If for most of us eating out is part of the everyday reality at work, it can also be the one fun event and well deserved distraction at the end of a stressful week. But splurging on meals away from home has both a sustainable and financial side effect. So how to indulge responsibly ?

The Picnic Basket.

The ability to break the routine once in a while is really enticing to most of us. To get out of the ordinary, get out of the diner table really. Eating out is all about refreshing our sometimes monotone weekly menus. And it does wonders to boost our mood when we feel a little blue from too many rainy days… It is a great moment to share. One of life little pleasures to indulge on with no second thoughts. As long as we bring the food !

So if you like to have a meal away from home from time to time, get into the habit of preparing your very own picnic. They are so much fun ! There are lots of resources online to find great ideas of menu items and places to go, right here in HRM. And it is a world of opportunities to try something new. Why not get to know better the amazing world of appetizers, for example ? To eat out in a simple fashion, think bouchées sizes, think easy to grab. And most of all think easy to transport and to eat in public. Give it a try, you will be glad you did.

Reusable Cutlery.

Did you know that food actually taste better when eaten with real cutlery ? Studies have been made (yep, studiessss) and revealed that the actual weight of the fork and the properties of the metal make the food item more savory and easier to digest than eating it with their plastic counterpart. Moreover, on an ecological standpoint, cutting our use of disposable cutlery—pun intended—will actually help reduce our overall consumption of disposable, therefore giving us as individuals and as communities a say on a global issue that we can have an influence on.

So say goodbye to disposable lunch staples and remember to bring your very own tableware and napkins next time you go eating out.

Coffee Break.

If you can’t live without your coffee-to-go when you step out to run your errands, make sure you bring your own cup. Millions of disposable cup are being used everyday to end up disposed in the closest bin, or more likely at the curb, minutes after they were bought. There are better options than the old fashioned styrofoam cup nowadays, thankfully. But even with a biodegradable cup where all efforts were made to come up with a good eco-design, remember that the item had to be produced in the first place, which means machine engineered and fabricated in a plant requiring a lot of energy and waste of resources. Add this up to shipment and storage requirements, this equals to an outrageous wastes of resources in the end for only a few minutes useful life. Just for a cup of coffee. No matter how good it was, surely it cannot be worth it…

So invest in a cup-to-go. Preferably found on the local market. Preferably used. Choose it nice and joyful. Make sure you like it a lot so that you will want to use it. Invest in a good quality and well made product, made to last. Choose an artisan pick and enjoy your coffee ! And for the chocolate lovers… Did you know that, according to research, hot chocolate tastes better in an orange cup ? So no more hesitation, get your very own orange mug-to-go and savor the best cup of cocoa yet of the year.

Lunch On The Go.

Did you know that eating has a huge impact on our environment and on your wallet ? Spending on take-out lunches accounted for an average of 25% of food expenses for Canadian households according to the last survey released by Statistics Canada. One quarter of the food budget ! That’s a lot. And on an ecological point of view, although laws are changing quickly, at the point we are now take-out meals are still served in disposable containers. An ecological footprint way too hefty for our beloved planet…

But we can do something about it. So let’s grasp the nettle, make a soup with it and leave home with our lunch from now on ! Simple logistics here, we double portions when cooking, and the night before we set aside one serving for each member of the family for tomorrow’s lunch. We balance our nutritional intake, we do not splurge on whatever falls under our hungry eyes at lunchtime and we pump up our finances at the same time. Ready ? Yep, you guessed it, it’s time for lunch !