I like stuff.

Friday, December 16, 2005

Box Lunch Nerdery, end of week summary

I ended up packing lunches for the both of us for the better part of the
week.

Amanda, after some badgering, seems to agree that her energy levels have
been better (after several weeks of lethargy), so maybe that metabolism
thing is fighting on my side.

As for me, one of my cow-orkers conned me into eating at the cafeteria on
wednesday, and I surmised later that day that I think I've already lost my
resistance to that slop. (The BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger haunted me for the rest
of the day. And night. And part of the next morning.)

Forgot to pack a lunch today, figuring it was usual cow-orker goin' out to
lunch friday, but ended up not going. Got a slice of half-assed pizza that
hasn't troubled me much, but I will note that the portioning was kept under
better control this time (I suspect that only 1/3 of today's lunch had at
one point or another been deep-fried)

I can't shake the horribly-domesticated feeling, but I might learn to live
with it.

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Box Lunch Nerdery!

Me being the big loser that I am, I packed Amanda a lunch for tomorrow.

On the menu:
Macadamia Nut/Cashew Butter (Trader Joe's. No surprise) and Strawberry
Preserve sandwich.
Pirates' Booty (a puffed something or other with cheese flavoring agent
#214.)
String Cheese
Peach Calpico (Calpico is a japanese soft drink, best described as horchata
(the world's second favorite non-dairy rice drink (after Sake) meets
Lemon-Lime soda. I presume this version has a peach vent. Amanda bought it
at some point, and it's been languishing in the fridge. This whole
lunch-making thing might turn out to be the secret weapon in destocking some
of the current low-temperature inventory)

And as a mid-shift snack, baby carrots and ranch dip.

As this is something I've not done before, I left some strategic post-it
notes suggesting to check the fridge.

Hoping it is appreciated.....

-transiit

p.s. Alright, so I can't get away without brain-dumping some ideas:
Presumably, if the both of us can re-arrange our caloric intake to be
earlier in the day, the benefits are legion. First, light lunch foods (i.e.,
sandwiches and whatnot) are both more wallet-friendly as well as
human-friendly (at least as compared to the fried food bonanza that oft
presents itself to Amanda or the "We think it's still edible" cornucopia
that the vomitariam...er....cafeteria.......at my work serves. For me, the
daily special + soda costs between 5.65 and 6.20. Comparitively, PB&J+string
cheese+chips (bread: 0.89/10 * 2 = 0.17. Jar o' nut butter = 2.50 / 15 =
0.16. Preserved fruit = 2.00 / 10 = 0.20. String Cheese = 0.33. Chips or
chiplike items = 3.00 / 15 = 0.20) is a little over a dollar, even an
inflated 1.25 vending machine soda only gives a total of ~2.25. Still a
bunch cheaper, and this is with the semi-fancy stuff. (the
clearly-intended-to-be-stir-fried-vegatbles-but-we-steamed-them-within-an-inch-of-their-(and
your)-life-anyway that come with the vomitorium's chinese special plate
suggest that even the simplest of blue-collar box lunches are still of
higher quality.

This doesn't even account for the possibility that by amortizing the daily
caloric intake through the day will not only be healthier than my current
post-dusk binge, but also that the comparitively more-expensive dinner
portions can potentially be smaller (leftovers can even be spread to further
lunchery, yo.)

Granted, I already have so much end-of-night routine (check stove. check
doors. check lights. check stove again. go out and check cars. check doors.
etc. etc. etc.), adding in the couple minutes to pack a lunch for the both
of us is a marginal addition. Depending on how today's test fire goes, we'll
see what becomes.