Mel's Daily Grub / Introduction

Part of an Edible Arrangement sent to the office in December 2018.

Since Thanksgiving 2018, I've been taking daily photos of the food I eat. Every day. I've been doing this for two reasons: 1) Documenting what I eat seems to keep me from grabbing fast food every chance I get, and 2) taking pictures makes me think about documenting my struggles as a single person trying to eat an interesting and basically healthy diet.

For decades, I cooked fresh food for my family, but now that I'm into my second decade of living alone, with fewer people to cook for and more and more difficulty finding quality ingredients in my food-desert neck of the woods, I've just about given up. Packaging is also a headache, with many things pre-packed for a family of four.  And then there's the problem of appetite.  Unless it's easy and interesting, I've noticed, I have trouble putting down the book or turning off the video stream to walk into the kitchen and rustle up some grub.  I have gone whole days without more than a cup of coffee and a few crackers.  Other days, I will eat nothing but chips and dip for all three meals.  That's not good.

I can't keep mismanaging my diet.  Or ... I guess I could, but I shouldn't.  My health depends on regular meals.  But even more important than that, my mental health suffers when I fail to feed myself and when I feed myself junk.  

So, for 2019, I'm challenging myself to take a photo of every meal I consume.  Sometimes I will write about it, but mostly I won't.  Just photos and food names and times of consumption.  Maybe a few excuses/explanations when I feel like it.  My hope is that the discipline of keeping tabs on what I eat will move me toward a better system for planning, shopping, and cooking for one.