Dude, Where’s My Lunchbox?

One of the biggest changes I’ve had to make since arriving in Australia was packing lunch to work. I, Queen-of-Eating-Out in my previous company, have now conformed to Australian Standard AS/NZ Lunch101. Night-befores are now stressful affairs of:

a. Deciding what to eat for lunch
b. Digging my pantry for necessary ingredients
c. Deciding whether to take a trip down to Safeway/Coles to buy the necessary ingredients if lacking, or change menu to use up whatever’s left in the fridge/pantry instead
d. Putting lunch together
e. Wrapping it nicely
[up till this point, it takes approximately 0.5 - 1 hour]
f. Making it look as though it only took me 5 minutes to put it all together

While I’m missing the convenience of $1.50 bee hoon breakfasts and the availability of good old piping hot dumplings at my fingertips (and a taxi ride), I must admit that I’ve been having a bit of fun making my lunches. Then again, it’s only been Day 2 so let’s just see how long I can keep this up for.

Monday’s lunch comprised of a chicken pita wrap (with seeded mustard, spinach, pan-fried chicken breast, sweet chilli sauce and cheese) and a mesclun salad, and I had a chicken ham sandwich today (of chicken ham, spinach, seeded mustard, sweet chilli sauce and cheese – see a pattern here?) and an organic pink lady apple as pre-lunch snack. And as I’m typing up this post I’m now contemplating tomorrow’s menu.

I think I shall have a turkey cranberry sandwich tomorrow and some other interesting fruit, but first, I’ll have to leave you as I make my way down to Coles to buy my turkey breast ham and cranberry jelly.

You’ve just got to love the sheer enormity of the supermarkets here, I tell you.

p/s. See that photo in the previous post below? That’s where I had my lunch today. Envy me not.