45 + 80 points
Free Food Diet by [smedly]
July 14th, 2008 1:49 PM
One Week
"Surviving" for one day with or without free food is physically not a problem, so I decided to extend the length of the challenge.
Luckily, I had recently discovered an apple tree hidden on campus, so I knew I'd at least have that resource for nourishment. The day before I officially started this task I picked as many apples as I could (about 20)
So, here's the daily breakdown:
Sunday, July 6
1:00 pm - woke up, took a bath and ate one apple from the apple tree.
6:00 pm - ate 2 apples while reading Waiting for Godot
9:30 pm - at 1 apple, finished Waiting for Godot
total consumption - 4 apples
Monday, July 7
1:00 pm - ate 2 small packets of cream cheese from the campus cafeteria
2:30 pm - ate one apple
11:00 pm - ate one apple
total consumption - 2 apples, 2 packets of cream cheese
Tuesday, July 8
11:00 am - woke up hungry today. first time i'v woken up hungry in recent memory. went and picked 5 more apples, using a stick to reach the apples i couldn't reach at first, then finally climbing the tree to get even more.
11:30 am - brewed 2 bags of English Breakfast Tea that my parents snagged from their hotel room when they visited me at the beginning of the summer. put the tea in the fridge for later. ate 2 apples. drank 2 little half and half creamers. i realized i wasn't getting any protein, which would be a problem.
7:00 pm - brewed a large batch of hotel coffee and drank a cup to warm up after wandering around in the rain
9:00 pm - at another apple and drank most of the iced tea while reading in bed
"The summer came upon the country like a conquerer"
total consumption - 1/2 liter iced tea, 1 cup of coffee, 3 apples, 2 packets of half and half
Wednesday, July 9
11:30 am - looked in the kitchen trashcan and found my roommate's discarded box of cereal, Basic 4 Whole Grain Cereal. there was still some left in the bag. it was about 2 cups worth, so i saved it for later.
1:00 pm - was getting hungry, so i went to the student union/cafeteria to scavenge. i saw vans for blood donation. donating blood means getting free cookies and juice, so i went to sign up. i quickly ate and apple before i got to the donation room.
1:00 - 2:00 pm - gave blood. it took them two tries, so they had to stab both of my arms.
when i had successfully parted with a pint of my blood i immediately drank a free Fanta and ate 3 homemade cookies. they let me grab a Coke and 6 more cookies for later. score! but i was starting to feel slightly light-headed. i snagged some more cream cheese, butter, and parmesan cheese from the cafeteria for later.
2:30 pm - ate 2 more blood cookies
4:10 pm - found another bag of blood cookies perched on a handrail of the staircase, and ate them while reading.
5:00 pm - went to class. on the way to class i started to feel kinda dizzy and giddy. i must have looked exhausted, because i girl in class asked me if i was ok. i explained that i had given blood, and hadn't really had anything to eat, so she invited me over to her house for dinner. i gladly accepted, and decided to bring some of my best looking apples to share for desert.
7:00 pm - dinner party! she made chili with fritos. i had 2 plates of it. also had 4 glasses of wine. for desert we used my apples and made baked apples with butter, brown sugar and vanilla ice cream. there were 7 people total. i was glad to get some protein.
total consumption - one apple, 8 chocolate chip cookies, one can of Fanta, 2 plates of chili and fritos, one baked apple with ice cream, 4 glasses of wine (negative one pint of blood)
Thursday, July 10
12:30 pm - found pieces of crust of a pop tart in the computer lab and immediately ate them.
1:00 pm - found free samples of Stride gum at the bookstore and grabbed a couple handfuls.
9:00 pm - ate 4 blood cookies and 2 packets of cream cheese
10:00 pm - brewed another batch of hotel tea (chamomile) and put it in the fridge for later
total consumption - pop tart crusts, stick of gum (not actually consumed), 4 blood cookies, 2 packets cream cheese
Friday, July 11
today i was planning to attend a "lunch lecture" at the art museum downtown. it was to address the topic of grass-roots art.
noon - showed up at the museum looking for the lecture, but found out it had been canceled. they apologized and offered me a soda, which i accepted, and gave me four free museum passes. they also informed me about some sort of exhibit called Art Melt that was happening that evening. i found out Art Melt included free food.
