Work day = Packed lunch. Sometimes I feel like I’m the only person who brings lunch to work. I don’t get it!?
There are a few things that baffle me about this, the first being the price of buying food on a daily basis. Sure, I can understand a treat once in a while, but every day? That adds up! Second, I don’t understand how people can leave their house without any preparation should they get hungry. I know I have a job unlike most other people. I don’t have the luxury of choosing when I take my lunch breaks, and I can’t run out and get food if I’m hungry. I have patients in acutely ill states, and there are time that I simply cannot step away for a break, regardless of how quick (hence the packed food).
But all that considered, I still think I would bring my own food, even if I worked at a desk job or whatever. Control freak? Maybe a little. But my coworkers will be wishing they had a bit more type-A personality in them when I’m buying a house in 2 years done paying off my student loans in 5 years. I don’t mean to sound all holier-than-thou, it’s just a random musing…after all, my Whole Foods addiction pretty much contradicts everything I just wrote. What do you guys think?
You know the deal. Nutty, carob-y, raisin mix, apple, ensalada grande (edamame, corn and tofu were the main features of this bad boy), Apple Pie Larabar, Choco-walla odwalla bar, 1/2 pound of dried mango (this was literally a bushel’s worth of mango in dried form), plus an apple and a banana.
I wish I had read Gena’s post on peeling bananas before eating this one…but I see many banana soft serves in my future, so I’m sure I’ll get a chance to try it out.
I got a Gingerberry Kombucha at lunchtime, which I popped open around 4 pm. HIT.the.SPOT.
I got off work a little late, so dinner was thrown together somewhat haphazardly.
I knew I wanted guac, but none of the regular avocados were ripe. Panic!! I ended up buying a huge, scary, mango-looking avocado instead. The cashier told me they tasted the same, but I was still skeptical. Has anyone else tried these? They seriously look like a mango on the outside, but look like a normal avocado on the inside. Weird.
FYI (because a few people have asked) here is the broccoli slaw I use. It’s made fresh every day (probably with the veggies that have become too unsightly to sell on their own). Does that make me a compost bin?
I’m not sure what I think of this new avocado. It had a more latex-y texture, and not as creamy of a flavor (if that makes any sense at all!). I still ate it all up on top of a bed of spinach.
I threw some dried cranz on top at the last minute…why not, right?
My dessert was more dried mango and carob chips. This picture is deceiving. The bowl was bigger than it looks. So big, in fact, that I couldn’t finish the bowl because my tummy was overwhelmed by the amount of sweetness. Are you shocked?! I know! I was as confused by this as you are. Since when can I not finish dessert?!
None of my coworkers bring lunch either, and if they do on a rare occasion, it’s a frozen meal that doesn’t look fit for consumption!
I think most of us are just unaware of how much money we lose by buying lunch, don’t consider the health consequences, and like to treat themselves. In this country, we don’t have to prepare in case we get hungry bc there is a fast food joint or gas station on every corner. But buying lunch every day?! I don’t get it either. 🙂
Rant aside, I love what you’ve done with your food today!!
I TOTALLY agree with buying lunch. SO WHAT even if I wasn’t a mayjah control freak I would want to save the moolah! I tell my clients all the time about bringing “emergency snacks” and packing lunch. They look at me like I’m nutso. I’m like fine you be the vending machine girl and see what happens.
preparation = larger wallet & happy tum.
<3applepie larabars<3
I’m on the boat with you–I am basically the ONLY person who brings my lunch. If they do, it’s soup or something else out of the freezer or leftovers from the last fast food lunch.
Part of it is they say they’re too busy to make a lunch (Aren’t we all? Make time. Priorities.) and I think part of it is that they just like the experience of going out all the time. I have no idea how they can afford it.
Who knows. I’ll take my little insulated lunch box and bag o’yummy snacks any time! Fly the freak flag!
hey elise!
i absolutely love the blog and all your hippie witticisms.. i felt the need to comment because i, too, fell victim to the strange, mango-masquerading avocado. it wasn’t until i got my purchase home that i noticed a sticker on it that said “slim-cado”, advertising that it was the same fruit with less fat and calories. upon tasting i realized that if giving up calories and fat meant my avocado tasted like plastic wrap, i wanted no part of it. so there you have it!
oh, and i also rock the brought from home lunches. toted stylishly in an insulated lunchbox. yeah girl yeah!
i love your blog. i don’t comment NEARLY enough! but today i just had to tell you – i pack a lunch EVERY SINGLE NIGHT for work the next day! i feel like i’m either 12 years old packing my own lunch or like i’m a young mom sending my kids off to school! haha… it’s either go hungry or eat well, and i choose the latter 😉
I bring my lunch everyday..honestly…and I love it because I know exactly what’s in my food since I prepared it…Don’t worry about what others say or do…your lunches look so appetizing and they are incredibly healthy….Keep up those packed lunches.
Best,
Amie
I think your packed lunches more than make up for your fermented juice addiction. I probably only eat out for lunch once or twice a month and certainly even it out with other unnecessary expenditures.
I’ve never seen a latex avocado, but if I do, I think I’ll pass.
I would (and do) bring my lunch and/or snacks everyday! I would probably have a heart attack and end up in your unit if I didn’t have my emergency snack with me. Especially being vegetarian, I don’t want to settle for some crap ass garden salad if I get stuck somewhere.
For what it’s worth, I’d be a compost bin if I could eat that broccoli/chickpea mix daily! Are you feeling okay? Not being able to finish dessert is like me not being able to finish a plate of hummus and shroomies.
I’m a lunch-buyer!! I know that it’s probably not worth the money, but honestly, between snacks and random stuff I have to carry for work, I think I’d break my back if I carried more food with me!! And I do like that I get to go take a nice long walk to pick up said lunch.
