One Lunch Forever
by emily
I’ve read somewhere (or something – who knows how we know things, sometimes we just know things) that a good way to stay in control of your weight/health is to eat similar foods every day. I’m not particularly “trying” to “lose weight” so much as I occasionally hate myself/my body and I try to avoid having those feelings, which generally results in me keeping fairly on top of exercise and healthy eating. Just trying to keep the goblins at bay here. (The goblins also make me adjust the couch cushions hourly and straighten the basket that holds the napkins on the kitchen table so that it is at a 90 degree angle from the candle sticks. I think I’ve mentioned the goblins here before, too lazy to link to it, DEAL.) So anyway, I decided that a good thing to do would be for me to create my ideal lunch and then just have it every day that I’m home at lunch time, which is most days. I already have One Breakfast Forever. It’s been working out great! Here’s my One Breakfast Forever: old fashioned oatmeal with some raw almonds and some chopped up fruit (usually banana), all in a pile in a bowl, black coffee, Emergen-C, and a One-A-Day Women’s vitamin. Ugh, listing it all out like that makes me look like a crazy person. But here’s the thing – it keeps me full until lunchtime, without fail. And it makes me feel healthy and I love feeling healthy! It feels great! I’m thinking about switching up from oatmeal to Wallaby non-fat plain yogurt when I run out of this giant thing of oatmeal I have, but who knows. A nice bowl of warm oatmeal is nice in the winter. Maybe after winter I’ll switch to the yogurt for awhile. RIVETING STUFF.
What will she decide?????????
Anyway. One Breakfast Forever inspired me. And for awhile I was trying to sort of fake my way on a half-assed Paleo diet, which really just resulted in me eating a lot of scrambled eggs and organic free-range meat products, which, it turns out, if you don’t do the diet right, just results in making you feel gross and fat. I also decided I wanted not to fart so much all the time. So the dilemma I faced was how to eat a lunch that makes me feel healthy, fills me up until dinner, and doesn’t make me fart all my friends away. Here’s what I settled on!
One Lunch Forever: proteiny salad! Here’s what it consists of: some kind of a lettuce (baby spinach, baby arugula, and romaine are my favorites), little tomatoes, a carrot, cucumber or pickles (these are optional and depend on what’s in my fridge at the moment, and if you have the husband I have it’s hard to keep pickles around for long), a handful of some frozen veggies (right now I have corn and peas, but edamame works well, too), feta cheese, and a can of tuna mixed with a little mayo and some dijon mustard. I put all that crap in a bowl and pour some salt and pepper and oil and vinegar on top. BAM. One Lunch Forever. I used to put chick peas on my salads because they are tasty and filling but they make me wicked gassy so I 86ed ‘em (that’s restaurant terminology for “no longer available”). The tuna keeps me full, the feta keeps things interesting, and the veggies make me feel good in my insides. Guys, it’s kind of the best.
I know I’m lucky that I can spent 10-15 minutes every day in my kitchen, making a salad, then eating it in front of my computer while I watch TV shows on Hulu, but I think this is doable for people who work in offices, too. You just have to do it ahead of time. DOESN’T EVERYBODY WANT TO HAVE ONE LUNCH FOREVER NOW!? I know. What would yours be? Peanut butter and jelly? Cheese and crackers? Tomato soup and grilled cheese? Oh man, I love tomato soup and grilled cheese! Let’s get together sometime and trade One Lunch Forevers.
I’m loving this. While I was in Ireland my one lunch forever was a cup of tea and turkey, hummus and feta on a thin pita bread. Aw the good days, now my lunch is… let’s a make a lentil soup/vegetable stew to “freeze for later” and then see how much of it I can “taste” before ramon gets home… before you know it 3 bowls. no control. none.
I have one breakfast forever. It involves yogurt so I’m a fan. But if i lived in a cold place yours sounds good, I will try it. You should try greek yogurt… i like the fage 2%. So much protein and only naturally occurring sugars – then i add my homemade granola and whatever fruit i have around. WE ARE SO HEALTHY.
Haha. RIGHT?!
I’ve been putting McCann’s Irish steel cut oatmeal in a crockpot and add a banana at breakfast. Flavor tip: cook it with some apple cider with the water! Coffee of course.
Yesterday’s leftovers for lunch. If it’s always leftovers is that the same thing?
mine is sad:
can of soup
pb sandwich
Peanut Butter Power!
subsidized salad bar from the company cafe with some kind of protein. I’m in training, you know.
variety is the spice of life. haviing the same thing every day is should we say boring. healthy is a word that gives people the willies because they think of chomping on some hay for lunch.