It’s been over a month since this project started and I’ve done pretty well. Other than the Meat Bonanza, I haven’t bought anymore groceries, but oh, have I been tempted to. I’m entering the doldrums now – having the same stuff every day can get super boring really quickly, and I’ve found myself staring off into space, thinking wistfully of what I could do with all these spices and stuff, if only I had some __(fill in the blank)__. Anytime during the early part of the week where I’ve felt the overwhelming need to have a meal that was different than pasta or rice, I did not buy groceries. BUT … I dealt with the problem by eating fast food instead. :p Not exactly the best solution, and it has happened more often than I’d like. There is a benefit from eating at Wendy’s or McDonald’s more often, however: I’m getting desensitized to it. I’m finding it just doesn’t taste as good as it used to. In fact, a lot of things taste differently now.
I think my taste buds are reacting to the food items that I don’t eat on a daily basis, and for some (such as fast food) the response is negative, yet for others the result is very different. The other day the cafeteria at work had a Mexican Fiesta day (Cinco de Mayo) and they had a “salsa bar” where you could load up a plate with tortilla chips, beef, sour cream, and a ton of other taco salad-type fixings. I couldn’t resist – it was the first time in a month that I’ve bought anything from there, and I grabbed a plate and put chips, ground beef, lettuce and cheddar cheese on it. That’s it, nothing fancy. It was quite good, too, and while the chips were the saltiest I’ve ever had in my life, what really got my taste buds flipping out was the lettuce. Lettuce!! It was just regular lettuce, no big deal, but I haven’t eaten lettuce in I don’t know how long. It was fresh, crisp, cool…OMG, I wanted to run back and get more!
I never thought I’d actually miss lettuce, but I do. Fresh fruits and vegetables in general just sound reeeeaaaaallllly good right now. Everything I have at home is either frozen or from a box, bag, or can. Accordingly, my Friday night dinner out consisted of a tuna sandwich on rye with lettuce and pickles, a fresh fruit cup and a baked potato. Yummy. J I think I’m set for a couple of days from that one meal alone, but come next Tuesday or Wednesday I’m not sure what I’m going to do. There are times I feel as though I could kill for a banana. (Now that's a sentence I never thought I'd say!)
On a side note, one item I’ve had to restock is my supply of Iced Tea. I stopped at BJ’s a week ago for other household products, and – for the first time ever – they actually had my favorite brand and flavor of Lipton Iced Tea. Normally they only have cases of green tea, which I can’t stand (tastes like watered-down black tea), so I was thrilled to finally get a bulk package of Iced Tea with Lemon. However, it’s not the same. The first sip from one of those bottles and my newly-sensitive taste buds started asking questions. It was close, but not…quite…there. It wasn’t as refreshing as it normally is, and I didn’t know what the difference was, but now I do. Believe it or not, it’s caffeine. The bottles in the bulk case of 24 actually have more caffeine than those in the case of 12. The bottles themselves are exactly the same size, holding the same amount of liquid in them (16.9 fl oz), but they have different amounts of caffeine. Don’t believe me? Check out the photos below.
That’s 20mg per serving in the 24-bottle case, versus 17mg per serving in the 12-bottle pack. Three milligrams MORE, in every serving, just for buying in bulk! To be sure, that’s still less caffeine than what is in a 12-oz can of Coke (34mg), but it’s more than what I’m used to. Just for the fun of it, when I took these photos in the store, I also looked at other iced tea labels. Lipton was the only brand that actually listed the caffeine content, and the results varied. The amount of caffeine in Lipton Pure Leaf was actually higher (25mg), while – surprisingly – the amount in Lipton Brisk Tea was really low (only 5mg). That last fact alone was shocking to me; I’d always thought Brisk had more, not less!
Thing is, the weather outside has finally starting staying warm on a regular basis, and as a result I’ve been super thirsty lately. However, this bulk-purchase iced tea isn’t doing anything for me, other than keeping me awake. Water is okay but I like something with a little more flavor. While at the store today I just couldn’t see getting any more tea, so I ended up getting fruit punch and juice. They’re probably better choices in general, anyway.
I think my taste buds are reacting to the food items that I don’t eat on a daily basis, and for some (such as fast food) the response is negative, yet for others the result is very different. The other day the cafeteria at work had a Mexican Fiesta day (Cinco de Mayo) and they had a “salsa bar” where you could load up a plate with tortilla chips, beef, sour cream, and a ton of other taco salad-type fixings. I couldn’t resist – it was the first time in a month that I’ve bought anything from there, and I grabbed a plate and put chips, ground beef, lettuce and cheddar cheese on it. That’s it, nothing fancy. It was quite good, too, and while the chips were the saltiest I’ve ever had in my life, what really got my taste buds flipping out was the lettuce. Lettuce!! It was just regular lettuce, no big deal, but I haven’t eaten lettuce in I don’t know how long. It was fresh, crisp, cool…OMG, I wanted to run back and get more!
I never thought I’d actually miss lettuce, but I do. Fresh fruits and vegetables in general just sound reeeeaaaaallllly good right now. Everything I have at home is either frozen or from a box, bag, or can. Accordingly, my Friday night dinner out consisted of a tuna sandwich on rye with lettuce and pickles, a fresh fruit cup and a baked potato. Yummy. J I think I’m set for a couple of days from that one meal alone, but come next Tuesday or Wednesday I’m not sure what I’m going to do. There are times I feel as though I could kill for a banana. (Now that's a sentence I never thought I'd say!)
On a side note, one item I’ve had to restock is my supply of Iced Tea. I stopped at BJ’s a week ago for other household products, and – for the first time ever – they actually had my favorite brand and flavor of Lipton Iced Tea. Normally they only have cases of green tea, which I can’t stand (tastes like watered-down black tea), so I was thrilled to finally get a bulk package of Iced Tea with Lemon. However, it’s not the same. The first sip from one of those bottles and my newly-sensitive taste buds started asking questions. It was close, but not…quite…there. It wasn’t as refreshing as it normally is, and I didn’t know what the difference was, but now I do. Believe it or not, it’s caffeine. The bottles in the bulk case of 24 actually have more caffeine than those in the case of 12. The bottles themselves are exactly the same size, holding the same amount of liquid in them (16.9 fl oz), but they have different amounts of caffeine. Don’t believe me? Check out the photos below.
That’s 20mg per serving in the 24-bottle case, versus 17mg per serving in the 12-bottle pack. Three milligrams MORE, in every serving, just for buying in bulk! To be sure, that’s still less caffeine than what is in a 12-oz can of Coke (34mg), but it’s more than what I’m used to. Just for the fun of it, when I took these photos in the store, I also looked at other iced tea labels. Lipton was the only brand that actually listed the caffeine content, and the results varied. The amount of caffeine in Lipton Pure Leaf was actually higher (25mg), while – surprisingly – the amount in Lipton Brisk Tea was really low (only 5mg). That last fact alone was shocking to me; I’d always thought Brisk had more, not less!
Thing is, the weather outside has finally starting staying warm on a regular basis, and as a result I’ve been super thirsty lately. However, this bulk-purchase iced tea isn’t doing anything for me, other than keeping me awake. Water is okay but I like something with a little more flavor. While at the store today I just couldn’t see getting any more tea, so I ended up getting fruit punch and juice. They’re probably better choices in general, anyway.