A few weeks ago i noted that Maximus eats a plate of almond butter for lunch, and well, i got into a little bit of hot water over that, as He reminded me that there is an apple on that plate along with the almond butter. The point was that Maximus tends not to fix Himself lunch if i am not around, despite there being loads of great food options for Him. i have always cooked for leftovers, its in my upbringing, and i always have food on hand that can be quickly assembled and/or heated up. However, it’s come to my attention that Maximus hasn’t recognized this, thus the almond butter (and apple), and i am the one eating the leftovers or freezing them for later to keep food from spoiling. i abhor throwing food away and i need to be mindful of our grocery budget.
So after some discussion about this, we have devised a plan to help Maximus have more options for lunches and snacks, which helps us go through the leftovers and prevents me from absolute boredom from eating the same lunch all week long. Maximus wants to know what there is to eat! We settled on a magnetic notepad that i can keep on the front of the refrigerator that has a running tally of what there is to eat and where to find it. So far, its working great! We’ve made it through all the leftovers this week without having to freeze anything, and things, like oranges, aren’t spoiling.
It just takes a tiny bit of prep on my part. i simply list things as the week goes and cross things out when they are gone. It helps me quickly see what needs replenishing too. i make sure everything is labeled and prepped (turns out He hates to peel oranges, so if i have a baggie of peeled oranges at the ready, He will devour them!). Things that i find easy to gather and prepare for lunches are not so handy for Him, but if i prep them and bag them up together, He will happily do it.
Case in point, Maximus loves Asian noodles, like soba or udon, in broth with vegetables. i found frozen soba noodles at the Asian market, with six individual serving packs of noodles to a package. i put a small package of frozen noodles and a couple handfuls of frozen Asian mixed veggies into a quart ziplock bag marked “Soba Noodles” in the freezer and have a big bag of homemade Asian broth i’ve frozen in ice cube trays. Maximus grabs a couple handfuls of broth cubes, brings them to a boil in a saucepan, and then adds the frozen noddles and veggies, and voilà! His favorite lunch in minutes!
Its so much healthier for Him and He finds that it gets Him out of His office and away from His computer for a little while, which is a really good thing.
But i’m not a total prude…there are still apples and almond butter…and Christmas cookies!
The Gift of gabriella 