I love food. Good food. Living in New Orleans I can get access to any amount of great food and not just the typical Cajun and Creole cuisine that people think of when they think of this city. We have incredible pizza, Vietnamese, Mediterranean, and the list goes on. And on top of that Melanie and I love to cook as a way to spend time together and as something we just enjoy. We don’t necessarily focus on healthy food as a rule though we’ve always felt like we cook and eat fairly healthy. Then COVID-19 struck.
The biggest change has been in just the amount that we have needed to cook. While dinner has usually always been a meal we prepare during the week, we have also needed to make sure we had lunch and breakfast food fully stocked. We’ve been going through eggs like they’re going out of style and the same goes for bananas. We have always been meal planners and we’ve definitely gotten even better at it. Somehow, even with the challenge sometimes of buying stuff at the store, our dinners have become even more varied than ever.
Lunch and breakfast don’t require nearly as much planning. The fridge is stocked with yogurt and eggs. Melanie bakes something on Sunday to last us all week. And we’re pretty good to figure out what we want from that. Lunch is almost always leftovers or maybe a sandwich or even hotdogs. Nothing elaborate. But for me it’s been a bit eye opening since I often would go somewhere to eat lunch because it seemed easier in the middle of my workday. Quite the opposite! I actually have found it’s easier to fire up the Big Green Egg to grill hotdogs than it ever was to go anywhere.
This has had a few great side effects. We’re definitely spending less money on food. We’ve gone from eating out at least 10 times per week between various meals to just once. We’re ordering some sort of delivery or take out one time each week. The other side effect is that I’ve lost close to 10lbs since this all started. I’m basically back to my Air Force Academy weight.
And it’s not like I’m being incredibly conscious about what I’m eating at home. We eat desert every day. Cake, cookies, and ice cream are part of our normal rotation. I’ve been eating hot dogs and pulled pork for lunch for the past week. But it’s all home cooked and portion controlled. And our snacks around the house are all fruit.
It’s definitely made me think about my food choices and what I’ll do when things begin to return to normal. Will I go back to eating out? Absolutely. There are a few places I really miss quite a bit. And there are some places that no longer feel worth it. I know that I certainly won’t be eating out for as many meals as I was before.