I’ve decided to follow the rules today. I’m going to share a full day of meals for What I Ate Wednesday. I can’t remember the last time I actually did this, so it should be interesting.
Back in the day when I was a rule abiding citizen, I almost always doled out my meals from either Saturday or Sunday because let’s face it, weekend food is where it’s at… ♫ “I got two turntables and a microphone. Where it’s at.” Sorry, Beck always makes me bust out into song; at least in my head. I saw him perform when I was in high school, and the parts I remember were really good. The parts I don’t…well let me be a lesson to you about underage drinking. Don’t do it; back away from the Boone’s.
I digress. We (or really me) was talking about my weekend eats. I like to reveal those because I have more time to cook, I can stage my photos and I take my entire plate of food outside for a better picture. Oh, the things we do for a good shot. Every so often though, I like to break the mold and show you a “real” day of food, which means I didn’t plan anything and I certainly didn’t stage it. I think it’s good for me, you, and everybody involved. Just go with it; it’s easier.
The whole concept behind WIAW isn’t to have the prettiest picture or the best looking fruit salad (although I’m still going to try because my competitive side doesn’t just shrivel up and die overnight; actually she gets stronger after a good night’s rest); the purpose of WIAW is to share a simple day’s worth of food and maybe inspire a few folks along the way. While these meals might not necessarily be inspiring, they are certainly real.
Today’s post is entitled “The Working Girl Edition” because every single one of the meals I’m about to share was eaten at the office. I spent just over twelve hours there yesterday, so it was a good thing I had supplies handy (i.e. food). Totally honestly now, I always have supplies handy.
First up, my breakfast was a (paper) bowl of Orange Cranberry Granola (recipe still to come), two spoonfuls of plain Greek yogurt and one freshly sliced peach. It helps to keep a cutting board at work.
I think this is just about the most perfect bite. Crispy crunchy granola, tangy creamy yogurt, and a sweet juicy peach. Damn, I wish I had more peaches. I would trade all the Boone’s in the world for another peach. Hell, I’d give away all the Boone’s in the world. Underage drinking: don’t do it.
Lunch was a couple of hours later, and it started with a huge pile of red leaf lettuce. Yep, it’s official; I’m back on the salad train.
I topped it with banana peppers, carrots, cucumber, green bell peppers, shredded Parmesan and a hard-boiled egg. Then I poured a generous amount of Annie’s Tuscany Italian dressing over the whole thing. It was finger-licking and fork-smacking good, and apparently I like to abuse my utensils.
After lunch, I snacked on more cheese: two little balls of Babybel to be exact. Ignore the tomatoes, I didn’t eat those; not yesterday anyway.
I ended up grabbing dinner from a local burrito joint and bringing it back to the office. Think Chipotle, minus the industrial interior. In the mix, and ultimately my belly, was brown rice, black beans, sautéed veggies, more cheese, pico de gallo, spicy salsa and black olives. Basically, it was a warm bowl of comfort food towards the end of a long day; it hit the spot.
Since I got home after nine last night, I didn’t do much more, other than feed my frenzied felines and crash. Man, it felt good to crash and by crash, I mean sleep because sleep is where it’s at…♫ “I got two turntables and a microphone. Where it’s at.”
What does a “working day” of food look like in your world? Do you have a preference in what I share for WIAW: a random and not staged day of food or my photo friendly weekend eats?
Eating 4 Balance says
August 14, 2013 at 7:33 AMI like your working girl edition just as much as your weekend eats. A good balance of classy and practical 🙂
I always fail at capturing the elusive “perfect bite.” My hand is just to wobbly when trying to hold my cellphone at such odd angles. Perhaps I could have someone else do the posing… Next recipe I make (or the next one I remember my promise) I will get that perfect bite.
My working day involves just one meal at the office. Thermos-style soup eaten in my cubicle as I read blogs on my dual screen 🙂
Meghan says
August 15, 2013 at 6:16 AMWell at least you have dual screens at work. That’s pretty cool.
Over the course of trying to catch my kitty cats in great photos, I have mastered (or at least gotten good) at taking iPhone pictures one handed. It’s all about practice; steady hands don’t hurt either. 😉
kirsten@FarmFreshFeasts says
August 14, 2013 at 7:55 AMA working day of food would be 2 or 3 tall cups of tea (lady grey with half and half), lunch that you’ve seen on the blog or whatever the person in charge of lunch brought to feed us, and something fast and easy for dinner since I wasn’t home to moon over it and start cooking at 2 pm when I got hungry.
Yes, no breakfast.
