Bad for my Pocketbook & My Waistline

[shanendoah]

I have a new job. The location of the new job is in the heart of our University District, where there are a ton of great food options. 
My favorite restaurant (Indian food) is only a 10 minute walk away.
My favorite fast food restaurant (Qdoba) is one block away.
Also within 2 blocks- a donut shop, teriyaki place, Trader Joes, and more coffee/tea/pastry places than I can rightly count.

I must be extra diligent about bringing my own lunch and snacks, otherwise, I'm going to bankrupt myself eating at all these yummy places, not to mention undo my weight loss progress (because walking 20 blocks will not take off all the calories in 4 cups of chai, let alone the naan and curry).

Does anyone else have this kind of problem- surrounded by places you'd love to eat when you know you need to brown bag it?

[swamp]

Sadly, no. I live in a culinary wasteland 

[Deleted]

That was my last job. I think I gained about 10 lbs there. Luckily I now have to get in the car to go somewhere decent, but that isn't as much of a deterrent as it should be.

And I LOVE Qdoba!!!

[Cookies Galore]

I work in food heaven. I'm right between two college campuses, so there are awesome lunch trucks everywhere, as well as great restaurants. Being busy helps me stay inside and eat my brown bag lunch! I do allow myself one lunch out a week.

[Deleted]

wasteland - only one place in walking distance, but thank goodness they are there.  

[shanendoah]

My previous job was in a wasteland - the cafeteria wasn't very good and the most common food truck was fish & chips - even their chicken fingers were too greasy for me. I was a sucker for the cajun food truck, but it showed up only every couple of months or so.

I had just gotten so used to being in a wasteland, and I only had a 30 minute lunch, so it was easy. Now, I'm surrounded by yummy food with a whole hour to kill.

And for those who want to know, yes, I am totally treating myself to Indian food on Friday.

[suesinfl]

Would it help if you make a deal with yourself that if you don't go out for lunch you can have takeout one night a week for dinner? Easy for me to say because I work in a wasteland of your typical fast food.

[skubikky]

shanendoah....congratulations on the new job!

I work in a very poor neighborhood.  Our company has been here for 75 years!
Almost all places for lunch, except a great little Dominican joint down the street(chicken and rice!)

Most of us brown bag it just because it's not convenient. 

[toomuchreality]

Does anyone else have this kind of problem- surrounded by places you'd love to eat when you know you need to brown bag it?

Anytime I need to do something like this, I want to do something else.  It could be the worst restaurant in the world, and I'd probably crave something from there, just because....  

[wvugurl26]

My office is in the ghetto. That being said there are a few places around I like to get lunch at. When the work cafe does the entree salads, I get those. When I first started we had them Monday thru Thursday and then they renovated and now only offer one once a week. I hate the sub station that replaced the salads. We already had sandwiches and wraps not sure why we needed subs too.

There's a hole in the wall place that does pit beef that I love. My usual partner in crime for lunch is on vacation so I've brought my lunch all week. I try to convince myself that its not worth the hassle of walking to my car, getting my food, driving back, getting badged in at the gate and clearing security screening to get in the building.

[Deleted]

I work in a very fancy area of the city.  Think Tiffany's, Williams-Sonoma, an Apple Store, and tons of restaurants all within walking distance in an area frequented by tourists and locals lucky enough to be free during the day.  I rarely go out.   The job is demanding and I like to work through lunch and use the company gym in the afternoon.  Fortunately, the company is pretty generous about springing for lunch at the slightest excuse- new employee, someone's landmark birthday (my 60th, for example),  even welcoming one of my staff back from maternity leave and at the same time thanking everyone for covering while she was gone.  So, I get out but not often enough that it affects my waistline or breaks the bank.

[NancysSummerSip]

It's a mix...I'd have a short drive, but I can get everything from awesome fried chicken and waffles to Asian noodles, organic Chinese food, tacos, deli and kickass burgers pretty close by. We also have two produce markets and an Aldi's nearby.

