The other day I read an article about the disadvantages of eating lunch at your office desk on a regular basis. Sure, many of them deal with the long term physical repercussions for those who do not try and get up to move every now and then (Even a periodic two minute break can minimize those disadvantages), but the article also addressed how easy it is to get bored with healthy lunches if you are eating the same mundane ‘#saddesksalad’ every day. I feel like that hashtag accurately describes how I feel sometimes when I am trying to shove my meal down so I can quickly get back to work – I am sure many of you can relate. While my job makes it nearly impossible to beat the constant sitting (I do take frequent water/stretch breaks and have an exercise ball chair – anything helps right?), it’s in my power to pack meals that force me to take the time to enjoy my food, leave me feeling energized, and are overall just good tasting. My ability to get creative with lunches amidst a busy schedule and workday is one of the reasons I started Sweet T and a Honey B.
The reason I mention all of this is because my team at work recently moved to a different floor within our building and among quite a few things I love about our new space, at the top of my list is a weekly ‘Treat Day’. It’s exactly what it sounds like – a day filled with treats. You might be wondering why I am mentioning something like this when I have often referenced that practicing self control with office food is key to keeping yourself on track with eating. While I still believe this is true, Treat Day is something worth mentioning because it was developed as a surefire way to beat that #saddesksalad once a week. Every week, those who have chosen to participate take turns bringing in morning AND afternoon treats for the team to share. I can confidently say that everyone has done a good job of bringing in a mix of healthy and not-so healthy snacks for people to share. I obviously try and fill up on the things like hummus and veggies first, and then treat myself to a sweet snack or two in the afternoon. Colleagues of mine have brought in so many delicious items and my favorites have included a Crockpot Baked Oatmeal, yogurts with various toppings, a Trader Joe’s tomato basil hummus (life changing) with pita chips, and Irish Soda Bread with Vanilla Almond Butter! Since there is a large group that takes part, your turn only comes up every three months or so. Yesterday was my first assignment and I was ready with my list of snacks. The morning menu consisted of a Biscuit Bar with various jellies, honey, Justin’s vanilla almond butter, and slices of ham and swiss for those who were feeling a savory sandwich (aka, me!), fruit, and my favorite- an iced blueberry lemon yogurt bread. I definitely had springtime in mind when looking for some easy breakfast options and this recipe fit that requirement perfectly. This was the ideal combination of tart and sweet, and left you feeling full because of the greek yogurt base and fresh fruit used to make it. I found this recipe from Melanie at Gather for Bread and I am already planning on making this again this weekend. Except this time, I won’t have to share it with 12+ other people 😉
Ingredients
- 1¾ cup flour
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup melted (salted) butter
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 oz plain Greek yogurt (I use Siggis as I think it has best consistency)
- 1 cup fresh blueberries (I MAY have dumped in an extra 1/2 cup. What the heck, go wild.)
- ½ cup confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon milk
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and sides of 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Set aside
- Mix together egg, milk, melted butter, lemon zest and lemon juice. Pour into well. Mix just until combined. Stir in yogurt. Gently fold in blueberries.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan.
- Combine confectioners sugar with lemon juice, milk and lemon zest. Stir until smooth consistency (Note, I love lemon. So I added a 1/2 tsp extra lemon juice to the glaze) Drizzle over warm bread.
- Let cool before slicing.
Treat Day has become a pretty cool way to not only beat that #saddesksalad one day a week, but has motivated everyone to get creative when bringing something to share. I find myself taking a couple of welcomed breaks to chat with colleagues and now have couple new ideas for appetizers and meals for entertaining (I had the BEST egg and pepper casserole a few weeks ago). I highly recommend gathering a group of foodies at your workplace and arranging something like this too!
I guarantee it is difficult to resist a second piece of this refreshing breakfast bread. Guessing by the amount that was left at the end of the morning, it was a huge hit. Hint-There was one slice and hubs cheerfully stuffed his face with it when I got home 😉
Happy Thursday!