anybody else pack their lunch?

[Mike G]

Never. I'm a fireman, if you don't cook and eat with the rest of the crew you're out ! Once you're out you're out FOREVER.

If you bring your own food in you'd be called a one way MF'er.

On the other hand a normal lunch would be 2 cheeseburgers on hard rolls with mac salad, beans and chips yum yum. Maybe 4 bucks.

How true that is, L.H.

But, there was always someone in the crowd who didn't want to participate in the community meals, and brought their own food. I learned early on that if you didn't participate, you'd be outcast for your entire career.

Now that I'm retired from the F.D., and work in a machine shop, I have to do it on my own.

 

[Vivi]

I always pack my lunch for work. Healthier, worlds cheaper and more customized to your own lifestyle.

 

[smknman]

Well I bring leftovers from the day before (work nights), but that is gone before lunch. At lunch I go to the cafeteria and get a meat and 3 with a salad, Before I leave for the day I am raiding the snack machine. 5 meals a day and I weigh a buck 30 soaking wet. For now.

 

[Ilovetoolsteel]

During the evenings I work in a restraunt so I never have to, AND I get a 50% employee discount .
Andrew

That always burned my ass when I was waiter and bartender. After you work in restaruants for a while you find out their margins for stuff. I worked bartending at this one place for about 3 or 4 months when the boss changed the meal policy to 50% for employee meals. Most of the employees ate stuff like sandwiches and chicken wings (the cheapist stuff food cost wise) He tried to paint it like he was doing us a favor, "You can order anything off the menu! Steaks ribs anything!" That was the week I switched from Cutty to Chivas.

 

[preachtokill1032]

That always burned my ass when I was waiter and bartender. After you work in restaruants for a while you find out their margins for stuff. I worked bartending at this one place for about 3 or 4 months when the boss changed the meal policy to 50% for employee meals. Most of the employees ate stuff like sandwiches and chicken wings (the cheapist stuff food cost wise) He tried to paint it like he was doing us a favor, "You can order anything off the menu! Steaks ribs anything!" That was the week I switched from Cutty to Chivas.

Well technically for us it IS a steal. I mean check this out man, I usually eat a sandwich and a soup with chips and a soft drink, and a plate of spaghetti/chicken pasta primo. Now for a regular customer that's about 20 bucks worth of food, but for me I think it comes out to a little less than ten bucks. Not bad for a sandwich, soup, and plate of pasta. Hell my co workers even complain about me getting a discount, they think I should be charged full price because I eat like a pig but never get fat .




Andrew

 

[Rugger]

Well I bring leftovers from the day before (work nights), but that is gone before lunch. At lunch I go to the cafeteria and get a meat and 3 with a salad, Before I leave for the day I am raiding the snack machine. 5 meals a day and I weigh a buck 30 soaking wet. For now.

I remember those days... it will change. Wrap your head around the idea of portion control. It WILL be part of your vocabulary eventually...

 

[VampyreWolf]

Usually I do cafeteria food. Costs about the same as fast food for as much as I eat($7-8 is normal).

When I was working 0600-1400, I took a box of granola cars in my bag, eat 3-4 of them over the day, and stuff myself when I got home to cheap food. Wendy's a 3min drive away from work, or a full meal for the same price as a burger when I get home... hmm... Still treated myself to a burger every few weeks.

Spent 8 months in school, eating cafeteria food 75-80% of the time. But that's a wrap or sandwich and a bowl of soup at least 1/2 the time. When I wasn't in the cafeteria I was usually up in the lab working on a project or lab that had to get done. Allowed coffee in there but no food at the stations. Many a day fueled on coffee alone.

Spent the last month since I finished that packing on 10lbs getting up at noon and sitting around watching TV and eating till the sun comes up again. Get back to the work world in a week, 0800-1630hrs, and you can bet I'm going back to fruit juice and granola for a month or so, lose the 20lbs I packed on since I worked last(aug 05). So if you call that a lunch, yes I pack my own.

edit:
as far as that "clean your plate" mentality, there's a reason we don't dish up food before it hits the table... just take what you want from the pots. No reason to fill your plate if all you want is a salad for supper.
My grandmother used to make us eat everything on the plate, and keep bringing food till you were stuffed. The only thing that taught me was just how much food I can pack away. Buffets hated seeing our work group, we'd all do 4-5 plates for lunch. We would eat til we were full, not just satisfied.
it's quite suprising how far apart the line is between satisfied and full. I'm satisfied on a 1200 calorie day. Doesn't mean I can't pack away 4000 if I want to, I just don't need to.