Beauty of a Brown Bag

I know, this is hardly high art, but I think it's beautiful nonetheless. Here's 5 reasons why I think so:

1. Simplicity. Mine had a pb&j, clementines, grapes, carrot sticks and snap peas. Ok, in the spirit of full disclosure I did include a little dark chocolate. 
2. Time. It takes about 5 minutes at most to pack a stellar sack lunch. You don't have to wait in line, wait for a server or any other time-wasting activity. You haveore time to enjoy your food in a leisurely fashion, allowing your body time to savor, digest and register fullness. 
3. Money. You can easily save $2,000 per year by packing a lunch instead of eating out. I don't know about you, but there's lots of ways I'd rather spend 2 grand than on extra sodium, calories and styrofoam containers. 
4. Balance. Assuming you don't stuff yor bag with chips, cookies, crackers and candy bars, your bound to end up with a more nutritionally balanced lunch than you would probably end up with from takeout. 
5. Freedom. Have bag will travel - literally. You are free to eat lunch anywhere. You're welcome to stray from the cafeteria, desk or drive-thru. In fact, think about all the relaxation and stress reduction that awaits you when you take that bag out in the fresh air of the outdoors. 

So there you have my top 5 reasons I think a crumpled up lunch bag on a park bench is a beautiful thing - that, and the fact that I got to brown-bag it with my daughter on the last field trip of her elementary school career. After drinking it in, I highly recommend packing a beautiful brown-bag lunch break.