OK, wanted to show some of the food storage/transportation items that I've recently purchased that will hopefully help me eat better. I have four items, for a total cost of about $35 (not counting shipping; I ordered these from the internet but I've heard that some of them can be purchased at stores like Linens 'N' Things or Bed, Bath, and Beyond). These are things I'll use to take food to work, since I have seen over the years that if I leave food at work, such as a box of crackers or can of nuts in my desk, I will snack and snack until they are gone instead of parceling them out appropriately over time.

Since I'll be eating breakfast early because of my morning workout schedule, I figured I needed encouragement to bring fruit or veggies to snack on in the mid-morning. I needed something big enough to bring a substantial amount of snack food, enough to keep me from getting hungry again before lunch, but still something that I could bring healthy food in.

Meet the Healthy Food Snacker.



Assembled, this looks kind of like a water bottle or thermos. When you unscrew the lid, you'll find a cool little snap-in jar that can hold a 1/2 cup of either small fruits or veggies or some yogurt or dressing to dip said fruits and veggies in. When you take out the little jar, you'll see a little bitty blue ice pack that snaps into the bottom of the jar. The rest of the bottle holds about 2 cups of snacks. I've been bringing veggies and ranch in mine. The little ice pack doesn't stay frozen very long, but it'll keep the stuff inside cool enough to last from home to the gym to work, where I can then put the whole thing in the fridge. Even without putting it in the fridge, everything stays cool enough to consume within a few hours. It even has a little plastic carabiner on the lid if I needed to clip it to a bag.

The next two items I will be using for my lunches--I'll probably just switch them out each day while one gets washed.



There are two different kinds, but both have the snap-in ice packs and removable containers for small portions of whatever. These will be good for sandwiches or salads, fruits, veggies, chips or crackers, whatever. That'll give me enough to make a good solid lunch that should tide me over for several hours. I need to make sure I don't try to pack every inch full of food, though; if I filled one of those little removable containers with M&M's that would probably not be a good thing. I also need to keep the sandwiches reasonable; slathering it with mayonnaise or stacking it high with meat or cheese will defeat the purpose. I should really do salads every day, but I think that will get monotonous really fast.

Last but not least, my afternoon snack.



This little snack holder also has one of those plastic carabiners to clip to a bag or purse. There's a snap-in ice pack as well as a removable divider. Fill the two sides with cubed cheese, small crackers, raisins, or nuts, or take the divider out for larger crackers or big pieces of fruit.

If I can be faithful about using these items and filling them with the appropriate foods (and then drinking my SlimFast shake on the way to the gym in the afternoons), I will hopefully eat better and lose weight as well as take care of the environment by reducing the amount of waste I throw away (plastic bags, etc).

I'm excited. Hopefully I can use these tools the right way.