Salad, Bar-None

(photo: Lunch.)

Sandwiches are temples to everything good about eating. So why have I given them up for salads for lunch most days?

1. I can make 4 day's worth of salads in 10 minutes on Sunday night for the two of us for 10 bucks a person.
2. I can do it up exactly how I want - that salad above is field greens, turkey breast, red peppers, 2-year-old cheddar and bleu cheese dressing. And it's AMAZING.
3. I'm always treated to a freshly assembled meal instead of a sandwich that's sat in a bag on the train every day.
4. Sandwiches should be treated like special occasion food; nothing's quite as sad as a mediocre sandwich.
5. If I bring the component parts of lunch to work, it's almost like I'm cooking for myself. That's a good thing, and puts me into a much nicer place than grabbing something from the fridge and eating it.

But the biggest thing, and this is something that's slowly changing the way I feel about eating in general, is while I spend most of my time wanting a sandwich, (who doesn't?) I don't actually need one every day. I spend all day in front of a computer - I don't need a truckload of carbs to get me through it. I barely need any, really, and if I'm better about what I eat for lunch, I can go a little nuts when it comes time to cook dinner. It isn't a diet so much as a compromise.

And for the moment, I actually think I'm okay with it.