It’s been almost two full weeks since this project began, and I’ve been squirreling away lots of notes for this, my first update. So far it’s been…interesting.
On April the first I woke up late – not a good start – and since I’d forgotten to plan ahead I didn’t bring anything substantial for breakfast for lunch. I spent the day munching on granola bars and Reese’s minis, making me absolutely starving by the time I got home. Mixed some rice and a can of soup, making two really filling meals, one of which I saved for lunch the next day. Something didn’t feel right, however, and after taking a super-hot bath I felt really dizzy. Having my period start the same day probably didn’t help, and late Friday afternoon I felt a cold coming on, which lingered for over a week. I spent the next several days feeling snuffly, stuffy, crampy and all-around miserable.
The first weekend of April was also Easter weekend, which promised to practically derail the project from the outset. My boyfriend Kevin and I were going to visit his family for the holiday, which meant a two-hour drive out of state. This also meant I would be away from home and unable to prepare any meals myself, as his folks pretty much insist on feeding us whenever we’re there. Easter itself also includes a big family get-together and meal, so making anything to eat from my own stocks for a couple of days was basically out of the question. Add to this the fact that Friday is my usual day for having a decent meal at a restaurant, and the whole weekend became one long eat-out session, which almost sounds pornographic.
Kevin’s parents loaded us down with food and drink as we left – his mom makes cookies and candies for every single holiday, but I absolutely insisted that Kevin take the sweets because otherwise it’d throw a real monkey wrench into this project. As of this moment I still have no idea where they are. Good. Meanwhile, I humbly accepted the dozen or so bottles of Lipton Iced Tea they gave me – the same brand and flavor I have stashed in the back of my car to drink at work. Extra Iced Tea is never a bad thing. This is probably a good time to mention that, generally speaking, Kevin doesn’t eat the foods that I do. While some of the stuff in the pantry he might nibble on occasionally (granola bars, crackers, chocolate), we actually buy groceries separately: he makes his meals, I make mine, and never the twain shall meet. J
Anyway, the next week saw the disappearance of all the foods that rapidly perish – the bananas, eggs and bread. I still have some grapes left but not many. Early in the weekend I bought a large sausage and pepperoni pizza, and then spent the next two days eating nothing BUT pizza. As of Sunday night I was officially sick of pizza. :p
I’ve noticed some very interesting things about my eating habits. Before this project began, on weeknights I would often make my breakfast/lunch the night before. This is a logical thing to do, and can definitely save some money as on the days where I didn’t plan ahead I’d often end up buying from the cafeteria at work, which is at least three times more expensive than making it myself. However, now I know it is absolutely essential to plan ahead.
Buying food at work is forbidden on this project, but yesterday I woke up a bit late and literally forgot to bring ANY food with me to work. I mean I had nothing but empty calories sitting in my desk, and the pain killers I take for my back require them to be taken with food, but Goldfish crackers and gummi dinosaurs weren’t going to cut it. So, I fell off the wagon. I bought a couple of hard boiled eggs and some bacon from the cafeteria. I cannot predict how my back is going to be in the morning (some days are like “gimme-the-pain-killers-or-I’m-gonna-friggin-die”), which means if it’s really bad, then I need to have something substantial with me to help the drugs get into the bloodstream quicker. Thus, I need to plan ahead. (sigh) This is just common sense, but to be forcibly reminded that I actually NEED to do it was kind of depressing.
The other thing I’ve noticed about my eating habits isn’t really a revelation but a confirmation; I’m very much the carnivore. I have to have protein, preferably in the form of some type of meat. This explains why most of the stuff in my pantry is nothing but starch – side dishes, if you will. Rice, noodles – these are in addition to the main item, which is usually ground beef or chicken. The meat gets used up pretty quickly, but since rice and noodles come in bulk they tend to stick around longer. Also, looking at that mountain of rice everyday has caused my meat craving to spike. The other day I made spaghetti with basil-pesto sauce and chicken. Usually I’ll include one, maybe two pieces of chicken with my noodles, but this time I put three of them in there. I’m going to run out of chicken really fast if I keep that up. Rationing, here I come! :p
On April the first I woke up late – not a good start – and since I’d forgotten to plan ahead I didn’t bring anything substantial for breakfast for lunch. I spent the day munching on granola bars and Reese’s minis, making me absolutely starving by the time I got home. Mixed some rice and a can of soup, making two really filling meals, one of which I saved for lunch the next day. Something didn’t feel right, however, and after taking a super-hot bath I felt really dizzy. Having my period start the same day probably didn’t help, and late Friday afternoon I felt a cold coming on, which lingered for over a week. I spent the next several days feeling snuffly, stuffy, crampy and all-around miserable.