<3 <3
I pack lunches the night before for me and my boyfriend. It seriously only takes 10-15 minutes for both. Usually I have a hard time decided what to take. I don’t like to eat lunch out because it is pricey! Plus there is limited vegetarian options around my work. No one in my office even eats lunch! I feel like such a weirdo because I am the only one chowing down. Whatevs!
Maybe you are sweet enough already?
I always pack my own food too- cheaper, plus I can pack whatever I want rather than relying on stuff that’s available… I inevitable end up eating the same nasty turkey sandwich each day if I buy something and would much rather pack a bunch of things to keep me happy than waste mone and spend my lunch break waiting in line for an overpriced deli sandwich/salad that isn’t exactl how I want it. Nice now and again, but for ever day, homemade rocks 😀
That avocado is huge AND I LOVE IT. I wish it was better tasting because then I would go google “mango-like avocado” and try to find the nearest produce shop to buy one.
OMG you would be SO CREEPED by the people at my mom’s work. Every. single. day. they order greasy hashbrowns, eggs, bacon, pancakes from this diner. Then at lunch it is either McDonalds, Taco Bell, or more diner food. I SWEAR. Those 2 sentences don’t even do it justice because they once held a “who can eat the most mcdonalds contest” and a guy ate a double cheeseburger, 18 chicken nuggets, and a large fries. Mother Cynthia texts me everyday while she eats her WF prepared salads and cottage cheese flipping a bitch!
How strange that you are the only one to pack your lunch! *Everyone* at my office packs their lunch! Maybe it is the field I am in (nutrition), but at all my past jobs the majority of people have packed their lunches as well. It probably DOES have something to do with nutrition people being control freaks 🙂 But I am surprised because you work in the health field too! Come on nurses and doctors…packed lunches are where its at!! (admission–I originally types “packed lunches are where it is at”, which I think disqualifies me from actually using that phrase even the way it was MEANT to be used, lol)
Yummmmmmmm dried mango 🙂
Courtney
I have always been BAFFLED by the fact that so many people eat out for lunch, too!!!! Truly, truly confused.
I have one friend who literally eats out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner EVERY day. Can you imagine?!?!?! Wht a waste of money AND I would probably gain 20 pounds AND I would just miss the joy of cooking!!
PS, just noticed your posting title and I’m LMAO!!!
AGREED 100% on the lunch thing. And just the leaving the house without hunger prevention in general. I know I need to be less “controlling” and such, but really, if you know you’re going to get hungry, then pack something, or eat substantially beforehand (and please don’t complain about being starving)… Yea, and eating out is expensive, I don’t know how my friends do it every single day.
haha sorry for my crazy rant…wish I could answer your avocado-mango query!
I always bring all of my food as well! If you are a control freak – I am a control freak 😀
Ah i always pack my lunchie for work! To save $$$ and kcals! I love eating at home so much more, i’m kinda glad i don’t work this week so I can forage at home 😀 But then when I stay home I just eat the whole fridge! Ha AND i work with kiddies- so my healthy lunch is supplemented with oreos and such.
Sounds like it was a Florida avocado, which is sadly nowhere near as delicious and amazing as Haas avocados.
A lot of my co-workers go out for lunch every day and I can’t imagine spending $6-12 every day on food! I have to pack my lunch to save costs and to also know what kind of ingredients are in my food.
one major thing I’ve always disliked about the legal profession is that most law firms relish the long lunch – I’m in the recruiting process (still in law school) and they take us out to lunch ALL the time. It feels ridiculous to secretly “hate” these all-expense-paid fancy pants lunches, but I’m groaning inside almost every time. I would much rather bring 5 comfortably sized snacks to munch on throughout the work day than partake in a gluttounous lunch…
how do you say no to it though?
yeah that would be hard, especially because id imagine there are unspoken social norms that go along with everyone else being present at a lunch – so you prob *have to* go…haha, “have to,” as if its SUCH a chore to get wined and dined. 🙂 but i agree with you for sure.
yeah, it wasnt nearly as good. bummer. it was way cheaper and bigger. figures.
Weird. My sister is a nurse too, and she always tells me that she is one of the few who brings her dinner/lunch/whatever meal it is at 3AM. I personally love packing a lunch, so I would be right there with ya, brown baggin it!
Ok, even though I’ve only seen that SNL bit twice, I still get that song stuck in my head quite frequently ….. thanks for putting it back there 🙂
I also work in healthcare and don’t understand why more folks don’t bring their lunches. At least I can grab an apple or a larabar between patients if the days gets super busy. Not to mention, I’d like to maintain my health, and avoiding hospital food and fast food (although nowadays with the advent of fast food chains inside hospitals they are one in the same …) is a big step in that direction.
I’m also with you on the Whole Foods addiction – but I think that the savings from a fast food lunch each work day add up, especially when we consider the added energy, better health, etc. And avocados just taste so much better than greasy burgers.
Kombucha – yum. I love that stuff so much. My current favorite is the greens, but gingerberry is my staple. Have you ever thought of brewing your own?
I so agree about the lunch thing. I just don’t get it! Not only is it way worse in terms of health, its way more expensive. Packing just seems like such an easy thing to help you in the long run.
My college roommate used to eat out everyday (and then eat my food when she was too lazy) When she gained like 50 lbs I suggested she buy some groceries and she told me she wasn’t about to spend $100 a week on food. Which makes zero sense.
I totally agree with you on the packed lunch thing. I’ve always brought my lunch – even when I ate tons of meat and thought baked Lays were healthy.
I am completely with you on all the reasons to pack a lunch! Cost, choice, health, convenience! Why not? My only issue is that sometimes do run out of ideas, so I like to eat out once a week or so to shake things up 🙂