I am on the tube on
the way home Liberal Judaism's Patron's Dinner at the House of Lords. I have not had dinner. I am hungry and I am not really looking
forward to the boiled rice, boiled vegetables and two Quorn sausages that await
me at home, having just seen the menu for this evening's event and caught sight
of the bread baskets as I discretely left.
I knew when I chose
this week to Live Below the Line that I would have to take some difficult
decisions about how to handle a number of food-related work activities. It was clear that eating a four course meal,
served by waiters (whom I hope are receiving the London Living Wage) and
overlooking the Thames was not an appropriate way to experience hunger. But not attending would be letting my colleagues
down and sitting in front of an empty plate would be embarrassing and awkward
for those around me. The compromise was
to be present at the reception and quietly slip away as everyone sat down.
That felt fine until I
realised that I still have an hour's journey home; still have to cook my dinner
when I get there; and have only eaten budget cornflakes, budget ready-pasta and
an out-of-date tea cake all day. I did
not feel hungry on 1,574 calories yesterday but cumulatively it is beginning to
take its toll. It might be ok if I was
on a low calorie diet and was consciously ensuring that the food I did eat was
high in nutrition, protein and goodness.
But over-processed grains and artificial flavourings (such as a £5
budget will stretch to) do not seem to stay in the system very long. This evening I have leftover boiled rice, more boiled vegetables and two frozen Quorn sausages to look forward to.
Aside from walking out
on a free (and delicious sounding) meal, my other new experience of the day was
cooking at work. I have been known to
take food into work before, but only leftovers that need reheating or a sandwich
prepared in the morning. Usually if I
had neither of these readily available I would go out at lunchtime to buy
something from the plethora of interesting eateries in the Tottenham Court Road
area; this week such an extravagance would likely leave me starving for the
next three days!
Instead, this morning,
I picked up my packet of MSavers Pasta in Tomato Sauce (19p) and my orange;
packed my fancy clothes for my Patron's non-Dinner; and headed into town. As the hunger pangs became uncomfortable at
1pm, I ventured into the staff kitchen to find out if we even had things like
pans and wooden spoons. We do. The instructions said to add the packet to
360ml of water, bring to the boil and then allow to simmer for 12 minutes,
stirring frequently. The hob looked like
it would take an age to heat up and I was not prepared to take too much time out
of an already pressured day, so I left it and went back to my desk.
Half an hour later I
heard someone mention the word 'lunch' in passing and suddenly remembered my
simmering pasta. It was burnt. But when you have calculated your food budget
down to the last penny, there is no option to throw out burnt pasta and pop
down the road for a sushi. So I ate
it. It was not exactly gourmet but I
felt slightly less hungry afterwards so it served its purpose. Tomorrow, I will take the time to watch my
food cook and appreciate the break it gives me in my busy working day.
Day Two Tally:
Breakfast: 80g
cornflakes with 113ml whole milk, watered down.
Cost: 15p.
Calories: 381.
Lunch: Packet of
Tomato Pasta and an orange.
Cost:
31p.
Calories: 412.
Dinner: 2 Quorn
sausages, rice, soup mix, carrots & cabbage.
Cost: 50p.
Calories: 561.
Snack: Toasted tea
cake with 100ml brandy sauce.
Cost: 3p
(reduced).
Calories: 280.
DAY ONE TOTALS: Cost:
99p. Calories: 1,634. Five-A-Day: 3.
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