How to Eat Lunch at Your Desk
Blueberries are safe. Five-alarm chili isn’t. And the secret sauce of sandwiches: condiments.
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We turned to an expert for help: Jessica Entzel Nolan, executive R&D chef at lunch delivery startup Sprig, who thinks about takeout lunch for her job.
The Desk-Dining Accceptability Scale
In the age of the open-plan office, lunchtime etiquette has never been more important.
Worst
Anything superspicy
Your body responds to hot and spicy foods the same way it responds to actual heat—with sweat. Unless you want to be pitted out and smelly for the rest of the day, save the vindaloo for dinner.
Tuna salad
Nolan is quick to condemn this one: “It’s unacceptable and gross.” We don’t necessarily agree, but she’s a professional, so we’ll let it stand.
Iffy
Raw onions
That pico de gallo may look good, but the aroma will radiate well beyond your desk.
Overcooked hard-boiled eggs
If it’s cooked right, it shouldn’t smell,” Nolan says. “But if it’s overcooked, it’s foul.”
Chips, popcorn, or other crunchy foods
Food should be tasted, not heard. If you must have popcorn, go for the prepopped stuff. The buttery smell of a freshly microwaved bag is way too distracting.
Totally Safe
Blueberries
Not only are they a superfood, high in fiber and vitamin C and low in everything bad for you, they’re also easy to transport and share.
Accessorize Your Sandwich
These eight top toppings will turn even the blandest sandwich into a midday treat.
Big Spoon
Roasters Mission almond butter, $14
Because you deserve a nut butter made with heirloom nuts and raw wildflower honey. It will get stale eventually if unrefrigerated—but it probably won’t last long enough.
McEvoy Ranch
extra virgin olive oil,from $27
“The flavor notes are fruity with a bit of pepper on the finish,” Nolan says.
Bourbon Barrel Foods Bluegrass
soy sauce, $7
The beauty of soy sauce is that it lasts forever. The beauty of this particular soy sauce is that it’s microbrewed in bourbon barrels in the heart of Kentucky.
O Fig
balsamic vinegar, $12
Nolan loves the addition of mission figs to this California-aged vinegar. “It’s a fun twist,” she says.
Cholula
chipotle hot sauce, $3
The original version is sharp and fiery; the smooth, smoky chipotle version will help you calmly dispatch those afternoon e-mails.
Tracklements
robust whole-grain mustard, $8
With black pepper, allspice, and chilies backing up an already tangy spread, your turkey sandwich will never know what hit it.
Mike’s
hot honey, $10
This Brooklyn brand rolled out in 2011 and quickly became a condiment-world hit. Squeeze a bit on your $1 slice to make it instantly foodie.
Maldon
sea salt, $11
The glittering, flaky grains have a clean flavor and will make everything from avocado toast to chocolate pudding look glam.
How to Have an Actual Lunch Break at Your Desk
“Try to put yourself into a bubble for 20 minutes or so,” says Yochanan Altman, a professor of international human resource management at Middlesex University in London. Headphones are your friend here; so is the sleep mode on your computer monitor. If you’re not too self-conscious, it also helps to bow your head for a bit of at-desk meditation. Whatever you do, put down that sales report. “There are physiological studies that show that [a break improves] your mental and physical abilities to do your work,” Altman says. “You’re not doing anyone any favors by trying to work during your lunch.”
Don't Forget to Wipe
What’s sweeter than dessert? A tidy workspace.
Wireless Wipes
in pomegranate-citrus
Use these to clean up that coffee splatter or hot sauce spot. They’re tech-friendly (i.e., prevent static), and they smell great.
Burt’s Bees
aloe and witch hazel hand sanitizer
A spritz before and after with this skin-soothing aloe and witch hazel blend keeps an employee healthy, wealthy, and wise.
Choward’s
mints
Even if you’ve never had one of these uniquely shaped, breath-freshening mints, you may have seen them before: Mad Men’s Peggy Olson kept a pack of these in her desk.
