$4.12 a day

i have spent many lunches sitting at my desk - at this current job and the last job (temping at CAT). i learned, after losing my HCA job 2.5 years ago, that taking my lunch to work was economically necessary and also got rid of the leftovers quicker. i also found it easier just to sit at my desk and eat rather than finding a place in the building not all up in the general employee public (which wasn't always something that i've ever liked much).

since moving back to cali, living with my parents, and starting this my new job, it's been challenging to bring food from home. mainly because, i don't cook much at home (i get home too late as it is to eat let alone to cook) and also because there's hardly any place to store any food i buy (even though my family has two refrigerators and one storage freezer!). whatever mom makes for dinner may not always be a good option to bring to my workstation to consume (often, it would leave an assaulting aroma in the air in our very open work space). also - the folks may want to eat leftovers the next day, so i just leave it be. and besides, bringing family leftovers was a feat in itself. there wasn't just a main and a side or two. it often required 3-5 small storage containers because you didn't want said items to "touch" and/or they were not all microwave-friendly. so - with all this to consider (i know...geez, it's just lunch!), i started to check out the commissary in the basement of my building on the lot.

the commissary has a decent number of offerings: two daily specials and two soups (one with meat and one vegetarian), a long list of a la carte items, made-to-order salads and sandwiches, a pretty good salad bar, and extensive beverage and snack selections (plus the guy behind the counter and the lady at the register are quite nice and smiley). i've tried a little of each and some choices were good and a few that were not so good. my first crack at the salad bar (and thankfully, the produce in cali is always great), i found there were two sizes of containers...small/medium and medium/large. and to my amazement, they didn't sell it by weight (i thought they did like whole foods and HCA). i started out putting my salad bar choices in the bigger container...but soon realized, i was way too full (since i sit at my desk for 9.5 hours everyday...i know, i know) and opted to choose the smaller container next time with soup or maybe some toasted pumpernickel bread (which is one of my faves and rarely available in eateries these days). let me tell you...after doing this a few times, i realized that the smaller container is plenty and no other side items are necessary.

so - here's my decision. i can afford $4.12 a day (it's what the smaller container of salad bar costs + tax). that's $20.60 a work week...$82.40 a month. if you know me, you know i could easily spend a decent amount of money when i eat out (especially since i don't do it that often anymore). now, i am often tempted by the plethora of gourmet food trucks that are parked outside our lot each day (and an email is circulated with the trucks of the day), but that would require me walking to the said street outside the lot and then a couple of uncertain variables which would cause me to refrain...unless a truck i've been dying to try comes and i can get away to go get it...but i digress). a $4.12 meal is completely worth it...as opposed to having to prepare and pack a lunch from home, heat it/prep it for consumption onsite, and remembering to take home the containers, and then cleaning them when i got home. that smaller container for the salad bar packs plenty of food, i bring my own favorite salad dressing (ken's steak house creamy balsamic and store it in my desk mini-fridge...we all have one under our workstations...and a decent sized flatscreen tv and dvd/vcr player on our workstations...are you jelly? ha. nbd), and i don't mind eating it at my workstation (since i usually don't actually take that required 30 minute lunch that i have to declare on my timesheets). and the crazy thing is - i'm not a fan of leftovers (except on rare occasions), but i could eat this salad pretty much everyday and not get bored...really. maybe it's because i could drink that salad dressing in a shot glass =) or because i feel like it's a reasonable, healthy choice i'm making given my current circumstances (sitting all day, commuting, not wanting to be too full from lunch, etc.) or i just like salad with good stuff on it. the funny thing is, i have yet to tire of the same salad bar selections i put into that smaller container every day. i find it strange that for someone who loves food with flavor, eats pretty much anything (and will try anything at least once), and is even quite adventurous when it comes to food...my choice of a salad lunch every day with the creamy balsamic dressing is one of the wisest things i've decided since moving back to cali. now...if i could commit to using that treadmill in the den...

here are the $4.12 salad bar (smaller container) contents of choice:

- baby spinach
- diced grilled chicken breast (plain)
- shredded carrots
- corn kernels
- pickled beets
- garbanzo beans
- sliced cucumbers
- crumbled hard boiled eggs
- tomatoes (depending on the day - cherry, grape, or chopped marinated in evoo and parsley)
- a few pieces of peach