12/07/22

I signed my lease for my new apartment on November 12, but it wasn’t until this past weekend that I finally went grocery shopping (and by “I,” I really mean I went with my parents and they bought me $250 worth of groceries).

I think that people underestimate how overwhelming stocking a kitchen is. like at my home, the kitchen is well-established and going to the grocery store only requires picking up a few things here and there – coffee creamer, milk, lunch meat, etc.

but for me, the idea of stocking my apartment kitchen was so daunting. no spices, no frozen foods, no pantry items, no produce, no foil, no trash bags, no Tupperware, like …. how does one even begin to tackle that? it’s an overwhelming undertaking, and I was really putting it off. so the fact that my parents took me to the store, absolutely loaded my cart, and then footed the bill was incredibly heartwarming. this was on Saturday and I have not eaten out since then, I am DETERMINED to make sure none of that food goes to waste. it’s weird cooking for one, and it’s weird throwing stuff away. at my home, any leftovers or food waste we have goes straight to the chickens so it’s weird throwing stuff out now. I’ll stretch my leftovers for as long as possible to keep my food waste to a minimum, I was eating Thanksgiving leftovers for so long that when my dad found out he ordered me to throw them out.

I’m not really into cooking all that much, and coming home after a long day and having to make dinner is such an exhausting idea, but I’m hoping that this will give me an opportunity to stretch my skills and take care of myself better. I don’t want to just eat frozen food or takeout for the rest of my life, I want to try and be excited about what I eat – tonight, I am making chicken fajita rice bowls. fingers crossed!

things I am grateful for: my parents (as always), easy to follow recipes, and frozen pizza when all else fails.