Last week I posted on Twitter that I’d hit all time low and eaten a pot noodle for lunch. A fellow Twitterer commented that I hadn’t mentioned this in my articles on the benefits of home working. This got me thinking….
Today is UKOLN’s Christmas Lunch and I’m hoping to catch up with all our remote workers who are dropping in specially. With the holidays in sight and New Year not far round the corner I thought it was maybe time for my ‘top 10 lunches as a Remote Worker’ list. Enjoy…
- Cold Pasta – Cover with cheese and put in the microwave for 1 minute.
- No lunch today – Child sent home from nursery ill, usual stuff, nursery says “your child is ill, you’ll have to take him home before some other child catches it”, I think “well he wasn’t ill when I left him, he must have caught it off of one of the other children, in fact one of the children that he has to keep away from in case they catch his illness!”
- Cold brussell sprouts, cabbage and leeks – Veg box overload. Good job I work alone!
- No lunch today– just Hot-mail, Facebook fruit and BBCi Player sandwiches.
- Pasty from the bakers in town – Does anyone know that it’s actually my lunch break or do they think I’m a unemployed couch potato who has made it into town? Maybe they think I’m a student? Erm…perhaps that’s being a bit optimistic….
- 8 biscuits, 2 lumps of cheese, 3 yoghurts and a bag of kettle crisps – This wasn’t so much a lunch as an activity for my mouth. I made up for the calories by the frequent trips to the fridge (14 in total).
- 6 cups of coffee – nuff said…
- Quiche and salad – Went out for lunch with a friend. They brought their kids with them. Now having work life ruined by annoying children as well as home life. Joke!!
- Sandwiches – Why is it only the doorstep end bits are left? In fact does bread without butter or filling constitute a sandwich? Chewing on office furniture more appealing.
- Very quick soup so I have time for the laundry, unloading the dishwasher, sewing up the holes in children’s clothes and sorting out the recycling. Husband thinks that all these jobs are done by the tooth fairy.
I know it is all wrong, wrong, wrong so here is some Advice for Grumpy Home Workers from an expert on what you should really be doing.
Ramblings of a Remote Worker 
Hi Marieke,
I thought this post was really spot on. The bit about nursery and children definitely rang true!! I work from home one day a week and always find myself getting sidetracked and grabbing the first thing I can find. I quite like going down the local bakery and buying something as it gets me out of the house.
Thanks for the great blog posts, keep it up for 2009!
Merry Christmas!
Clare
(home worker, mum and worn out!!)
I’ve been thinking a lot about this post. It seems to me that it comes down to attitude.
Repeat this mantra to yourself on a daily basis: I need and deserve a nutritious, tasty lunch. You only have yourself to please – no picky kids saying “What’s this?” as if you’re trying to poison them. Make the most of this luxury!
Here’s my list of a week’s worth of quick-to-make remote worker lunches:
1) Poached eggs on toast (5 minutes, max). Have some fruit for pudding and you’ve covered all the food groups.
2) Pasta with pesto and sun-dried tomatoes (5 minutes)
3) Quesadillas – lightly fry chopped onion/peppers/chilies and grate some cheese. Put a flour tortilla into a frying pan (no fat needed), pile on the veggies and cheese, then add another tortilla on top. Cook until cheese has melted then flip (carefully) over and cook until the other tortilla is browned. Slice into wedges. (5 minutes)
4) Leek and potato soup. Takes a bit longer, but most of the cooking is unattended. Chop an onion, a potato and a leek and fry in butter for 5 minutes. Add stock (or water and a spoonful of stock mixture) and simmer for 30 minutes. Mash with a potato masher to break up the cooked potato. For a bit more kick, add some spices at the frying stage. (35 minutes, 5 minutes actual work!)
5) Tortilla – fry onion, pepper, chilli (or any leftover veg) in a small frying pan until soft. Mix in two beaten eggs and cook gently until the top is set. I like to wrap this in a flour tortilla.(10 minutes)
Your admission that your lunches are “wrong, wrong, wrong” is the equivalent of an alcoholic standing up and admitting that they have a drinking problem. Sounds like you have an eating problem – but it’s easy to fix!!
All the best for a year of fantastic lunches in 2009.
Amanda
Thanks for the ideas Amanda,
I’m going to make having a healthy lunch a priority for 2009!
Might even look into a lunch time fitness class – apparently they do ‘hot tap’ just round the corner from where I live. Not sure if I’m quite ready for that yet though!
🙂
Marieke