Just an ordinary day

So, being an almost vegetarian trying out a ration book life style, what would a typical day for me look like? Last week, it could be something like this:

Breakfast: Two slices of crisp tunnbröd, scraped with hummus with sliced cucmuber. A pot of lapsang.

After that, I take the bike to work, about 5-6 miles, and work for a few hours.

Mid-morning snack: A cup of coffee with a little milk, two more slices of bread, this time scraped with apple sauce.

Then more work, until lunch.

Lunch: porridge made from oats and dried apple, spiced up with a little cinnamon and cardamom, with a little apple sauce and milk.

About 30 min walk to stretch my legs.

Work, work, work, only interrupted by some coffee with a little milk and some snacking on fresh fruit.

Take the bike home, 5-6 miles.

Dinner: The mushroom & cabbage stew (recipe yesterday) with a large helping of plain boiled potatoes and lots of fresh salad.

Later, there's usually more coffee or tea and a crisp roll. I usually get mega-cravings right before bed so I have some (sometimes a lot) of fresh fruit.

First week of experiment!

So the first week of my experience of living on war rations has passed.

I can report having both butter, meat, bacon, margarine, tea and sugar left of my ration, but I may have used a little too much milk. I also cheated one day when my mother invited me to dinner and fed me lamb chops and apple pie. The funny thing was that when she served me, my first reaction was "but you musn't waste your entire meat ration on me!" Then I realised that the stores are full of as much meat as we could want. For the sake of fiction, I will however pretend that she did (and I know she would have, had we really been at war). I ate some kippers (which would not have been rationed but hard to get), and one egg (scrambled) so technically I still have 3 eggs to go (from my "dried egg powder eggs"). I also spent a few points on lentils, but you get a lot of dried beans and the like for your points so I have plenty left. But I have been scouring the black market for coffee. I admit! I can't give up my coffee (which wasn't rationed in the UK, however, but I imagine very hard to come by).

So far? I feel good. Healthy, well-fed, no sugar cravings and I think I have rarely eaten so much fruit and greens as in the past week (and coming from a former vegetarian, that says a lot). Since I don't weigh myself I can't say if I shed any weight, but a staggering 5 cm (2 inches) has come off from my tummy so I'd be surprised if I didn't.