Do you take a “Union Lunch”?
As busy moms and entrepreneurs, we often prioritize our own needs last. But… what if we carved out a little “ME” time right in the middle of the day? How rejuvenating that would be!
Claire Tansey is a Canadian Mom Entrepreneur and the brilliant woman who introduced me to this concept of a “Union Lunch”, for those of us who work from home.
Claire founded Claire Tansey’s Kitchen in 2016. Over the years, she has cooked in fine-dining restaurants, worked as a Chef of the President’s Choice product development kitchen, was the Food Editor at House & Home magazine, was the Food Director at Chatelaine, is a regular guest expert on Cityline and recently published her first cookbook, Uncomplicated.
I love, love, love Uncomplicated. I have learned so much from her about making quick, easy, tasty meals. I love her approach and have re-read it so many times!
Knowing that we Mom Entrepreneurs often put ourselves last, I approached Claire for advice on making quick, healthy lunches for ourselves.
Here is what Claire had to say:
ON UNION LUNCHES
After a few months of working for myself at home, I started forcing myself to take a lunch break. We all know how easy it is to just eat over the computer or whatever your work is. It’s also hard because lunch is one of those times that, since my son is in school, is good quality time by myself when I could be working.
But, I just found that I needed a little break and then I would come back refreshed. And so I started calling it my “Union Break”. I make myself some lunch and then watch half an hour of a soap opera or something that’s a total disconnect from my normal work (so not food-related!).
Knowing that I was going to be having a Union Break for lunch inspired me to think a little bit more mindfully about what my lunch would be. And, since I’m at home, I sometimes use my oven to make something satisfying. For example, I can roast a couple of sweet potatoes or put on my rice cooker with some brown rice. It’s stuff that doesn’t take a lot of time but that you could not do if you’re working in an office.
My classic lunch is really veggie heavy and whole grain heavy. So, for example, I have short grain brown rice with some roasted sweet potato, a bit of salad dressing and maybe some feta cheese or avocado. I look forward to anything that has avocado or feta on it… preferably both.
At the grocery store, I always buy feta and avocados. And I always have brown rice on hand. That’s just kind of my lunch template, I guess. You can also throw in leftover chicken or whatever keeps it interesting. It only takes 5 – 6 minutes to prepare if everything is ready – if the rice is already cooked and the sweet potatoes are already roasted.
Lunch is really for me. I have my lunch, I have my little break and then I usually make myself a nice cup of really strong espresso and get back to work. It’s become a really nice little ritual on the days I work from home. It’s really liberating because, for dinner, we’re trying to satisfy everybody.
SOUPS FOR A QUICK WIN
Especially on Mat Leave, I would take the instant ramen noodles – you know, like Mr Noodles – and I would grate a carrot and a zucchini and maybe a stick of celery into a bowl. Then, I would cook the ramen noodles either with the seasoning packet or without (I know, some people are really against it). And I would pour that hot broth and noodles over the vegetables and it made it so much more elevated than your typical bowl of Mr Noodles. You can also throw in some frozen edamame, maybe some tofu, some chicken, whatever you have on hand… even a handful of chickpeas.
And it’s just kind of warm and comforting. Sometimes, if I’m just sitting at my desk all day, I get cold and I just want a hot lunch. So that’s another big win for me.
Whenever I make a Lentil Soup, I always freeze two or three single-serving portions in those little Ziploc bags. They thaw really quickly if they were frozen while laying flat on a baking sheet. And that’s a nice way to have a hot lunch. And really, it’s the same amount of work if you’re making a single batch or a double batch of Lentil Soup, so you may as well make a double batch.
Lentil Soup actually freezes really well. Stuff with a lot of chunky vegetables doesn’t actually freeze well. For example, with chili, a lot of those vegetables actually get quite mushy when they go into the freezer. And I don’t freeze a chunky soup in the freezer.
THE JOY OF AN EGG SANDWICH
When I do have a sandwich it’s almost always a Fried Egg sandwich. I this is something my dad actually used to feed us when it was “dad on duty”. It was a fried egg and, I know this sounds really weird but it’s so good, sliced kosher dill pickles and mayonnaise on toasted bread. Oh my god. Oh my god. Now that I’ve said it, I think I might have to have one for lunch.
I also love an omelet sandwich. If you just make yourself a little omelet and then put it in between two slices of bread.
I kind of feel like everything goes in a sandwich.
TIPS FOR MEAL PREP
I used to think that full meal planning was the only solution. It’s where you sit down on Sunday and you plan everything from Monday to the next Sunday. You go out, you do your shopping, you stick to the plan.
The trouble was that it always made me angry. I hated having to do it. And I hated having to stick to it.
Also, in my line of work, it’s entirely possible that on say a Thursday, I’ll suddenly have an assignment and I need to cook all day. Then, we end up with leftovers to eat. It’s just so unpredictable.
My new thing is to plan three meals. And that’s it. And that leaves us open for eating leftovers or for being spontaneous. It’s the best of both worlds. I usually sort of plan Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and shop on the weekend. That does mean that I have to go back to the grocery store in the middle of the week.
I do think that if you can find time on the weekend, it’s amazing if you prepare a little for the week. That can be as simple as cooking a big batch of grains – quinoa, brown rice or white rice. Cook it and then freeze it in small portions for the family. They freeze really well.
Having the sides and vegetables organized seems to help us a lot. So this is time to get yourself ahead. Don’t just think about the main meal – such as making a lasagna. Think about the components of a meal, like making a big batch of salad dressing or washing all your salad greens. Make a soup that can be the backbone of meal. Make pancakes and put them in the freezer, so you can have “breakfast for dinner” one night.
If you want to add protein, tofu is a really quick way. Also, I always have chickpeas and canned lentils on hand. And I keep edamame in the freezer – which I love. Actually, I always have veggies in the freezer. I also always have avocado and feta, parmesan and eggs. Those are other great ways to up your flavor content and your protein content.
Try just planning for three days… it is SO liberating!
Thank you so much, Claire!
Photos courtesy of Claire Tansey. Top photo by Chait Goli.
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