A Month Of (Hungry Mummy) Lunches

I thought I’d do a few ‘day/week/month in the life of’ type posts, and since I hear about a lot of moms (that’s mums for the non-Brummies out there) not having the time or inclination to eat well, I wanted to document my own eating habits. In keeping track of what I ate, I couldn’t help but take note of the context of each lunch. I love food. I love cooking and eating in equal measure. I’m like Nigella without the sultry sideways eye flirting. Happy reading x

NB. Halves or thirds listed have resulted from (un)intentional sharing with my husband, two year old son, and occasionally my six month old daughter…

1. Bacon, red onion and cheese with Worcestershire sauce grilled on a split brioche; orange juice mixed with apple and elderflower juice and water (sat at my laptop on the dining table)
2. Lemon crème fraiche tuna and sliced cucumber on granary roll, with lightly salted kettle chips; coffee and homemade olive oil chocolate cake (while watching Toy Story 2 again)
3. Divine/sublime olive oil fried tuna cheese melt on fresh white bread (Seb pulled a face at his mouthful but I could tell Cali wanted a taste)
4. Late morning: half a chicken and mushroom and half a steak, port and mushroom pie from local butchers; late afternoon: cheeseburger, fries, 1/3 chocolate milkshake (from McDo after swimming and Seb meltdown so it’s allowed)
5. Husband-made chorizo, tomato, spring onion and various cheese scromelette with asparagus and half a toasted multiseed bagel (in garden in paint-stripping work gear)
6. Cheese toastie (without the crispy melted cheese crown Jamie Oliver suggests makes it ‘ultimate’)
7. Leftover tomato mascarpone penne pasta bake; slice of shop-bought chocolate raspberry cream roulade (feeling ill today but plotting a new campaign anyway)
8. Bit more pasta bake leftovers (somewhat distracted from lunch waiting for Health Visitor to call)
9. Ham and brie baguette and lightly salted kettle chips (at a new friend’s house!)
10. More ham and brie on baguette (this time popped in the oven to go melty, eaten while working at laptop)
11. Leftover roast chicken pickings sandwich with cheese and onion kettle chips for a change
12. Husband-made bacon and posh tomato ketchup on buttered fresh bread (outside having got filthy working in the garden) choc olive oil cake I made AGAIN, this time hot out the oven
13. Cotswold home baked ham, brie and fresh bread and butter – eaten stood up in the kitchen eager to get back to ‘exciting work stuffs’ on the laptop – then ate an obscenely big shop-bought white chocolate raspberry (a fave combo of mine) cookie
14. Our son is ill and days go by in a blur, cant for the life of me remember what I ate for lunch, I mostly get by on homemade low-sugar chocolate fruit cookies
15. Husband-made ‘for the love of pasta’ our go to al dente spaghetti with butter, nutmeg and parmesan
16. Red pepper hummus, Moroccan couscous and pea shoot leaves in wholemeal pitta, half a pork pie, bought for husband working from home
17. Traditional bacon sandwich made by husband we fantasised over while doing the tip run in Swindon
18. Non-existent, fridge is bare, instead prepare lunch for Seb who turns face away. Some passionfruit yoghurt, a chocolate Freddo and fruit toast for me, later quite a few tomato and olive mini bruschettes while doing the online food order
19. Really thick and warming homemade roast squash, sweet potato and onion soup; followed by leftover homemade bread and butter pudding served cold
20. A fave from gestational diabetes pregnancy: three new potatoes microwaved into something resembling a jacket potato, with ample butter and cottage cheese
21. Toasted bagel loaded with butter, cream cheese, smoked salmon, black peppper and lemon juice, hungrily scoffed in relief
22. Half a bagel with scrambled egg (Delia style) mixed with smoked salmon and homemade watercress cheese sauce leftover from dinner, not as amazeballs as I imagined it would be
23. A yoghurt and some fruit toast before rushing out to the shops without the children, while around the shops I grab a’detox’ smoothie
24. Lip-lickingly satisfying real spaghetti carbonara made with our own eggs on a wet and cold Sunday
25. Southern fried chicken breast with lettuce, our own tomato, grated cheese and honey mustard dressing sandwich, a husband work at home special, we have to wait for my Mom (who lives with us) to get in with the loaf of bread

Most weekdays I don’t ‘get ready’ because I don’t go out with the kids unless I have arranged a meet up with friends or a full blown day out with them. I’m to be found in the garden, in the bath, in the kitchen or in the Snug with my two young children. Most days when Daddy gets home from work at least one of us is still in our pjs, with dishevelled hair. And most days all three of us, the carpet, and every surface in the kitchen will be covered in the remnants of the day’s meals. This will only be my reality for a short time in my life, and I sure do love it.

An atheist prayer

Do I pray? Can an atheist pray?

Most devout atheists in denying the existence of God reject the supernatural (anything that cannot be explained by science) entirely. This means not believing in ghosts, angels, a spirit/soul, miracles, magic and even luck. I’m a bit of a black sheep among atheists in having a will to believe in these things while choosing not to believe in God. In the absence of proof, belief in the supernatural is an act of faith, or will.

And while I do not have the will to believe in God, I am open to the wonder of the universe. I don’t feel the need to understand or explain everything in human experience, I think beauty can reside in mystique. Experience itself can be intangible, mind-blowing, yet it is no less real. I simply choose to attribute the miraculous, the awe-inspiring, the heart-stopping, skin-tingling wonder that we have the privilege of experiencing to humanity and to the natural world rather than God(s).

So with a deep sense and appreciation of the beauty and power of everything in physical existence, I pray to all that is good and right and meant to be in the world. I pray with all my heart, and with every ounce of will in my soul, most sincerely and seriously for loved ones in pain, sickness, and heartache. I pray to all that is light, true and free, to all that is new, pure and full of life.

I pray that the sheer strength of our shared will to goodness, and our desire to let our own strength, resilience and belief pour out of our hearts and minds reaches those in need. I pray to the spirit of determination and optimism of mankind past, present and future. I pray to the stars, the sun and the moon that watch over us. I pray to the very core of my very own deepest heart.

I pray, and I believe in the strength of the will, in the will to survive, in the majesty of being, and living and loving. I pray. May my prayers be felt by my loved ones in need.