Advantages of not buying on the spot
By Brittney MacDonald, Life & Style Editor
Do you see people with packed lunches as a lesser species? Do you pity those that come prepared because they’ll never have the joy of a hot, fresh slice of pizza? Well, those individuals might be smarter than you think. Bringing a packed lunch or dinner, as opposed to buying on the spot, has some definite advantages, even if it does lack the excitement of racing off to your favourite fast food stand. It may be more work, but here are the top 10 reasons you should consider bringing food with you to class.
- It’s cheaper. All those fancy coffees and burgers can add up, even if there is a lot of cheap food available.
- It’s healthier. Cheesy grease bread and French fries may sound amazing, but your arteries will not thank you, and neither will your tush.
- It teaches better organization. Packing a lunch or dinner requires pre-planning, which is always a good habit to get into. Treat this as a gateway into planning your day. Today: sandwiches. Tomorrow: healthy financial investments!
- You can snack in class. My main motivation for bringing food with me to class is that I’m constantly hungry, but I’m also radically impatient. Bringing food with you means you don’t have to wait until break, or until class is out to start chowing down. Of course, that is unless your instructor is some anti-eating-in-class monster.
- You’ll have more private time. Bringing food with you means you don’t have to enter the hustle and bustle that is the cafeteria, or brave the cold outside. You can just settle down in a quiet place to enjoy your meal.
- You’ll have less leftovers. Packing meals means you can use up leftovers, either that you’ve made or that your family has. This means less food goes to waste and you have a cleaner fridge, and one ready for potentially more deliciousness in the future.
- It’s environmentally friendly. Most people don’t do the whole paper bag and saran wrap thing—instead we now have cute Tupperware and lunch kits that keep things cold or hot. Buying food on the go creates more garbage.
- You can make friends. Want to get someone to talk to you? Bring food that smells delicious to class.
- You can avoid making friends. Want to avoid talking to people in class? Stuff your face till you can’t speak. Bonus points if it will also make your breath smell terrible.
- You get to relive your glorious culinary past. Have you ever made something so delicious that you just have to eat it over and over again until you explode? Packing your own food allows you to do that more. It also allows you to try playing with different flavours without too much risk. Didn’t work out? All well, give in and go get the bagel from Tim Horton’s.
