Breaking down the Barrier
People often tell me that they’re surprised I’ve lived as long as I have. I’m not sure if this a reference to the amount of exercise I do (none), the number of people I seem to offend (lots) or simply a dig at my diet (questionable at best).
The truth is I generally try to eat well. I’ll spend hours in my head planning out exquisite meals, full three course banquets that tick every nutritional box and should, in theory, make me a better person simply by eating them. I’ll settle, however, for a can of chicken soup and some toast made with bread that isn’t completely mouldy.
A big part of how well I eat comes from how much time I am willing to devote to my meals. While Jamie Oliver might be able to knock out a decent curry in thirty minutes and still have time to lecture people on the importance of eating well, I’m lucky if I’ve managed to find a clean fork after a half hour of rummaging. Finding clean crockery and cutlery is only a tiny amount of the time I use. I need to factor in time to allow things like potatoes to boil, to allow time for swearing when I realise I’ve forgotten to turn on the hob and boil the potatoes and finally time to allow for the amount of helpless weeping I’ll do when I scald my hand on boiling potato water. By the time I’ve cleared the potatoes off the floor, dried my tears and attended to my hand, my stomach is empty and I can hear the siren’s call of the tin opener.
Truth be told I am not really that bad a cook, though I have scalded my hand on hot potato water and developed a healthy respect for fire. I can make a variety of meals and I can make some of them quite well but still I find it hard to eat healthy. I’m certain much of it is laziness. I can make a pizza if I want one but I can also buy a frozen one for a fraction of the cost and that takes a fraction of the time. Factoring in the time washing up takes and you’re left choosing between something delicious that takes four or five hours and something that’s average and only takes twenty-five minutes.
So really, while the home-cooked meals can taste delicious and are much healthier, what it boils down to (get it?!) is that during exams and assignments I much prefer to eat the quick unhealthy food followed by a handful of multivitamins than take the long path. There is also the chance, however slight, that the multivitamins will react with the chemicals in the quick food and either kill me or grant me mutant powers.
Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go and run my poor scalded hand under the cold tap.
6 comments:
Potatoes really aren't you friends huh. And if memory serves me right, neither are onions. hahaha .. :)
I take the view that if I'm cutting it up with a knife it's entitled to fight back. That being said I do resent onions for the sobbing mess they generally turn me into.
Exactly! Which is why I stick to sour worms,potato chips,chocolate bars and copious amounts of Schweppes Bitter Lemon...oh and I also hang out at the places of my friends who actually cook.
Hahahahahah.
Hope your hand gets better.
Ashley - To me that sounds like a balanced diet but I'm sure there are those that would disagree.
Jen - Thanks, I put some ointment on it but all that did was turn it a weird yellow colour.
University students can relate from direct personal experience to your blog, as they are all too familiar with time restricted schedules which leave no time for worrying about cooking a substantial meal. The book-binding feature along the left hand side of the page adds to the student feel of your blog, further giving a youthful appeal to the overall content. Although the overall objective of the blog may be to simply share the woes of a busy Uni lifestyle for students and its implications on eating habits, I feel that it could be enhanced through providing tips on how to make quick healthy meals just as cheap and easy as fast food
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