In the name of sanity (not frugality), my husband and I turned a blind eye to what turned out to be roach shit encrusted cabinets and walls. Those dark spots in the picture above... roach shit, and dead roaches. Merry Christmas!
We've finally started our kitchen remodel which includes electric work, plumbing, gas, new sheetrock, primer, paint, some additional flooring, pushing a wall out (about 1/2"), and installing new cabinets and a new countertop.
As a result, we expect for our kitchen to look like some version of this for the next four-five weeks. During this time we won't eat out more than normal during that time (except for the week we are on vacation). Here's how we plan to survive.
Convince ourselves eating at home is a need
My husband is none too picky about his eating habits (one of many blessing of marrying a man who was single for five years before we went on a date). As long as he consumes enough calories in a day, he asserts that he will be fine. My son would prefer to eat chicken nuggets for every meal, but we largely ignore his opinions (the perils of being 2).
I'm really the only person who needs to be convinced of the merits/necessity of eating at home. Thankfully, the risk of gestational diabetes is a good trick for convincing yourself that you need some healthy alternatives to fast food.
Other ways that I convince myself that eating at home is a must is reminding myself of the following:
- The only nearby fast food restaurant makes me sick (Cook-Out for the record).
- I always wake up in the middle of the night when I eat Papa John's.
- There is only so much Wendy's Chili a woman can eat.
- Fast food restaurants that don't make me sick require a long-ish car ride with a toddler in the backseat.
- My son could become addicted to fast food.
- Eating out is expen$ive.
I'm sure I could just as easily come up with reasons to justify eating out, but if you can mentally ascent that you ought to do something, you are mere steps away from actually doing it. Which is why if you want to eat at home during a renovation, you need to start with your head.
Deciding what to eat
Normally, in a pinch, I pick up a few carb heavy pre-made/frozen dishes like lasagnas, pizzas, or pasta dinners, but these aren't healthy choices, and one can only eat so many pasta dishes before deciding that not eating is the better choice. Our remodel will go on for several weeks, and I can't depend on crap from the freezer section much more than I should count on fast food.
I also nixed most crockpot meals, since my favorite crockpot meals still require the stove and plenty of chopping.
Here's what we're eating instead. Eggs.
Eggs are super fast to prepare, can easily be combined with strips of pepper, onion, and cheese to make delicious meals. Over the next 7 days we will eat eggs for dinner 3 times (and for breakfast 7 times). If you have access to even a single burner (and you don't have an egg allergy), you can eat at home during a renovation. These are our egg dishes du jour.
- Egg Bake (Cooked sausage, bread, milk, eggs, broccoli, cheese and a few seasonings stored overnight, and then baked).
- Egg scramble (Remainder of the cooked sausage, peppers, onions, cheese, eaten over toast).
- Fried egg sandwiches (Eggs, ham, cheese, peppers, onions, bread)
A few other things we will eat include:
- Apps for dinner (crackers, cheese, meats, olives, veggies and dip)
- Tacos (Chicken breast+ salsa in the crockpot plus shells, avocado, salsa, cheese).
- Sandwiches
- Homemade pasta meals (Pasta + cans of sauce, veggies, and meat)
- Fried rice (Day old rice, pulled pork (already have on hand), peas, onions, soy sauce and eggs).
The sides for our meals will be fresh fruit or veggies and dip. Breakfast and lunch can go on as normal since these are pretty much oatmeal, toast, sandwiches, eggs, fruit, crackers and some sort of junk food for Rob.
Storing Food
We've found the perfect storage solution in diaper boxes! I simply removed the packages of diapers and threw those in my son's closet (BTW- he's still going strong on the potty training front, these diapers are for our newest addition), and I store our foodstuffs in diaper boxes on the couch.
Other than a huge increase in the number of requests for pretzels or chips (from my son, who can now see them), and a few incidents involving spilled...everything, this solution works perfectly. Diaper boxes are the correct depth for holding food, but ensuring you can see everything in the box. They are far superior to liquor boxes.
I'll be very thankful when we can graduate back to real cabinets, but for the time being our in progress kitchen isn't hindering us too badly.