Ever get tired of sandwiches for lunch? I hardly ever even feed my family sandwiches for lunch because really…by the time I’ve calculated in the cost of a decent loaf of bread, higher quality lunch meat, mayo and the works for my crew of big eaters…I may as well have made a pot roast. Seriously, I did the math one time.

Do you know what it costs me to feed sandwiches to my family of big eaters? Eight dollars and forty six cents.

And that’s just the sandwiches. 

Our family of six does, without a doubt, finish an entire loaf of bread and the entire contents of at least two packages of deli meat. Add fruit and carrots to that, and milk to drink…it can really add up!

Now, could I buy the cheaper bread and a package of bologna and save money? Sure.  But, blech. (and I mean that in the kindest way possible)

So let’s review: It costs me more to feed my family sandwiches than it does for me to make them a pot roast. And throwing a pot roast in the crock pot takes less time. How about that? 

You always knew I was a nerd, didn’t you? Calculating the cost of sandwiches vs. a pot roast? Sounds like I have too much extra time on my hands doesn’t it?

If you really think I have too much time on my hands, I’d be happy to smack you with a dust rag. (A dirty dust rag.) I just figured out the cost to make a point, that’s all. Point made…moving along.

When you’re trying to eat a healthy diet, figuring out exciting and economical lunches can be a challenge. And, if you are trying to pack a healthy lunch to take to school or work, it can be even more of a challenge.

This yummy Black Bean Salsa is delicious, good for you, and super easy to put together for a quick lunch. Pack it up “to go” with some corn chips and some fruit and you’ve got a great lunch that’s easy to take anywhere.

Black Bean Salsa

1 cup dried black beans
5 tomatoes, diced
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 cup frozen corn, steamed and cooled
¼ cup chopped cilantro

Soak beans in water overnight. Drain and cover with fresh water in saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 45 minutes. Drain.

In a large bowl, mix together beans, tomatoes, onion, corn and cilantro. Stir together. Store in refrigerator. Serve with corn chips or baked tortilla chips.

Make this salsa even easier by using canned black beans and canned corn…then all you have to do is quickly throw all the ingredients into a bowl and stir! Mmmmm…I LOVE this stuff!

Now, I didn’t take the time to calculate the cost of this black bean salsa, because what do you think I do all day anyway?  Sit around calculating the costs of my lunches?! 

 

Laura Coppinger and her husband Matt have four sons, ages 5-13. A stay-at-home mom, Laura maintains a Web site www.heavenlyhomemakers.com dedicated to inspiring women daily with healthy recipes, homemaking tips, spiritual encouragement and good ol’ clean fun.

Tags: black bean salsa, easy, healthy, lunch, salsa

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 1st, 2010 at 5:35 am and is filed under Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.