Going Halfsies

It's the start of day three, and since this challenge began I've altered my schedule somewhat to take time to read blogs, reflect on others thoughts, and mentally prepare for my day. I do this with my first cuppa (with milk), and read bits and pieces to the boyfriend about others struggles and thoughts that are happening to them through this project. Needless to say; those of you going to potlucks, and making dinner for friends/family; I commend you... I wouldn't be able to do it. Yes, I made dinner for my guy last night, but it wasn't until he pulled out the cookies he bought that I struggled...I'm not a big cookie person, but last night - I would have loved to have one, and was sad my box never did receive cookies, like other boxes did.

Trying to get through the week on what I have is going to be tough....I've been halfing everything. Half the box of KD Friday night, half the rice, soup and green beans last night...Everything is being cut down to even smaller portions then I was given...It allows me to rotate the food, and avoids (as much as possible) leftovers (which I dislike). The only thing I haven't halfed is the tuna - that can is way to small as it is! This way, I feel I'm having something different each day, and hopes that I can trick my brain and stomach into believing it as well.....

I'm huge on social media - my business offers it, and I use it all the time. Facebook and Twitter, coupled with the blogs seem to be one of the things that is getting me through this challenge. The fact that I am trying to approach this creatively, and thus allowing myself to focus more on what I'm going to say about the challenge rather then focus on my quickly depleting supplies helps me get through the tough moments of headaches, being lethargic and the melancholy....I've never really been hungry; like Penny's blog below; the bulk of the food has kept me full.

But I digress.... It was Facebook, that gave me last nights meal idea. My friend and Q92 FM radio announcer Holly Thorne tossed out the suggestion of "Barf Casserole," something her grandmother fed her seven children with from time to time. Holly said it looks gross but tastes not so bad, and I'll be darned if she wasn't wrong. The casserole gives me two meals, and when I ate it, I wasnt left feeling sick from it like I was the KD and hot dogs. I could imagine adding fresh veggies, and garlic and onion, and perhaps creating something similar to put into regular rotation!

I am getting worried about the amount of food I have. There are still five days left, and I've eaten a lot of the heartier food items...The pasta and brown beans are being left for mid week, but it might be soup and oatmeal for the next couple of days...Considering I've never had oatmeal, because I hate mushy cereal - I'm really going to have to mentally prepare for this... And that's what gets me - to me, this challenge, my troubles about my likes and dislikes are nothing compared the the fact that this is life to others, and my personal struggle - ends Friday.

To others - this might ever end.....

I Don't Have KD Memories

I may have mentioned, I grew up in a home with a mother obsessed with making the perfect meal. Even when she worked, food was always prepped and on a timer; my father and I never ever went hungry, and everything (aside a a brief sidekick period when they first came out), was always made from scratch - If I wanted Kraft Dinner, I went to my grandmothers for the best homemade Macaroni and Cheese. My life at home, consisted of 3 squares, healthy meals, and low salt....

I was a very lucky girl

As I got older, and ventured off to take on the big bad world myself, I still never wanted or needed anything food wise. My mother was always worried I'd go hungry; so on Sunday's when I made the pilgrimage from my downtown apartment to the Valley, I always left with bags of meat, cheese, pasta, and veggies.... I very rarely have experience a tough time food wise.

Until dinner last night

I'm one of those people who get excited from time to time about a little KD; never having it as a child, and actually being able to count on two hands the amount of times I've eaten it since those youthful days I crave it, need it, and occasionally want it....so dinner last night was going to be the highlight of my day, especially because I was going to add hot dogs.... SO many people in my life have talked about KD and hot dogs, and tonight I was going to find out why.

I don't get it

Salty, starchy, and the "meal" left me feeling quite like Morgan Spurlock on day 5 of his MacDonalds challenge I was left feeling lethargic and sick.... Sure I was full, but it was far from a good satisfied feeling. The hot dogs (and I love a good hot dog) were the saltiest I have ever eaten, and I don't eat a lot of salt (although I did miss it in the Becel).

So of course, as I ponder the meal I had just finished, I again thought of individuals who rely on these resources to get them through even the most simplest of days.... How do they do it? Do many of the clients of local food banks ever get veggies and fresh food? Do their meals consist of starches and salts, and how long do they go before they become incredibly sick? I for one could not go long on this "diet" and do not believe anyone should.

Kraft Dinner and hot dogs (KD), may be a nice snack to travel back in time with, but it should not be the food families are raised on.

My list of what I should be eternally grateful for is starting to pile up.

Whatcha Got In That Box?

Today, I picked up my box of food from the local Food Bank, that is to be my source of nutrition and sustenance for the next seven days. Box in hand, I headed home to inspect my wares.

I was immediately nervous. Having always eaten from scratch, and having a mother teach me how to cook, and make everything from scratch as a young child; I have been able to whip up interesting meals when my pantry was more Mother Hubbard, the Upper East Side. I had hoped to be able to combine a few of the five staples we as challenge participants were able to have with what I had been given into what I could surmise to be full meals.

I was dead wrong.

With the milk I had been given, and the Becel, combined with Flour, and salt/pepper, I could have whipped up a Bechemal Sauce and add stuff from the box to it (my tomato soup for example), for a different style of pasta sauce to get my through a day or two, but I would then need something to put it on, and having only received half a Ziploc lunch bag of pasta; come the time I would need to whip up something new, the pasta would have been used on the can of pasta sauce I had been given.

As a snacker, and constant muncher - I have found staring into the content of a box that has been termed the 3 Day Emergency Box, and trying to figure out how to make it last seven days (minus one meal at our local soup kitchen), I've needed to take a big, realistic breath in, and pray I can make this work.

Lunch: Which consisted of a few piecces of french bread (that expires today), and a bowl of cereal will not be enough to sustain anyone, but I am an nervous at portioning the food items I have been given. I knew this challenge would be far from easy, but have already been gripped with a severe case of worry, and a case of; "Is this what people must survive on?"

We should be lucky to have the food we do, from local individuals who donate, and stores who bring in items they may have thrown out, but the reality of this is that my three day kit would not feed a single person healthy and to a point to where the person could say "Wow, am I full" for more then a day and a half on the staples, then a day and a half of toast. Thank goodness for the bread, buns, and the milk.

This will prove to be one of the most difficult challenges I have faced in a long time, and truthfully; I hope I can mange.