IS IT FRIDAY YET????

Well I have to say I was excited about the challenge....but that was yesterday. Today is another story. Having picked up my box of food was an experience I would not want to have to do every week, and I was very humbled by the experience of going to the Salvation Army depot to ask for food. Seeing a young couple with an infant baby registering for food, how sad is that? Waiting my turn allowed to me take notice of the process of filling out an application for food entitlement...all very disturbing, so many of us don't even realize how fortunate we are to grocery shop and buy what we want whenever we want....

Walking out with my food supply made me start thinking about how I was going to stretch 3 days of emergency food into 7 days of meals. How many meals can you make with a litre of milk, one pack of No Name weiners, one box of KD, one sandwich bag full of pasta noodles, and one of rice, one tin of Spagetti sauce, one can of green beans, one tin of No Name tuna, one can of brown beans, one loaf of bread, 6 eggs, one bag of shreddies, one box of Ritz crackers, a container of Becel, coffee, tea, sugar, and a package of cookies. While it sounds like a lot of food, trust me it all fit into one little box! No creamer for coffee, no ketchup for KD, no peanut butter, no fresh meat, or perishable fruits or veggies and dip! And since I exercise daily, I try to have carbs/proteins at every meal to maintain good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. This is going to be a challenge!

MEAL DAY ONE - Since I had yogurt before leaving home to pick up my food package, I ended up with a bottle of water for lunch, and saved my pasta and sauce for dinner. Turns out a friend dropped by and of course, I made a small dinner for the two of us. No salad or garlic bread. Because I was hungry it tasted good, and we wanted more but I had to think ahead and managed to have keep leftovers for one maybe two smaller meals for later this week. For the rest of the evening I drank water, and went to bed early to avoid thinking about the popcorn or chips sitting in the cupboard.

MEALS DAY TWO - This morning I was starving when I got up. OK bottle of water, off to the gym, back home near lunchtime,there I saved a meal by not having breakfast. So for my lunch it was one boiled egg and one slice of toast (which I have cut into several slices for the week and put it in the freezer to keep it fresh). More water.... Supper time arrives, ok, how about Kraft Dinner, and weiners (carbs and protein remember?), would you believe another friend drops in to say hello, but fortunately for me, she didn't want to stay for dinner...great! there is some KD for another meal. More water, mix a tea bag and a bit of sugar for an iced tea drink...ugh! not quite Nestea! Saved my cookie for bedtime! Hopefully, I don't wake up with a headache or hunger pangs. Tomorrow will be interesting....need some energy before the 5K Run for the Cure...I know I will be famished by lunchtime...more water....stay tuned...

Liz Spooner-Young