Homeless, but Eating Like Kings

That’s what we are! Homeless.

Or I suppose the term would more accurately be house-less or apartment-less.

Just one step closer to the other side of the world. Less and less holding us back.

Moving out of our apartment posed some interesting dilemmas:

• What to keep (it all had to be stored in my brother & sister-in-law’s attic)
• What to give away (to the thrift store? to friends & family?)
• What to throw away (and why have we kept it this long?)
• What to eat while we are packing away our pots & pans?

My sister-in-law has been incredibly generous over this past week as we have packed and moved out. Not only are they loaning us all the storage space we need in their attic, but she has fed us dinner every night we have brought our storage tubs to their house.

Wednesday night she blessed us with gluten-free pizza, salad, and gluten-free blueberry pumpkin bread.

I was so exhausted I didn’t even think about shooting a picture until I was completely done eating. Figures.

Thursday night was a delicious hodgepodge of leftovers: turkey burgers, corn & veggie spaghetti, salad, and an incredible apple cake made with apples straight from her grandfather’s farm in North Carolina.

Then she sent us off with fruits and veggies to snack on as we packed the next day so we wouldn’t have to resort to eating out at a restaurant every other meal.

Fast forward to Saturday. For all intents and purposes, we are finished packing. We rang in the New Year the night before with some good friends (and some chili, cornbread, & pumpkin bars), then waited in line for 2 1/2 hours for the REI scratch and dent sale. Operating on minimal sleep, we then showered and made our way to a good friend’s wedding reception/open house.

Of all the most wonderful things to behold, Lucy Rizzo was catering this reception. You may not be familiar with Lucy Rizzo of Lucy’s Kitchen fame. But you should.

She is amazing.

Her homemade cheesecakes are a small slice of heaven.

I am convinced that Jesus will bake these for me when He comes back to reign on the earth.

Yes, they are THAT good.

If you live in the Southeast, you can find her cheesecakes (in Vanilla, Orange Blossom, Espresso Creme, Mexican Chocolate, Turtle, Lemon, & Key Lime varieties) at Whole Foods Market.

I could have eaten cheesecake for dinner and been (at least somewhat) satisfied, but first I polished off a plate of mixed green salad, crackers & brie, veggies with roasted red pepper dip, and a bowl of chicken & spinach soup.

At the end of the night, after leaving the party with an entire box of leftover food from the bride’s mom, I realized something.

I don’t have to worry where my next meal will come from. . .

even if some people might consider me a ‘food snob’ who likes to eat healthy, typically more expensive food.

That has been a recurring thought in the back of mind for months now.

How is this healthy eating thing going to work out as we are traveling?

What if one of our host families eats junk all the time?

What if we are hitchhiking from one city to another and the only food in sight is a McDonald’s?

But you know, despite the fact that I have not had a functioning kitchen for the past week and we are now transient nomads, bouncing from one house to the next for an entire month before hopping on a plane for New Zealand, I have had a healthy, full meal every single day.

And for that, I am incredibly thankful.

And it reminds me once again that not only is my job not my Provider, my kitchen (and my control over it) is not my Provider either.

What has your moving experience been like in the past? How do you eat healthy when moving or traveling?