Leftovers aren't just something you should banish to the bottom shelf of your fridge until they're no longer recognizable and need to be tossed - use them for your lunch instead. 

Just because peanut butter and jelly sandwiches have been popular since long before even you were a child, doesn't mean they have to be boring - or for kids only.

Whoever said pancakes were only a breakfast food clearly hadn't met The Sexy Vegan or seen his video for making a savory variety.

Speaking of types of lunch sandwiches, not all tuna is created - or rather fished for - equal, so be careful when choosing yours.

Happy Tiffin, Kids Konserve and Etsy are just a few sources for all things concerning eco-friendly lunch containers.

» Ecollo

As you strive to stay green and save some money, it's time to pretend you're in grade-school again. No, that doesn't mean running around a playground, pulling Little Susie's pigtails and pushing her off the monkey bars. What it does mean is what we've been stressing for the past couple of weeks: packing your own lunch to take to work. Buying a lunch every day uses a lot of unnecessary packaging, not to menion it's expensive. You might have horrible images running through your head of the lunch boxes you once hauled to school, containing a soggy sandwich, a lukewarm juice box and limp carrots, but be rest-assured, those are the lunches of yore. Today's packed lunches for grown-ups can be as fancy and fresh as you choose.

Plan ahead
You may already be thinking about how you just don't have the time it takes to pack a decent healthy lunch. It doesn't have to be a time-consuming process though, especially if you prepare in advance. Add easy items to your farmers' market list that only require washing or minimal preparation just prior to eating, such apples, oranges, pears or strawberries. Prepare vegetables ahead of time, but chopping up a bunch of carrots, celery, peppers or whichever you choose on Sunday night and storing them in a container in your refrigerator crisper. To keep them extra crisp, you can soak them in cold water. These are almost guaranteed to be more cost-efficient when you purchase at a farmer's market or even a supermarket, as opposed to paying the grossly inflated prices at the little corner cafe, which seems to be under the impression that a tiny tray of vegetables and dinky cup of ranch dip is worth your hard-earned $8. The added bonus is that many of these are available locally-grown when you purchase them yourself.

If you don't find the idea of the aforementioned soggy sandwich overly appealing (and let's be honest, who would?), pack your bread and meat separately, and keep some condiments like mustard in the office refrigerator. Pack some vegetables to make it a truly gourmet sandwich, such as lettuce, tomatoes and pickles.

Finally make your lunch the night before work if your mornings are rushed. Your incentive to throw something together on your way out the door won't last long and you'll be back in that McDonald's line-up before you know it.

Use your leftovers
We've said it a couple of times already this week, but it's worth repeating one more time: take advantage of your leftovers! Pack the remains of your dinner in individual-sized containers and voila, you've got an easy main course that simply needs to be heated. As an added bonus, prepare extra salad for dinner and pack it with a bit of dressing for a full meal. Or you can combine the dinner ingredients with others to come up with a brand-new dish. You'll be ensuring your extra food doesn't go to waste, plus there's a good chance that your slab of shepherd's pie or bowl of chili will look far more appealing than the grey-ish burger and greasy fries you'd pick up at the nearest drive-thru.

Prepare for a snack attack
Packing a lunch doesn't just have to mean only packing things you'll eat at noon. If you find you regularly visit the vending machine, pack some extra snacks for throughout the day, such as raw vegetables and hummus or a bag of microwave popcorn. Just don't burn the stuff or you'll be the most hated person in the office until the smell dissipates - usually hours, if not a day, later.

Practice reusing
One of the most eco-friendly aspects of packing a lunch is your ability to reuse the containers you pack your food in. Buy good quality reusable options that you can wash out and use over and over. We've already show you reusable kits by Kids Konserve, some unique one-of-a-kind options that are available on sites such as Etsy, as well as the mighty Tiffin Carrier.

And don't be too intimdated to start looking for your own ideas. Knowing how much I love my vegetables, Mr. Pinky Bean has suprised me on two occasions with new lunch-ware (the romance never ends with us!) - once with a salad container featuring a handy lid that can hold and release salad dressing, and another time with a seemingly normal sandwich container, with a built-in cup and lid for dip in the middle. Look for convenient containers such as these, or ones with compartments so your sliced strawberries don't get mixed in with your corn.

 If you absolutely must use plastic baggies on occasion, wash and re-use those as well. Instead of plastic cutlery, utilize the office stash or metal forks, knives and spoons - just be sure to wash and replace them once you're done, so you don't become that co-worker who constantly leaves their dishes for others to clean up.

Be creative
Gone are the days of boring PB&J - the ingredients available today allow you to be much more innovative with this classic.

If you can't stomach the thought of it, yse your imagination and include foods that you do love. Make a big pasta or couscous salad at the beginning of the week. Slice fruit and take along some vanilla yogurt for dipping. Take some tortilla chips and salsa (in separate containers to avoid sogginess of course!). In other words, pack the foods you love, not boring old lunch standards that hold no appeal and will feel like a chore to eat.

Safety first
Always practic proper and safe food preparation and storage. Wash your produce thoroughly. Transfer any unused canned items into safe containers for later use. Get a thermos for your soup, and likewise an ice pack if necessary to keep sandwich meat chilled until lunchtime if you don't have a public access fridge at work. If you are fortunate enough to have such a fridge, put your lunch in there as soon as you arrive at work to keep food such as meat and dairy at the appropriate temperature.

» wikiHow

We already know their are numerous eco-friendly benefits to choosing a good ole' PB&J sandwich for your lunch. You can save over two pounds of carbon emissions for choosing the sandwich over a burger, not to mention 280 gallons of water. We even showed you a video tutorial with instructions demonstrating how to make such a sandwich, should you need the assistance.

However if the thought of regular peanut butter and jelly doesn't exactly do it for you, the green benefits of choosing one might be a moot point, because you probably aren't likely to make yourself a lunch you aren't likely to enjoy. But whoever said PB&J  has to be boring? Try adding your own little twist to this classic to suit your tastes and still be a friend to the environment.

It's all in the bread
Sure the standard sandwich may be made with white bread, but there isn't any reason you can't substitute this for something a bit different. Multi-grain bread is typically full of- you guessed it - grains and seeds and will offer more texure, while rye or sourdough breads both offer more unique flavor than white bread.

Have your cake and eat it too
It's definitely not the most healthy substitution, but if you're in the mood for a bit of a treat (or want to give one to the kids) once in awhile, swap out the bread for cake. You can also add a few ingredients to the peanut butter for a richer, sweeter taste.

Ain't nothing like the real thing
If you're a Kraft or Skippy smooth or crunchy fan, you may never have experienced the "true" taste of peanut butter - that is, the all-natural stuff simply made of peanuts and salt. Many peanut butters on the market contain partially-hydrogenated oil and sugar, and though the amount varies, it changes the taste significantly. Natural peanut butter must be stored in the refrigerator upon opening and must be stirred before use each time since the natural oils from the peanuts acccumulate on top. Natural peanut butter tastes more like real peanuts, and will offer a nice change if you're used to the other kind.

Jelly? What jelly?
The same way you can swap out bread or peanut butter, you can also do with jelly (duh!). Slice a banana and use it instead of jelly, or add a tablespoon of honey as a substitution. You could also use marmalade or stick with the jelly and add some marshmallow cream.

How would you make your PB&J more exciting?

» Wikipedia

If you aren't yet convinced about the greatness that is reusable Tiffin Carrier lunch boxes, watch this video demonstrating how to pack and seal your tiffin. You'll also see just how leak-proof one of these stainless steel containers is.

In other words, perfect for you or your energetic child who swings their lunch kit wildly on the way to catch the bus or is prone to spills.

This video was made by the folks at Happy Tiffin, who produce two-, three-, and four-tier tiffins in a variety of sizes, as well as the very cool pyramid tiffins, which feature as many as six - yes, count'em, six! - tiers. The pyramids even feature plates built into the containers for your convenience.

Check out Happy Tiffin after the jump, but be sure to watch the video first!

» Happy Tiffin (Official Site)

Your leftovers from dinner may or may not be intentional: you either make too much food completely by mistake or you purposely do so to have food for the next day. Either way, leftovers provide a bit of a conundrum in that you aren't sure what to do with the extra food or you have no real desire to eat the exact same food multiple days in a row. However, not taking advantage of leftover food can lead to food waste and the missed opportunity for a great lunch.

Read on for some ideas for these common leftovers and submit your own suggestions in the comments.

Chicken
The benefit of chicken is that it tastes great both cold and re-heated. Put together a salad from all of the vegetables lingering in your crisper and add some chicken on top as a source of protein. Or use those vegetables, the chicken and some vegetable broth to make a quick, easy soup you can store in a thermos and take on the fly. You can also turn it into a delicious sandwich or rap by adding some meat, lettuce, tomatos and mustard to a couple of slices of bread, tortilla shell or pita.

Rice, Pasta or Couscous
Leftover side dishes are often plentiful, but also one of the more commonly wasted food items since they are less expensive, and don't constitute as an entire meal on their own. Now that it's nearly summer, keep them cold and combine with some of that aforementioned chicken, some fresh vegetables and your favorite vinaigrette-style salad dressing for a light, refreshing grain or pasta salad. Any of these side dishes can also be used in a soup.

Vegetables
Add asparagus, peas, corn, beets, insert-leftover-vegetable-here to some lettuce and make - you guessed it - a salad. Even if they've gone a bit soft, they'll be balanced out by the crisp lettuce and any other fresh vegetables you can add, such as a carrot or some cucumber. Or just add some oil and vinegar to the vegetables on their own for an improvised vegetable salad. If you have access to a stove during your lunch break, use them in an omelette.

Potatoes
Yes, they're technically a vegetablem, but so versatile they deserved their own space. If you have access to that stove, turn them into hashed browns to go with that omelette, or mash them up and add some salt, pepper and a bit of sour cream or milk (almond milk works well) to use as a different side dish to go with your leftover chicken.

Fruit
You cut up some lovely, healthy fruit for your family to enjoy, but unfortunately they had ice cream on the brain. No problem, simply mix it together for a fruit salad you can eat plan or with a tablespoon of maple syrup. You can also turn it into a parfait by simply adding yogurt and granola. And in case you weren't aware, some fruits such as strawberries, blueberries and mango are actually nice additions to an unconventional salad.

» Wikipedia

You can find a regular lunch bag or a cool container to carry your food around in, but how about an all-inclusive kit that comes with it all?

Introducing the waste-free lunch kits from Kids Konserve, which include two stainless steel food containers, a stainless steel drink bottle, reusable food cozy, cloth napkin and recycled aluminum name tag, all packaged in a recycled cotton sack. The bag isn't all that is made from recycled materials: the food container lids are made from recycled and recyclable, BPA-free plastic, as is the food cozy, which can be used instead of disposable sandwich baggies, plastic wrap or foil. You can also order mini versions of the stainless steel containers, perfect for dips, dressings or small snacks.

Or for your next big gathering, consider one of the Party Paks, which contain reusable plates, cups and utensils, all makde from 100% recycled plastic yogurt containers.

Kids Konserve was created by two women, both mothers of young children, who wanted to set an example of conservation for their children and reduce the amount of trash being produced each day at their own schools.

And even though the company name contains the word "kids," make no mistake: these lunch bags are definitely adult-friendly enough to warrant ordering one for yourself along with one for your family's younger members.

» Kids Konserve (Official Site)