Satisfying My Take-out Cravings at Home Using What I Have

Repetitive chimes this morning woke me from a deep sleep. It was my phone. In a fog, I reached out to find it on the table next to the bed. Unknown caller. Click reject call. Despite staying up very late last night, then waking earlier than my body thought it should, I felt very refreshed today. For  3 weeks I've struggled with daily bouts of grass allergies. I snort, clear, cough, and itch my way through each day and night. Something is different with my hay fever this year. I check the pollen count for my area each day. Sometimes I find that on a day that is particularly bad for me the general grass count has been low. Anyway, 2 nights ago I gave up and took some of my daughter's cold and allergy medicine. I avoid antihistamines because some ingredients cause heart arrhythmia for me, which I find more unpleasant and unnerving than the allergies. I thought with the liquid format of my daughter's stuff I could take slightly less than is recommended for adult. The first night that I took it I was sleepy, but still had all of my allergy symptoms.

Last night was much, much better. I took it at the first sign of any itchiness for the night. The medicine made me extremely sleepy and altered my breathing in a way than would have scared me if I hadn't been so sleepy, but I slept so well. I got up in the morning and tackled my household chores, my side hustle work, financial stuff, and ran a couple of errands. It was after 1 PM when I was running errands and I had yet to eat lunch. I had the strongest craving for a Starbucks-style salad and coffee drink that I could practically imagine the taste of what I would choose. I have pretty restrictive with my spending these past few months, so I felt like it wouldn't be that big of a financial deal to just swing by Starbucks and get my lunch there. I also felt that I had in some way "earned" a treat by enduring allergies.

But then I thought about Starbucks' prices. A salad would cost about $7 and a coffee drink would add another $3.50 -- over $10 for the convenience of someone else preparing my lunch. I thought to myself, I can make a similar lunch at home, using garden-fresh produce and ingredients from my fridge, freezer, and pantry and not spend a single extra penny. That's why I grocery shop and stock the kitchen, right? So that we can prepare foods at home ourselves.

I decided to leave Starbucks to those who lack the time, skills, or interest to prepare delicious foods for themselves and made myself this yummy salad, using garden kale, Romaine, and blueberries, plus some bulgur wheat, chopped almonds, mayo, honey, vinegar, and salt. To go with it I made a cup of instant decaf, flavored with vanilla extract, stevia, and coconut milk. Lunch was really delicious, and now having eaten all of it, I don't feel the least bit deprived for not spending additional money for my lunch. Now, I think I'll go make a microwave mug brownie for dessert.