Tuesday 11 June 2013

Living Below The Line Day 3: Guest Post

Thanks, Beth!

The reason I fail at diets...
.. I suspect, are twofold. And I do fail at them. Spectacularly, usually ending up going in the opposite direction. Where fellow dieters triumphantly buy clothes in the next size down, I’m digging out my next size up clothes because mine are now unexpectedly too tight. Sigh.
The first is that I get bored. Utterly bored. Which is rather how I am feeling at the moment, having had another portion of porridge topped with a dollop of jam for my breakfast. I’m feeling very uninspired by porridge, and the thought there’s two more days of it to go isn’t filling me with much pleasure.
And the second, and I am typing this rather shamefacedly, is that I don’t like being told what to do. My menu plan tells me I have the leftover chilli for lunch. And the bonus kidney bean burger for dinner, a result of us bulking out the mixture with breadcrumbs so it made seven patties not six. And although the chilli is delicious and the burgers very good indeed, I am aware that because the menu planner is telling me what to eat and when and I DON’T WANNA!
I know families who have meal plans and rotas, weekly or fortnightly. One set night is shepherd’s pie, one night lasagne, one night risotto, Thursdays-we-all-have-baked-beans-on-toast-because-it’s-Brownies. I admire them. It seems a most sensible way to do things, but I can’t do it. I do try from time to time, and end up spending obscene amounts of money at the corner shop because I’m not feeling that night’s choice.
I may add here that I rarely throw food away. We aren’t wasteful. I do a lot of cooking in bulk for the freezer, so if we do fancy a veg chilli one night, it’s all there ready, but sticking to a routine is something that is beyond me. And I’m feeling it today.
What I would like to do right now is rifle through my cupboards and consume something spontaneous and strong tasting. Pickled onions. Toast with butter and lashings of Marmite. Mexicana cheese. Rice and peas with plenty of coconut and chilli. Radishes. OMG-Branston-pickle-flavour-cheddars-mmmmmmmmmm.
I’m not hungry. The porridge was good, wholesome and filling, and I am thankful I do have choices other than insufficiently filled bowls of maize meal (or local equivalents) to sustain me. But today, right now, almost exactly half way through, I am feeling bored and restless, thinking constantly about food, and considering what I might like to eat on Friday.
Our menu yesterday was as follows:
Breakfast: porridge, milk and jam
Lunch for me: Split pea and vegetable soup, biscuits
Lunch for Alex: Ham and lettuce sandwich, economy brand plain crisps, digestive biscuits.
Dinner: Vegetable chilli, wrap(s), dollop of yoghurt, pot of fruit.
Later on: Slice of toast and marmalade. And several cups of tea
I picked a few lettuce leaves from Joy’s living lettuce at the weekend and priced it at a few pence. Joy’s was a supermarket pack, separated and individually potted and plonked on the windowsill some time ago now. It’s hard to know what to do about costing these home grown veggies, so we’ve probably charged ourselves far more than we should.
Unfortunately anything on my sill gets eaten by my bad cats. My outside stuff has gone to seed and the new stuff isn’t ready yet. Another benefit of doing this as a group. What’s hers is mine...

Yesterday’s totals came to 97p for me, and 99p for Alex.

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