No Meal Plan

While I was off for the holidays, I decided not to meal plan.  Part of why I meal plan is to grocery shop only once a week.  I was going to be able to shop every day if I wanted, so there was no need to plan more than 24 hours ahead.  Also, I didn't know when I would be eating out, so it didn't make sense to make four days of food that might take six days to finish.

This turned into an anxiety thing.  When did a cool life hack to take away menu indecision become an addiction?  I did ok when making the feta burgers, as "ground beef" was the last thing on my meal plan for September.  I was really feeling withdrawal while making a shopping list.  The day I made pizzas, I only bought a shallot, a couple of bananas, and some pumpkin creamer.

One day, I went to my old stomping grounds of Orange County and went antiquing.  Found the teapot for my Lavender Roses bone china set, making the trip expensive, but worth the time.  I'm counting it as my Chanukah present to myself.  Spent $12 plus tax on lunch at the mall, which to me seems like a lot, but in reality is just what a teriyaki chicken bowl costs these days.  Then I took the tray and realized there was so much food in the box that the lid didn't close properly.  I ate enough to shut it, then decided to get three dinners out of the rest by adding a can of lima beans out of the pantry.

The cooking day after that, I decided to use all pantry items and make soft tacos with the quinoa tortillas in the freezer.  Again, it was a three-day meal because I planned on eating out after Yom Kippur services.

I'm back on the meal plan and back to shopping one day a week.  I'm not ready to do a cleanse of not planning a month.  Maybe if I do a January pantry challenge.  I do miss the spontaneity of deciding what to make while strolling the aisles.  This would be easier if I had a grocery store on the way home from work again.