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On Pinterest: “BYOL” (Bring Your Own Lunch)

We've all carried a lunch box at least once in our lifetime. Maybe for some of us, though, the last time we likely got into the routine of bringing a lunch from home dated back to grade school. Taking lunch to work for me has been hit-or-miss. Sometimes I remember, and other times my lunch ends up forgotten in the fridge or on the kitchen counter as I'm rushing out the door. Some of these ideas, though, just may inspire me to plan ahead to bring lunch more often. See ideas for easy lunches to make, pack, and take to work curated from Pinterest.

The 3 Must-Have Kitchen Tools for Meal Prepping

Want to see more posts from Meal Prep Week? Search for #MealPrepWeek or see a recap of all of the posts here. Earlier this week, I offered tips for how to make the process of meal prepping more enjoyable. My meal prep wouldn’t be successful if not for a few key supplies that are versatile and inexpensive enough to be in everyone's kitchen. For a small investment in just three tools, you'll be able to neatly weigh, pack, and organize your food for stress-free eating when your schedule gets busy. Here's what they are.

Pantry Raid: Make-and-Freeze Stir-fry Meals

Want to see more posts from Meal Prep Week? Search for #MealPrepWeek or see a recap of all of the posts here. Take-out is expensive and not really that great for you. Fortunately, it is really easy to make at home—especially with frozen ingredients that you can assemble, portion, and freeze ahead of time. For the past few years I've made these make-and-freeze bagged meals. These are similar to ones that you can buy in the frozen section at the store, but customizable with the quantities and ingredients that you want to include. They're also cheaper and healthier, in many cases, since you know exactly what you're putting into them and can add the sauce later to your taste. My two favorite meals to make are veggie stir-fry with soy chicken (or "fake chicken," as my family likes to call it) and shrimp with broccoli. I combine all of the ingredients, sans sauce, in a bowl and use a cup measure to portion into quart- or gallon-sized freezer bags, mark with the number of servings, and pop in the freezer. They're very simple to assemble, and even quicker to heat up and serve. Top simply with soy sauce or Sriracha, or with a sauce for something fancier.

The 3 Key Things You Need to Know About Meal Prepping

Want to see more posts from Meal Prep Week? Search for #MealPrepWeek or see a recap of all of the posts here. A year ago I took on a project that had me waking up early and commuting back-and-forth to Philly for work each day. On most days, I didn't mind the drive; it was a nice change in routine that gave me plenty of time to catch up on a few podcasts as well as episodes of Howard Stern. Re-establishing good habits, like taking time on the weekends to plan meals and outfits for the upcoming week, made my life a lot easier. One of my biggest challenges— the scramble to figure out what to put together for dinner at the end of the day, or saying screw it and stopping to eat at a restaurant on the way home—was eliminated, thanks to advance meal prep and big-batch cooking on the weekends. There are a lot of meal prep resources and recipes available out there, but the three best tips that I can offer—tried, tested, and successful—are these.

Meal Prep Week Challenge to Eat Better

Want to see more posts from Meal Prep Week? Search for #MealPrepWeek or see a recap of all of the posts here. For the past 8 years, the passing of the Labor Day weekend was a sign that the start of the fall semester was just a few days away. It was time to order my books, get my things together, and get back into the swing of commuting to class a few nights each week. Since I always made it home late on school nights, close to midnight at times, the start of school, unfortunately, also marked the start of eating poorly again.…

A Feast Inspired by the 50 States

Summer is admittedly not my favorite season, but I'm sure everyone who knows me has realized that by now. I've complained enough about the heat and humidity, sunburn (thanks a lot, fair skin and a desk job, for making the sun an enemy), allergies, and bees enough in my time to prove that point to anyone. As with everything, though, there are trade-offs. The end of summer will mean that local, fresh produce will start to trickle away and outdoors farmers markets will close for the season. It's still possible to eat seasonally in the fall and winter, but to buy outside of a conventional grocery store, options are limited to hearty greens and root vegetables. And as much as I love kale and rainbow Swiss chard, it's hard to beat a good Caprese salad. The taste of slightly acidic, fresh heirloom tomatoes nestled together with buratta or mozzarella cheese, drizzled with good olive oil and balsamic, some salt and fresh pepper, and fresh basil... that is pure bliss. My undying love for Caprese aside, it's true: I can't wait for the end of summer so my favorite season, fall, can begin. Before that happens, though, many of us will likely be spending our Labor Day weekend hosting or attending one last party of the season. If you're looking for ideas for what to serve and are getting tired of hamburgers and hot dogs by now, try a themed menu of favorite foods from across America.

Whiskey Sours (And Not A Bottle of Sour Mix In Sight)

Fun fact: today is National Whiskey Sour Day

Not like I really need "a day" for whiskey drinking—anyone who knows me personally knows that whiskey-, rye-, and bourbon-based drinks are my jam—but sadly it's not just any day that you can find a good whiskey sour.

A "sour" is a family of drinks that includes the Daquiri, Margarita, and Sidecar. The formula to make a sour cocktail is simple: spirit + the "sour part" (like lemon or lime juice) +  the "sweet" part (like simple syrup).

Easy as that. In theory.

I say "in theory" because a simple, three-part recipe should be hard to screw up but yet I hate ordering whiskey sours at restaurants. Actually, I hate ordering most mixed drinks at most restaurants, with chain restaurants and sports bars being the biggest offenders: The sour and sweet parts of mixed drinks are usually co-mingled here in the form of sickeningly-sweet, nuclear yellow-colored bottled sour mix. Yuck.