M. Suzanne Terry

Yesterday was a weird day to begin this challenge.  I had my hair appointment, a million errands, and attended my first meeting at a new-to-me book club (where we were instructed to bring a snack to share).  My habit on such days is to take the afternoon off work so that I get to go to bed before 2:00 a.m., which I did.  I arranged coverage for my shift, however, long before I decided to challenge myself not to eat fast food for a month.

Driving through is a part of my afternoon-off routine. I drive through Sonic (chosen because I’ll want coffee, and they add a shot of espresso to the coffee, rendering it somewhat less terrible) and get some kind of sandwich to fuel my afternoon, which I eat on the way to Salon LaPage, where Meredith will work her magic.

But Sonic is a no-go this month.  Instead, I had to plan ahead.  I had to remember to bring my travel mug so that I could take coffee made from my stash at the office.  I brought a sandwich from home, which required getting up earlier to make it and pack it.

You know what?  I didn’t miss Sonic.  My sandwich was delicious and not greasy, and you know the coffee is better when I make it.

On the way home, though, I really wanted onion rings.  Again, it was my pattern.  I went grocery shopping, and on the way home from grocery shopping, I always drive through and get a snack.   I know, I know – it seems ridiculous, because I just bought all this food, and then I get fast food.  But that’s just what I do.

This time, I didn’t get a snack.  I let my reasonable side – the side that tells me that this habit is ridiculous – win.  This might have been my favorite moment of the day.  *pats self on back*

Third challenge – bring a snack to share.  Taco Cabana taquitos work beautifully in such situations, because the last thing I usually want to do when coming home for the day is find something to cook.  Instead of Taco Cabana, though, I decided to make beer bread, and people loved it.  It didn’t take a lot of my time (mix three cups of self-rising flour with a beer, put it in a loaf pan, pour butter over it, and bake for almost an hour at 350 degrees), and it made for a much prettier presentation than an oil-soaked box.

Themes, observations, and lessons:

– Shirking convenience requires planning ahead.

– Fast food is intricately woven into most of my days.  I’ll have to watch out for unraveling.

– Real food (and coffee) is so much better.

– I need to learn how to make onion rings.

I’m doing 31 days without fast food.