Lunch Rituals
Speaking of not embracing change, I loved this article a few weeks ago because I eat the same thing for breakfast AND lunch every day. Breakfast never changes: a container of yogurt. Lunch may change if I need to meet someone for a meal, but if I’m at home, it’s a bowl of Special K. A scoop of peanut butter and raw fruits and vegetables are snacks. The only thing that changes is dinner.
I think of my meals in the same way I think of the benefits of wearing a uniform. It frees you from making decisions.
(I also don’t have a lot of variety in my wardrobe. I bought a dozen of the same black shirt and same jeans and mostly wear the same thing, day after day. I try to never buy new, seasonal clothes.)
I wake up in the morning, and I’m going to put on the outfit. I sit down at the table and I’m going to have yogurt. There are no decisions I need to make. I like not needing to think. I never get bored with the sameness. Instead, I think of it these moments in my day a little like a never-changing ritual. Now the yogurt is visiting. Later, the Special K will come around.
Do you eat the same thing for one or more meals each day?
11 comments
I eat the same breakfast through the week. On workdays, it’s a cup of coffee and a pack of Belvita Brown Sugar Cinnamon crackers. On weekends, it’s either an omelette/fritatta or eggs and hash. Like you, I appreciate the ease and simplicity of it all. I like to ease into my day; not start it making a bunch of decisions.
Hm. I vary a bit based on what sounds good, but only rotate through a few options so there’s not any major decisions being made. I do vary my wardrobe more than you but definitely buy several pairs of the same jeans and leggings and multiples of tops I like. That’s just common sense in my opinion. Why waste time continually looking for things you like when you’ve found it?
I go through cycles of eating the same thing day after day but eventually change it up when I get bored of those foods.
I do eat the same thing for breakfast every morning… oatmeal with brown sugar & cinnamon & milk, orange juice & then tea. My mother & I started eating oatmeal when I was in university… my grandfather (then in his 90s) made himself porridge every morning for breakfast, and he lived to be 96… we figured there must be something to it. 😉 It’s filling, and so easy to make in the microwave, too. And yeah, when I was working & getting up before 5 a.m., it was great not to have to think about “what am I going to have for breakfast?” 😉
For lunch I tend to go in waves/phases. Lately, when we eat lunch at home, I generally have a slice of crusty Italian bread with cheese, and then some yogurt. For dinner, dh likes to have pasta & beans one night a week (generally Monday) & he makes me lentils with rice, onions & carrots on Friday nights, because he knows I like it. The rest of the week is generally up for grabs.
I mostly eat the same breakfast every morning- scrambled eggs on a corn tortilla with a little corn and black bean salsa on top. Filling and healthy at the same time. I would be really bored if I ate the same thing for lunch every day though….same with dinner. Thankfully my husband is a really good cook and makes all kinds of different dishes. 🙂
Oh geez – I can’t even make my lunch the night before, because I don’t know what I’ll feel like eating that day! Hahahahaha!
My kid has a nightly snack ritual. She eats pretty much the same thing for breakfast most days. She judges her next meal not on what she’s interested in eating but on what she’s already eaten and what else she should be eating. I have no idea where she gets that from.
Ha ha I thought I was a creature of habit but compared to you I vary things quite a bit.
I do go thru phases, e.g. cereal is so delicious I can eat it at all day nom nom, then I’ll get tired of cereal and eat toast/English muffins/ etc. I also love smoothies made with acai purée/banana/frozen blueberries/(vegan) milk for breakfast.
Lunch could be leftovers, big salad, yogurt (vegan) with berries added (beforehand, in a food storage container) plus an avocado with salt/pepper. I’m kind of off sandwiches right now but I’m sure that’ll change (that used to be my lunch 90% of the time). Once in a while I splurge on a frozen meal such as Amy’s enchiladas.
I am definitely a creature of habit with meals – but less so with you. I have cereal with almond milk for breakfast every day… Usually a Bento box with protein and veggies for lunch and then dinner varies. 😀
No. I like variety and choice. But I do have two gustatory anchors. I have a cup of coffee each morning and I have a glass of wine each evening. Both have become rituals, and I look forward to them.
Oh wow, that sounds like such a healthy day of eating! I get on kicks. My breakfast, when I have time to eat it at home, is almost always honey nut Cheerios and blueberries. If I’m headed to school and rushing, it’s a Pamela’s blueberry-lemon Whenever Bar. Lunch when I’m at school is pretty predictable — either leftovers or a frozen meal (I like Saffron Road or Red’s Organic or LUVO), a yogurt, and a fruit (usually an apple to be totally stereotypical). I’m not a big snacker. Now that I’m home for a time to recover, I have grilled cheese and applesauce a lot. Maybe today I’ll have peanut butter and banana. Now clothes… I am in pajamas all the time right now but I have a lot of variety! Brightens my day. I’m excited it’s almost dress season again.
I will often eat the same thing for days in a row, but since I typically only eat one meal a day no it’s not the same EVERY day. I don’t eat breakfast ever. EVER. Like since I was 6 I haven’t eaten breakfast. The mere thought of food before about 11am makes me gag. LOL But, unlike my husband I can cheerfully eat something I like for days or weeks on end. Then I’ll grow tired of it and move on to something else. But my wardrobe has more variety. I stick to the same style- I’ll have multiple skirts in the same style, or multiple shirts, but different colors.