At least we can all agree on hummus

I look forward to lunch time every day at work.  Since the weather is nice, I eat outside in this delightful little shaded area with picnic tables.  There are few areas in or around the office that one would describe as “delightful” so this lunch area truly is a haven.  The group I eat with consists of four people besides me:

The Summer Interns: I hit it off with these two girls right away, because obviously I have more in common with the college students than those who have been living the corporate life for twenty years. One goes to Xavier, and the other goes to the University of Dayton.  I will mourn the day when their internships end. 

The French Designer: She is middle-aged and lives and works in New York but is here doing training for three months.  She’s an interior designer and brings so much culture and class to our lunch hour.

The Nova Scotian:  As her name would indicate, she is from Nova Scotia, and is also middle-aged.   The French Designer and the Nova Scotian often speak French together.  When the Summer Interns and I are around, they kindly use English as to not exclude us from their conversations. 

I love my little lunch group!  I love that we send fun little group emails each day to confirm our 12:30 lunch even though we all know the time and location.  It’s just nice to receive a friendly email mid-morning. 

However, the one thing I do not love about my lunch group is that I feel like I have the worst diet imaginable when I observe what they eat.  If I had to sum up what they eat in one word it would be LEAVES.  I swear, the main ingredient in each of their lunches are those dark green salad leaves... you know, the ones with actual stems still on them.  They are frequently topped with things like beats and turnips, and obscure vegetables I’ve never tried in my life.  I’m pretty sure The French Designer is a Vegan, and the others are just super health conscious. Fruits and vegetables… it’s really all these people eat. They all talk about how the only places to buy decent food in this city are Fresh Market and Findlay Market.  Meanwhile, I silently eat my turkey sandwich and chips and sip on diet soda.  It should also be noted that I usually pack my lunch in a Kroger bag.  I realize turkey, chips (baked chips, I might add) and diet soda doesn’t sound like a terribly unhealthy lunch to the average person, but to be honest, I feel like I’m eating a pile of onion rings smothered in ranch in comparison to their lunches. 

On a positive note, I packed hummus today, and it was received very positively by my lunch group.

It must be noted that I’ve never been called out on my “terrible” eating habits by my gracious lunch companions.  They are way too nice for that.  I do wonder though if they silently judge my eating habits…