I like all inspiring photos, staged or not.
Meghan says
August 15, 2013 at 6:17 AMNo breakfast. Aw man. I always keep granola at work so barring everything else, I’ve at least got breakfast.
IntrovertlyBubbly says
August 14, 2013 at 8:51 AMLove that second shot with the spoonful. For me normal workday: breaky: oats, sandwich, coffee. Snack: yoghurt, cookies, Lunch: cabrs, veges, meat…Dinner: Fruit/ meal. For WIAW I prefer a random and not staged day of food.
Meghan says
August 15, 2013 at 6:18 AMSounds like good workday fare. Thanks for your opinion. I will keep it in mind when doing future WIAW posts, and thanks for stopping by and saying hello.
Jessie says
August 14, 2013 at 9:07 AMRed leaf may just be my absolute favorite.. except when it goes bad and turns green & slimy.. GROSS!!
Meghan says
August 15, 2013 at 6:19 AMAll lettuce is gross when it turns slimy. Yuck!
Sarah Pie says
August 14, 2013 at 9:15 AMThat’s an amazing day of eats for a12 hour workday! I’ve been living off granola and bananas for the last few days so I’m looking forward to getting some real food today!
Meghan says
August 15, 2013 at 6:20 AMI knew it was coming so preparation was a big part of it. I wasn’t planning on it being my WIAW though. Go figure.
At least you’re still eating your #publicbananas.
Sydney says
August 14, 2013 at 9:39 AMLooks like a good day of eats to me! Your breakfast looks especially delicious 🙂 And so smart to plan ahead and bring foods from home to the office for a long day.
Meghan says
August 15, 2013 at 6:21 AMThanks Sydney. Preparation is key, isn’t it.
Giselle@myhealthyhappyhome says
August 14, 2013 at 9:49 AMYou eat so good at work! Good for you! When I was working I ate pretty good since I had a fridge and microwave in my classroom I had a good supply of healthy foods on hand at all times. I think I ate less though when I was working because now that I’m home I snack more throughout the day. Not always a good thing even though their healthy snacks. Sometimes I crave being back at work for the schedule and routine alone. But then I wouldn’t get to spend every minute of my day with my little Love Nugget 🙂
Meghan says
August 15, 2013 at 6:25 AMI’d love to have a fridge and microwave in my office. That would certainly make things easier.
I can understand missing the schedule and routine of working, although I can also understand wanting to spend all your time with your little nugget too.
Audrey @ In Shape Cupcake says
August 14, 2013 at 11:24 AMAll your food looks great! Lovin’ peaches
Meghan says
August 15, 2013 at 6:25 AMThanks.
Jess @ JessieBear What Will You Wear says
August 14, 2013 at 12:10 PMThose. Peaches. Girl you gotta stop, I am drooliiiiinnng.
Meghan says
August 15, 2013 at 6:25 AMI want more of those. peaches.
MassachusEATS says
August 14, 2013 at 12:13 PMI’ve been drooling over that perfect bite shot since I saw it on Instagram – definitely going to have to buy oatmeal now and fix myself a bowl of that heaven!
Meghan says
August 15, 2013 at 6:25 AMIt would work great with oatmeal too. The trick is super ripe and juicy peaches.
Khushboo says
August 14, 2013 at 12:15 PMI want your breakfast…now! Sometimes the simplest combos end up being the most satisfying! Your working day of eats looks delicious especially the Babybel snack- always forget how much I enjoy cheese mid-afternoon! When I was working in an office, my work day eats used to involve a lot of leftovers, salads and tupperware! Now it tends to involve a lot of eggs as they’re quick to assemble…and nice cutlery 😉
Meghan says
August 15, 2013 at 6:29 AMI want more of my breakfast too. I need to go get some more peaches. That’s the secret. Fresh, ripe peaches.
Eggs are a great midday snack too. I’m a big fan of hard-boiled eggs. The Babybel does the same thing; delicious and filling.
Katie @ Live Half Full says
August 14, 2013 at 2:02 PMI like these type of recaps better- since I struggle with coming up with new foods to eat during the work week. So thanks for posting this!
Meghan says
August 15, 2013 at 6:31 AMYou are most welcome, and you are also the second person to prefer these types of meals. I will absolutely keep it in mind for future WIAW. Thanks for stopping by.
