Lunch Box
Got any lunch-hour tips, recipe suggestions, deals to share or questions? Write to Judy Hevrdejs at jhevrdejs@tribune.com, or drop us a line at TribU@tribune.com.
December 12, 2011
Lunch Box
Give boring lunch a flavor blast
I'm a fan of those soups in microwaveable containers. The price is usually right. Some can sit in your desk drawer for months (years?). There's a good variety to choose from. And when the weather's blustery, they solve the lunch problem for desktop diners.
November 28, 2011
Lunch Box
Barbarians at the buffet
Tis the season for office lunches, those collegial, food-focused gatherings of your cubicle cohorts. Sometimes the boss shows up. Sometimes there's booze.
October 17, 2011
Lunch Hour
Lunch-bunch pet peeves and how to avoid them
You love to go out to lunch with your co-workers. It's a great break in the day, gives you time to dish about the Bears, celebrities, TV reality shows or all three. And it's always fun.
October 3, 2011
Lunch Box
What's for lunch? Brain food
Now that you've made it through the annual August-September drumbeat of back-to-school madness, pause a moment and think about your own education. Maybe you should use your lunch break and treat yourself to some "brain food."
September 5, 2011
Lunch Box
Desks: Dirtier than toilet seats
The last time you wiped down your desk and shook crumbs from your keyboard was — yep, a year ago, when you knocked over a latte while munching a turkey croissant sandwich. Or was it after crunching through that bag of Cheetos? That's not good news if you're one of the 83 percent of Americans who eat at their desks, according to a recent survey.
September 19, 2011
Lunch Box
Market-fresh lunch hours
Maybe you've been a farmers market regular all summer, stopping en route to work to pick up some beautiful fruit to go with your lunchtime yogurt—or stopping by at lunch for some terrific bread to go with the peanut butter you keep tucked in a desk drawer. Or maybe not. You figured: "What am I going to do with a dozen farm-fresh eggs all day while I pound away on my computer?"
June 27, 2011
Lunch Box
What's your lunch style?
What's your lunching style? Do you check out new eateries every day or tote something from home?
July 11, 2011
Lunch Box
What not to eat at a work lunch
When good lunches go bad, it's a sordid tale. But it has nothing to do with spoiled food.
May 16, 2011
Lunch Box
Join the club
Good weather's begging you to lunch outdoors and ditch desktop dining. Great! So grab a sandwich and plop down on a sun-drenched bench or patch of grass.
May 30, 2011
Lunch Box
Reuse that picnic feast
The outdoor grilling/picnic season is in full swing. If you covet your free time (and I do), you cook enough for 10 when only eight are coming to dinner. You're counting on leftovers.
May 2, 2011
Lunch Box
When are salads less healthy?
A fellow perpetual dieter confessed recently that, on doctor's orders to lose some pounds, she'd been digging into salads at lunch, dousing the lettuce leaves with bottled "low fat" or "low calorie" dressings.
March 21, 2011
Lunch Hour
Lunch beyond the brown bag
Stopped taking your lunch to work, right? Was it because you (a) loathe boring food containers, (b) hate eating soggy sandwiches, (c) don't have a refrigerator at work, (d) despise lugging home bulky empty containers, or (e) all of the above?
February 21, 2011
Lunch Hour
A healthy lunch on the go
You know veggies are good for you. You know fast-food calorie bombs lurk at every turn. But when your lunch hour's crunched, your stomach growls and you're deep into a due-right-now report for the boss, you do not have time to calculate calories, fat, protein, sodium — let alone a nice balance of color and textures. It's a miracle you're stepping away from your desk!
February 7, 2011
Lunch tip: Improve a classic
While rolling past the frozen food section of your supermarket, you spot a sale announcing a pretty good deal on low-cal frozen entrees (even those luscious sounding macaroni & cheese dishes) that you love to have on hand as a quick grab-and-go option for a workday lunch. You toss a few into your cart, feeling a little righteous for going the low-cal route and saving money. So what are you getting for your money?
April 18, 2011
Lunch tip: Order before you go
It's 11 a.m. and you've got a taste for pizza — maybe it's Giordano's Super Veggie deep dish. Or maybe you're thinking of that wonderful, garlicky-delicious chicken Vesuvio at The Village on West Monroe. Or maybe it's the juicy Angus beef burger at Naha on Clark.
March 7, 2011
How long is your lunch safe?
You've forgotten meetings and computer passwords. Join the club. Occasionally, you've even forgotten until 2 in the afternoon that your lunch has been sitting on your desk since 8:30 a.m.
January 31, 2011
Lunch tip: Put a steak in it
Mention leftovers and you find two camps, "lovers" and "haters."
January 17, 2011
Do you leave for lunch?
Welcome to Lunch Hour, a column dedicated to that wonderful break in the workday when you track down great restaurant deals with friends, work out in the gym, enjoy a second helping of some great veggie lasagna …
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