If you’re not eating a croque monsieur for lunch, that’s your fault, and you deserve to be miserable
Mmm calories
Just eat a small one
Croque garcon?
It’s frustrating as an adult with ARFID/eating disorders. I can’t bring myself to eat leftovers because I worry that they are contaminated. I’ve thrown away so much food because I won’t reuse a pasta sauce jar if it has been opened.
A lot of the common “easy” meals are things that I absolutely will not eat - spaghetti, canned veggies, ground beef. Sometimes I struggle with eating ramen. It’s fucking embarrassing but I literally cannot help it. I will gag and puke if my brain decides I can’t eat something.
Sounds absolutely horrible. I usually have to tame myself, to not eat all leftovers in the evening so I have some for tomorrow.
Have you considered taking a serve safe restaurant hygiene class. I used to be similarly worried about food, but after learning about the safe handling and storage rules and temperature danger zones, I’m much less worried about left overs.
I got the manager certification a long time ago, and it oddly made it worse. Weird things like being convinced that my refrigerator isn’t consistently keeping temperature or that the plastic in the packaging has holes in it. Texture sets me off and there’s a lot of variation I’m sensitive to.
I can’t get a family sized bag of chips or cereal for example, because I can only eat them the same day I opened the package. I know that there is nothing wrong with them, but the thought of a stale one upsets me. I love apples, but rarely eat them because I don’t want to risk a mushy one. I know a mushy apple or stale chips aren’t “contaminated” but they feel intensely like they are.
I’d say you have to learn to trust your nose (it really is that simple) but you seem to have a condition worth to see a therapist over.
Some of us are given free meals to eat in our paid meal breaks.
Nothing fancy though. Most times, the chef only makes a starter or a dessert. Rarely both.
(laughs in European)
Jokes on you …. I’m in the US and my company is trying to bribe us back to the office with good free lunches. Still can’t compete with work from home but half and half is working so far
I disagree. I like cooking and since I’m working from home I can make something nice and fast at home for lunch. But I probably would have agreed back then when I worked at the office.
I love the cooking but hate the cleaning up part.
Pro tip: cook in and eat from one pot :D
but what about the 5 knives and 3 spoons i’ve used preparing the ingredients :(
Open dishwasher when you start. Instead of putting those things on the counter or in the sink, out then directly in the dishwasher
Just use one or two and if really necessary clean them? I cook complex meals somewhat often and never use more than one knife and 1-2 spoons.
Yes, it does end.
it ends when you become lunch
I just cook bigger portions for dinner and eat that as lunch
Right! I’m surprised this isn’t a more popular approach.
Yes, eventually it ends when you’re promoted to middle management and you have to forage for granola bars and cookies during the few seconds you get between meetings. Stay an IC for as long as you can.
That sounds like a toxic-work-culture thing that I’m faaaar too European to understand. I’m off for a two hour lunch, don’t text me
TIL I’m European
It’s been years since I’ve eaten food away from my desk. And God forbid I should forget to bring food and need to run downstairs for sixteen seconds to purchase something. That’s truly one of the seven deadly sins.
Is a proper meal period with rest not guaranteed by law?
Or is it, but it’s hard to fight for it because the workplace culture is shaped differently?
I’m in the state of Georgia: no provision for breaks are given at all.
I used to live in the UK: I think the rule was employers are required to give 30 mins per 10 hours worked, cannot be in the first or last hour.
I’m in the state of Georgia: no provision for breaks are given at all.
Oh man that’s brutal.
I used to live in the UK: I think the rule was employers are required to give 30 mins per 10 hours worked, cannot be in the first or last hour.
Yeah here in Switzerland it’s similar to the UK rule. Any shift longer than 6 hours needs to be interrupted by an unpaid but uninterrupted break of at least 30min for eating, such that there isn’t more than a 6 hour continuous work period on either side of the break, IIRC.
Our standard for full-time employment is 8.4h per day. (That’s a bit high in comparison to neighboring countries). It’s very usual that you get your eating break somewhere between 11:30-13:30 o’clock, maybe on rotation with coworkers if you need to keep the phones staffed.
In my office job we all go together from around 11:45 to 12:45.
Combination of being salaried plus industry culture.
If only not stuffing your face for one meal was a thing.
This person’s problem can be solved by a sandwich. Takes like 3 minutes to make, or can be prepped earlier, no cooking necessary, has color, is fresh, not frozen, beats any fast food meal in price and quality. Also can even be healthy if you shop wisely. Can be different every day. Can be hot or cold. The possibilities are endless. Sandwiches are the best.
I agree sandwiches are the best. But my metabolism is just too efficient at turning carbs into fat and high blood sugar. There’s just no substitute for good bread in a sandwich, all attempts at compromise/substitutions ruin the whole thing.
wraps are just as convenient and use far less bread, i love a good turkey wrap for lunch
Even a wrap is too much white flour right now. I bought some Low Carb High Fiber Whole Wheat tortilla wraps, but they’re serving the same role as Discworld Dwarf Bread: I look at them and remember the time I tried to eat one, and decide I’m not that hungry after all. I don’t even have to worry about them going stale, because they can’t become less appealing.
I don’t mind the taste of the “healthy” tortillas. I generally prefer the taste of whole grain bread and pasta over white flour variants. My largest complaint is that they all seem to disintegrate when you look at them – probably a gluten thing, but they all just break or shred instead of hold together, which defeats the purpose of wrapping your food in them.
