Working in a cubicle farm from 9 to 5 definitely has its health disadvantages. At the office, most people have a quick meal of anything from leftovers, fast food, store bought or company provided meals. My company doesn’t provide meals, but I also usually don’t have leftovers to bring to work. I found that buying restaurant food was very expensive and wasn’t very healthy. So, my coworkers and I have been preparing our own fresh hot lunches on our own for the better part of the last 2 years. We do occasionally go out a few times a week, but we usually return to our usual creative dishes in no time.
In order for us to make this work, our office provides us with a few appliances that should be available at most office lunch rooms. These include a refrigerator, microwave and toaster oven. Over time, we have purchased our own equipment for the office, such as the versatile Slap Chop, a large mixing bowl, and a few tupperware containers.
Enough about the back story, here’s what we made recently: Grilled Chicken Tacos
Purchase from the store:
12 Tortillas
8 Roma Tomatoes (Why Roma? Because they cut the best in the Slap Chop)
1 bunch of Cilantro
1 small Onion
1-2 Grilled Chicken Patty
2 Limes
To make the Pico de Gallo:
We have a pretty good process for this. I split the tomatoes in fours, VD scrapes out the seeds, and Ivan runs them through the Slap Chop. For the Cilantro, we make sure we remove the stems, then we bundle it and Slap Chop. Last, we slice up an onion and put it in the.. Say it with me… SLAP CHOP! All the chopped ingredients are thrown into our mixing bowl, we squeeze some lime, and spring some Salt and Pepper and voila Pico de Gallo. We also add some extra ingredients sometimes, such as jalapeno and green onions, just to try them out.
To steam the Tortilla:
Place the tortillas on a plate, and a wet paper towel on top. Use the microwave to heat it up for about 1:30 minutes.
To heat the Chicken:
Microwave for 2 minutes.
I hope this inspires you to make your lunch more exciting the next time you feel like you are stuck eating the same old stuff.
