It may kind of be like a race. A long race, this is no sprint. I have been in training for years, eating dodgy foods, pushing the edge of the envelop, working through the gas and bloatiness, and when it knocks me down, i get back up (off the pot, usually) and do it again. I vary the workout routine, 3 day old pizza, week old Chinese, some soup that doesn't seem to have anything growing on it yet and still smells like cumin and garlic (as well as freshly prepared food and beverage, but that hardly count, those are like the easy workout days). A note about hydration during the workout. I find that beer is the best liquid for washing down aged culinary delights, that not being possible for lunch M-F, an ice cold Diet Cola beverage works too. Water, Tea or juice doesn't cut it, maybe the carbonation is the key. Another ingredient to a successful workout routine are supplements. What goes on that dish can be just as important as the wattage of the microwave. It varies from the twice grilled, now nuked hot dog dressed up just like it was fresh, to the ham and bean soup that cries out for hot sauce to make it new again. The all-around-best is Sriracha sauce (also known as "that red rooster sauce"), as it can go in stir-fry, pasta, chili, soups, stews, sandwiches or just on a cracker. It can buffer just about anything, and in proper doses, make you sweat.
Another reason I like leftovers is it just the right thing to do. Like recycling cans or turning down the furnace, eating leftover is the ecologically responsible action that can lead to a more sustainable future. Kind of like composting, but rather than a messy pile out back it is in my belly. And like cans or heat, it saves money. Not one of those buy a $23,000 solar roof that will pay for itself in 17 years sort of saves money, but dollars a day! Would I rather have a hot off the grill burger and fries, maybe, but I just saved $5. Is there lower risk in a PBJ or Ham and Swiss sandwich with a little bag of chips, sure, but last nights stroganoff will save that 50-75 cents worth of food for another day. Then there are the frozen dinners, so healthy and cheap, but a couple dollars is a couple dollars. Over the course of a week, I probably save enough for that 6-pack of beer, maybe.
The downside of living on the edge can be guessed. This week work provide lunch on Monday from Noodle & Co, a perfectly mediocre buffet of several dishes more differentiated by their color than their taste. All the leftovers were packaged up and put in the fridge. Tuesday the whole GIS department did their parts to eat more, Wednesday it was just a couple of us, by Thursday I think it was me and one other guy. Wednesday my abdomen was voicing its disgruntlement, despite a generous dose of Sriracha. When I finally got home, a beer settled my stomach down. Surprise, surprise, it was my stomach was even louder in its disapproval. Struggling to not offend the office, several trips to the bathroom or outside relieved the pressure a bit, but it wasn't until I got to the car... yeah an enclosed car on the day with 100+ heat index, that the methane bubble escaped. Windows down and AC on required...
Lessoned learned? Yes, at the end of the day, I came out ahead!
I am a leftover nazi. I insist that every scrap of what I shop for and cook be eaten. No hot dog will die on my watch.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I live with the food police, and he often finds my leftovers unacceptable, date-wise, long before I would call it quits. Good thing he forgets a lot and doesn't realize often that what is sitting in front of him in the form of Thursday night's "dinner" might be last Saturday's "lunch".