Day Five. Hunger is not a Game.

Last day of the Hunger Challenge. A review of the current box office smash hit movie
The Hunger Games says hero Katniss makes "impossible choices in the arena that
weighs survival against humanity and life against love."

Wow. Does it come down to that? When you have to make choices about survival, what happens to you? Odd food for thought. If you are interested, go back in this blog to Thursday March 24th, 2011. I mention and reference a book I've read by anthropologist Colin M. Turnbull. A fascinating and frightening account (not a work of fiction) of a REAL LIFE timeline of the displaced Ik people living in the mountains of northeastern Uganda. In his book The Mountain People, Dr. Turnbull describes the Ik as a people forced to carry out extreme personal practices in order to survive.

Frankly, my darlings I think we are all being prepared for real time roles in The Running Man.







Right, now where was I? Food for Day 5. Started the day with the last of the barley flakes, with just a splash of rice milk. Had this with a delicious smoothie; a banana, half of the leftover vanilla soy yogurt, and the last of the Rice Dream rice milk. Lunch: tofu salad and rice crackers. Dinner was what I was really looking forward to.

As Forrest Gump would say, "Shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbeque it, boil it, bake it, saute it. There's um, shrimp kebabs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, pan fried, deep fried, stir fried. There's pineapple shrimp and lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich...That's about it."

So I chose to stir fry it in olive oil with the last of the garlic and green onions, splashed with the remaing half Meyer lemon. And remember the pickle juice I paid so dearly for? I put that to very good use. The night before, after I squeezed out all the juice, I minced up the rind and let it marinate in the pickle juice. This I also added at the last minute to my shrimp stir fry. It was REALLY good. Had that with the last of my brown rice.

Midnight. Challenge over.

This is what I have left, Most of the tub of Melt, to use with the last of my popcorn, I guess. A package of lemon grass noodle soup. Smidgens of honey and olive oil. A few dustings worth of curry powder. About 1/4 left of a box of rice crackers, and enough yerba mate tea to make a least four good cups.

A dietary personal challenge for me this year, besides trying to eat mostly organic, was to stay away from wheat- and gluten-ladened products. I've discovered I'm wheat sensitive. How can I tell? I feel lots better when I don't eat wheat. No bloating, no gastrointestinal issues.

This could be very difficult for someone who has an allergy or intolerance to certain foods when trying to live on a very limited food budget. Most carbs for the buck contain wheat. Well, I say we food allergy suffers must stand up and show some pride!

Coming next, Conclusion of the Hunger Challenge. Stay posted.