Slow to Satisfy and Groceries Round II

The first week was surprising.  I found myself want for little.  At least it was rare that I found myself hungry as I had purchased enough starchy items to keep my belly full.  Admittedly, I did tire of brown rice.

If the week produced one major revelation about eating on a slim budget, it would be the difficulty of quickly addressing hunger.   Dry lentils and rice are cheap but they require space, equipment and time to transform them into anything edible.  It was a bit alarming while on the road this week to realize, on more than one occasion, that I was hungry and hours away from being able to do anything about it.  I certainly was not about to die of starvation from a skipped meal, though I can’t deny the steely emptiness in my core distracted me from moments that would have benefited from pause.

Week two should be interesting.  It’s Tuesday and I haven’t a penny left from my budget.  Parched by last weeks steamed dinners and sourdough, my cast iron pans were thirsty for oil, which unfortunately cost me almost five bucks.  I also made small upgrades (white to red onions, rye to spelt flour) that may have contributed to a more modest yield.  Redeeming the lot are the near-spoiled free apples, bargain soy beans bought from my roommate (for soy milk and tempeh) and a few remaining pantry items from last week.

Perhaps, when the bananas run out, I could take a page from my brother’s book and tote some raw cabbage for staving off the inconvenient hunger pangs.  He’s onto something: it’s surprisingly tasty.