Eat breakfast at work

If you find yourself skipping breakfast because you’re too rushed or not hungry enough first thing, why not eat the first meal of the day at work?

You might have to be a little sensitive to your office culture and customs here: I’ve worked in places where communal milk was bought for cereal, and places where eating breakfast at my desk would probably have raised some eyebrows (and some mutterings). Not everyone wants to hear you crunching and slurping your cereal, so if you work in close proximity to others, you might prefer to eat in the office break room or kitchen.

Cereal

Cereal is probably the easiest breakfast to grab at work – you’ll want to keep:

• A bottle of milk in the fridge (get skimmed, or semi-skimmed)
• A box of cereal in your desk drawer

Most cereal boxes aren’t exactly shaped to fit into a small space, so you might want to decant your cereal into an airtight Tupperware container. This also has the advantage of keeping it fresh for longer.

Depending on how well equipped your work kitchen is, you might need to buy yourself a cheap bowl and spoon, too.

Toast or crumpets

Even if your kitchen doesn’t have a toaster, you could pick up a basic one for about £5 (try Woolworths or the Sainsbury’s Basic / Tesco Value ranges – they’ve got plenty aimed at students at the moment). Keep a loaf of bread or a packet of crumpets in your desk drawer, and a pot of low-fat spread in the fridge.

One word of warning – when you’re making breakfast, don’t get distracted by checking your email. The smell of burnt toast is unlikely to endear you to your colleagues.

‘Emergency’ breakfasts

You might not plan to regularly eat at work, but it’s still worth keeping a few long life items in your desk, for those inevitable days when the alarm doesn’t go off and the bus is late…

Mini, single-serving cereal boxes are a good option, along with long-life milk. You could also keep a box of breakfast bars on hand. Ideally, of course, you’ll have a few healthy snacks stashed away which could serve as an emergency breakfast.

On the clock

If you can, I’d suggest getting into the office ten minutes early in order to eat breakfast – otherwise, even if you’re working while eating, you may face some grumblings from colleagues or even your boss that you’re eating breakfast on company time.

Alternatively, knock ten minutes off your lunch break (and I hope you’re taking your full lunch hour at the moment).

Although eating breakfast at work isn’t practical for everyone, most of us can work out a way to manage it. If you’re finding yourself too rushed to eat at home in the morning, why not give it a go?

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(Image above by Bitter Girl )