Day 4: Reality sets in!

Day 4 is over ... and already I have a new appreciation for food. Today was the first day that I actually felt the pinch of hunger (well, the first day since my first year of undergrad, but I won't get into that!) It's amazing how good a stale Saltine cracker tastes when you're really hungry; and by hunger I mean the day-by-day kind, not the "oh, I'm 10 minutes late for lunch" kind. Fascinating. I really taste every morsel of food ... and I'm eating slower so that I feel more satisfied with my meal. My next phase of eating will be based on rice, beans and pasta with limited extras - so I'll be needing those enhanced taste receptors. I also had my first food craving today: I'm already planning my feast at the end of this, brunch at Cora's perhaps - with UNLIMITED coffee. Anyways, I digress.

Today I walked through Loblaws again, comparing prices between stores. I scored a 450g bag of navy beans (the little white ones) for a paltry $0.69, but shied away from purchasing a 2kg bag of mung beans because I couldn't decide whether to buy them whole or hulled (price = $3.99). I looked at the tomato sauce and picked up a No-Name can for $0.99, but as I was waiting in line I noticed that each serving contained 6 grams of sugar! So I went back and exchanged it for a (larger) can of diced tomatoes (3g of sugar) for $0.89. I've discovered that there are only three types of cheap foods: sugar-foods, starch-foods, and salt-foods. Since prepared tomato sauce is loaded with sugar, I'm going to make my own.

Breakfast: 85g boiled carrots, 100g Brussels sprouts, 2 cups coffee $0.97
Lunch: 1 cup vegan chili, 2 homemade buns (free!), 2 granola bars (free! Thanks Paul*) $0.81
Dinner: 2 cups vegan chili, 1/2 cup yogurt $1.98
Snack: Microwave croutons made from 1/4 loaf sourdough, margarine & spices, 1/2 cup OJ $0.84
Other: Tea with milk, Poptarts (free! Thanks Amanda - S'mores are the best), Multivitamin and Ca/ D $0.31

Day 4 Total: $4.91
*I also credit Paul for the famed saltine cracker. Really hits the spot.