Skipping Lunch, January 18th

My favorite meal of the day by far is lunch served at or around 12:30pm. I’m not especially hungry when I wake up and I’m more of a turkey sandwich than a French toast anyway, so I usually spend the morning popping a few grapes and waiting around for the noon hour. As the clock ticks, the pressure mounts to eat a great meal—filling, healthy-ish, delicious, a feast for the eyes, and something that will power me through to dinner.

If lunch goes awry (and even if it doesn’t), an afternoon snack can meander into my schedule. For me, the witching hour is about 3:30pm. Snacks can range in size from a small palmful of healthy roasted almonds that give me energy and make me feel like I slayed the sugar gods, to the last enormous piece of chicken parm I was saving for later but couldn’t wait because when I thought about it, I honestly thought I could eat just a few bites and save the rest, but I became possessed by the oozing browned cheese and tomatoey sauce and just said screw it and ate the whole damn thing. (C’mon. You haven’t?) The other big snack category that begs my attention is sugar.

Whudja Eat?

Sugar…the first love of my life. A Twix bar eaten slowly. A cupcake with twirly buttercream frosting. A handful of Reese’s mini peanut butter cups that you don’t have to unwrap (genius). A perfectly crisp chocolate chip cookie with melty chips that smear onto your hands in spots you could swear never even had direct contact with the cookie, making you curse and smile at the same time.

Today I had a late breakfast with my Dad. (Yes it was outside, close to a few palm trees, and with tables spread apart.) I promised to not eat the gigantic rye toast that accompanied my Greek omelet, but I caved and munched through the carby slice anyway. (I’m untrustworthy when a toaster is involved.) And although I was stuffed from the meal, I was sure that I’d be hungry for lunch since it’s my go-to. But noon and one passed without so much as a grumble.

Finally at four I was back at my Mom’s and after a few miles of outdoor exercise, we decided to skip the snack and have an early dinner—just a few ounces of protein and a smattering of salad with a nondescript lemony dressing. Before the dishes were even cleared, Mom lunged for the chocolate chip cookies we had baked earlier. I grabbed the Talenti ice cream and of course her staple Cool Whip topping. A Chipwich party ensued. Apparently sometimes you can be hungry and have a cookie. I probably ingested more dessert calories than dinner ones, but hey, I skipped lunch.