Oh, and Trader Joes is coming next year - about 8 miles from my house. And a Fresh Market will be about 4 miles away, also next year.
 
Unfortunately, there is a mom and pop donut shop about three miles from my house.

[wvugurl26]

Jul 3, 2013 9:04:54 GMT -5 NancysSummerSip said:

It's a mix...I'd have a short drive, but I can get everything from awesome fried chicken and waffles to Asian noodles, organic Chinese food, tacos, deli and kickass burgers pretty close by. We also have two produce markets and an Aldi's nearby.

Oh, and Trader Joes is coming next year - about 8 miles from my house. And a Fresh Market will be about 4 miles away, also next year.
 
Unfortunately, there is a mom and pop donut shop about three miles from my house.

I like Fresh Market. I had one very close to my apartment. Now it is a longer drive to get to one.

[muttleynfelix]

My office is right next door to an awesome pizza place.  I love eating there.  And they have an awesome lunch special - salad and an 8" pizza for less than $8.  Plus we've been neighbors for 5 years and they have low turnover so we know everyone over there.  There is also a Mexican place 4 doors down.  An ok chineese place, a BBQ joint, an ok bar and a couple blocks down. Just across the freeway is fast food galore and an awesome Bar and Grill. I love going there.  Fortunately, my coworker that use to go out to eat all the time left to work elsewhere, 2 of my other coworkers are "dieting", my boss goes home for lunch and my other coworker typically runs errands on her lunch hour. So, it has made brown bagging it desirable.  I do go and get fajitas for carry out every other week or so. They last me a couple days.  I'll also go get some lasagna and it will last me a couple days too.

[resolution]

I work from home. I have absolutely zero desire to get in my car and go somewhere for lunch, but I can have a problem with snacking all day if I have a lot of good snack food in the pantry. I had to stop buying a lot of chips and sweets as well as cut back on baking so I didn't have things around to tempt me.

[NancysSummerSip]

Closest Fresh Market currently is 25 miles. I found chocolate bars there from Iceland to test for my blog. They were wonderful. Who knew there was a chocolate maker in Iceland?

[wvugurl26]

Jul 3, 2013 9:18:33 GMT -5 NancysSummerSip said:

Closest Fresh Market currently is 25 miles. I found chocolate bars there from Iceland to test for my blog. They were wonderful. Who knew there was a chocolate maker in Iceland?

I get their flavored coffees for my mom on gift giving occasions. I like their bulk bins as well. And many other things that result in me blowing the grocery budget.

Mine is fairly close, it just involves a trip that can be hellacious during rush hour.

[NancysSummerSip]

Thanks for the tip on the coffee....I'll try some of theirs next time we head out that way.

Seriously, I could have moved into that Fresh Market when I walked in there for the first time. I wanted one of everything!

[sapphire12]

Congratulations on your new Job!

I work in a wasteland. I also like to walk during lunch in the warmer months. In the colder months, I hibernate as much as possible.

[shanendoah]

Thanks for the congrats on the job. I'm pretty excited about it.

As for the idea of trading lunch out for take out one night a week, I'm not in charge of dinner. C is, and I'd really rather keep it that way.

My old job, my hours were 7-3:30. My commute was literally 10 minutes. And I worked in a food wasteland (not even fast food within walking distance).
Now my hours are 8-5. My commute is 60-90 minutes (taking public transit). And there is a plethora of food around me.

On days when I bring my lunch (should be most days), I'll also try and get out and walk. Because honestly, I don't know what else to do with a full hour.

[amishgal]

Jul 2, 2013 20:39:23 GMT -5 swamp said:

Sadly, no. I live in a culinary wasteland 

Ditto. Well I take that back, we have lots of great places where I live, but I work almost an hour away in the middle of nowhere. Subway is considered fancy around these parts. O, but a new Dairy Queen did just open up!

