Today I trotted into Pick n Pay, trolley in hand, with a different objective than usual. Today, I had to approach the aisles like a man. I had to banish all thoughts of economy, all subconscious low-fat/low-GI leanings, and walk straight past anything that required effort to take it from packaging to plate. I was shopping for week's worth of dinners for hubby and I had to think like him, not like me.
I am the cook in the house. I work from home so have time (or so hubby thinks) to talk something out of the freezer in the morning and pop a roast in the oven to slow cook for a few hours. I also have the metabolism of a slug so approach carbs with caution and begrudgingly opt for a steamed chicken breast over a fatty (a.k.a delicious) lamb shank. When I do the monthly shop I compare prices, I buy lean mince and brown rice and wholewheat pasta. I buy the ingredients for sauces not the 'just add water' stuff. I buy whole vegetables that require chopping and meat that still resembles the animal it came from ie no polony!
All of this is hubby-friendly as long as I'm the one who actually chops, mixes, defrost and steams. If I was to leave him to do dinner – as I have to for the whole month of June – and the same stuff was in the fridge as usual there's no sugar coating it... hubby would live on a blend of Steers and Debonairs for the month.
So, because I love him and want to keep him around long enough for us to enjoy the retirement he's currently working so hard for, I had to do a man-shop today. Everything in the trolley was selected with convenience in mind:
- Whole lettuces gave way to packets of lettuce – open packet, pour onto plate
- Bags of potatoes gave way to oven chips – 20 minutes from frozen in oven at 180º
- Baked chicken breasts became crumbed chicken burgers – again, 20 minutes from frozen in oven at 180º
- Homemade cottage pies and curries got the axe in favour of hotdogs and hamburgers – take out of fridge, heat in microwave and pop on a roll
- Fat-free yoghurt with a drizzle of honey was replaced with Kit Kats and Tex bars and Ultra Mel's new chocolate puddings – maybe I was feeling a little guilty about abandoning him at dinner time
- I bought him his favourite Brown Spirit Vinegar instead of Balsamic and threw a couple of creamy Ranch dressings in for good measure – the man would eat everything with Ranch if given the choice
- I was also mindful not to forget the very important back-up Oros... the only thing worse in our house than an ice crisis is an Oros crisis. The man does love his MSG-laden juice!
The end result is that my fridge looks like that of a varsity student's minus the booze but today's stint as the Good Wife was a success. Let's just hope hubby doesn't get used to the fridge like this.
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