6:30 pm - returned to the museum for Art Melt and FEASTED!! there were 2 buffet sections.
first buffet: chicken kebabs, asparagus, artichoke hearts, lamb chops, roasted tomatoes, creamy pasta, marinated mushrooms, asian style dumplings, fried catfish, chicken w/ noodles stir fry, lemon grass shrimp stir fry
second buffet: sandwich cuts, strawberries, melon, many types of cheeses - brie, chevre, bleu cheese, cheddar, herb cheese spread, etc. i ate this on a roof terrace watching the sunset over the Mississippi, listening to a jazz trio.
i ate my fill, then ate more, then took a break to admire the artwork, then ate more, then stuffed a bunch of food in my bag. i have no shame
when i got home i ate more of the dumplings
total consumption : FEAST
Saturday, July 12
5:00 pm - ate chicken and noodle stir fry with 2 dumplings, drank a can of coke from blood drive.
8:00 pm - ate roommate's old cereal
9:00 pm - ate lemongrass shrimp stir fry and drank the chamomile iced tea.
total consumption - plate of chicken and noodles, plate of shrimp and noodles, 2 dumplings, 2 cups stale cereal, tea
Sunday, July 13
5:00 pm - ate 4 packets of honey found at the cafe in the library
10:00 pm - ate 2 apples while reading in bed
total consumption - 2 apples, 4 packets honey
Doing this task showed me that I typically eat much much more than I need to survive, more even than I need to feel comfortable and satisfied. I could very easily cut my typical daily consumption in half. I really enjoyed doing this task. It gave me somewhat of the feeling of being a primitive gatherer. I was always on the lookout for food. I ate much less, but I thought about food a lot more.
It's been a week, and even though I'm going to resume buying food for myself, I think I will still supplement my diet with found nourishment. It's nice to think that I completely cut out a week's worth of food expenses, and it wasn't that much of a hardship. I did get lucky with the Art Melt feast though. By that time I was starting to really miss "normal food".
"Surviving" for one day with or without free food is physically not a problem, so I decided to extend the length of the challenge.
Luckily, I had recently discovered an apple tree hidden on campus, so I knew I'd at least have that resource for nourishment. The day before I officially started this task I picked as many apples as I could (about 20)
So, here's the daily breakdown:
Sunday, July 6
1:00 pm - woke up, took a bath and ate one apple from the apple tree.
6:00 pm - ate 2 apples while reading Waiting for Godot
9:30 pm - at 1 apple, finished Waiting for Godot
total consumption - 4 apples
Monday, July 7
1:00 pm - ate 2 small packets of cream cheese from the campus cafeteria
2:30 pm - ate one apple
11:00 pm - ate one apple
total consumption - 2 apples, 2 packets of cream cheese
Tuesday, July 8
11:00 am - woke up hungry today. first time i'v woken up hungry in recent memory. went and picked 5 more apples, using a stick to reach the apples i couldn't reach at first, then finally climbing the tree to get even more.
11:30 am - brewed 2 bags of English Breakfast Tea that my parents snagged from their hotel room when they visited me at the beginning of the summer. put the tea in the fridge for later. ate 2 apples. drank 2 little half and half creamers. i realized i wasn't getting any protein, which would be a problem.
7:00 pm - brewed a large batch of hotel coffee and drank a cup to warm up after wandering around in the rain
9:00 pm - at another apple and drank most of the iced tea while reading in bed
"The summer came upon the country like a conquerer"
total consumption - 1/2 liter iced tea, 1 cup of coffee, 3 apples, 2 packets of half and half
Wednesday, July 9
11:30 am - looked in the kitchen trashcan and found my roommate's discarded box of cereal, Basic 4 Whole Grain Cereal. there was still some left in the bag. it was about 2 cups worth, so i saved it for later.
1:00 pm - was getting hungry, so i went to the student union/cafeteria to scavenge. i saw vans for blood donation. donating blood means getting free cookies and juice, so i went to sign up. i quickly ate and apple before i got to the donation room.
1:00 - 2:00 pm - gave blood. it took them two tries, so they had to stab both of my arms.
when i had successfully parted with a pint of my blood i immediately drank a free Fanta and ate 3 homemade cookies. they let me grab a Coke and 6 more cookies for later. score! but i was starting to feel slightly light-headed. i snagged some more cream cheese, butter, and parmesan cheese from the cafeteria for later.
2:30 pm - ate 2 more blood cookies
4:10 pm - found another bag of blood cookies perched on a handrail of the staircase, and ate them while reading.
5:00 pm - went to class. on the way to class i started to feel kinda dizzy and giddy. i must have looked exhausted, because i girl in class asked me if i was ok. i explained that i had given blood, and hadn't really had anything to eat, so she invited me over to her house for dinner. i gladly accepted, and decided to bring some of my best looking apples to share for desert.
