The something of a personal-level business problem that I had was that I was out to lunch more than I liked, and it was costing me. When I first started work, I went out to lunch a lot. Everybody where I work did at that time, for it was before the stock bubble burst for information technologies, and on balance most of my coworkers typically were in an Olive Garden mood or something similar a couple times a week. Even on days were lunch was not a group affair, I'd still get in the car and pick up a sandwich or some stir-fry or something. It was expensive, and eating a heavy lunch several times a week while sitting in front of a computer eight hours a day took a toll even on my own vaunted metabolism. Though I avoided the "freshman fifteen" in my college days, I found myself in the odd position of actually gaining weight in the first year I worked full-time.

As the economy soured a little bit, and times got more austere, the biweekly lunches stopped happening. As I got more concerned about my health I became more likely to go to the local supermarket salad bar than China Express. Still, it was expensive, especially when you factor in gasoline to get to those places. Eventually, a new cafeteria opened up at work, and this one had a decent salad bar, so I was able to eliminate the travel expenses, but it was still expensive.

Though nice every once in awhile, I discovered a couple of problems with having a garden salad every day for lunch. First, even putting together a large salad isn't enough food. I found that most days I would get hungry before I left work. That wasn't a good thing, because Timm has a big bowl of candy at his desk, and he regularly stocks dark chocolate. So, I would eat a salad, get hungry around 4:00pm, eat five Dove chocolates (even though they aren't marketed at me), and stay full long enough to spoil my dinner, where I would've had the opportunity to absorb a wide variety of vitamins and nutrients. Second, for the most part, I was only tricking myself in thinking I was eating healthy by having a garden salad every day. For several months, they had fresh mozzarella on the bar. Also, bacon bits were freely available, as was buttermilk ranch dressing, which truly was my downfall. There's nothing quite like drowning one's salad in liquid fat to eliminate any possibility of a healthy meal. Finally, after about five months, I got tired of having salads every day, and found myself sliding over to the grill instead for a toasted sandwich of some sort and french fries, which was probably only better for me because I would be full until dinner, and ranch was usually not an ingredient in my reuben.

The worse part, though, was though I didn't go out to lunch, lunch was still pretty expensive. I could get a salad bar and a drink for about $5, but grilled sandwiches with fries and a drink are usually in the $6-$7 range. If I get the grill special every day Monday to Friday, I'm sinking $30-$35 into lunch that week. That's $120-$140 a month. I knew I could do better than that by bringing in my lunch from home, but I had some pretty good reasons why I never did that.

The biggest reason is that I'm not a morning person. Being awake, showered, and actually at work is about the best I can hope for on most weekdays. There's no way I could make a sandwich or something before I come in in the morning. I couldn't make it the night before, either, because sandwiches are best when freshly made, and the time spent in the fridge overnight dulls the flavor and changes the texture. Call me way too particular about my sandwiches, but I'd rather pay $6-$7 for a decent sandwich than make a substandard one for $2. Bringing the ingredients to work separately and constructing the sandwich there (in lieu of a proper kitchen) requires too many containers and really seems more work than I'm willing to do at the one point in the day I want to just eat and relax. Leftovers, when suitable, certainly fit the bill if they are something that tastes good when microwaved, but that can be a erratic, undependable source for potential lunches.

So, the cafeteria's expensive, salads don't fill me up, sandwiches are no good, leftovers aren't always in supply, what's a Dave to do? Answer: Fire up the crocker! A full batch from my slow cooker made at the beginning of the week makes enough for four lunches. If I cook on Sunday, I have lunch for Monday-Thursday. If I cook on Monday, it's Tuesday-Friday. Sometimes I don't make a full batch, only enough for two or three days, but leftovers can fill the bill at least one of the days, and I don't mind if I do hit the grill or have a fancy lunch one day out of the week, I still come out more than even both calorie-wise and money-wise.

The cost savings is significant. The most expensive thing that I slow cook is a large piece of meat, either a pot roast or a pork shoulder. Let's say I got a two pound roast for $8 at the store, and feeling lavish, I somehow added $4 worth of potatoes and mushrooms, plus $2 for broth and other ingredients. At $14 this would represent the high end of my crockery expenses. Two pounds of meat easily makes four lunchtime servings (possibly five), and if I'm not bringing in a thermos of iced tea then fountain drinks at the cafeteria are 85 cents. So, divide that $14 by 4 and add the 85 cents and I get $4.35 a day, or a meal that costs 33% less than if I bought a full lunch that day. Factoring in the one lunch I paid for at the cafeteria a week and I go from spending $120-$140 a month to spending $95, and that's only if I cook the most expensive thing I normally cook every week of that month.

Preparation is easy. Almost every crockpot recipe is of the "chop everything up and toss it in the crock" variety. When the slow cooker finishes its savory work, it takes me only a few minutes to transfer the food to microwaveable bowls. Cleanup can be a slight pain, as the ceramic liner is unwieldy in the sink, but I've been experimenting with the plastic liners now available at my local supermarkets. Microwaving food at work is a task both easy and swift. The food tastes good, keeps me full until dinner, and usually isn't all that bad for me. In fact, switching to crocked foods at lunch was one of the contributing factors that brought me back down to my college weight.

So ends my testimonial. Crockery cooking can be a contributing factor to a good life, but nutritionally and economically. I'm living proof. So, pull your own floral-pattered ceramic-lined out of the cabinet or long-term storage, and maybe you'll find that your own crazy pointless impulse buy was surprisingly neither crazy nor pointless. For once.

Missed the opening salvo of the saga of the slow cooker?Click here for Part One.