Although I have been eating tuna since I was a small child, I was excited to try some of the Bumble Bee products.  Bumble Bee has an assortment of inexpensive and nutritious lunch ideas that I want to share with you.

One of my new favorite tunas is the lemon pepper tuna. Bumble Bee now has three flavored tunas – Lemon Pepper, Sundried Tomato, and Spicy Thai Chili.  For less than $1.50, you can get a small can of flavored tuna with crackers.  This is a great inexpensive and healthy lunch idea. Bumble Bee offers the new flavored tunas in larger cans with no crackers.

For those that prefer their chicken and tuna with mayonnaise, Bumble Bee has premade chicken and tuna salad lunch packs. There is also a fat free tuna salad.   

Bumble Bee has a sustainability intiative.  They support global policies and management initiatives that ensure long-term sustainability of these resources. 

By becoming a Bumble Bee facebook fan, you can print a coupon good for $1 off three specialty items such as crab, shrimp, oysters, and sardines.

What inexpensive lunch ideas can you share?

images (c) Karen Weideman

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

According to Yahoo! News, if students in Albuquerque, New Mexico can’t pay for their lunch they are given an alternative meal which includes a cheese sandwich, fruit, and milk.  

These policies have become a necessity for schools that are trying to keep their budgets in the black, while ensuring that the children don’t go hungry.  Other school districts in California, Florida, and Washington have also adopted an alternative lunch menu for deliquent lunch accounts.

There is a heated debate about this issue.  Parents are saying that they don’t appreciate their children being singled out, that some kids don’t want to go back to school, and that one child now refuses to eat cheese.    

I just don’t get what all the fuss is about.

~If you can’t afford school breakfast or lunch, then you can apply for free or reduced lunch.  It is based upon income and how many people are in your family.

~If you don’t qualify for free or reduced lunch and you still can’t afford to buy lunch at school everyday, then why aren’t these parents packing the lunches at home? 

As I wrote last week, I can’t afford to pay the $2.30 a day for my child to eat lunch.  I pack her lunch each day.  I can pack her lunch for less than $1. 

Can I afford to go out to eat every day?  No, and you probably can’t either.  So, what do we do?  We cook at home and we pack our lunches and take them to work.

These children are not starving.  They’re being offered a healthy alternative if they don’t pay.

Since the new policy began, the Albuquerque school district has collected just over $50,000 from parents since the beginning of the year. It also identified 2,000 students eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunches. More children in the lunch program means more federal dollars for the district and less money being taken from other budgeted items.

Why are people seeing this as discrimination and not a courtesy? 

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Now that we’ve moved and I’m working from home again, I’m packing her lunch every day. One reason is because I want to monitor what she’s getting and how much she’s eating. The main reason though is the price. School lunch for elementary students is $2.30!!! Of course, rates are higher for older children and adults.

If you’re thrifty, you can pack your child a healthy lunch for less than $1 per day. Yesterday’s lunch for my daughter was a turkey and cheese sandwich on whole grain bread, sliced peaches, and a cup of milk. I pack her a Munchkin straw cup that has a valve in it, so that the milk doesn’t leak.  Of course, there is a large ice pack inside to keep everything fresh.

I’ve done the math and figured that if I bought school lunch for her everyday, it would cost about $46 per month! Ouch! That’s a good part of my grocery bill.

Please vote in our poll to the right and let us know if you buy school lunch.  We’d also like your thoughts below in the comments.  Thanks!

image by me

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

By the way, the Lunchables website has some games on there that you kids can play.  That’s good marketing on their part, huh?

Please check your local Food Lion, as prices may vary by location.  Image from Kraft.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

So here is my fantasy lunch for today.  It would include time with my husband and no kids – just like it used to.  No offense, kids.  Then I would want some lobster bisque with bruschetta on the side, some kind of shrimp scampi and crab legs (with someone else cracking them), ceaser salad, and sweet tea.  For desert, I would like a cup of hot chai tea and a foot massage.  Not a bad fantasy lunch if I do say so myself.

What about you?  What would you have for your fantasy lunch?  I want to know.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy