Salt water beats lemon juice for lunch-box fruit.

Saltwater is the easiest lemon-free way to keep apple slices and avocado from browning. Dissolve about half a teaspoon of salt in two cups of water, soak the slices for five minutes, then drain and pack. Rinse them quickly if you’re worried about salt taste, but a light brine usually doesn’t linger. The salt interrupts the enzyme that causes browning, same as acid does.

Honey water works too, and it’s a little sweeter: two tablespoons of honey in a cup of water, soak the fruit for a few minutes. Honey has natural compounds that slow oxidation. Or crush half a vitamin C tablet into water and soak — that’s basically pure ascorbic acid, the same active ingredient in commercial anti-browning products like Fruit-Fresh.

One caveat: no soak will fix a badly bruised apple. But the real trick for any lunch box is to keep air away after you treat it. Pat the slices dry, pack them tight, and press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the cut surfaces before closing the lid. You don’t need fancy gadgets.

A little prep beats a brown, sad lunch every time.