7:00 pm - dinner party! she made chili with fritos. i had 2 plates of it. also had 4 glasses of wine. for desert we used my apples and made baked apples with butter, brown sugar and vanilla ice cream. there were 7 people total. i was glad to get some protein.
total consumption - one apple, 8 chocolate chip cookies, one can of Fanta, 2 plates of chili and fritos, one baked apple with ice cream, 4 glasses of wine (negative one pint of blood)
Thursday, July 10
12:30 pm - found pieces of crust of a pop tart in the computer lab and immediately ate them.
1:00 pm - found free samples of Stride gum at the bookstore and grabbed a couple handfuls.
9:00 pm - ate 4 blood cookies and 2 packets of cream cheese
10:00 pm - brewed another batch of hotel tea (chamomile) and put it in the fridge for later
total consumption - pop tart crusts, stick of gum (not actually consumed), 4 blood cookies, 2 packets cream cheese
Friday, July 11
today i was planning to attend a "lunch lecture" at the art museum downtown. it was to address the topic of grass-roots art.
noon - showed up at the museum looking for the lecture, but found out it had been canceled. they apologized and offered me a soda, which i accepted, and gave me four free museum passes. they also informed me about some sort of exhibit called Art Melt that was happening that evening. i found out Art Melt included free food.
6:30 pm - returned to the museum for Art Melt and FEASTED!! there were 2 buffet sections.
first buffet: chicken kebabs, asparagus, artichoke hearts, lamb chops, roasted tomatoes, creamy pasta, marinated mushrooms, asian style dumplings, fried catfish, chicken w/ noodles stir fry, lemon grass shrimp stir fry
second buffet: sandwich cuts, strawberries, melon, many types of cheeses - brie, chevre, bleu cheese, cheddar, herb cheese spread, etc. i ate this on a roof terrace watching the sunset over the Mississippi, listening to a jazz trio.
i ate my fill, then ate more, then took a break to admire the artwork, then ate more, then stuffed a bunch of food in my bag. i have no shame
when i got home i ate more of the dumplings
total consumption : FEAST
Saturday, July 12
5:00 pm - ate chicken and noodle stir fry with 2 dumplings, drank a can of coke from blood drive.
8:00 pm - ate roommate's old cereal
9:00 pm - ate lemongrass shrimp stir fry and drank the chamomile iced tea.
total consumption - plate of chicken and noodles, plate of shrimp and noodles, 2 dumplings, 2 cups stale cereal, tea
Sunday, July 13
5:00 pm - ate 4 packets of honey found at the cafe in the library
10:00 pm - ate 2 apples while reading in bed
total consumption - 2 apples, 4 packets honey
Doing this task showed me that I typically eat much much more than I need to survive, more even than I need to feel comfortable and satisfied. I could very easily cut my typical daily consumption in half. I really enjoyed doing this task. It gave me somewhat of the feeling of being a primitive gatherer. I was always on the lookout for food. I ate much less, but I thought about food a lot more.
It's been a week, and even though I'm going to resume buying food for myself, I think I will still supplement my diet with found nourishment. It's nice to think that I completely cut out a week's worth of food expenses, and it wasn't that much of a hardship. I did get lucky with the Art Melt feast though. By that time I was starting to really miss "normal food".
16 vote(s)
5
Myrna Minx
5Peter Garnett
5Optical Dave
5Augustus deCorbeau
5Rainy
5susy derkins
5zer0gee
5Sparrows Fall
5Julian Muffinbot
5Lincøln
5auntie matter
5Scarlett
5done
5Loki
5teh Lolbrarian
5Pip Estrelle
Terms
(none yet)7 comment(s)
posted by [smedly] on July 14th, 2008 7:34 PM
i shaved it off today, i couldn't handle it any more. i thought about trying to not use any electricity to prepare or preserve the food, but that was an extra challenge i didn't really want to deal with.
posted by Rainy on July 14th, 2008 8:14 PM
Blood cookies!
Art openings are a great boon to poor grad students.
posted by susy derkins on July 14th, 2008 9:44 PM
Yes, blood cookies FTW! And the fact that you got yourself invited to dinner by looking pale and dizzy and yet managed to make the grand finale happen (cinnammonandbutterbakedapples *drools*). I don´t think I´d be too gracious of given free museum passes when my stomach was expecting food.
Chili with fritos, you mean, cooked fritos?!!!
Wonderful overall.
posted by [smedly] on July 15th, 2008 4:46 PM
the museum passes were a lame substitute for lunch, espicially since, as a student, i already have free admission to the museum. i suppose i could give them to 4 strangers on the street or something.
posted by Augustus deCorbeau on July 15th, 2008 10:16 PM
Seems like the perfect fuel for some sort of tasking!
Ah! Your beard is scary!
Especially in combination with those sunglasses!
=D
Also, you should make a Nesbitt's Fusion-Powered* Portable Luncheon Warmifier to heat up your free food!
*via solar transmission