Day Three

I’ve been struggling quite a bit. With an assignment due on Monday (which still needs a LOT of work) and 4hours of work tomorrow and again Friday, I was feeling pretty worried about whether I’d make it or not.

Rather than break the Challenge completely, I ended up ‘selling’ my chicken stock to the pantry cupboard and ‘buying’ 200g of wholegrain oats. Against the Challenge rules, but I can live with that. I have been very disciplined and not delved into the sultanas, cheese or anything else that is more than I can afford! I’m hoping the extra oats will almost double my oats and will be just enough to get me by. It certainly hasn’t stopped me feeling hungry throughout the day, but has meant I’ve been feeling a little bit less ill.

The breakfast oats were so much better this morning. Only took fifteen minutes to cook. I put them in a pot last night and poured boiling water over, banged the lid on, and left them there overnight. Nice and soft this morning. Of course, they still taste just the same as they did yesterday, but I appreciate not having to wait 30-45minutes for them to cook!

I miss eating for the pleasure of it.

Food is meant to be savoured. My poor taste buds! They are getting the same every single day. The sweetness of my banana in the morning sends them nearly tingling!

Last night we watched NCIS (our weekly tv habit). Boyo wanted chocolate. No go.

We aren’t really eating together either, with both of us having different food. I eat dinner with Munchkin still, he with his plate of delicious, aromatic food. Me with my bowl of rice, beans, lentils and veges. But that’s at 5pm. Boyo’s been trying to eat his as late as possible, often between 6-7pm. It’s quite lonely, this diet. Firstly because we are eating together less often. Secondly because even when we do, there’s not really much reason to linger over our plain fare. We eat, we move on.

Food is highly social. Imagine never being able to celebrate a special occasion with special food? We get letters and a photo from our sponsored kids each Christmas. There they stand, with a plate of rice or something and a coke in hand. Grinning. This is their big treat for the year, a special meal put on by the Child Development Centre. Many of us would consider it plain as plain can be, but for them it is incredibly special. It’s my birthday next week. I’m so glad it didn’t fall during Live Below the Line. Somehow it seems wrong not to celebrate a birthday with a special family meal.

Well, Munchkin is sounding antsy. It is his dinner time. And Boyo has just cracked out the toaster and toasted up his bread snack. Ah, the smell of it! I sniff. And sniff. And the sound. Crunch, crunch, crunch. Drool. He is being incredibly generous with his precious food and sharing little bits of crust with the hovering, 'More'-ing Munchkin!  Time to get my rice ready I think!

Amy