experiment update: week 1

We’ve made it exactly five and a half days of not eating out, and have exactly five more days to go to fulfill our promise (we get paid next Friday). It’s been easier and more fun that I thought, but the desire to just head to a restaurant has been strong, too.

There have been some “con”-like results of this. For one, we’re having to use the dishwasher at least once a day. Then there’s the matter of the time it takes me to prepare and cook each meal, although it’s a nice distraction for me and a good way for Carlos to interact with Diego. We’ve also been coming up with ways for Diego to help, like handing us stuff to set the table.

I think we have both missed following our cravings. Like the other night Chinese food sounded good, but I’m not about to attempt sweet and sour soup or pineapple chicken. Even if I did get all the ingredients I’m not sure it would be up to par…well, maybe I’m just being defeatist.

Breakfast has been mainly cereal or oatmeal (loaded with bananas and raisins, yum) and for lunch we’ve made sandwiches with turkey and tuna fish. A couple of afternoons we had leftovers from the night before.

Our dinners have been nice. I made stuffed peppers for the first time with ground turkey, white rice, tomatoes, oregano, onions, garlic, and a ketchup-soy sauce-tabasco sauce I concoted. It might sound gross but everything came out yummy. Another night we made a pot of pinto beans, added some chorizo and ate with “chuletas,” which is pork chops that are boiled in a frying pan with water (just enough to cover them) salted and with a bit of vinegar, then once the water evaporates you fry them until they’re crispy. Again, might sound gross but they come out really tasty and tender.

Finally, we had spaghetti with mushrooms, spinach and turkey sausage one night, a frozen cheese pizza with salad another night, and “saltado” (basically sauteed thin meat with onions, tomato, cilantro and french fries) and white rice. I get all these crazy recipes from my mom. They’re Peruvian dishes.

Diego didn’t like the saltado that much, but he ate pretty much everything else. I warmed up a corn tortilla with cheese for him that night.

Right now we’re heating up the last of our frozen pizzas (I cut us off at two). Tonight I think is tofu, squash, carrot and onion stir-fry with an Asian simmer sauce, maybe more white rice.

I hope it make it one more week!