Daily Plate: Game Changer

Making lunch at home is one thing, but packing stuff that’s going to survive the morning? Not so simple. If you work in an office with a refrigerator (walk-in or otherwise) it’s a bit easier to keep cold foods cold, but like a lot of you guys, I’m bopping around from class to work to more class to more work—I’m lucky to find a free bench to sit on some days!

While it’s easy to toss a sandwich, carrot sticks, and fruit in your bag, it gets boring. Even stuff like quinoa or couscous salad gets old. Sometimes you just want to be able to enjoy a hot lunch without having to pay for it.

Um, I don’t know what took me so long, but I recently discovered the microwave at my school’s library. Talk about a game-changer. When I realized I could bring, say, frozen soup or last-night’s leftovers and eat them as they were meant to be enjoyed, I was ecstatic, maybe a little bit too excited.

Still, it was pretty awesome to warm up with some chili and sweet potato instead of a sandwich on a snowy Friday.  I was in need of a little comforting, as I’d just managed to wreak havoc on my organic chem lab. Who knew a thermometer could explode if allowed to overheat? I always thought that was just something that happened in cartoons. You learn something new every day…