Lunch Break
You’d think working from home would result in delicious, balanced, filling lunches nearly every day…right? Wrong. Lunch has more often than not become something forgotten, deprioritized because of a noon meeting, or—at best—rushed. It’s a haphazard, fridge-foraged quesadilla on a good day and leftover Pizza Hut on a great day.
I have plenty of excuses, but the point is that I definitely ate better lunches when I was commuting to the office every day. I was planful and intentional; I packed the night before and grabbed it along with my briefcase to head out the door for my 30-minute drive. The American Dream.
Sarcasm aside, I miss that. And while I might not be able to recreate bumping into a friend in the kitchen or waiting in line for the microwave (okay—I don’t miss everything), I should be able to prepare myself a good lunch once in a while. It starts with a little bit of simple meal prep and getting into a rhythm to last the whole week.
“...while I might not be able to recreate bumping into a friend in the kitchen or waiting in line for the microwave, I should be able to prepare myself a good lunch once in a while.”
So I set out to get some semblance of a routine back and create better habits for lunch. I trialed it for a week, starting by packing Monday’s lunch on Sunday evening, and I have to say it went well. This post is multi-purpose: it’s a commitment to myself to eat better and it’s a reminder of five incredibly easy meal-prep packed lunch ideas to come back to in the future.
Day 1: Snack Attack
To start the week, I pulled out my favorite lunch box that I haven’t used in eight months and got to packing. Fresh veggies, a leftover side of mac and cheese from Sunday night, and some snacks that were quick to throw in. Sure it was easy, but had to start somewhere.
Day 2: Picnic at Home
I thawed a couple ciabatta rolls for the upcoming days (I always keep those on hand in the freezer) and made a great cold cut sandwich. This was one of the more balanced lunches I had—both sweet and savory, nutritious and indulgent.
Day 3: Avocado Toast
On Tuesday night, I soft boiled a few eggs to use for upcoming lunches. This one put my other ciabatta roll to use. A thick layer of smashed avocado, plenty of seasonings, arugula, and the perfect 8-minute egg.
Day 4: Upleveled Instant Ramen
I made one of my favorite things for this one: a soy egg. Marinated overnight in soy sauce and a splash of Worcestershire, it was delicious dropped into a spicy instant ramen. I also added a piece of breaded chicken, an egg roll from leftovers the night before, and made a quick salad out of romaine, sweet peppers, cucumber, and cilantro topped with a homemade peanut miso dressing.
Day 5: Charcuterie for One
This one happened to coincide with a virtual team holiday event on Friday afternoon. I kicked off my personal party with a board full of my favorite snacks from the fridge and pantry, including a new bar snack mix from Trader Joe’s and a mini brie wheel.