Healthiness in 2014: Lunch

Eating lunch is a new thing for me.

I know that sounds strange, but here's the story…My first year teaching (2010-2011), I used to eat lunch at school when lunchtime was appropriate.

Two years ago, I had some stomach/anxiety issues, and I started eating a very small breakfast, taking the medication I was prescribed and it would kill my appetite.  So I was never hungry at 11:45, which was my class's lunchtime.  That year, I had my prep period at 2:30, so I would eat a late lunch around then and would feel okay, usually, to go to the gym after school.  My meds would wear off by that point and my stomach was generally okay after noon.

This completely messed me up.  By the next year, I never really got into the habit of lunch.  I'd eat a big breakfast (coffee, oatmeal, a smoothie), have a snack during my morning prep period, and then eat again right after school pre-gym, and then eat a late dinner with Scott (because he often worked late in Alaska).

This year, my prep period is 9:50-10:40.  I eat what I call "second-breakfast" during this time, because I love breakfast, and then try to eat something again at 11:00.  I say try, because after 11:25, I am with those kids until 3:30.  I don't get a break to even go to the bathroom (though, I often have the teacher from across the hall pop in so I can run out). Since it's winter and we're not outside for recess, I will often have a Larabar or something while they're watching The Magic School bus during what I call their "recess".  (I cannot deal with that indoor recess nonsense.)

It generally looks like this:

7am: Oatmeal/coffee

10am: Greek yogurt/apple/granola

11am: Whatever I packed for lunch (if I'm hungry)

2:30 or 3:30: Larabar, pretzels, carrots, or fruit

4:15pm: Smoothie

6pm: Dinner

8pm: Dessert, which is usually this marshmallow stuff (2 T. chocolate chips, 1 T pb, handful mini-marshallows) or a few pieces of chocolate

So what does fall into the "Whatever I packed for lunch" category?

Good question.

Sometimes it's more oatmeal.  Sometimes leftovers.  Sometimes I don't get around to "second breakfast" and just have it for lunch.  I am so, so bad at lunch.  When I do take leftovers, it's often a deconstructed quesadilla that I just heat up in the microwave or a homemade black bean burrito.  Sometimes it's leftover roasted sweet potatoes.  Sometimes pasta.

Something else I have working against me is that I generally don't like savory foods until way after noon.  My 11am lunch period is currently the bane of my school-day existence.  When I see the 10:30am lunch period teachers with school lunches of chicken, mashed potatoes, etc. at 10:30am, my stomach turns a bit.

I probably could eat the school lunch, but in my experience that's an easy way to throw money out the window.  It's like $4 a day for school-lunch-food.  That's not awesome food, you know?  I could go to Panera and spend $6 and get good food.  If I was allowed to leave the school grounds during lunch that is.  Or if I had enough time.  But no one really wants to get into the habit of eating out for lunch anyway, right?

Right.

So, what do I eat for lunch at home?  Usually a combination of these things.

+Hummus, carrots, tortilla chips is my favorite during the summer, with a blueberry smoothie. I eat this in the winter too, but of course, I don't have the luxury of a blender and frozen fruit in my classroom.

+Spinach flatbread sandwiches (or put it in a wrap)

+Quesadillas

+Leftover homemade pizza or a quick flatbread pizza thrown together

+Yogurt/granola/fruit

+Smoothies

……..

I told you I need help.

What do you eat for lunch?

Previous posts in the Healthiness series…
Quick Dinners
Breakfasts