The first weekend of April was also Easter weekend, which promised to practically derail the project from the outset. My boyfriend Kevin and I were going to visit his family for the holiday, which meant a two-hour drive out of state. This also meant I would be away from home and unable to prepare any meals myself, as his folks pretty much insist on feeding us whenever we’re there. Easter itself also includes a big family get-together and meal, so making anything to eat from my own stocks for a couple of days was basically out of the question. Add to this the fact that Friday is my usual day for having a decent meal at a restaurant, and the whole weekend became one long eat-out session, which almost sounds pornographic.
Kevin’s parents loaded us down with food and drink as we left – his mom makes cookies and candies for every single holiday, but I absolutely insisted that Kevin take the sweets because otherwise it’d throw a real monkey wrench into this project. As of this moment I still have no idea where they are. Good. Meanwhile, I humbly accepted the dozen or so bottles of Lipton Iced Tea they gave me – the same brand and flavor I have stashed in the back of my car to drink at work. Extra Iced Tea is never a bad thing. This is probably a good time to mention that, generally speaking, Kevin doesn’t eat the foods that I do. While some of the stuff in the pantry he might nibble on occasionally (granola bars, crackers, chocolate), we actually buy groceries separately: he makes his meals, I make mine, and never the twain shall meet. J
Anyway, the next week saw the disappearance of all the foods that rapidly perish – the bananas, eggs and bread. I still have some grapes left but not many. Early in the weekend I bought a large sausage and pepperoni pizza, and then spent the next two days eating nothing BUT pizza. As of Sunday night I was officially sick of pizza. :p
I’ve noticed some very interesting things about my eating habits. Before this project began, on weeknights I would often make my breakfast/lunch the night before. This is a logical thing to do, and can definitely save some money as on the days where I didn’t plan ahead I’d often end up buying from the cafeteria at work, which is at least three times more expensive than making it myself. However, now I know it is absolutely essential to plan ahead.
Buying food at work is forbidden on this project, but yesterday I woke up a bit late and literally forgot to bring ANY food with me to work. I mean I had nothing but empty calories sitting in my desk, and the pain killers I take for my back require them to be taken with food, but Goldfish crackers and gummi dinosaurs weren’t going to cut it. So, I fell off the wagon. I bought a couple of hard boiled eggs and some bacon from the cafeteria. I cannot predict how my back is going to be in the morning (some days are like “gimme-the-pain-killers-or-I’m-gonna-friggin-die”), which means if it’s really bad, then I need to have something substantial with me to help the drugs get into the bloodstream quicker. Thus, I need to plan ahead. (sigh) This is just common sense, but to be forcibly reminded that I actually NEED to do it was kind of depressing.
The other thing I’ve noticed about my eating habits isn’t really a revelation but a confirmation; I’m very much the carnivore. I have to have protein, preferably in the form of some type of meat. This explains why most of the stuff in my pantry is nothing but starch – side dishes, if you will. Rice, noodles – these are in addition to the main item, which is usually ground beef or chicken. The meat gets used up pretty quickly, but since rice and noodles come in bulk they tend to stick around longer. Also, looking at that mountain of rice everyday has caused my meat craving to spike. The other day I made spaghetti with basil-pesto sauce and chicken. Usually I’ll include one, maybe two pieces of chicken with my noodles, but this time I put three of them in there. I’m going to run out of chicken really fast if I keep that up. Rationing, here I come! :p