"Eating In" Survival Kit: Lunchables and Broccoli

The journey has begun.

This is the first blog post chronicling a month in the life of Christine, who has made a vow to go 30 days without eating in a restaurant. Below she writes about her life in a world without restaurants, and how much money she has saved in the first 5 days of: "Eating In."

"Day One: May 29, 2008 - 10:38 PM

I made the decision to go a whole month without eating out about 6 hours ago. It was a swift decision, one that was made not long after my co-worker and I decided to eat lunch for free at work instead of wasting time and gas to go out. I had already previously decided to attempt this monstrous feat yesterday, but was only going to try a week. I decided to go for a month once I realized that I have made close to $10,000 dollars since January 11^th and have spent every…last…penny. Granted, I did pay about $3,000 worth of bills, but still…$7,000 dollars on going out to eat?! After concluding that I didn’t need to drink heavily and eat at fancy places to be around my friends (and myself) in order for me to have a good time, I saw the light.

I rarely discipline and challenge myself the way I should. I go to the gym when I feel like it (which isn’t that often), I spend money on stupid things, I forget to pay my bills on time and I have the tendency to talk a lot and not provide any sort of result. I don’t understand how I’ve managed to get to work on time every single day since I began my new job, and keep track of the necessary tools I need to do my job, but I’ve done it. However, it’s not enough.

It’s time for me to start saving and spending. Saving my money, but spending my time being more creative. It’s time for me to pay my $2,000 rent bill…two weeks ago. It’s time for the results I’ve been failing to provide. I’m accepting this challenge I’ve presented to myself.

I’ve always wanted to start a cooking show, but since I don’t have a video camera, I’m outta luck, but throughout the next 4 weeks, I’ll post recipes of things that I’ve made that you yourself can enjoy.

Tonight, I spent $40.08 on the groceries needed to survive my first week. I’ve given myself a $50 per week budget, so I still have $9.92 to get rid of. It will probably go to three $2.99 bottles of wine from Wal-Mart, which is what I’m sure I’m going to need to get me through this first week of going Restaurant-Free, completely cold turkey. Sounds tacky, I know, but I’m going into crisis mode.

My first meal, restaurant free:

Broccoli Salad…the easiest, but tastiest broccoli snack around:

You’ll need: Broccoli, Sunflower Seeds (seeded), Honey Dijon, and Grated Cheddar Cheese

Mix ingredients in a bowl. Eat. Digest.

Day 5 – June 2, 2008 - 9:08 AM

I had a dream last night that I lost the challenge because I forgot about it and ordered a salad at a restaurant. That salad just happened to be the delicious broccoli salad I’ve been eating for the past four days, except instead of costing me about $2.00, it cost me $20.00! It’s a tasty salad, but it wasn’t even a salad worth losing for! If I’m gonna lose this, I’m going big.

I’m not yet in the fetal position, though, and I consider this to be a good sign. I have to say that even though I haven’t been dining out, I’ve still been having a pretty good time. We had a BBQ the other night which was probably the most fun I’ve had in a long time. I went and saw Sex and the City the night before that, so I’ve been keeping myself busy. I joke about being in the fetal position, but really, so far, this hasn’t been all that hard. It’s just a major adjustment.

Here is another recipe for you to enjoy:

Lunchables Pizza:

You’ll need: A grocery store, a car, money.

Go to grocery store. Pick up Lunchables Pizza (3 for $5). Pay with money. Get in your car and drive home. Enjoy. Tastes best at 5 AM before going to sleep, or at 5 AM when you're waking up to go to work.

25 days to go..."