You would be very happy that you didn't have to be around me today. I was in a irritable mood all day (pretty unusual for me) and it was the first day in this challenge where I was really dissatisfied. It has also made me realise a lot about myself that I had never really thought too deeply about.

It all began with not getting a good night's sleep. I have come to find that the way I sleep will not only determine the type of day I am going to have, it also greatly impacts what I (want to) eat. I should have taken a nap and rested up, but I had a lot of things that needed to get done. By trying to do everything and not taking a nap, I only made things worse.

Because of the days schedule, I also didn't have two morning meals or one large breakfast as I have been and this contributed to my general grumpiness the entire day. But the issue that put it over the top and made it a miserable day was that I didn't have any snacks.

There have been a couple of days this month where I went on eating binges. In both cases I had plenty of snack food accumulated and went through it. Although I was disappointed that I went through it far quicker than I had anticipated I would, I never felt deprived or unsatisfied. That was not the case today as I was having these cravings and I didn't have any snacks on hand to satisfy them.

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This is part of a month long challenge to eat well while spending an average of only $1 a day on food. You can find the beginning and the rules of this challenge here

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Since there weren't snacks, I ended up going through some of my staples which may cause some issues these last few days. I should have had plenty of bread to last me through the end of this month, but now I am down to only a few more slices. I also went through my peanut butter so that i only have enough for maybe 2 more sandwiches. I ended up drinking 4 CapriSun juice packs trying to get my energy level up (and failing).

I wasn't really hungry, but I was definitely not satisfied like I was when I had chips, Wheat Thins or Fig Newtons. The results were that I was completely unproductive and my mind was always wandering toward food and what I wanted, but didn't have. It wasn't a good feeling and I can only imagine that it is multiplied many times over when people don't have enough food to eat. I wonder how much this nation loses in unproductivity because people haven't had enough food to perform at their best?

I did make a trip to the grocery store and ended up getting 3 more bananas and an ear of corn (I just needed something different) for $0.96:

bananas and corn

bananas and corn receipt

Breakfast

The plan was to have a bowl of Corn Flakes in the early morning and then a bigger meal later, but I ended up getting too busy (and was away from the house) to eat the second breakfast. That meant that all I had was a bowl of Corn Flakes with half an apple on top:

day 28 breakfast

Lunch

By the time I made my lunch, I was pretty hungry. I ended up making an egg salad sandwich (I had boiled a couple of eggs last night) on whole what bread, adding half a tomato and some of the salad bag lettuce with a bit of Miracle Whip to the hard boiled eggs:

day 28 lunch

I then had a bit of the chicken and apple pasta salad on the side and a glass of white grape / peach juice (half juice, half water):

day 28 lunch plated

I had quite a bit of the egg salad left over, but ended up eating that as well and the search for food satisfaction started for the rest of the afternoon.

Dinner

For dinner, I simply made myself a chicken breast sandwich and then boiled up the corn I had purchased. It was kind of a strange combination, but the corn was quite sweet and didn't need the butter on it that I thought it might (I just added a bit of salt):

day 28 dinner

day 28 dinner corn

The corn was sweet enough that I only ate half as I wanted to save the other half in case I was craving something sweet the next day.

This is the current list of what I have purchased:

Money Spent $24.33
Money left to spend: 6.67 ($2 must be spent at CVS)
Retail Value of everything bought: $565.29

1 ear of corn
1 package of chicken breast deli style (1 lb)
5 packages hardwood smoked turkey franks
1 package of veggie spiral pasta
1 salt and pepper shaker combo
1 bag of salad
1 package of macaroni and cheese
3 sample packs of Maxwell House Vanilla Carmel Latte
4 sample packages of Wheat Thins Sundried Tomato & Basil
3 packages (small) Fig Newtons
1 jar Miracle Whip
1 potato
1 mystery purchase
1/3 lb ground beef
6 tomatoes
2 broccoli crowns
2 loaves of bread
2 jars of Classico pasta sauce
2 Safeway brand pasta (spaghetti and rotini)
1 celery stalk
2 bags tortilla chips
5 cans tuna
1 bottle Welch's grape & peach 100% juice
1 bottle V8 Fusion fruit / vegetable drink
1 bottle V8 spicy vegetable drink
2 boxes of Caprisun fruit drinks (10 packs)
1 jar of salsa
1 bag of black beans
3 half gallons of milk
36 boxes of cereal
3 dozen eggs
2 avocados
20 bananas
2 boxes of Quaker Instant oatmeal
55 packs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Minis
1 package of Knudsen Light sour cream
20 apples
2 lbs of carrots
8 boxes (small) of Wheat Thins
2 jars of Skippy All Natural peanut butter
2 cans of pork and beans
1 bag of long grain brown rice
2 packages of Mission 100% whole wheat tortillas (10 count each)

Donated Food / other items to Food Bank that was purchased with my $1 a day

4 packages hardwood smoked turkey franks
2 Gillette body wash
3 sample packs of Maxwell House Vanilla Carmel Latte
1 Stayfree pantiliner package
1 Kotex U tampon package
5 Bayer children's aspirin
2 sticks of deodorant
4 bottles Windex multi-surface cleaner
1 can of Pork & Beans
32 boxes of cereal
50 packs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Minis
4 boxes (small) of Wheat Thins
2 Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean bathroom cleaner
2 Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean bathroom cleaner refill

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The Beginning ::: Day 29: Should I Continue?

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