused to eat peanut butter and eggs so she had some cheese that we had just bought, then all the boys had to have some also.  :)  So we added some cheese to the menu and I also found some semi-natural brownie bites for dessert.

The real test was when we got home.  I asked hubby how lunch was.  He was pleased!  He was even happy we are saving money and was satisfied with the addition of the eggs and vegetables. Yeah!  I'm so happy we are figuring out a way to make this work.  I think it would be even more successful if we would go to Casper on a day other than Friday (meatless for us), and if we bought a cooler.  I would have also added trail mix and cheese sticks if I would have had them on hand.

We Did It:::Monique

When I signed up for this and decided to make it a New Year's goal of mine to not eat out, I knew that our trips to Casper were going to be an issue.  We go there sometimes once a week for doctor appointments, meetings, shopping, etc.  We have tried to cut down the trips to only once or twice a month because the price of gas was so high last year.  We are doing better, but sometimes we just like to get out of town.  We also do bulk shopping at Sam's Club (no Costco here!).  Well, our first trip to Casper this year came Saturday.  When DH got home Friday night and we talked about going to Casper, I asked him if we could take a lunch. He said yes.  Saturday when we got up I packed a loaf of bread, peanut butter, jelly, chips, snack bars, pretzels, water, knife, spoon, and cloth napkins.  We ate in the parking lot at Sam's Club.  I made everyone a sandwich and we had small picnic in the car.  No one but DH complained.  

If I'm going to keep everyone on board with this, I think I'm going to have to come up with some other ideas.  So what is everyone doing when they have to make a trip to a different town or are out and about for the day?  

It is usually a minimum of $30 when we eat out at a fast food restaurant.  So, I'm so glad I saved us that on Saturday.  If we make two trips to Casper a month, that is $60 or more we'll save!