Surviving Lunch at Your Desk

I have to believe that I am not the only one in the world that begins to daydream about Taco Bell, burgers, and a variety of drive thru windows as the clock creeps up to noon. I know I'm not alone here - occasionally I see some of you in the drive thru lane. And let's face it you can only eat SO many sandwiches before it will drive you - well to the nearest drive thru. You see I think part of the reason that I'm in this boat is because there is so much good-bad food that I enjoy - and sometimes good-good food is hard to find, expensive, or hard to have on hand- it requires a lot of though. You have to shop for the good stuff, you have to pack the good stuff, and finally the food has to be good enough that you actually WANT to eat it when lunch time rolls around. So I'm working on building my food vocabulary to include lower cal choices that offer good nutrition.

You already know that I am a trans fat freak! You also know that I'm pretty picky about bread - but short of these criteria, I can't claim to being a nutrition wiz. So I think we should bond together to share our best, low cal, ideas for feeding our bodies well while at work. I'll get us started with a few...

Laughing Cow Cheese - these little cheese wedges come in a light variety. It even comes in some flavors. At 35 calories a serving - it packs a punch! I have tried it on Toasted English Muffins and today I even tried it on a Blueberry Bagel (not the best bread choice - but a weakness). In both cases, it tasted great and I found it more filling than cream cheese. I also think it would be great on a sandwich to replace both cheese and mayo. So it's a small change that has helped me to lower my calorie intake while feeling satisfied.

Bumble Bee Sensations - This tuna kit comes with a seasoned tuna can and crackers. I tried the Sundried Tomato & Basil, yum. At 200 calories - you get the good fish benefits (yes this brand is dolphin safe too) and it was quite filling, quick, and didn't even need a fridge.

Quaker Oatmeal Squares - I'm not a big oatmeal person. I wish I was. It makes me queasy in the tummy -texture issues. But this cereal (that I eat dry for snacks, in self made trail mix, and sometimes even as cereal with milk) is so good. You can eat a full cup - 210 calories, no high fructose syrup, no trans fats, and 5 g of fiber. I use to think this was an expensive cereal choice - but when you break it down by serving, it's really no worse than most of the snack foods that I buy without thinking twice about it.

Of course, fruits and veggies are on the list. But honestly there are very few that I love while sitting at my desk. I do love Kiwi - with the slice it in half and scoop it out method, it's very brown bag friendly. Bananna travel well. And cherub tomatoes are super yummy and so low cal that they almost don't count- another food that requires no fridge. I do try to sneak in some dried fruits as long as I can find them without any of the icky chemicals / ingredients that I consider dealbreakers. I have also found a wonderful dried pomegranite covered in dark chocolate - they are too sweet to overindulge on and since both are considered the best of their respective food groups (yes, I consider chocolate a food group). So I've removed my usual bite sized chocolate candies and replaced them with these little treasures.


So there's a few of the staple items that are helping me to eat better and wiser. I'm sure that if we all share a trick or two - we'll all be loaded up with healthy food choices that will be so satisfying that the drive thru lanes will be empty.