Day 5 - Variety is the spice of life!

I did a silly thing tonight.

I sat on my couch next to my bookshelf full of recipe books, marking all the pages of all the delicious things I'm planning to make when I finish this ridiculous 40 days. So far, there are about 100 pages marked. Let me tell you, there are some good recipes in those books...they make my mouth water just at the thought of them!

I'm amazed at how quickly I miss having a variety of foods. I think most of us tend to stick to the same sorts off foods anyway - cooking our favourite meals, having our favourite breakfast cereals or sandwiches, or visiting the same cafe's for coffee or lunch...but when even that range of choices is taken out of the mix, it's easy to stop and think about what else we might be missing out on.
I started out doing this because I wanted to experience what it would be like to live with no choice of what to eat - just eating enough to survive. But I'm discovering how much I take food for granted - not the fact that I have it, but the options I have to enjoy - meals out with friends, the satisfaction of spending time preparing a proper dinner, the convenience of chucking leftovers from the freezer to the microwave and having a good dinner ready in 5 minutes, or the option of thinking 'what do i feel like tonight' - then having exactly that. In my situation I get to save up those ideas, and in another 35 days I can play catch up. Right now 35 days seems like a long way away - I can really only imagine how depressing it would be to stare at my bowl of rice and chick peas and know that I'm going to be eating this for an unknown length of time.

One of the things I looked into a bit before I started this whole things is the whole barter/black market system that goes on in camps...how much rice do I have to trade for fresh fruit or vegies, or for some tea or coffee. I'm so glad I did...because tomorrow to celebrate my last day at work, I get to have a coffee and an orange...I CAN NOT WAIT!

So, 5 days in...I'm still craving an orange, I'm aware that I take many things in my life for granted...and I can't wait to try out some new recipes!