Two Secrets for a Great Packed Lunch

After decades of working from home, I’m now commuting. My office is a pleasant 15-minute walk from my temporary cabin, which lacks Internet access. So it’s through the deep woods, mindful of the poison oak, and then a hop over Rock Creek to complete my commute. As fresh bear scat on the path proclaims that it’s a shared neighborhood, I walk noisily; bears generally skedaddle when they hear you coming.

While awaiting placement of my new hermitage, I’ve set up a temporary office consisting of a blue tarp, laptop, table, chair, and a broadband relay device mounted 150 feet up a Douglas fir ($250 for the device; $60 for the tree climber). Thus my daily commutes to my capacious office on the ridge. But sweet are both the view of Sugarloaf Mountain and the chattering creek below.

And sweet it is to close down the laptop around noon and open my packed lunch. I have no argument with the custom of stopping at midday for succor. My only lunch guideline is that it is utterly satisfying. If not, I’ll nibble throughout the afternoon. And the truth about snack foods is they cannot deliver the deep satisfaction that a balanced meal does.

As I finish the last bite of chicken from my bento box, I’m both satiated and content. As I’m now energetically set until dinnertime, food is off the radar for the afternoon. That’s a simple but substantive pleasure.

Here are my two secrets for satisfying brown bag lunches: They must be nutritionally balanced and freshly prepared. If a meal is high in carbs or low in fat or protein, or if you have a sensitivity to any ingredients, then no matter what, you’ll find a way to snack in the afternoon. Snacks, those insubstantial hold-me-overs, are your body’s way of cuing you that you lack nurture. The same is true for a meal of packaged or deli foods; no matter how pricy or inviting they look, they cannot impart the vitality of a freshly prepared meal.

So on a typical full-on morning, how do you pack a lunch plus make it to the office on time? Here’s how I did it today: While making morning tea, I popped several chicken thighs a yam and large chunk of daikon into the toaster oven. By the time I’d showered, dressed, and had breakfast, they were done. Then in less than five minutes I packed up a thigh, roasted veggies, a side of salad, a Thermos of tea and a pear for the fun of it, and I was out the door. Tonight in under 10 minutes I could put up a crockpot chickpea stew for tomorrow.

On my walk home today, I imagine how the second thigh, yam and daikon will figure into a simple, effortless dinner. While daily feasting on a packed lunch requires some forethought, with planning and perhaps a little prep the night before, this is both easily accomplished and utterly satisfying.

May you be well nourished,
Rebecca