Glut

"...an excessively abundant supply of something."

This morning I finally adventured to The Breakfast Club - a small London chain restaurant that serves pretty much any type of breakfast food you can imagine. And it was delicious. American pancakes (in preparation for Shrove Tuesday) with syrup AND a veggie breakfast on the side.

Yet with an extravagant meal comes an extravagant price - it did seem a bit ridiculous to spend £13 on my first meal of the day; even more so knowing that practically nothing in said meal would have any beneficial nutritional value.

And so to Lent - a period of reflection and abstinence. This year I've been thinking not just how I can take something up (I know for a fact that this app is the best thing going this year), but how to live out the simplicity that Lent should be about.

Apparently, pancakes were traditionally made to get rid of all the rich foods in the household, and a simple diet was adopted until Easter day. So this year, I'm trying to get on the simple diet bandwagon.

A few people have been a bit confused as to how I'm going to implement this. So here are The Rules, agreed with my housemates. They're teachers so they have to implement rules all the time (and this also makes them trustworthy rule-makers):

1. Food should not be purchased from any cafes or restaurants on weekdays. In exceptional circumstances, the only food allowed to be purchased is soup. 
2. If guests come to stay and eating out has been scheduled at weekends, food should be vegetarian and as simple as possible. Other members of the table have the final say. 
3. Supermarket shopping should feature as many british ingredients as possible and no exotic items are allowed. Including (and especially): no bananas, coconut milk, cake, pesto, olives or hummus. 
4. Items already purchased before Lent can be eaten so that food waste is minimal. 
5. Coffee and tea are allowed but cannot be purchased from coffee shops. Tap water only. 
6. No cake. Seriously. 

I'm very conscious that I eat extravagantly most of the time. We're so used to buying what we want, when we want. Eating out isn't a luxury in London - it's something I've adopted as regular life. After my thoughts on food banks I've been challenged to see food differently. To adopt new habits and to get back to basics.

Of course it's not just about following the rules. I want to see the blessings that are so abundant in my life and to embrace them. Readily and willingly.