Well, I quit freeganism. Sort of. I went to the farmers market over the weekend and bought organic vegetables from small time farmers. So I’ve decided that I’ll just write about all the different things I’m doing to save money and be healthy.

Tonight I got two bags of bagels from a coffee shop that I frequent. Last week I got a 3 speed Schwinn Traveler which I plan on riding to work in the morning. Work is 8.5 miles from home and I’m more than a little nervous. I’ve been “training” at the gym for this, but something about really doing it and doing it on a 3 speed from 1964 is terrifying. It’s pretty easy to hop on my wheels and head down to the village or the parks a couple miles away, but we’ll see how I fare on the highways and byways. I don’t have and sweet spandex bike gear or anything, so I’m sure I’ll run into all kinds of trouble. I stupidly brought my computer home from the office so I’ll have to lug that thing around in my backpack. Nothing like a healthy dose of back sweat to get your day started right.

I’m becoming uncomfortably attached to this increasingly comfortable lifestyle. I like being reminded of my resourcefulness. It has forced me to take note of how huge portions have become. I eat almost exclusively leftovers. By leftovers, I mean what someone else can’t finish and would normally throw away. I haven’t even gotten close to the dumpsters yet. I can’t imagine the bounty I will encounter there. No wonder America is so fat.

I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to keep this up for a while longer, I haven’t been able to buy any of the things I really want yet. Now I need a root canal so that will dip into all the money I’ve saved. I wish health and wealth would cooperate more fully and stop getting in each other’s way.

The less food I buy, the less everything else I buy. I’m so afraid to go near a store and be tempted that all my spending is majorly decreased. I’ve been carpooling to work. I’m in search of a serious road bike. I want to decrease my living costs en totale so I can focus on living the high life in my tiny, inexpensive apartment¹.

Day 22

At lunch the HR woman who sits near me gave me her leftovers from a Greek place. Pretty ridiculous. And by “ridiculous,” I mean delicious.

That night I went on a date and ate Shepherd’s Pie at Family Wash

I’m not very good at going on dates so I didn’t eat much.

Day 23

Today a coworker offered me Sunchips, but ate them. Luckily I had gotten a text from Holly in accounting telling me to eat her leftovers in the break room’s fridge. They turned out to be the same Greek stuff that I got yesterday. Score.

This time there was some pita bread (upper left corner).

I went home for a second to let my dog out before tutoring and ate a piece of that pizza I got from the photo shoot. It held me over really well and I did 8 miles at the gym. No problem! I feel great. Once I was home I ate some dried fruit left over from the Nashville Film Fest.

Day 24

I wasn’t able to find anything for breakfast or lunch today, then a coworker who just started reading these articles showed up with this.

I feel it needs no further explanation. Needless to say, I don’t feel so good.

Dinner. Last piece of pizza from the photo shoot.

Day 25

Today it took a long time for me to get to eat. I cooked a can of photo shoot tuna in a pan. I also ate some dried fruit. Rough. I feel like I must have eaten something else too, but I think I just drank some hot chocolate that my grandma brought me when she visited a couple weeks ago. That junk can be really filling. Topped off the night be hanging out in a hot tub with some friends and eating a few doritos. Those things are sick, but I really needed them at the time.

Day 26

Today I was supposed to go canoing. There was a triathlon going on, so I was unable to use the lake. Jesse bought me a low fat blueberry muffin from Panera. I’m sorry about becoming so lame about pictures. I was so hungry by late afternoon, I thought I would die. I scoured my cupboards and found a can of refried beans. I had some left over corn tortillas from a parental visit and some photoshoot cheese. Combined, they saved my life. I promise I’ll do better with the pics tomorrow. I’m a little bit ashamed of my laziness.

Day 27

Today sucked for a little while but really got good near the end. The joy started when a coworker gave me an orange.

When I got home I used a bunch of free stuff I got from the photoshoot to make this

I’m calling it “baked FREEti.” It’s kind of like baked ziti, only not good.

It helped me make it to see my friend and banjo player play with another band. Pretty good night.

Day 28

Kick started the day with a banana. I got to my desk and it was laying there looking luscious.

I later discovered it came from an inspired coworker. She gave me that serious cookie also. I feel so supported. Camaraderie, folks, is key.

