I'm happy to report that I just stuffed my work bag with cabbage soup, granola and edamame. Goodbye, breakfast and lunch comprised only of markout pastries! (Hello, one pastry a day eaten mainly because it looks way more tempting than cabbage soup!!)

I stayed up late last night to cook rice and quinoa and organize my food into a bunch of little freezer containers so I can just grab them and heat them up instead of cooking a whole meal from scratch each time. The only casualties were a burned Tuscan Rice and Beans boxed meal and a so-called microwave safe container. I did successfully fan the smoke away from the fire alarm, which I claim as a victory for both me and my neighbors since it was almost two in the morning.

Remember when I decided to avoid the grocery store as long as I had food to eat? I decided this ban has gone on (almost) long enough. Apparently, I had stored enough food to stock a bomb shelter for several months, and it's been hard to get through it all. Unfortunately, I'm left with plenty of rice and beans but few fruits and vegetables. I'll do some crazy things for this project, but I'm a Cheap Woman, not Morgan Spurlock ... sacrificing my nutritional health isn't one of them. So I'm going to do the best I can do to eat through my small storehouse of food this week, then I'm heading to Publix ... or the Pig ... or whatever is cheap and not Wal-Mart ... and rounding out my food pyramid.

In other news, a special bon voyage to one of Cheap Women's biggest supporters: Elisa's and my friend Jenn is leaving for Africa on Tuesday, and, although we wholeheartedly support her mission (she's going to work with kids at an orphanage), we will miss her terribly. Thank God email is cheap! Anyway, if you're in a position to give, I'm pretty sure she could still use some financial support. And it's hard to think of a more worthy cause than African babies and a pretty girl named Jenn.