31 January 2013

Ten of Tens: Adjustments

My plan for this month was to try to eat more local food, and I've done a pretty lousy job. The only thing that saves me from having to admit complete failure is that The Mate managed to make one trip to the farmer's market, where he discovered that even in January, you can get a decent variety of vegetables.

On the other hand, even though it was on the list for some time later in the year, I've been making a consistent effort to pack my own lunch.  My days are long, and it's both psychologically and practically difficult to pack two full meals, so I've been getting home famished -- yet somehow, since the beginning of the year, I've completely avoided take-out food and all the styrofoam and plastic packaging that accompanies it. 

This morning, the lunch opportunities in the fridge were pretty slim.  No leftovers; half a loaf of bread. I made a sandwich, then ate it for breakfast instead of cooking hot cereal.  I cut up a bunch of carrots, but even in combination with some almonds in my desk, that wasn't going to make a meal.

And then I remembered the pea soup I stashed in the freezer a couple of weeks ago -- just for moments like this. I pulled out a mason jar and stuffed it in my lunch bag.  Saved. This weekend, I'm going to crazy on cooking up more soup.

For next month, I'll keep going on packing lunches and substantial snacks, and planning more carefully for what I need and when.  It's become more habitual, and in another few weeks it should be pretty solidly ingrained.  And I'm going to try again on the local food front.

1 comment:

  1. Heide - do you have access to a fridge in your department? Having a good stash of staples in the fridge here has saved me on many a morning when I couldn't pull it together enough to pack a good lunch. I'd be happy to take you to a supermarket around here during a lunch hour to stock up.

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