WEBVTT - Second Cup: Plan your lunches

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to plan your lunches. Few people put much

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<v Speaker 1>thought into their midday meals, but a little intentionality can

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<v Speaker 1>make this time of day more tasty and may save

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<v Speaker 1>you some time and money too. So most of us

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<v Speaker 1>eat lunch most days, and yet every day it can

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<v Speaker 1>feel like a new problem. You are starving after a

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<v Speaker 1>meeting ends at one o'clock and you wind up waiting

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<v Speaker 1>in line ten minutes to grab something overpriced from the

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<v Speaker 1>cafeteria or something not so healthy from a fast food

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<v Speaker 1>restaurant nearby, or you are working at home and the

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<v Speaker 1>prospects look bleak so you eat cereal. We've all been there,

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<v Speaker 1>and what's interesting to me is that often even people

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<v Speaker 1>who do a lot of planning for everything else in

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<v Speaker 1>their lives, including dinners, can have a blind spot about lunch.

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<v Speaker 1>But it doesn't take a lot of thought to make

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<v Speaker 1>this meal a little more appetizing. Longtime listeners know that

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<v Speaker 1>I advocate planning the upcoming week on Friday. So on Friday,

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<v Speaker 1>when you are planning your upcoming week, take a quick

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<v Speaker 1>moment to think through your midday meals. Where will you

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<v Speaker 1>be working, are you working all five days? When will

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<v Speaker 1>you likely break for lunch or at least squeeze lunch

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<v Speaker 1>into your schedule. Do you have more time someday for

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<v Speaker 1>some reason. Rather than making mediocre restaurant food your default,

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<v Speaker 1>you might choose one day when you've got some flexibility

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<v Speaker 1>and schedule a real lunch date with a friend and

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<v Speaker 1>then pack your lunch the other days to balance out

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<v Speaker 1>the cost. As I look at an upcoming week, I

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<v Speaker 1>see that two of my kids have a random half

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<v Speaker 1>day off from school, so it might be worth blocking

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<v Speaker 1>that on my calendar to do something special for lunch

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<v Speaker 1>with them. You might also think through the cuisine. If

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<v Speaker 1>you plan your dinners, you can make enough to have

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<v Speaker 1>leftovers and then do something interesting with them to make

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<v Speaker 1>a better lunch if you have the groceries on hand.

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<v Speaker 1>So on Wednesday night this past week, we had pork

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<v Speaker 1>cooked in the crock pot. I saute the leftovers with

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<v Speaker 1>broccoli and spinach on Thursday and Friday for lunch. It

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<v Speaker 1>was definitely better than cereal. It is also good to

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<v Speaker 1>think through some non leftover lunch options when you do

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<v Speaker 1>your grocery shopping so you have some easy backup options.

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<v Speaker 1>I make sure that I always have the ingredients for

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<v Speaker 1>a curried chicken salad I like to make, and I

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<v Speaker 1>generally have that at least once a week. I also

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<v Speaker 1>buy a few cans of soups I like, so I

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<v Speaker 1>have those on hand with pre made dough that can

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<v Speaker 1>be stuck in the oven to make a very quick roll.

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<v Speaker 1>There's nothing quite like soup and fresh out of the

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<v Speaker 1>oven bread to make lunch feel much better. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>if you do have a favorite fast casual restaurant near

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<v Speaker 1>your office, there is nothing wrong with going there sometimes,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's better if it's intentional. Place your order ahead

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<v Speaker 1>of time so you can just go pick it up, and,

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<v Speaker 1>better yet, coordinate with colleagues so you can walk over

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<v Speaker 1>there together and get some exercise and social time alongside

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<v Speaker 1>your food. And know that even if you do work

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<v Speaker 1>in an office and don't like packing lunches, you might

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<v Speaker 1>not have to buy every day. If you've got an

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<v Speaker 1>office fridge, you could bring some supplies on Monday for

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<v Speaker 1>the week. Hard boiled eggs, cheese, sticks, almonds, and apples

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<v Speaker 1>could make a lunch that is very close to some

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<v Speaker 1>boxes you might buy at a coffee shop. So shop

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<v Speaker 1>for those and bring them in and feel free to

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<v Speaker 1>buy some treats at the grocery store too, because the

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<v Speaker 1>honest truth is that you would have to buy a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of stuff at the grocery store to equal the

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<v Speaker 1>cost of eating lunch out every day. What do you

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<v Speaker 1>like to eat for lunch? How do you turn this

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<v Speaker 1>break into a bright spot in your day? I'd love

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<v Speaker 1>to hear about it. You can reach me at Laura

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<v Speaker 1>at Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit

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<v Speaker 1>the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

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<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows.