Making Lunch

Lunch. The least thought about meal of the day.

Usually for many people it is a meal squeezed in between more important matters of the day. For some it could be a bag of popcorn, fast food slop or a long nibbling business lunch. In essence it is an after thought, a tedious necessary and inconvenient part of the day.

For many across the United States we are not blessed with the fabulous food stalls and carts that much of the world seems to have. Where even though it is lunch, a quick mea, something to grab in a hurry, people still take thought to it and eat something amazing.

Seattle is no different. Yes if someone happens to be lucky enough to work close enough to Pike Place Market it is techniqually possible to grab a decent piroshki, maybe a nice slice of pizza or a sandwich from DeLaurenti or something unexpectedly yummy from Le Panier or Michou Fresca but honestly with the throngs of tourist it is impossible to get in and out of the market and eat lunch within an hour let alone thirty minutes.

No as Americans we are generally unlucky or not very demanding when it comes to lunch. Or at least that is what I suspect.

Tonight I spent an hour and a half prepare lunch for my fiance and I when it occured to me that this isn't normal. My co-works spend probably less then four minutes deciding let alone making their lunches. I do this five days a week. For tomorrows lunch we will be haivng stuffed italian peppers, eggplant parmesean, fresh broccoli and plums. These thing where all made from scratch no less. Some could contest that I spend so much effort making lunches just so I can use my cute little bento boxes I get from Daiso but really that's not true. I am not obsessed nor do I see any need to to cut up bits of cheese, ham and nori just to make cute little animals and other things. I find those kind of bento lunches largely unhealthy and unsatisfing.

No I use the bento for other reasons. Largley because of portion control. They are smaller than your average American lunch box thus it prevents the need to over pack them and thus over eat. I also have a general rule that I do not pack anything that can not fit in the bento itself with the occasional exception of sauces. This rule also greatly helps on cutting down on things that could potentially spill and it encourages me to cut up foods into easy bit size pieces that are easy to eat during a busy work day.

By making lunches in general it ensures that we both have lunches everyday. It cuts down on spending too much on a lunch that could ultimatly makes use feel worse. It ensures that we are getting a balanced lunch and most importantly it ensures a constant sources of variety of things we actually like ot eat.

Don't get me wrong. I work a full time job. Five days a week. I have to wake up at 7 in the morning. I don't typically cook the meals more then the day before we eat it. It is actually pretty easy making a good lunch the day before. It just takes a little planning and coordination. For example I was able to make the different parts of tomorrows lunch while I was waking for dinner to cook. It only took me an hour to make both lunch and dinner for us.

So my point is. Try making yourself lunch. You deserve it. Lunch deserves it. It just takes some planning but it can be done.