For lunch I ate a bunch of FREEti leftovers

At tutoring, one of my students gave me the rest of her peanuts because they were not salty enough.

When I got home from working out, I was WRECKED. I did freaking 12 miles uphill in 34 minutes on the bike. So i rewarded myself with a bunch of gross junk that I either found or was given…

World’s smallest, weirdest burrito.

Just when I thought life could get no better, my roommate decided to make peanut butter cupcakes.

They were more like muffins, but they were completely delicious.

Today is technically my “last day.” I don’t think I’m going to quit yet though. I never did get around to the whole dumpster diving scene. I really mean to. My Whole Foods contact just emailed me about getting some bread. Gotta make that happen yet. No, I don’t think I’m ready to quit freeganism.

1. I have yet to find said apartment, but have not given up.

I’ve recently been fascinated by the concept of “freeganism.” Since I have essentially no gripes with capitalism, I’ve decided to adapt this concept to my own personal selfish lifestyle. In other words, I choose to conserve resources I typically use on food in order to waste additional resources on material possessions. I have a long list of expensive things I would like to own in the near future¹. Some of them are accidentally eco-friendly, so maybe the spirit of freeganism will still live on through my manipulation of its precepts.

Let’s embark on this journey together…

Day 1
Today I discovered that working in an office building is incredibly conducive to freeganism. There’s always a ton of food in the break room. Here’s what I found today.

Someone sent out an email about leftovers. I barely made it in time. The only trouble I’ve encountered thus far is the whole “survival of the fittest” thing. Some people in my office were apparently born vultures.

Day 2
For some reason my bank account is almost entirely empty. This has added a whole new depth to my new lifestyle. No longer is my concern solely based in a taste for luxury. I am now genuinely in need, at least until next Friday. I walked into the accounting office complaining of my hunger and one of the clerks offered me her 6 inch sub.

This was not as delicious as my previous work meal. Her tastes differ greatly from mine and I had to remove a bunch of stuff I hate (pictured above left). I couldn’t completely get rid of the black olive/pickle taste. This actually proved to be beneficial; I don’t feel like I want to eat again for a really long time. Hopefully that will help hold me over during the impending doom of the weekend. Without the office, foraging will doubtless increase in difficulty.

Day 3
I found these rolls in the break room today . I’m not real interested in the whole “enriched” scene, but I figured I could use them as a last resort this weekend.

Day 4

Last night proved to be very advantageous. I sang on a friend’s record and the engineer bought me a sweet dinner from Mojo’s. It was delicious and free. I really wanted to take a picture, but I felt too embarrassed. Just imagine a big plate of rice and chicken and queso.

Today also consisted of victory. My roommate made pancakes.

My boyfriend’s mom came in town and bought me a major Mexi lunch. Again, I felt it was inappropriate to take a picture. Then this evening I went to this birthday party and enjoyed this

This was a little harder to stomach than you might think. Maybe it was the Manwich.

I finally topped it all off at a friend’s house.

Day 5

Sunday. Successful overall. I really only got to eat one meal. Jesse Wayne came through for me and made a pizza (not pictured because I forgot). Hopefully I’ll strike gold tomorrow at the office.

Day 6

Ask and ye shall receive.
The first rule of freeganism is to tell everyone. I was over on the other side of the office today talking about my escapades and someone gave me these.

Right when I thought I was going to die of hunger too. This is the life.

Okay, so I just encountered my first real snag. I want a cookie. I suddenly realize that with freeganism, there is no room for cravings. You take what you can get. I’m pretty sure I have some left over candy from Christmas though.

Day 7
Last night before the book club I host, Jesse Wayne brought me some Waldorf Astoria Stew. It was great. I saved half of it for lunch today.

It’s real hearty, I think it should last me for the rest of the night. A coworker stopped by my desk and left me this…

Icing on the incredibly free and encouraging cake.

So far the worst part of freeganism is trying to explain that I’m not actually eco friendly, but actually interested in furthering my plummet into consumerism. That and everyone asking me if I’m freegan because of Oprah. As if.

Stay tuned. I’ll post an update next Wednesday…
1. Vespa, Macbook Pro, Roadbike, Widescreen plasma HDTV, etc.