Bringing your lunch to work, school or wherever you spend your days is a healthier alternative to noshing at fast food joints and restaurants. But if knowing this is not incentive enough, consider this: Packing your own lunch can save you up to $2,000 a year. That's enough for a couple pairs of Manolos, a relaxing trip somewhere warm or a reliable older car.

Think about it: A sandwich, side salad and diet pop at a café or restaurant will probably total around $10-$12 (maybe more, depending on where you live). The cost to make that sandwich and side salad and buy the soda in bulk? This is just a rough guesstimate, but I'd say around $3.

The easiest way to make sure you have something nutritious and delicious in your lunch box the next day is by cooking a bit extra when you make dinner. Got other yummy lunch ideas? Please share.

Healthy brown bag lunch ideas(click thumbnails to view gallery)

Not keen on the brown bag? Try packing a lunch in something like this Lunch & Go Lunchbox.

Lunch & Go Pieces and Parts(click thumbnails to view gallery)

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While hunting around on the Internet the other day, I stumbled upon this Lunch & Go lunchbox. It's not a box for kids, though. It's for grown-ups (well, kids could use it too, I suppose). It looks pretty handy, so I thought I'd share.

Broad enough to hold your nutritious goods, this lunchbox is pretty thin and is easy to slip into bags and totes. See that red sandwich holder? It has a movable divider to accommodate varying serving sizes. If you prefer a different container, a green one, great for salads, might be up your alley. It comes with a cutting board and dressing cup too.

Another selling point: The removable lunchbox lid doubles as a place mat, making clean-up easier than ever. And an icepack is part of the deal too.

Get your very own handy, dandy box here at Aladdin (I hear Target carries it too). Price starts at $15. Add the red container for $12 and the green one for another $12. Worth the price? You decide. And let us know.

Lunch & Go Pieces and Parts(click thumbnails to view gallery)

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• Honey-Glazed Turkey, Apple and Cheese Sandwich on Whole-Grain Bread
• Carrot, Raisin and Pineapple Salad
• Seedless Green Grapes
• Sun Chips (2.8-ounce bag)
  
  

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• The Bead Diet. Each bead in your bracelet represents 100 calories, and you wear beads depending on how many calories you want to consume in a day. When you eat a hundred calories, you move a bead. Delta Goodrem and Kate Beckinsale are fans of this approach.
  
• Bench Pressing. This classic exercise is an oldie but a goodie.
  
• Pomegranate. The superfood is so super, it continues to gain popularity.
  
• Skinny Water. This low-cal (?!) water supposedly contains nutrients that will help you burn fat. Jennifer Aniston is known for chugging it.
  
• Marathons. They've been around for a while, but expect everyone and their dog to sign up for one.
  
• The Lunch Box Diet. Armed with a big lunch box, dieters fill it with healthy goodies and much out of it all day.
  
• Workout Shoes. Shoes specially designed to tone your legs are hip this year, even if they look a bit funny
  

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