My problem is I’m busy until I’m starving and then I don’t want a single thing in my pantry or refrigerator. Nothing. None of it looks or sounds appetising. I don’t want to cook, and if there are no leftovers or something easy, oftentimes I just won’t eat anything at all.
And then what happens? No energy for the afternoon, probably a shitty mood (depending on how hungry I am/how messy the house is/how many deadlines I have), and shoving anything I can down my gullet in the hour before dinner. FAIL.
I’ve tried to bump out of the luncheon rut, and spent a lot of time last year forcing myself to make a variety of lunches in under 10 minutes that were healthy, filling, and fast. Just to prove that it wasn’t much work at all, and that I’d feel better if I’d eaten properly.
Sometimes too I make a frittata or veggie slice at the start of the week and eat it only for lunches. In summer I do salads, (like Greek Risoni Salad, Herby Lemon Quinoa Salad, Brown Rice Salad, or Masterchef Raw Salad if I’m feeling fancy), and in the cooler months, I’m a soup freak – Vegetarian Corn Chowder, Thai Coconut Soup for One, or a straight up Roasted Pumpkin Soup being favourites.
And then there’s the days when my hands are in the air like I just don’t cay-ah and there’s basically a refillable cheese platter to stop me whingeing.
I first came upon the grazing plate lunch business when I was pregnant and I couldn’t handle a lot of food, but would NOT survive on not eating. I would put together a little plate of bits and pieces and pick at it when I could and just refill all the bits as I ate them.
It sounds pretty easy, and that’s because it is. Get a big plate, put little bits of things on there that you want to eat, cover it when your’e done and put it back in the fridge (knife and all! nobody’s looking), refilling when necessary. I keep the crackers and the nuts out of the fridge as they go soggy, but everything else on there is fair fridge game.
It’s a never-ending carousel of savoury (and occasionally sweet) bits, and usually means I’m eating nuts, beans, veggies, carbs and protein, and if I’m really being virtuous – fruit. It’s never boring, it’s filled with all stuff I like, and I’m usually pretty happy to see it come lunch time.
The rotating cast of characters includes:
- ** Cheese: all types. Usually two or three at once to keep me intrigued
- ** Crackers (I like Kurrajong Kitchen crackers, they seem to have the least amount of shit in them)
- ** Bread of some sort
- Quince paste or similar
- Olives
- Semi dried tomatoes
- hommus and/or roasted veggie dips
- cashews, almonds and even walnuts even though they’re not my favourite. They’re good for me.
- Veggie sticks – usually carrots, cucumber, radish bits, raw green beans, celery, capsicum strips, and snow peas
- grapes and berries
- cherry or grape tomatoes
- pretzels
- gherkins or pickles
- capers
And that’s about it! Whatever happens to be in the fridge usually goes on the plate and I’m a happy lassie.
How do you sort out your lunch troubles? Or do you have no troubles?!
this is quite often my dinner, especially since my husband is away a lot for work. Otherwise I end up eating cheese on toast or a litre of icecream (not great for body or mind) And I always have a fridge full of pickles and chutneys thanks to teaching my workshops 🙂
your cheese platter must be OUT OF THIS WORLD! Yummo.
it’ good now the supermarket near by sells Irish tasty cheddar. German cheese is very meh!
I can’t say I’ve had German cheese – but I can imagine Irish would be much nicer!
Sounds very mediterranean of you. Yum to all cheeses, olives and quince paste. Can we add wine?
Make sure you put out an extra glass for me.
YES, YES WE CAN
mmmmmm cheeeeeeeese… you know my new fridge has a whole shelf just dedicated to cheese. Some would say it is over kill, I would say NOT ENOUGH!
I need a recommendation for quince paste as I have never tried it. Yeah, I know…
Aye! this one: http://www.maggiebeer.com.au/products/quince-paste?gclid=CPvozJi748UCFUYHvAoddJUAOg you can get it at some supermarkets/IGA that sort of thing. I’ve been known to eat any quince paste tho, never had a bad one …
I could live off this for every meal! Fave way of eating.
