Every Tuesday morning at 10, members of the art, photo, and editorial teams at 5280 get together in 5280’s main conference room for a mandatory meeting to talk through production issues. Well, we did that until the week of March 9, when most of us began working from home.

Now, those meetings are virtual and everyone dials in. Yesterday, our fearless (and hilarious) managing editor asked each staff member to respond to roll call with the most embarrassing thing they’ve eaten in recent days. A culinary #quaratineconfessions, if you will. It made us all laugh, so we thought we’d share our responses with you. Here’s what’s on our plates (or laps) this week:

  • “Midnight snack: Cheeto Puffs paired with Dale’s Pale Ale. It’s the perfect combo.” —Geoff Van Dyke, editorial director
  • “I ate an entire bag of dark chocolate-covered pretzels in about an hour.” —Lindsey B. King, deputy editor
  • “I had not one but two bowls of Lucky Charms for lunch on St. Patrick’s Day.” —Jessica LaRusso, managing editor
  • “For dinner, I ate a pack of turkey slices, but with Worcestershire sauce because we’re out of mustard and mayo seemed too sad.” —Spencer Campbell, senior editor
  • “I mixed mini marshmallows and pecans together and ate a full bowl of it.” —Angela Ufheil, assistant editor
  • “I had Indian food for breakfast; I’m spicing things up in quarantine. With a cup of coffee. It wasn’t a great mix, but it happened.” —Shane Monaghan, assistant editor
  • “My new habit is eating Cinnamon Toast Crunch straight from the box.” —Kim Habicht, research editor
  • “I still haven’t eaten any sugar, but I did eat half of a bag of tortilla chips at 1 a.m.” —Robert Sanchez, senior staff writer
  • “Cookies and cream ice cream with Coco Puffs and whipped cream.” —Victoria Carodine, digital assistant editor
  • “I’m not at all embarrassed to say that we made a rip-off of Happy Joe’s taco pizza, based on a childhood favorite. It’s pure nostalgia.” —Natasha Gardner, articles editor
  • “I’ve had cake for breakfast the past two mornings.” —Kasey Cordell, editorial projects director
  • “All I do is eat! If I’m not typing or Slacking, I’m eating.” —Charli Ornett, photo editor
  • “I agree with Charli: It’s the quantity of food I’m consuming that’s embarrassing. I’ve gone through three to four boxes of goldfish. That’s my life right now.” —Sarah Boyum, associate photo editor
  • “I put away a full bag of Lays potato chips in a day. It did not feel good, and I don’t recommend it.” —Amanda Croy, associate art director
  • “I have kids so everything I eat is embarrassing.” —Sean Parsons, associate art director
  • “I’ve eaten bagels and cream cheese twice a day, every day, this week. One bagel for breakfast and another for a midnight snack.” —Caitlin Brooks, graphic designer
  • “I ate a bag of salt-and-vinegar chips in one day, and it was a big bag. But I’m growing a baby, so it’s fine.” —Erin Skarda, digital editor
  • “I have no food shame, so no embarrassment here. But I did have tortillas chips with Nutella for dinner last night.” —Jay Bouchard, digital associate editor
  • “We stopped for lunch at Smashburger after a hike last weekend. The nine-year-old made us do it.” —Denise Mickelsen, food editor
  • “Fried Spam with hot sauce.” —Patricia Kaowthumrong, assistant food editor
  • “I’ve been eating olives off my fingers like I am a four-year-old.” —Carly Lambert, creative services director
  • “I’m crushing school snack pack fruit cups pretty hard, what with the kids not at school. And I tend to chug each in one gulp, which I didn’t think was a problem… but my wife says is very bad form.” —Dave McKenna, art director

Denise Mickelsen
Denise Mickelsen
Denise Mickelsen is 5280’s former food editor. She oversaw all of 5280’s food-related coverage from October 2016 to March 2021.