Cheating by the book (Lent: Day 4)
After I posted a sad little Tweet the other day about how my dinner was a fried egg and a dozen raisins, I got a reply Tweet from a co-worker to remind him to buy me lunch one day next week. I appreciate the sentiment and usually I’d be cheap enough to respond with a resounding “Yes please, I’m free any day!” but after a few other friends have echoed the same offer, I’ve decided to really think about the rules of this experiment and what I’m trying to achieve. I sort of started this thing on a whim without too much thought, but with nearly five days gone I’ve had time to formulate what will work, what won’t work, and the rules I have to stick to. I vaguely mentioned a few things in the first post, but here are my rules for Lent 2011, plain and clear:
- I can spend just $1.25 every day on food.
- I cannot allow my friends to buy me meals, because I can afford to buy my own meals but am choosing not to for this period of time.
- I’m allowed one cheat meal a week, in order to participate in birthday dinners and the like. I refuse to give up my social life for Lent!
- I can consume food provided in social situations for groups of people (ie. food not bought for me personally).
- Beverages aren’t included in the experiment.
What I’m trying to achieve: 1) my own personal sense of how little so many people around the world have, 2) save a few of my own pennies that I would usually waste on buying $10-a-time meals because I’m too lazy to shop and cook, and 3) try something a little different for a few weeks. Oh, and 4) restart my blog, because I miss writing outside of work, even if I am now writing all about myself, which I always vowed not to do because it’s so self-serving and usually not that interesting to other people. If you’re reading this to support my Lent experience (thank you!), please give me feedback about what is interesting to read, what you’d like to hear more about, and what you’d like me to Shut the H E Double Hockey Sticks Up about. I’ll try to accommodate.
You should know, it just took me about six tries to finally spell accommodate correctly. It was that second ‘m’ that kept tripping me up. Seems I definitely need the extra writing practice! So anyway, now that I’m back in the blogging swing, I’ll try to also blog with other stuff like I used to, with articles about pop culture, Britican commentary, and whatnot.
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I used my cheat meal to great effect last night at Wurstkutche in downtown LA for a friend’s birthday. It. Was. Divine. I got the mango jalapeno chicken sausage with Belgian fries. And I think my tummy has shrunk a little because I couldn’t even finish it all. (Sadly, the visible size of my stomach remains unchanged…) After dinner we walked a mile (in heels! ouchie) to Las Perlas bar on 6th and Main, where my friend’s brother shakes up fancy cocktails. Yes, this is a shout out. Go to Las Perlas! Especially if you are female, because I suspect they have a hiring policy that only includes hot men. One bore an uncanny resemblance to Jason Lewis. *Insert raunchy cocktail shaking joke here*
Knowing that dinner would be delicious and expensive, I had a bit more wiggle-room for yesterday’s breakfast, so I added raisins and apples to my oatmeal and it was delish. I highly recommend it. I think I’ll have apple in my oatmeal every day. Makes it much more palatable and less like prison food. For lunch tomorrow at work, I think I’ll include apple with my cous cous too. Good bye Bland!
Anyway, just realized that all I’ve eaten today (it’s 4:54 pm, though only 3:54 pm by my body clock) is a doughnut provided at church, so I’d better whip something up. See ya’s!
Sarah,
I love love love this idea! So inspiring, and entertaining to boot! Well Done!
Dawn x
Ps. Keep up the FB posts… reminds me to come and have a read.
Where do you fall on spices/sugar. I’m not sure how much they cost but they make Oatmeal a WHOLE lot better. Also not sure about the cost of Peanut butter but Peanut butter with apples or oatmeal is amazing
Great experiment, Sarah!
We’ve been scaling back in the food department quite a bit with the ups and downs of the last 3 years and I’ve found there a quite a few things that I buy in bulk at smart and final that last the 2 of us for months and months and months.
For instance, Oatmeal costs only $2.99 for a 2 lb. 10 ounce box at Smart and Final. I prepare with dried cranberries or cherries, a few walnuts or sliced almonds and shredded coconut and a shake of cinnamon. It is quite filling and nutritious and I don’t feel ravenous by 10AM. Yes the ingredients all together are a bit pricey, but they last for literally weeks.
I snack trick I’ve learned is that you can buy peanut butter crackers, cheese crackers and the like at Walmart for only $1.98 for a
10 pack. Yes, at $.19 each, it’s a big splurge on the $1.25 budget, but in a pinch with a tall glass of iced tea, it has saved me from caving in and buying a fast food meal while out and about. If you purchase the exact same item from a vending machine it will be $.90 or $1.00 for the same packet of 6 snack sandwich crackers.
I purchase huge bags of popcorn which lasts for about 6-8 months. I pop it in the microwave using a special Tupperware microwave safe container. For about the price of 2 boxes of microwave popcorn, we have tasty real popcorn and real butter whenever we like for 6-9 months.
Black beans are a staple I keep on hand always. I buy 10 pound bags which last for months and I cook one large pot about once per week. Soak overnight, change the water out and then cover and cook in slow cooker with 1 t. garlic and 1 beef bouillon cube. They can be eaten with rice, but most often I make soft tacos, adding lettuce, tomato, salsa, cilantro and sour cream.
For another meal, I will use them to make a “taco” salad.
Another meal, I use them to make “nachos supreme”. They are literally the base for
4-5 meals per week and cost pennies per serving.
Tonight, I did our week’s shopping at Smart and Final and only spent $45, but sadly when I divided that up for the week between 2 people, I’m actually spending $3.21 per person per day…. It is much better than the $10 per person per day I spent when we both had jobs, though.
Well, I was going to tell you it was my birthday. I’m still impressed, but can so much more easily not pity you after seeing the phrase “mango jalapeno chicken sausage with Belgian fries.”
Good work. Or grace; whatever.