Bringing your own lunch gives you more choice between your favorite healthy foods than buying a lunch in the cafeteria does. Personally, I buy lunch because I would rather spend those extra five to 10 minutes in the morning sleeping than packing my lunch. But on the rare occasion that I do bring lunch, I find that I am more careful about what I pack. As a result, I tend to be healthier.

In the cafeteria, many of my friends gravitate towards the burger and pizza corner, or the rainbow of soft drinks in the fridge. I tend to go towards the salad bar and think that I will emerge a champion of health. But when I go to pay, I can’t pass by the counter of cookies, brownies, chips and candy without getting some treat.

In the cafeteria there are many healthy options, but at the same time there are just as many unhealthy items. I do not know any teenager who would choose carrots over cookies or water over soda. By bringing your own lunch, you are almost guaranteed to be healthier.

At home, you have a type of food freedom, where you control what goes into your bag. This way you actually like the foods you eat and are healthy doing so. While at school there is a sandwich fridge and salad bar, the types of sandwiches do not change and the salad bar always has the same toppings.

At home you can diversify food. You can make cold pastas, have your own delicious sides like fruit kebabs or salsa and chips. There is more of a range to choose from. I find that by having more options, I stick to eating healthy, and my hand doesn’t wander off in search of a sweet dessert.

The problem with the school cafeteria is that there are just as many unhealthy dishes as there are healthy ones. Students are easily tempted to buy the sweets rather than the veggies.

Bringing lunch eliminates the temptations, thus making a lunch from home healthier.

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