Snackarama

Perhaps the biggest thing that has changed under rationing has been the elimination of snacking. If I get hungry, I might have a slice of dry bread, but otherwise I live entirely without snacks and feel virtuous about it.

I have always tried to not have snack foods in, on the basis that if you don't have crisps, chocolate and sweets in, you can't eat them. But they still manage to accrue. That tube of Pringles, that extra bag of Doritos, that "spare" packet of Redwood faux meat, lurking at the bag of a cupboard or fridge, waiting to catch me in a moment of weakness (ie a weekday; or at the weekend). I have no willpower at all, for anything. Ciggies, booze, junk food... once I'm on them, that's that.

But I'm simulating willpower very well with the rations. I've cut my booze consumption, even having a week with none (and not noticing it nor getting the DTs, so no fears of alcoholism here) and just haven't snacked at all. The ciggies haven't reduced, mind, but you can't have everything. Ahem.

So tonight's dinner, for which I'm alone (CJBS is back riding the rails - well, sitting in the booking office of our local station - on the late shift with spam sandwiches) is to be a form of snacking. I've got Ryvita, sliced tomatoes, lettuce, unrationed cottage cheese, hummus (a tad anachronistically) and cress. Yes, that's hardly snacking, I know. But it's like snacking in many ways, especially in the amount of salt I plan to add. And, like snacking, I'll be starving by midnight.

But it'll be worth it!

St David's Day

Image by CaterinaAnna | Creative Commons CC-BY-SA 2.0

As Dave pointed out in the comments yesterday, it's St David's Day today. Sadly, I've done nothing at all Welsh today: I couldn't get any daffodils in town, I don't like raw potato, I've had my complete fill of bloody leeks recently, and I don't have time to have four children from five different fathers in a remarkably short period. I'm also not in my twelfth year of unemployment. Nevertheless, at least I'm not English. Iechyd da everyone!

Why not try... a sandwich?

Tonight's dinner is a second go at last night's tomato soup. It was very tasty and very filling, especially with bread; a second helping is worth having. Meanwhile CJBS has been sent off to work with more of the parsnip soup and a round of spam sandwiches.

Tomorrow I'm making my monthly trip to the office in Yorkshire. This presents a couple of problems, the biggest of which is that my (non-leather, I'm that much of a vegetarian) shoes life-expired two weeks ago. I've defaulted to my previous pair, which are scuffed but serviceable, however, they have suffered from 18 months of not being used and are like clogs. So my poor feet are in a ruinous state and I'll be using a mixture of insoles and Compeed plasters to stop the delicate mincing steps I take in them. I'll order new ones after pay day!

But that's not important right now. The biggest issues are that I get my 6am train via the Café Nerd coffee stand at Lime Street. A big latte and a sandwich or panini to "put me on" as they say in Liverpool, then sleep until Leeds. On arrival at work, we have our group meeting and discussion, then Helen and Sue lay on a slap-up spread for everyone, including one egg-intolerant vegetarian (me), one pescetarian and one coeliac. It's always lovely, but I'll make them miserable if I try to tell them what points I've got, how many I'm willing to spend and what values they need to put on them.

Since I haven't cheated on points or coupons once in 13 days, I'm not going to mark the fortnight anniversary by having cheese and crisps and chocolate and other such treats tomorrow. So I've just carefully made a small number of sandwiches to take with me. I had drawn on, but not used, my (not) bacon ration a week ago; with tomatoes in the shops and, miraculously, British lettuce suddenly appearing on sale again, the sandwiches could only be BLT (with a bit of cress for interest sake). I fried off 2oz of bacon without using any fat, then mixed together one part butter to two parts margarine to make the spread - I'm fearsomely attached to my butter ration, whilst the margarine ration is just as tight but inedible as spread. Split between four sandwiches, the result was a nice pack up to take with me... with one of the sandwiches now to go with my soup.