Food in the Workplace

If you read my blog, or know me at all, you know that I am passionate about food — ordering, cooking, eating, feeding, serving. That said, I’m also interested in nutrition and healthfully coexisting with food and my eating habits.

In the past two months, I’ve lost 17.8 pounds, and one of the big changes I’ve made, especially in following a plan, is that I’ve started holding myself more accountable for the food I eat during work hours. In the past, my breakfasts and dinners were fairly healthy and homemade, but I’d use work as an excuse to order out all too often, and snack in a less sensible way.

Working in a fast-paced environment is no excuse to not eat wholesome, healthy meals. As someone who works in digital publicity, fast and easy are essential, but that doesn’t instantly qualify fast food (something that I’ve never found appealing or appetizing) or takeout junk. I’ve made a habit of bringing ingredients that I can leave in my work refrigerator and prepare in our kitchen at ease.

While I wish we had a proper kitchen at the office, we have a toaster oven — a personal favorite — and a microwave. I fell in love with the toaster oven when I first moved to Astoria. Clean, easy, and compact. What’s not to love? Real Housewife of New York City, Sonja Morgan, would agree. At the office, my go-to lunch is to toast whole wheat tortilla for a few minutes, spread on some non-fat Greek yogurt, add some fresh vegetables (I tend to stop by the local grocery store and peruse their salad bar for tomatoes, peppers, and chickpeas), and sprinkle on a little feta. Full of protein and fiber, low in fat and calories. I season these tostada-style lunches with garlic powder and black pepper, as I keep a fresh pepper grinder in my office (as well as a sea salt grinder, za’atar, and garlic powder).

Yesterday’s lunch, featured above, is a whole wheat tortilla (toasted), guacamole (spread on tortilla), salsa (spread on tortilla), topped with red and yellow pepper, chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, tofu, and a little sprinkle (about a tablespoon) of reduced fat feta cheese.

Beyond lunches, I often find that stocking healthy snacks that tide me over longer are the key to me avoiding the unnecessary vending machine. I keep my office stocked with 100 calorie packs of raw almonds, and often bring in fruit, fruit leather (a sweet treat after lunch), as well as flavored Greek yogurt. For a fun twist on autumn-themed foods, consider flavoring non-fat Greek yogurt with 2 tablespoons of pumpkin puree, a sweetener of your choice, cinnamon, and a dash of pumpkin pie spice. #yumalert