I settled on OLÉ “Xtreme Wellness” high fiber wraps. They’re stretchy and they even toast/grill well. They’re good for sandwich wraps but also soft tacos and small burritos.
… With all currants in it? Just like mother used to forge.
I don’t have this problem, but lettuce wraps are shockingly good too. A good sturdy lettuce, sliced turkey, smoked cheddar and some chipotle mayo (canned chipotle en adobo, pureed, just mix some of it into mayonnaise to make a spread.) Onion if you have it. I don’t understand why it’s good, it sounds like nonsense but I do this when I don’t have time to make bread, but do have good lettuce or homegrown lettuce in the garden. It is delicious and feels good to eat.
You’re right, lettuce wraps are good and it’s been awhile. Next time I look at that dwarf bread I’ll get out a romaine leaf instead.
What type of bread are you using, and how thick are your slices? These work fine for me, but theres also rye versions. https://frutimian.no/2016/08/12/matpakkebrod-i-langpanne/ - note link is in norwegian.
I dont mind spending time preparing if it means i get great taste.
This looks like a nice recipe for later on once I lose enough weight to start adding a few carbs to my life that aren’t from vegetables. No grain or starch right now.
Get some keto bread. It’s basically pure fiber in bread shape. The aldi keto bread is fantastic
What do you consider ‘good bread’? Don’t buy supermarket bread, go to a good bakery and get some nice, freshly baked whole-grain bread, that should be much more difficult to turn into sugar.
Even homemade whole-grain bread, while delicious and healthy in its way, has too many non-fiber carbs when you’re trying to minimize them. And my body is unfortunately very efficient at converting the starches to blood sugar. As for bakery whole-grain bread, (and of course the supermarket kind) the ingredients almost inevitably include “wheat flour” which is white flour, not necessarily bleached but minus the bran. This is because bread that is not only “made with 100% whole wheat” (which just means it contains SOME 100%-whole-wheat flour!) but is made with ONLY whole wheat flour (plus any other whole grains) doesn’t rise very well. I’ve struggled with it myself and made some bricks, despite being able to bake gorgeous loaves when allowed to include some unbleached bread flour in the mix. Go ahead, ask your baker. And then enjoy the bread, it’s still great for most people.
Don’t forget lettuce sandwiches.
Sandwiches were literally invented to be home made, portable fast food, for hunters, workers, and the like. Not only are they ok with being wrapped up and carried, if made right they actually get better when wrapped up and squashed.
Or cool a bit batch of your own soup at the weekend. Then microwave it for lunch.
You can even eat it riding a horse!
Sandwiches are never a bad option.
There’s probably some situation where it’s a bad option.
Funeral procession?
I’ve just started with smoothies. Some greek yogurt(has loads of protein), frozen vegetables, honey, and water(to make it a drink) and it’s already goin’ pretty well.
I agree, it’s awful to deal with.
I’ve been making my own yogurt lately a half gallon at a time. It’s dummy easy and comes out a bit thinner than most store yogurt. It works really well as a drink or smoothie base
I’ve heard of this homemade yogurt thing. I may have to give it a go depending on how much I need but for now I don’t mind buying the stuff at the store.
I know you didn’t ask for it but I’m really excited about what I’ve been up to so here’s the process: Heat milk to 180-185f basically right as it starts to foam, let it cool to 110, mix in a spoonful of yogurt (I started with store bought Greek then keep a starter from each batch to make the next), let it sit somewhere warm for 6-24 hours. The oven with the light on works well enough but there are lots of options. Then bam you’ve got more yogurt! I like to whisk mine to make it a bit smoother and I’ve been having a glass every morning with some cherry juice mixed in, 2 parts yogurt to 1 part juice
Hmmm ok that doesn’t sound too bad to do. What vessel does it go in, just a pot? Is wider and shallower better?
I do mine in a half gallon mason jar. I’ve got fermenting lids that help me pull the air out just in case but that shouldn’t be needed. I’d avoid letting it be exposed to too much air though so maybe not a pot for the souring stage
Edit to add, I really like bon appetit videos, here is one about yogurt: https://youtu.be/D6IyyFc1RqI?si=NxZTYsx-2l3ED1e5
Ah ok, sick! Thanks!
smoothies aren’t very healthy or nutritious though. Blending removes a lot of the health benefits of fruit.
Well it’s good thing that not a single source I could find seems to agree with you or maybe I’d worry! The hell do you think chewing is?
Blending a smoothie is perfectly fine and does not hurt the nutrients at all.
it destroys the fiber benefits and makes the fruit essentially a form of processed sugar.
Chewing is different to blending
it also depends - are you making these yourself fresh or are you buying them? If buying them they are likely pasteurized and homogenized which removes nutrients.
Which may be irrelevant for you, but also for a casual reader any given smoothie does not automatically mean healthy. Like how eating a salad is not necessarily healthy if it’s drowned in Bleu cheese, nuts, cheese cubes, dried fruit and croutons.
Grow the fuck up.
This is a first world problem
Well, what do you want to eat? I guess if you don’t want to prepare your own food, those are the only options, whether at work or at home. Otherwise, make whatever you want and take it to work. Cook more food than you need for your dinner and take the leftovers. Make a salad (tons of options for them), make a sandwich. You don’t have to eat canned soup, make some nice homemade soup and freeze a bunch of individual servings to grab and take. The possibilities are endless.
Really? I’ve been an adult for quite a while and I always look forward to lunch (all meals, actually). Plenty of quick, simple, and appealing meals to make.
