Day Twenty

Ryan and I presented at St. Louis Pecha Kucha night tonight for our Green Strum Project. What a great gathering of conscious, motivated people doing great things in this city! I was talking to a friend of mine there and she was asking how the diet was going and what was difficult about it. I've been realizing more the last few days what really is difficult, at least for me. The portions we are eating are really quite satisfying and our bodies have adjusted to the amount of food we are eating. We are also getting balanced nutrition, so we don't feel we are lacking in that department. The hard part is knowing that there is nothing else. What I mean by that is, once we eat our portions for each meal, there is no other food to be had. I find myself wandering into the kitchen several times a day and just standing there looking into our bare cabinets and refrigerator shelves. There is no snack food healthy or otherwise. I realize how often I mindlessly do that...wander into the kitchen and consume without really needing to. I do experience some bouts of hunger these days with no way to assuage it, but most of the time when I wander into that kitchen, I'm not really hungry, I'm just looking for something that I can't have.

This in some very small way must be what it is like for an impoverished person. The knowledge that there is nothing else to be eaten and no way to get more. I've spent a good bit of time lately trying to train my mind not to think about food. I'm doing this, though, knowing that I'll get a decent portion of food each day. I can't really imagine what it must be like to know that there will be no food and to try to overcome that devastating knowledge.

Daily Meals ~

Breakfast ~ steel cuts oats with banana and green tea (Kelly) and coffee (Ryan)

Lunch ~ lentils with rice

Dinner ~ rice

Daily Total ~ $1.80

Just a little bit of food for thought...

Kelly