Hi, all. I hope everyone is enjoying good weather like we are here in New York. It’s been sunny and beautiful, with the occasional rainfall. But, hey, it is April and we do want those May flowers. (Although, I hear tornadoes are touching down in the South and Texas. Scary.)
I recently started a full-time job, which means that I’ve had to start packing my breakfast and lunch again. I haven’t had to do that in a long time and it’s taking me a while to get back into the rhythm of doing that. I need to get back into that “think ahead for the week” mode.
This week, in particular, was a stupid food week for me. Tuesday was 
Administrative Assistant/Secretary/Support Staff Day (whatever you want to call it) and the managers in my department said that they were going to do a breakfast party. So I didn’t bring breakfast. Fine. I then found out that they were ordering lunch, too. So I put my lunch in the fridge and partook of the lunch, which they ordered from a local Spanish restaurant—BBQ chicken, yellow rice, beans, and fried bananas. It was really good. There was also orange juice, which one manager said to please drink because she’d forgotten to take it out at breakfast. I need juice to take my 223 vitamins and herbs. So I put my own juice in the fridge and drank the o.j. There was plenty the rest of the week, so my juice just sat there. Then, today the fridge had to get emptied for cleaning and I thought I was going to have to schlep my juice all the way home and all the way back again, but, fortunately, I remembered that my friend has her own little fridge in her office, so I stashed it in there. Never ate the fruit I brought because there was also fruit left over from breakfast. Today I bought lunch because I had to eat my cheese sandwich for breakfast because I had nothing to bring for breakfast and I was starving. Right after lunch, I remembered that I had taken out a batch of vegetarian chili from the freezer and I could’ve taken that. See what I mean? A stupid food week.
Some of you might find it strange that I would bring breakfast to work, but when you’re co
nstantly trying to lose weight, this is an important strategy because when it’s morning and you’re hungry and looking around in Au Bon Pain at all those luscious muffins, crullers, and scones, they become just too tempting. A bagel is better, but there are so many carbs in a bagel, not to mention calories in the butter or cream cheese that you put on it. Toast is not enough—I’ll be ready to eat my arm off in an hour. Oatmeal and grits are good, but paying $3 for a bowl of it just doesn’t tickle me. Which brings me to the other reason I bring breakfast. If you spend $4 for breakfast every morning (including coffee), that’s $20 a week just for breakfast. For $20, I can buy a month’s worth of breakfast items.
Did I mention that there was cake at the Administrative Assistant/Secretary/Support Staff Day “breakfast?” Yeah, it was
a Napoleon cake from a local Italian bakery. Also known in French as mille-feuille, a Napoleon cake is made of layers of flaky puff pastry and pastry cream. On top is a layer of icing, usually swirled with chocolate. If it’s done right, it is damn good. This cake was good. Damn good. So much for my diet. (Why, yes, there was someone there holding a gun to my head, forcing me to eat it. Thanks for asking.)
But my point was leftovers. Some people hate them. I love them. For the people who turn their noses up at them, I say as long as there are leftovers in the fridge, you’re guaranteed a good lunch and/or a quick, easy dinner. Some people are not fortunate enough to have “extra” food in the refrigerator. I appreciate a fresh meal, but I also am grateful to have more food than I can eat in one sitting.
Okay, that’s it for me this week. I wish good spring weather for everyone and a happy, safe weekend and week coming up. And may you always have plenty of leftovers. Peace.
what is known on the market as “cassava bread.” This particular product is dry, flat, and cracker-like. It’s quite plain and is meant to be eaten as an accompaniment to meats and stews. I asked my Dominican friend at work about that because the package says that it’s imported from the Dominican Republic. (What’s funny is that the store where I bought it had it stacked on a shelf in the produce aisle. Um, sure. You know, plantains, potatoes, and cassava bread all go together, right?)
