Rice and the God-Flavors of the World

I promised to write a few thoughts in conclusion of my lent project. Being lazy I will copy the article I was asked to write for the Episcopal Church at Yale news letter. Please note that I wrote this quite quickly while watching the pig roast in Charleston. That distraction, and the fact that I have no discernible gifts in writing, explains the poor quality of what follows.

I still do not know why I thought this project was a good idea, though I mulled over it for a year. Perhaps I chose to do this because I came from a tradition that did not emphasize lent. I do not think I realized just how long 46 days really is.

This year for the 46 days of lent (Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday) I have eaten off of a dollar a day. Most people give up something: chocolate, I don't eat much anyways; TV, don't have one; Facebook, lets not get ahead of ourselves.

I wanted to see if it was possible to eat three healthy meals on a dollar a day. So often in the news I read that the only food many people can afford is Fast Food which is terribly unhealthy. But now I know that with one pot, one stove and one dollar a day you can eat three meals getting all the nutrients you need. Oh, a little determination helps as well.

I made rules. I would only spend 46 dollars at the grocery I normally frequent. I would not accept free food from friends. I would not take off Sundays. I would not brag nor complain. And importantly I would allow myself to drink alcohol (not included in the dollar) to ensure I did not become completely anti-social.

I didn't want to buy in super bulk and only eat 46 dollars worth. I also did not want to eat normally on Sundays as I knew I would binge eat. The same applies to the free food from friends. I hope I kept the last rule. Everyone who saw me eating asked lots of questions. It is quite tempting and easy to brag and "brag-complain."

For a healthy dollar a day diet I found myself frequently on the rice and bean isle of the grocery store. You really can't venture very far from there with out the aid of a super sale or coupon. Most days started with oatmeal and sugar. Lunch and dinner were rice, beans, and vegetables. Dry beans and rice are cheap. The frozen kale, collard greens and squash in comparison are expensive. Canned vegetables are cheap but not worth it. Between the super-veggies, rice and a mix of beans I only lacked vitamin b12. Vitamin b12 is found in meat: a serving of inexpensive canned tuna has 812% of your needed daily amount.

There were a few other items I found on sale like eggs and bread but the vast majority of my meals consisted of rice and beans. Eating cheaply can be easy though if you fear repetition down right terrifying. It is also isolating. I, and I suspect others, use food as a social medium. Almost all of my plans involve food. Sharing food is such a wonderful gift.

There were a few minor indiscretions mainly involving broken pieces of cookies. But overall I followed my rules quite closely.

People tell me that when they give up something for lent it provides them an opportunity to be reminded of something larger than themselves. I was reminded very often. Frequently my thoughts migrated to Jesus' words on Salt. For a few days I tried my meals with out salt. After adding salt back in I could taste the radical nature of the call to be the salt of the earth. Salt makes things delicious! Just a pinch transforms food from basic cardboard flavor to tastiness immediately. Jesus asks us to be salt. He wants us to bring out the God-flavors (as The Message puts it) of the world, to be delicious. This is such a beautiful call.

I also thought of Jesus' reply to Satan,“Man shall not live on bread alone.” But my temptations as the days piled on focused not on bread but on Papa John's pizza.

I did learned a few things from this project. I learned you can eat healthily for only a dollar a day. You can eat healthily even if you can not afford Fast Food! Additionally I learned a new respect and thankfulness for the food I am blessed to have. Hopefully I will hold in my memory the transformation that salt preforms on food and by analogy how I am, in Christ, supposed to influence the world around me.

Sunday I finished my project. And I ate. I spent the entire day in a completely satiated state. From the moment when i woke up (a Cadbury egg in bed) till I left Ellen's party (with an extra chunk of bread for the walk back in my hand) and the Omni Brunch (shrimp, crab, smoked salmon, lamb, omelet, fruit, juice, coffee, bloody mary, pasta) and ECY Dinner (ham, potato, salad) in between, I was eating.

I hope to eat with intention. I know that I eat because I enjoy eating. Hopefully I can continue to eat, not for fun, but only when I am hungry. If I eat sensible portions and cut out snacking and other fun eating I should be able to maintain a healthy weight.

Today, after the grocery store with Geraldine, I walked across the street to the Divinity School. The Easter Rejoicing party was tonight. Last year it started outside in the grass with story telling and then moved to a large bonfire before finishing in the chapel with singing, food, and wine. I love the celebration. It is a hodgepodge of styles and cultures, but all one voice, all one worship.