Working nearly 25 miles from my home in an office that's located in a small town/suburb is going to really pose some challenges to my diet. I brought my lunch today--a salad. It's good, but I really wish my bread was toasted. It tastes so much better warm and with a hint of toastiness.
My co-workers recently discovered a "Thai" place nearby. I saw it today and it's billed as "Chinese-Thai." I am dubious. Perhaps there are some hidden gems to be discovered, but most likely I need to plan for time in my morning routine for preparing a lunch. Perhaps I need to get used to preparing and eating sandwiches. Is it just me or are sandwiches always better when someone else makes them?
Or perhaps I'll look into this Bento Box thing. But that will require planning ahead and making pasta and bean salads and buying decent food which is becoming not only short in supply, but very expensive.
Too bad I don't like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
9 comments:
Lesley- how is your new job going?
I don't like pb&j either. I always found it hard to prepare my lunch and sometimes just didn't eat much until I came home and was starving!! I am lucky now to have a flexible schedule and work some from home. I'll be interested to hear how you deal with it...
I eat a sandwich everyday for lunch when I'm at work, and I don't mind. It's cheap, and, compared to eating take-out everyday, it's healthier. And, yes, sandwiches taste sooo much better when someone else makes them.
what? no pb & j?
what kind of american are you?
so like, do you hate your job yet?
I think sandwiches and salads are tons better when others make it. Being in healthcare I rarely get to go out to lunch so I'm very familiar with blah lunches. I'm always trying to figure out better alternatives - let me know if you think of any.
I could SO see you getting into the bento-box thing. I get into lunch ruts that last entire school years, but my go-to right now is a salad with whatever's in season and a whole wheat tortilla spread with boursin cheese and folded up (somehow I have all these tortillas lying around). I make sure that I NEVER eat my work lunch food at other times, so it feels "special." Work can suck enough.
The job thing is going well so far. There's an interesting group of people there, which makes it a little more stimulating than your average office. Though I don't love being in a cubicle again--it gets a little noisy.
As for peanut butter--it belongs on a spoon (crunchy only) or in a sauce. On a sandwich? Never. I cannot stand the feeling of peanut butter and bread pressed up against the roof of my mouth!
I'm really glad I'm not the only one who thinks sandwiches taste better when someone else makes them. I've always thought that was peculiar of me!
I may investigate this wrap thing a little more...
Good luck at your new job! Do you have a microwave there? I too bring mine, and I never eat sandwiches (I really dislike cold sandwiches even if someone else makes them). I have a used toaster at my desk (it was free and given to me), so if I want toast, I toast. But, I guess I do a modifed bento-box. I cook big on Sundays (stews, soups, French style salads now, entrees etc) and I make my own frozen dinners with lunch sized portions into a tupperware and freeze. The frozen ones come in handy when I don't cook enough on subsequent Sundays, so I just grab and go during those weeks. But, I pack up one or 2 lunches during the week, and then have one portion for dinner on Sunday. The salads I bring I adore because I get really great toppers that I adore, like left over noodles, sauteed/grilled veggies, sauteed/grilled tempeh, etc that I heat up in the microwave and dump on some good lettuce.
I hope my ideas help you through the blahs of lunche drudgery.
OH! You make great enchiladas! Next time, freeze 2 portions, and take them to work in the following weeks for a real treat. Or your lovely veggie lasagnas and casseroles, freeze a couple portions, and have yet more treats for lunch! You make awesome food, and so shall your lunches be awesome!
You know the boro has one of the largest Lao populations in the US. Bet there's something interesting to eat somewhere nearby.
If you bring it, it's like a wholeother dimension to the day, isn't it? I just forget about it until it's time to walk out the door. So I started about 18 months ago making soup from fridge leftovers plus Parmesan rinds, smoked paprika and/or rice or pasta. That way, there something in the house I can take for lunch and don't have to plan. Goodluck with the transition.
Lannae: Thanks for the suggestions. I need to get more creative on salad toppings. My lunch needs to last a little longer than it is now. I find myself reaching for snacks around 3pm. And they're usually sugary or chocolatey.
Fluffernutter: I hope to get back to making things that will yield good leftovers. Unfortunately, with the SO, there are almost never leftovers. I really want to get into this bento thing. I saw a divided container at work today with all sorts of goodies in it and I was so jealous.
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