Practically Fearless Living

The three minute lunch ... one step back to prosperity

We all heard it. The recession ended in June of 2009. Pardon me if I suggest not all of us are living the dream, as they say.

Everyone decides what works best for them when it comes to clawing their way back to prosperity. Bringing my lunch at least three days a week is one way I can save, so I can pay down that nasty credit card bill left from the "months-we-couldn't-make-ends-meet" era. Yeah, I know, I shouldn't have, but I did and that's done. So now, it's rebuilding time.

The key to making this economic change is to make it easy. So here's my plan for the three-minute lunch. That's a lunch I can have in the container, in the bag and done in three minutes, right before I walk out the door.

Stat with a carrying case. A snappy insulated lunch bag can perk up a morning, but a roomy tote can hide the evidence of your frugality, if you prefer. If you don't have access to a fridge at work, buy a reusable cold pack. If you don't have a microwave at work, check Target or WalMart for insulated containers.

And now, the food:

1. Eat leftovers. I'm a good cook, darn it! I like to eat my leftovers ... but only one day a week. A girl gets bored.
2. Make lunch food ahead. Whip up some soup, a tasty chicken salad, or lay in the sandwich fixings over the weekend. Sometimes I even package the stuff in single-serving containers. (Warn your family members off these goodies or you'll be in for a shock some morning.)
3. Stock the pantry with quick-fix items. Ahhh ... and here's the three-minute lunch at it's best.

• Tuna in the pouch, a splash of your condiment of choice and a few crackers and you have lunch.
• Even faster: tuna pouch, bottle of salad dressing, a few lettuce leaves ripped right off the head (placed in a baggie). Ta-da, a healthy, protein-rich salad.
• Keep pita and hummus in the fridge and you can grab the bag of pita, the container of hummus and a piece of fruit. Not a perfectly balanced meal, but not bad, really. (Remember to bring the extras back, you're not going to eat four pieces of pita, are you??)

You'll find your favorites go-to items and you'll see what works best for you. Just remember my rule: If you've got to spend more than three minutes in the morning getting things ready, you're probably going to have trouble sticking to this.  Of course, that's based on my experience ... let me know if you find something that works better.

Practically Fearless Living Photo

Cilantro, you done me wrong ... again

I love cilantro. It's all I can do not to chomp on a few leaves right there in the produce aisle ... well, sometimes I do just that!

But a bunch of cilantro is such a commitment. Even in my house, were everyone likes it. Problem is, Cilantro has an allergic reaction to my fridge. Two days, three days max, and it's slimy, watery and downright nasty.

I wrap it in paper towel, I sit the tasty stems in a glass of water. I shower it with more attention than I do the family dog. And still ... you see what I get. The picture doesn't do it justice. It's got about a teaspoon of smelly cilantro water in the bottom of the bag. It's just nasty. (Have I mentioned that it's nasty?)

Don't even ask about the lemon. She went down the road to perdition with the cilantro when I wasn't looking. At least it can all go in the compost pile. Oh, the shame.

I love cilantro. It's all I can do not to chomp on a few leaves right there in the produce aisle ... well, sometimes I do just that!

But a bunch of cilantro is such a commitment. Even in my house, were everyone likes it. Problem is, Cilantro has an allergic reaction to my fridge. Two days, three days max, and it's slimy, watery and downright nasty.

I wrap it in paper towel, I sit the tasty stems in a glass of water. I shower it with more attention than I do the family dog. And still ... you see what I get. The picture doesn't do it justice. It's got about a teaspoon of smelly cilantro water in the bottom of the bag. It's just nasty. (Have I mentioned that it's nasty?)

Don't even ask about the lemon. She went down the road to perdition with the cilantro when I wasn't looking. At least it can all go in the compost pile. Oh, the shame.