Amanda @ .running with spoons. says
August 14, 2013 at 6:29 PMNow that -is- a nice bite. Usually by the time I find one, I’ve already eaten it… and that doesn’t really make for a convenient picture 😯 I have to admit that if you didn’t tell me, I would have never been able to guess that these were your working day eats – they all look so good! My work day eats usually involve a lot of on-the-go snacking… Lunch is actually probably my least favorite meal of the day just because I end up having to pack it and usually have no idea what to bring. Maybe I just need to start keeping a cutting board at work too…
Meghan says
August 15, 2013 at 6:34 AMI happen to be a fan of my workday eats too (:) ) partially because they are easy and usually prepared ahead of time. I think you should keep at a cutting board at the office. It’s practically a must for me. It makes for great snacks too.
Liz says
August 15, 2013 at 12:03 AMI love all your “What I Ate Wednesday”s but the real deal ones always satisfy my nosey nature. The meals looked awesome, some of my favorite things!
Meghan says
August 15, 2013 at 5:28 PMIt’s settled then; more real deal meals to come.
Miss Polkadot says
August 15, 2013 at 5:01 AMWait, I’ll quickly grab my notebook … Lessons learned today: no underage drinking [never mind that I’ve long been legal age and never was interested in drinking even back in the day – don’t judge ;)]. Also: Need to have the best looking fruit salad. Third: I [still] like the way you write a lot. No surprise here, though.
Real. That’s what your working day meals are but what they most definitely aren’t is: boring. I’ve just started working full-time so it’s nice to see what others eat at the office as I’ll admit I don’t like it much yet and probably just need some more inspiration. Yet I like those weekend eat WIAWs, too, so if it works for you maybe do them interchangeably?
Now please send me that breakfast bowl and let’s face it: you won in the category of prettiest picture :).
Meghan says
August 15, 2013 at 5:36 PMYou’ll get no judgment here; certainly not on the underage drinking topic.
I’m thrilled you like my writing style; I generally have a lot of fun doing it, and it’s one of the reasons I started blogging.
My workday meals are actually generally easier for me because I prepare most of them ahead of time. Case in point: I made the granola on the weekend, and I also washed the lettuce and chopped up the veggies for the salad then too. The only thing I cut up in the office was the peach, the cucumber and the hard-boiled egg. The super simple stuff to chop up, and the kind of stuff you don’t want to cut ahead of time. I also keep a big bowl of fruit and plenty of snacks at work so I’m never left wanting. It works for me. Good luck with the full-time gig.
Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli says
August 15, 2013 at 6:38 AMI like this working girl edition…it’s good to mix things up every once in a while! And I have to say, your pictures are still enough to get me licking my lips! Love that bite shot!
Working day eats for me usually include a couple cups of coffee, copious amounts of water (gotta stay awake you know…best way to do it? Pee every 15 minutes! Ha!), dinner which can be any number of things but every day this week has been breaded chicken with honey mustard, blueberry lavender coleslaw, and roasted zucchini (I’m not typically one to eat the same thing over and over again, but I’m a little smitten right now…and had an OBSCENE amount of coleslaw leftover from last weekend’s BBQ!), a snack or two, and sometimes breakfast in the car on the way home if I can’t seem to make it home without gnawing on my steering wheel (and that is why I pack a COOLER to take to work with me each night!) Hahaha!
PS, omg, the Boone’s is giving me flashbacks! 14 years old and drunk at the dinner table on Thanksgiving Day…yeah, that’s all I’m saying! 😉
Olivia @ Liv Lives Life says
August 15, 2013 at 11:58 AMThat burrito sounds soooo good. Holy yum. And so does the peach/granola combo! I never think to get peaches for some reason…it’s always berries for me, at least during the summer. You’ve definitely inspired me to grab some next time I’m out!
Typically, my work week meals are actually more structured than my weekend meals. I think it’s because I give myself time to plan them out and pack them the night before. Yeah, I’m weird, but hey, I like good food! 😉
Meghan says
August 15, 2013 at 5:38 PMYou have to get some local peaches; they are fall off the pit good. No lie. I just picked up more tonight and I’m going to try and get even more this weekend so I can freeze them.
My workday meals are definitely more structured than weekends usually because all the prep work is done ahead of time.
Kammie @ Sensual Appeal says
August 16, 2013 at 12:23 AMThis reminds me I have peaches that are waiting to be eaten.
Also, sadly I am not a huge fan of the Mini Babybel cheese. I tried. I get a strange after taste after I eat them. Oh yeah and I love CHipotle and any less-commercial-version of Chipotle so good choice 😉
Meghan says
August 19, 2013 at 5:37 PMMy Hubby doesn’t like the Babybel either, which just means more for me. There are days I think I could live on Chipotle. Yum.
Go eat those peaches.