To Buy or Not to Buy: The Lunch Dilemma

Have you ever pondered what's the better way to go? Should you:

Bring a lunch from home?
Buy lunch at school?

That is the question. Which lunch should you choose?

The food experts (left to right): Liz, Danielle and Nicole.

Do the comparison

Before you decide, look at all the components that will affect your choice. See which lunch—the one from home or school, is healthier and is the most cost efficient.

I'll take two typical balanced lunches from home and compare them to two standard lunches from a school cafeteria.

Then, my friends—the “food experts”—will sample the lunches, compare and rate them on nutritional value, taste, and cost.

I'll also compare the lunches side by side on the financial and nutritional impact.

So let's get eating!

The contenders

Home lunches

Home Lunch—Turkey Sub
Item	Cost	Calories	Fat	Carbs	Protein
Sub	$1.50	350	4g	45g	28g
Carrots	$.10	40	0	9g	1g
Pretzels	$.58	140	7g	16g/	4g
Apple	$.30	80	0	21g	.4g
Total	$2.48	610	11g	91 g	33

Choice One

Turkey Sub
Carrot slices
Pretzel sticks
Apple wedges

Choice Two

Home Lunch 2—Peanut Butter & Jelly
Item	Cost	Calories	Fat	Carbs	Protein
PB & J	$.50	400	17g	50g	13g
Berries	$.50	23	0	.0	0g
Bar	$.20	90	2g	19g	1g
Celery	$.08	4	0	1g	0g
Total	$1.28	517	19g	70g	14g

Peanut butter & jelly sandwich
Fresh strawberries
Chocolate chip granola bar
Celery sticks

School lunches

School Lunch 1—Salad with Dressing
Item	Cost	Calories	Fat	Carbs	Protein
Salad	$2.00	275	25g	7g	7g
Cookie	$1.00	360	18g	48g	4g
Chips	$.75	150	10g	15g	2g
Apple	$.50	80	0	21g	0
Total	$4.25	865	53g	91g	13g

Choice One

Salad with ranch dressing
Chips
Chocolate chip cookie
Apple

Choice Two

Pizza
A 6-oz. slushy

School Lunch 2—Pizza
Item	Cost	Calories	Fat	Carbs	Protein
Pizza	$2.75	420	14g	60g	18g
Slushy	$1.00	80	0	20g	0g
Tatars	$1.00	220	14g	23g	2g
Muffin	$.75	170	6g	29g	3g
Total	$5.50	890	34g	132g	23g

Tatar tots
Chocolate chip muffin

The home-made turkey sub is
low in calories and fat, and has
a lot of good protein. “I could
eat it everyday for lunch,”
says Liz.

In fact, the lunches from home had,
on average, 314 fewer calories and
way less fat than the lunches
from school.

Want a little help understanding all this nutrition? Read on...

p. 1 2