When I was a kid a homemade lunch was not cool. And to be fair, I didn't really have a proper lunch box. I was carrying my sandwich in a nylon bag back then. And no matter how lovingly my father use to make this sandwiches, and how many tricks he had for wrapping it so it will not move or reopen in my bag (and he really had some good ideas there!) – The results were always the same – by lunch time I had a pale, soggy and half squashed sandwich. So no – a homemade lunch was definitely not a pretty site for me.

Those images stayed in the back of my mind as I grew up, so I was avoiding this homemade lunch thing as you would a fire, not realizing times had changed. In my mind homemade lunch were for kids. But this can't be farther than the truth. I came to realize that when a new girl came to the office.

This girl was a really interesting character for me. She had something different about her. If I had to describe it I will say that she was an individual but in a social kind of way. If that makes any sense. She was very elegant looking and it was very clear she was taking care of herself.

Before she came we were all ordering lunch from a selection of fast foods and restaurants around us. It was an every day event. On her first day at the job we were about to do our usual round of lunch orders and we asked her what will she like to order. She thanked us but didn't want anything explaining she had brought lunch from home. I was surprised that a girl like her is going to let herself eat a pale, soggy, squashed sandwich. I was sure this will not last at all. I gave it two days max before she joins our ritual.

Lunch had come. We all sat around the big table finding whose meal belongs to whom and she joined us, holding the cutest little lunch bag I had ever seen. I was mesmerized as she systematically took out one item at a time. It looked good! There was nothing pale, nothing squashed, nothing soggy. It was colorful and fresh looking. My meal was looking greasier and greasier by the minute. Not only that, but she had small healthy snacks throughout the day. At some point, as usual, I was feeling the need for something sweet and I couldn't resist a huge slice of cake I saw in a bakery nearby. She had a cake too, a controlled portion of a cake to take with her coffee. When I was feeling heavy from my meal she looked annoyingly fresh. I could not believe I was envying a homemade meal! A lunch box! That is when it hit me- Time HAD changed!

With time this girl and I became really good friends. This friendship influenced me in the best way and it pushed me to lead a healthier life style. I actually stopped smoking! I am now going to the gym on a regular basis and of course I am no longer wasting my money on bad nutrition at work. And I am not feeling deprived one bit, the complete opposite – I feel pampered.

After reading a survey which revealed 41% of adults answered no when were asked if they ever prepare lunch at home in order to take it to work, and only 5% answered "every day" - I've decided to speak up and try to do for you what this dear friend of mine, Mary, did for me – let you know why you need a lunch box, give you the truth about it. A truth which the fast food industry probably would not want you to know.

If you want to save money while having a better nutrition, food control or a diet – lunch box is what you need. And as an extra special bonus you are actually helping the environment by not contributing to the waste and garbage that the fast food industry is responsible for (it's not just the food I am talking about) and by using a reusable product.