One of my weekend tasks is making lunch for the next week. Ordinarily I do it on Sunday afternoons, but with yesterday's time off I waited until yesterday afternoon (because fresher is better, y'know).
There's several reasons behind my decision to bring lunch to work. I know I could go over to the cafeteria and eat. I've done it before, and the food's pretty good. But buying lunch each day gets expensive. Plus, when you generally avoid meat, it's difficult to find enough to fill you up. (You don't want to get me started on how often a meal for me at some places consists of fries, onion rings and a drink.)
One more reason: health. About 20 years ago I started losing weight in earnest, and though I've kept most of it off, I know how much I have to keep temptation at bay. And some things you can buy are just a little too tasty. I love pizza, I love big plates of pasta, I love ice cream and cookies...heck, I love all kinds of things just a little too much. I'm aware of this, and I know part of success lies in keeping the temptation out of my daily life. (Special occasions are different, of course.)
There's microwavable things you can buy at the store, like those little containers of pasta and sauce or those microwavable Thai meals. Why not those? Well, the cost factor, for one. I love those little pasta entrees (and I'll buy a couple if it's a short week), but they get expensive. A week's worth would run me $18 or so, and that's just a trifle dear. Plus the containers stack up when you're done, and it's an awful lot to throw away. (The pasta containers, in particular, don't lend themselves to re-use since they have drain holes in the top.) Not to mention, as with all factory foods, there's been a lot of stuff added to it in the process. Not necessarily bad for you, of course, but not always the best thing you could do.
A few months ago, on the back of a can of black beans, I found a recipe for beans and rice. It's a very simple dish, basically beans, brown rice, onion, garlic and green peppers with a little seasoning. (I don't use the cooking wine, but one day I'll have to try it that way.) It takes probably a half-hour to prepare, and from one batch I can get four days' lunch. I parcel it out into resealable plastic containers, keep it refrigerated, then take one each day and keep it in the little fridge in the kitchenette until lunchtime. Three minutes in the microwave and it's ready to eat.
What's nice about this isn't just the cost -- I figure the cost of ingredients runs to about $1.50 per serving, if that much -- but the simplicity of it. I chop the vegetables, cook the rice, add as much or as little seasoning as I like, and put it into containers that get washed and reused. If I want, I can double the recipe and have some to keep at home for nights when I don't feel like cooking. It's all my own work, and not only is it healthier for me, but it makes me feel better knowing it's something I made from a bunch of ingredients. Cooking takes time, but when you're able to make something good from it all, it gives you kind of a quiet satisfaction.
There's several reasons behind my decision to bring lunch to work. I know I could go over to the cafeteria and eat. I've done it before, and the food's pretty good. But buying lunch each day gets expensive. Plus, when you generally avoid meat, it's difficult to find enough to fill you up. (You don't want to get me started on how often a meal for me at some places consists of fries, onion rings and a drink.)
One more reason: health. About 20 years ago I started losing weight in earnest, and though I've kept most of it off, I know how much I have to keep temptation at bay. And some things you can buy are just a little too tasty. I love pizza, I love big plates of pasta, I love ice cream and cookies...heck, I love all kinds of things just a little too much. I'm aware of this, and I know part of success lies in keeping the temptation out of my daily life. (Special occasions are different, of course.)
There's microwavable things you can buy at the store, like those little containers of pasta and sauce or those microwavable Thai meals. Why not those? Well, the cost factor, for one. I love those little pasta entrees (and I'll buy a couple if it's a short week), but they get expensive. A week's worth would run me $18 or so, and that's just a trifle dear. Plus the containers stack up when you're done, and it's an awful lot to throw away. (The pasta containers, in particular, don't lend themselves to re-use since they have drain holes in the top.) Not to mention, as with all factory foods, there's been a lot of stuff added to it in the process. Not necessarily bad for you, of course, but not always the best thing you could do.
A few months ago, on the back of a can of black beans, I found a recipe for beans and rice. It's a very simple dish, basically beans, brown rice, onion, garlic and green peppers with a little seasoning. (I don't use the cooking wine, but one day I'll have to try it that way.) It takes probably a half-hour to prepare, and from one batch I can get four days' lunch. I parcel it out into resealable plastic containers, keep it refrigerated, then take one each day and keep it in the little fridge in the kitchenette until lunchtime. Three minutes in the microwave and it's ready to eat.
What's nice about this isn't just the cost -- I figure the cost of ingredients runs to about $1.50 per serving, if that much -- but the simplicity of it. I chop the vegetables, cook the rice, add as much or as little seasoning as I like, and put it into containers that get washed and reused. If I want, I can double the recipe and have some to keep at home for nights when I don't feel like cooking. It's all my own work, and not only is it healthier for me, but it makes me feel better knowing it's something I made from a bunch of ingredients. Cooking takes time, but when you're able to make something good from it all, it gives you kind of a quiet satisfaction.
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