Does this drive everyone else nuts? If I forget my prepared food at home (always, sitting on the counter going bad) this is what I can get at work:

free donuts in the morning if you are fast.
for a quarter in a coffee tin either ramen noodles or a small bag of cheetos/doritos etc
snack machine in the breakroom where the healthiest things have a little green heart beside them. These incluse one instance of snackwells high GI but lowfat cookies which I dont trust, and high nitrate meat sticks.

nearby there is a chipotle in a pinch ... but driving there and back on a 1/2 hour lunch break means no time to eat!

It seems insane that if you are going to pay the health care of a large group of people this is what you offer them.

I was just thinking about donuts!

I was figuring out my superfoods numbers and noticed I had no turkey or salmon today. I got to wondering what the chances are that a patient will bring us a nice box of turkey or a case of salmon?!?!?

Not likely?

Is there a fridge or freezer at work that you could leave several things in for emergencies? Or you could put certain things in your desk like oatmeal packets, tetra packs of soup, tuna & whole grain crackers, dried fruit, nuts, etc.

I did this at my last job. I would advise putting everything in plastic baggies or tupperware type containers though. My last employer had a mouse problem, so you had to protect any food in your desk or in the kitchen.

Hmm, yes, someone brought us a dozen donuts yesterday. I learned long ago that those fat bombs reallllly upset my stomach. But to answer your questions, Molly, I keep food in my office. While not ideal, those little plastic tubs of unsweetened applesauce and fruit have saved me many times. Also frozen dinners like Amy's. Again, not perfect, but better than your vending machine choices. I also like to bring fixings for salad at the beginning of the week so it's there every day. Same with homemade soup. Can you put your lunch right into your car when you make, in a cooler bag perhaps? This doesn't work for me when the temperatures are below freezing at night, but other times of the year it does. Or one trick I've learned when I have something in the fridge at work that needs to go home - put my car keys with it! This should work in reverse too! Or a note on the inside of the front door, or the steering wheel of the car.

but that would require thinking ahead!
I'm just kidding =) But you are right ... I should bring the things in on mondays that I only buy once a week (like yogurt and fruit) so that theres something there ... I don't think ppl would touch unsweetened organic yogurt with a 10 foot pole when the cheetos are right there.

I just think that it's odd that a company that would pay you 200 bucks to quit smoking puts no thought at all into food health.

I think that is a symptom of our culture. Unfortunately, people don't realize just how bad these things are. Or if they do, they are unwilling to change. I don't think people think about the future and about the long term effects of what they put into their mouths.

Is there a boss you could bring this up to? I believe someone has done a study about this. If I remember correctly, employees who eat a healthy diet are more productive employees.

I think someone did and that's why we now have the meatsticks, snackwells, and sweetened ice tea in the machines =/

Heh, I never have the problem of leaving breakfast on the counter because I always wake up hungry and eat breakfast the very first thing! The thought of waiting for breakfast - does not compute! I would definitely recommend keeping a couple of packs of instant oatmeal at work for this scenario. I currently have snacks in my desk that would do in a pinch - Cliff Nectar bar and some dried fruit.

Susan - loved your comment about the salmon! Ha! Work snacks are the WORST and I am constantly bombarded with it, leftover bagels from meetings, leftover donuts from meetings, leftover cookies, chips, truffles, chocolates (several admins keep candy dishes on their desk - "take some!" - ugh you name it! I just tell myself "I don't eat free food at work." Makes my life a lot simpler. I was really tempted on Friday though, they had a baby shower and there was a big thing of spinach dip/chips left over, mmm spinach dip, in a bread bowl! Managed to resist.

I'm going to have to memorize that line, and make it my mantra:...no free food at work, no free food at work....

And hooray for you for resisting!

We have outside people bring in donuts or fresh bagels with cream cheese, or lots of candy bars/chocolate. Then there are the co-workers with candy bars. I can't just eat one mini....it starts a stampede of "need"! Then I eat more than if I ate a full sized bar.

Me too! My last thought before I go to sleep every night is that I get to eat breakfast in the morning!

Free food at work is one reason I'm so thankful I work at home. This lifestyle change would have been a lot harder for me if I had to go into an office every day.

If you make your lunch in the morning, put it in front of the door so you can't open the door without noticing it. If you make your lunch the night before, hang an empty plastic bag on your doorknob to remind yourself about lunch in the fridge.

Another option is to bring several days in at once - even the entire week. This, of course, depends on your having access to a good bit of fridge space. It also means you can't eat leftovers! If you pack different meals, it means you can have a choice at lunch.

You could also keep some shelf stable foods at your desk, like canned soups, etc. Even if these are not as healthy as you'd normally eat, they're better than what you can get at the office! If you're really ambitious, you could can your own shelf stable foods. If you're doing meat, you'll need a pressure cooker.

I keep things like Wasa crackers, & Laughing Cow cheese, lowfat cheesesticks, Progresso soup cans, 60 second rice packets, and a canister of quick oats and a jar of peanut butter in my desk drawer. I keep Kashi and South Beach high-protein granola bars in my purse. I HAVE walked off without my lunch. If I didn't have "emergency" supplies handy, those "free-food" opportunities would be disastrous for me. Like Glory, I will NOT eat free food at work. Those muffins, donuts and bagels are one of the reasons I put on 80 lbs. over 8 years. An extra 100 calories here and there add up way too quickly.

I never forget my lunch but I also always keep snacks at work.

Oh, donuts at work...and the boxes of chocolates, bagels, cinnamon rolls, trays of goodies. I have to avoid the break room altogether.

seriously! It used to be once a month but now it's this random donut assault ... you never know when you will wander by a box of free pastries.
today was the WORST. I don't usually have problems with hunger during the day but I was short on food (co-op had nothing but yellow bananas last weekend and they were just too brown to eat by friday).
by the end of the day I was starving for not planning better. I thought i had worked this out.