Bringing your lunch to work is a blue-collar thing that I admire. It was until after college that anyone could convince me to take a job working indoors. A couple of sandwiches at one of the estates where we were mowing lawns was my usual fare. Years later I still pack a lunch for work, even though I'm in an office building now, mowing yawns.

There's nothing fancy about a turkey sandwich on whole wheat, but it gets the job done. And I'm staying true to my roots. So that makes me happy.

But the other day when I opened my brown paper bag looking for sustenance, I found a candy bar, some gummies, simulated juice wrapped in a space-age pouch, and half a bagel with cream cheese. The cream cheese was spread so thin that it looked like the bagel was just sweating. Aha, I thought! The old switcheroo. This must be my teenage daughter's lunch.

I ate it anyway, candy bar first, as an experiment to see how well I could do my job without any meaningful nutrition holding me up.

The results are now in, but I can't remember where I put them. I was too busy downloading music from the Internet and chatting at the coffee station with my coworkers to worry about that silly assignment I was given. My task list now features several creative doodles that would have shown artistic potential if I hadn't spilled my juice on the paper. And my hair is looking better than it has in years.

That night at dinner, when it was my turn to give a good report for the day, I mentioned my lunchtime adventure and raised an eyebrow as I looked over at my daughter.I wondered if the cold turkey sandwiches did her any good, if the old adage that "you are what you eat" works both ways.

"How was your lunch today?" I asked.

"Oh my gosh, Dad! What do you eat? That bread had nuts in it or something and the meat was gross. But the worst part was that you used the heel of the bread and put the sandwiches in the old plastic bag that the bread came in, all twisted up."

"There's nothing wrong with the heel of the bread," I said. "And reusing plastic bags is good for the environment."

"Not for the high school environment," my daughter shot back. "Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to open your lunch sack looking for a candy bar and juice and come out with two gross sandwiches in a recycled bag?

"But you ate the sandwiches anyway, right?" I inquired. "And you probably sailed through French class with ease and handled your math test like a pro. The old switcheroo probably happened for a reason, so you could see for yourself how good nutrition helps you do your best."

"No, I didn't eat the sandwiches. I'm not a dork. One of my friends gave me a muffin. But I was pretty hungry when I got home."

"So what did you have when you got home? Something healthy, I hope?"

"A candy bar, some gummies, and half a bagel with cream chesse. Mom stocked up."