And now here I am. Working again with time to buy groceries. Gasp. I’ve been buying my lunch everyday at our really nice office cafeteria, but I’ve been thinking (as I like to try and do every so often) that it’s probably more economical and somewhat healthier to bring lunch. So I’ve decided to do just that. Bring my lunch, brown paper bag style.

BUT I’m a foodie. Clearly a regular turkey and swiss won’t do on a regular basis…I need to mix it up! I want to make things that will compare to what I could be getting at the cafeteria so I won’t feel like I’m missing out. So here it is, my sandwich for today:

Prosciutto with sliced sheep’s cheese, basil, baby arugula and black olive tapenade. Ok….arguably healthier than the cafeteria. But then I realized these are expensive ingredients, so perhaps it’s not economical to make lunch. To figure this quandary out, I made a spreadsheet, ex-banker style.

So it costs me approximately $4.37 per sandwich (provided I use all the ingredients to their capacity), which is less than the ~$7.00 spent at the cafeteria. That’s a savings of $13.15/week or $52.59 per month. Hmmm, maybe I should start making this a regular challenge for the summer…suggestions are welcome for other great sandwiches.