Brown Bag Lunch Ideas
It was a tragic lesson in the risks of consuming a fast-food, sugary diet….
Dr. Mona Meighan’s normally punctual 26-year-old son, Luke, did not show up for work one morning in 2009. A concerned co-worker stopped by Luke’s apartment and found the young man dead in his bed. An autopsy determined he died from complications of undiagnosed diabetes.
“For seven years, through college and into his work life, Luke lived on pizza and fast foods, sodas and sweet desserts,” says Meighan, an education consultant and author of What Are You Doing for Lunch?: A Friendly Guide to Brown Bagging as a Better Way to Lunch (www.whatareyoudoingforlunch.com).
“Since we have no diabetes in our family, I can only believe Luke’s diet contributed to his death. Too often, young people aren’t aware of how food affects their health. As an educator, I thought the best way to remember Luke was to give people the tools to change their lunch habits. By brown-bagging, you can avoid a lot of processed foods loaded with calories and carbohydrates. It’s healthier – and less expensive!”
