Taking advantage of the day!

Today was a special day. Not just because it was the second day of the all-school in-service, but because on January 10th it was 45 degrees with a beautiful blue sky and not a cloud to be seen. Let me repeat that - 45 degrees Fahrenheit! In northeast Wisconsin. 

When the normal high is 24F and single digits are not uncommon (and subzero temps are expected at some time in January), I was able to sit in my car, without a jacket or heater running and with the windows open while enjoying a simple cold lunch. It was a variation of what the British call a ploughman's lunch (usually some ham, cheese, fruit, pickle, and rustic bread). In my case, I had some grilled chicken breast (simply seasoned with herbs), a cucumber, some baby bell peppers and a Gala apple.

Why pack a lunch when the school provides a lunch for in-services? Because there is no guarantee that what they serve will fit my needs. Today, the school provided choice of two soups, a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, pickles, potato chips and an ice cream sandwich. That would have been a LOT of sodium. Sure, it would have been tasty, but not worth it in the long run. That's why planning is important, to eliminate controllable temptations and obvious pitfalls.

I try to anticipate potential problems. I like to pack my own lunch. In additional to being generally healthier, it is much less expensive than buying lunch. And it allowed me the easy opportunity to enjoy a rare spring day in early January.

I don't have any specific recipes for today. It was a simple food day, and those are good days, too. Tomorrow, I will have photos of two versions of my breakfast bake (and the recipes for all four versions).