Freelancers often have erratic schedules – and that leads to erratic meal-planning. Check out our top 10 delicious, supplementary freelance snacks below… and feel free to add your own!

1. Ramen noodles, side of bitter sauce

Sure, your client’s “check is in the mail” – but until it gets here, you’re dining on 99-cent noodles and tears. So salty!

2. Emergency takeout from Chinese place across the street

You’re going to stop doing this – it’s killing your food budget - but now is really crunch time for this project, so it’s sesame noodles again!

And yes, four times a week still counts as an “emergency.”

3. Spider accidentally consumed when napping

Free protein. ‘Nuff said.

4. Your roommate’s cheese

It’s not “stealing” if you’re practically asleep at 2 AM and carefully slivering unnoticeable tiny bits of their cheese away. That’s… that’s, like, sleep-walking or something.

5. Handfuls of kale

Consumed in desperate attempt to counteract handfuls of deadline-induced-stress-candy-inhalation.

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6. Half-eaten, (2?) week-old granola bar found at bottom of backpack

Best enjoyed when commuting between gigs located two trains and a bus ride apart.

Is it 2 weeks old? Oh God, is it the granola bar from BEFORE 2 weeks ago?

Whatever.

7. Whatever you last ate before starting that project

Your brain cells have all died since then. Was… was it spaghetti? That sounds familiar. Check your shirt for marinara sauce stains.

8. Adrenaline

IT SHOULD COUNT AS A SNACK IF IT’S FLOODING YOUR SYSTEM, OKAY?

9. Piece of lint, found on sofa-office, which you mistook for popcorn

You never learn, do you?

10. The sweet sweet nectar of victory

Stress? What stress? Now that you’ve finished, you’re sippin’ the heady feeling of SUCCESS, sucker.

Goes best with side of gloating.

Kate Hamill lives and works in New York City, where she consumes an inordinate amount of Sriracha daily. You can catch up with her on Twitter at @katerone.