No Counter Space? No Problem.

As a defiant response to Sad Desk Lunches, the Food52 team works to keep our midday meals both interesting and pretty -- even if they're eaten while our eyes are on the screen. Each week, we'll be sharing our happiest desk lunches -- and we want to see yours, too.

Today: when counter space is scarce, we get resourceful.

An important factor in the making lunch vs. buying lunch debate is, of course, counter space. You need an area to prep, or at least to plop the contents of your tupperware onto a less depressing surface. But creativity is also crucial. At Food52 HQ, when our counters are occupied by photo shoot prep, we don't back down. We make lunch on Ikea storage units.

  

Above you see Kristen mixing a quick salad: sliced squash, Amanda Li's tomatoes, and herbs (mint, parsley, basil) got tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper (the trusty three musketeers of good salads). On the side, blue cheese from the large block taking up prized real estate in our cheese drawer. Bread would have been nice, but we had scones (thanks, Merrill!) for dessert.

Here's what this means for you: you don't need special counter space or a tricked-out kitchen to prepare lunch at work. You just need a few tools. You need oil and good salt, maybe a bowl, and a little ingenuity. Keep them all in your file cabinet, next to the TPS reports.

How do you get resourceful with your office lunches? Show us on Instagram with the #NotSadDeskLunch hashtag!