A Friday Buffet
No. 009 Why lunch is the most difficult meal of the day and the food that fixed it.
Hello!
Sunshine and cold weather for days, folks, and I am quite thrilled. I live for this time of year when it’s cold and sunny, but not annoying (read: snowy or icy). My sweaters, sweatshirts, coats, and all of the layers are having their moment and it’s actually fun to get dressed every day since there is no need to change constantly due to sweat - rejoice!
We’re under a week out from Thanksgiving (wowza) so I hope your plans are somewhat in place. If you’re responsible for baking/making/buying anything for the holiday best of luck! I think I have a few items on my list, but that will probably change somewhat as we get closer to Thursday. I often go on a last-minute baking binge so… I need to buy a lot more butter. I hope however you celebrate (or if you skip it altogether) it’s a joyful day. :)
Fun stuff: We’re starting something new in the Buffet today so please be sure to read all the way to the end!
Business stuff: Next Friday, the Day After Thanksgiving, is one of my favorite Fridays of the year. This newsletter will be taking the day off(!) so I can bargain hunt, blast some holiday tunes, and officially begin the holiday hoopla. We’ll be back the following Friday (December 2) with Edition Number 10. Enjoy!
The sun is splashing through the kitchen, I’ve eaten my basic breakfast (two eggs and toast), I’m listening to Kiss108 (via the iPad because 2022) and yet I already have mild anxiety about… lunch! Seriously. It’s OK. You can laugh. I know this sounds ridiculous.
For someone who loves food as much as I do, I’ve never had as much difficulty with a specific meal as I have had with lunch over the course of my adult life. I’m 37. Shouldn’t I be more successful with this elusive midday meal?! I know, friends, today’s topic is rather…silly. But it’s not! We all need to eat lunch. Personally, I find it to be the most difficult meal of the day.
During my tenure of in-office jobs, and far more traditional corporate work settings, the lunch break was a time to eat extremely quickly, catch up with friends if they took a break at the same time, and hopefully eat enough so that I wasn’t too starving by the end of the day. My desk was always filled with snacks because how could it not be? I’m always hungry.
My weekday routine, even today, is to finish the day with a workout so my midday meal and/or additional snacks need to be digested well-ahead of whatever exercise I have scheduled. This often proves tricky since my body has notoriously been unpredictable in regard to digestion. I have celiac disease, but prior to my diagnosis at 27, I did not know why I had various stomach issues that led to missed workouts, extreme exhaustion, or general feelings of uncomfortable solely because of whatever lunch I chose that day.
Before pinpointing the need to be gluten free, I tip-toed around my lunch plans and was always nervous that whatever I ate would end up causing a lot of frustration later (i.e. needing to skip my workout and feeling overly full, bloated, or worse). I don’t entirely remember the lunches of those early years; the fresh-from-graduation years when my jobs were random and my lunches were even more so.
Lunch was difficult because I wanted to feel full, eat something I enjoyed, but not be slowed down by this meal that could potentially derail the rest of the afternoon. Friends would casually order bagel sandwiches, burrito bowls, salads-to-go, and the other random options at nearby fast-casual spots. I wanted to be as carefree with lunch as they were, but every time I tried, my body had other plans. I wound up too full, extremely uncomfortable at my desk, and generally annoyed that lunch was, once again, ruining my day. Sounds dramatic, but it’s true.
Over the years, several jobs, and plenty of trial-and-error when it came to my lunch order (what I’d bring from home or buy during the day), I was slowly figuring out that less is more, at least for me, during lunch time. My passion for snacks was actually what would help me the most during the toughest meal of the day. I lived on KIND bars for far too long.
Post-gluten-free diagnosis, and plenty of tricky lunch breaks later, I finally had a breakthrough. I ate a lunch that was filling, nutritious, and delicious, but didn’t result in my being uncomfortable at my desk or prevent me from my post-work workout; a necessity during the workweek to de-stress and decompress.
So, what was that magical lunch? OK. Hold your laughter. Meatballs! Meatballs saved the day. Break out the confetti folks because meatballs truly saved my weekday lunches and I am forever grateful for that discovery. See? I told you today’s discussion was a bit silly.
Meatballs required a bit of planning ahead since I made them at home, but I quickly learned that they were the exact right combination of flavor, protein, and heartiness to power me through the rest of my work day and allow me to workout as planned. Incredible! For the record, I strongly recommend these chicken meatballs with harissa and feta for all of your lunchtime dining needs.
Up until my work-from-home life began in 2020, I had been bringing a small container of homemade meatballs for my workday lunch for years. And while I often felt a bit ridiculous bringing a dinner-ish item to the lunch table, I knew it was the right decision because of how I felt afterward: full, not overfull, and happy that I had a delicious lunch like everyone around me. I mean, I assume their burrito bowls and pre-made salads were good… they never said otherwise. ;)
These days, working from home full time, I find lunch to be a new kind of conundrum. Since I have the full kitchen available, you’d think this meal would be even easier. Not true! I’ve tried creating a new routine such as yogurt and crackers, more scrambled eggs and toast, random leftovers if they exist, but none of it has really stuck.
My workdays are busier than ever, but lunch is a non-negotiable. The other day, while deciding on some random food pairing, I had a fork full of pickles from the fridge. No joke. It was very satisfying despite not actually being a meal. I followed that with scrambled eggs in cassava tortillas to make a more “traditional” lunch. I was both pleased with my creation and mildly embarrassed.
Shouldn’t I, a full-fledged, working, home-owning adult, be able to figure out their own lunch? I sat quietly after I ate, trying to figure out why this midday meal still baffles me to this day.
I think it’s time to go back to my roots. It’s time to make the meatballs.
Bonus: I spoke with Boston magazine (November 2019) about my meatball passion (see point number 2) and why I think they’re a long-lasting food trend.
Now, it’s time for the Buffet!
We have been making recipes from The Woks of Life for years; their success as a family-run food blog is no surprise to me!
So many great TV shows came back this week (winter TV is the best), including Dead to Me (3rd and final season) and The Sex Lives of College Girls (season two has arrived), as well as so many others I cannot wait to watch soon…
I am glad to learn that ‘whole milk is back.’ If you can tolerate/drink dairy-based milk (we buy the lactose-free option), why wouldn’t you? I find the flavor of the alternatives kind of distracting (sorry).
Speaking of caffeine, I’m saving this list of the best single-serve coffee makers.
Cheesy Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions sounds dreamy to me.
I tend to prefer “simple” sweets meaning I don’t seek out complicated desserts to satisfy the craving. Buttery Vanilla Shortbread sounds perfect to me.
And on the note of sweets, I highly recommend Sarah Kieffer’s 100 Cookies for your baking this holiday season. Such a great cookbook; she’s a wonderful writer, too.
Asparagus, Artichoke, and Shiitake Risotto is now on my menu for the weekend. But maybe swap the asparagus for something more in-season?
Did you know Nordstrom offers tailoring for non-Nordstrom purchases?! I made an appointment and will report back!
This guide for the “Best Gifts for Cyclists” should have Seth’s name attached. ;)
Friends, I am not a “Puzzle Person,” (don’t hate me) but even I am fond of this selection of food puzzles, which would be excellent gifts.
Just for fun luxury: This Loewe Small Puzzle Edge Monochrome Bag in Pale Yellow Glaze is calling my name.
Sneaks of the Week: Veja x Mansur Gavriel Campo Sneaker. Monochromatic Chic and comfy! I have the cream color, but love the Sunshine, too.
Cheers and joy,
Mollie
