soup and pasta: a frugal life

10/21

I've been eating a lot of soup the past couple months. At first it was a novelty (oh man, I haven't had soup since March, I've missed this). Then the novelty wore off, but it's still the easiest meal option. Open can, heat and eat. That's why I'm having cream of mushroom soup for dinner tonight.

On the plus side, it's a lot cheaper than soup from Pret. I wonder how much money I've saved this year due to covid. Just replacing my daily $4 Starbucks with mocha at home (one spoon of instant coffee, three spoons of hot chocolate mix) is huge. And there's no eating out, no milkshakes and smoothies and Friday froyo, no monthly train passes. Not even haircuts. It's a frugal life, I suppose. My grocery bills have gone up, but not nearly enough to offset all my savings.

A minor annoyance: I'm running out of space in my food journal, and I need to buy a new one, but I can't find the same kind online. I thought I was being proactive by buying an extra one at the Target downtown back in February. Not proactive enough for 2020. I'll probably splurge and buy a four-pack of hardcover journals I found on Amazon.

10/23

Finally made a proper dinner tonight: buffalo chicken pasta.

I used to think I wanted to be a parent, since I like kids. At family gatherings I'm the one ignoring all adults and sitting on the floor with the four-year-old to draw pictures and play with cars or whatever. But I'm glad I gave up the idea of parenthood, because (among other things) I can't imagine being responsible for another person eating three healthy meals a day. I know I average less than one a day myself. Like, I made a good dinner, but breakfast was mocha and lunch was chicken nuggets and corn dogs.

The pasta turned out great. My parents gave me a big bag of peeled garlic that I hadn't yet opened, so I was like "OKAY SIX CLOVES" and it was excellent.