I never get sick of it! It’s the only thing I can stick to, haha
I pretty much have the same boring old sandwich every day. Occasionally I get to spice things up with some leftovers. But this…. I could handle this…
I ate so many sandwiches in my kid years I AM SO OVER THEM. However, I did just buy a jaffle maker and so now I’ve stocked up on baked beans, and cheese, and pineapple, and today I considered a lasagne jaffle…
Pineapple in a jaffle? WTF?
aye. it’s good.
I’ll take your word for it. Pineapple is only good as juice as far I’m concerned but then I don’t do fruit…
it’s pineapple and cheese. legit.
you keep your pineapple & cheese jaffle & I’ll keep my day old, split, oil leaking potato bake 🙂
FINE
You know I do good lunches, it’s maybe my favourite meal because I get to eat it by myself ( although that is changing as the oldest toddler is dropping his day sleep- hold me!?) & I get to have my can of coke.
Look at my instagram & you’ll see I had carbs with a side of carbs for lunch today- homemeade sourdough with last nights potato bake. How good is day old potato bake?! I think I like it better than fresh outta the oven.
WHY CAN’T I MAKE SOURDOUGH?
no it’s gotta be fresh. otherwise the cheesy sauce separates and its oily and … nah
That’s the best bit! All that oil to dip your bread in! I bloody love it!
And as for the sourdough it’s taken me a few weeks to realise I’ll never be making sourdough like I buy from the shops but the taste is there if not the lovely open holes. Yesterday my bot told me it tastes EXACTLY like sourdough, especially the crust & I almost cried with happiness. I’m a loser.
haha i’d cry too, it’s a fucking long road
It so is! Hours & hours & hours of kneading & waiting & then when it turns out like a fucking house brick I just want to chuck it through a window but I’m using Bourke st Bakery’s sour-ish bread recipe ( 5 gr of yeast added) & I’m not turning out bricks any more.
oooooh a bit o’ yeast? I like!
Oh I hear you. And being a veggi in a house full of carnivores means that sometimes I skimp on the protein. Have taken to keeping a big jar of cottage cheese in the fridge and dishing that up with some salad. I have also started keeping some boiled eggs in the fridge so I can get lunch in track ASAP.
Oh I’ve been doing the boiled egg thing too! great minds!
As a new mum at home during the day I am struggling with the same issue. How to get food in quickly when you are suddenly starving. Great tips!
Leftovers from last nights dinner are my fav 🙂
oh and isn’t it THE most ravenous starving you’ve ever been?! you just cannot eat fast enough, haha
I suck at lunch too and often just eat shit to get by. I love this idea though. Getting organised in the morning is so much easier than cutting your day in half to get something together.
The best part is when you get organised on only one morning, but you’ve got lunch for two or three days!
I love this idea – I wonder if you could make a hot grazing plate? It is just that during the winter I don’t like eating lunch that isn’t hot. I am a big fan of toasted sandwiches, soups and even some homemade sausage rolls or veggie pasties.
Sounds like you don’t need a grazing plate at all – you’ve got lunch sorted!
I am trying to just pack little bits of leftovers for when I hit the office. because I do that thing too, the one where you don’t think about food until I am starving. Then I need to eat RIGHT NOW and because I am pregnant this can mean I need a fancy-arse $15 burger form the drive through on the other side of town, you know the one that has veggie burgers and puts sumac on it’s chips. I might have to make a portable grazing plate. I know my kids LOVE to eat like this in Summer.
SUMAC ON CHIPS IS GENIUS
So if I do q grazing plate what SHOULDN’T I put together? I know some fruits and veggies emit a gas that makes other veggies ripen faster. What about carrots, cheese, broccoli, olives, colored peppers, and cherry tomatoes? Just add some crackers, salami, and some dried fruit on the side…