Between watching our waistlines and watching our budget, both my husband and I try to avoid going out for lunch. After all, you can easily spend as much as $10 on a sandwich or salad that is way too big, which you inevitably end up eating anyway and then feel uncomfortably full for the rest of the afternoon.

But I find it so difficult to come up with creative and healthy options for lunch, particularly since both of us are trying to go meatless for our midday meal. So often we get in a rut, eating the same exact thing every day.

For me, it's usually an Amy's Bean and Cheese burrito [1]. They're only around $2, filling, and somewhat healthy. Plus they take all of 2 minutes to nuke in the microwave, a plus during my busy day.

For Chip, I'd simply buy cold cuts (healthy ones, like smoked turkey or lean roast beef) and use them in wraps, along with a handful of lettuce or spinach and a slice of cheese. Until our decision to cut meat out of our lunches. But what kind of sandwich can you make if lunchmeats are verboten?

I hit upon the solution when I discovered packages of seasoned, baked tofu at my local supermarket. Sliced and folded into a wrap with baby spinach and strips of green pepper, it made a sandwich that garnered a mid-day instant message of appreciation from Chip.

To add to the challenge, he recently got this adorable Japanese bento lunch container [2]. I'm sure he envisioned multi-course lunches, with each of the four cunning little stackable containers holding a different delectable component of his lunch. But I haven't gotten my act together enough to make more than one or two things.

I resorted again to tofu for ideas of what to fill the bento box's little containers. I made up some brown rice in the rice cooker and topped it with some tofu, marinated with soy sauce and sesame oil and stir-fried with some chopped broccoli and snow peas.

Along with the tofu and brown rice dish, I tossed together a little salad of thinly sliced, peeled cucumbers seasoned with rice wine vinegar, salt and pepper, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. It's one of our favorite salads—cool and refreshing, perfect for summer.

This week I'm going to challenge myself to come up with some other lunch options for us both.

For some reason, the mention of lunch in my mind is intrinsically linked with the sandwiches of my youth, on healthy wheat bread and cut on the diagonal. But there's got to be more to lunch than sandwiches, right? I'm thinking veggie sticks with a yogurt-dill dip or hummus. Maybe gazpacho—it's way too muggy out for a hot soup, even within the confines of an air conditioned office. And some time back, I'd made some little calzones that were just the right size for Chip to take to lunch. I'd even doled out some pizza sauce into little zip-top bags.

As for me, I'm not bothered eating my Amy's burrito Monday to Friday. But since we've also gotten into a recent take-out rut at dinnertime, I've been trying to immediately divide my meal in half and pack away one portion before I even sit down to eat. It's pretty amazing how half an entrée will fill you up if that's all that's on your plate.

So, if anyone out there has any healthy, interesting, non-sandwich lunch options, feel free to share... maybe we can all come up with some delicious new brown-bag choices just in time for the new school year.

In My Kitchen
Every week, I tally my grocery bill, and give you a peek at what's on the dinner table at our house.

Groceries: $88.58

• Fish and Rice [2]
  
• Pulled BBQ Chicken, Spinach Salad, Biscuits
• Grilled Flank Steak Fajitas, Refried Beans