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Where I worked before I got sick, the only way of getting something good was to go off campus.  That meant walking 15 minutes to the parking garage and driving someplace (even though there were some  pretty good restaurants within a couple miles of campus).  When I'd get back, then I would have to drive the garage(s) to find another parking space since the university sold 100% more parking tags than there were parking spaces.

I had access to the hospital cafeteria, but at the end it got rather expensive for what you got and it really wasn't that good.  So I brought my lunch to work 9/10 days.  When we did go out to lunch, it was because whomever was driving was not planning on parking back on campus (they had an appointment or were leaving early).

[lynnerself]

Jul 2, 2013 18:38:57 GMT -5 shanendoah said:

I have a new job. The location of the new job is in the heart of our University District, where there are a ton of great food options. 

UW? that university district? They call it the "ave" and there are hundreds of places to eat.

[Formerly SK]

This is one instance where I'm glad I have food intolerances (dairy/egg/gluten).  I lost 60lbs four years ago and I'm sure I wouldn't have kept it off if I could still eat those things.  There are oodles of downsides to my diet, but I guess a good BMI and saving money are the upsides. 

[Gardening Grandma]

Back before I retired, I worked in downtown Seattle. All sorts of neat places for lunch.  A friend and I made a pact to eat lunch out on Thursdays and to try different places.  It helped me maintain the disclipline to pack a lunch the rest of the time.

[Deleted]

within 5 minutes

Wegmans....best grocery store on the planet 

thai
indian
chinese
cantonese
burgers
buffao wild wings
noodles
4 diff sub shops (only one is subway)
3 diff chicken places (rotisserie, bbq, fried)

and then all the normal fast food joints 

mcd, bk, taco bell, wendys, etc

way too many choices....and i spend way too much on lunch....but i do eat well

[shanendoah]

lynnerself - yes, that U-district. And yes, I am only two blocks from "the Ave". Maintaining discipline to not eat out all the time is definitely going to be difficult. Because besides Qdobs (national chain), there's also a Paggliaci Pizza within a few blocks, and then there's Agua Verde, a great little local Mexican place that my other UW working friends like (their mango quesadilla is delicious). So yeah, tons of great food, very near me.

Formerly SK - this is Seattle. This is the U-district. I'm pretty certain that I walk or ride the bus past at least 5 restaurants that advertise that you could eat at them. And most of the others would likely happily cater to your food issues.

The other thing that makes it all so tempting here is that I live in the southend, very near a mall, which means most of the restaurants near home are chains- not that I don't like Red Robin or Old Spaghetti Factory every once in a while, but they really can't compete with the small local places that I now work very near.

[NoNamePerson]

Jul 3, 2013 9:04:54 GMT -5 NancysSummerSip said:

It's a mix...I'd have a short drive, but I can get everything from awesome fried chicken and waffles to Asian noodles, organic Chinese food, tacos, deli and kickass burgers pretty close by. We also have two produce markets and an Aldi's nearby.

Oh, and Trader Joes is coming next year - about 8 miles from my house. And a Fresh Market will be about 4 miles away, also next year.
 
Unfortunately, there is a mom and pop donut shop about three miles from my house.

I love Fresh Market. And we are getting a Whole Foods in the near future but can't remember the proposed date. We have eating places on every corner, chains, fast food and local folks. The choice is endless. I like all types of foods so it is just a toss up as where to go.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I miss my Fresh Market!  I used to live about a mile from it, and I'd go there for inspiration when I was clueless as to what to make for dinner.

Besides, this was the only place that I have found so far that has my toasted almond gelato!

[wvugurl26]

Jul 3, 2013 19:41:06 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

I miss my Fresh Market!  I used to live about a mile from it, and I'd go there for inspiration when I was clueless as to what to make for dinner.

Besides, this was the only place that I have found so far that has my toasted almond gelato!

I blame you for the fact that I like that gelato! At least it's cheaper at some other stores. Hell WalMart even has it now.

I'd gain like 30 pounds if Wegman's was by my job.