Prison Fat Camp
That is my nickname for this prison. We have gone three weeks now with sack dinners comprised of 4 slices of bread, a slice of bologna or turkey deli meat OR a packet of tuna, a packet of peanut butter, a small cube of grape jelly, expired pouches of lemonade or fruit punch (that are moldy), a bag of BBQ chips, a small container of canned fruit and either a nutrigrain bar, a package of poptarts or a soft chips ahoy cookie. They do not have enough staff here at this prison to have a late afternoon guard here, and are trying any way they can to cut costs, so this is their new daily meal plan moving forward. We are offered a breakfast, lunch and then get our sack dinners with our lunches. I only eat the lunches offered three times a week, as most are not very good. Needless to say, I am not participating in the sack dinners any longer.
I now am starting my morning off with water, and have 2 protein shakes that I buy at the commissary every day. I already have lost 58 pounds here prior to the sack dinner boycott, so we will see what this new diet plan does. I do scope out if they have fresh fruit at lunch time, and get the apples, or salad if they offer it at lunch (that happens once a month). The morning meal is offered between 6:30 and 7:15am, so it is rare I will go down for it, as it’s usually grits or oatmeal. I occasionally will eat lunch if there is chicken, but often it is too salty, so I have to avoid it.
Not complaining- don’t get me wrong- we are in fact, in prison. So I am grateful for any sustenance they offer here. I am calling this place a prison fat camp though, because if you needed to lose weight, you definitely can here if you don’t buy a bunch of junk food and sodas from the commissary and drink lots of water.
But as a chef, I miss food. I miss fresh vegetables and fruit and food prepared with care and healthier options. I miss cooking too. Especially for my family. Someone asked me in here last week some of the recipes I prepare at home, and their eyes opened wide, saying- “that sounds like a lot of work”. It doesn’t feel like a lot of work when you love what you do. And various spices and unique flavors are a palate pleaser for sure. One of the things that brings me joy is preparing a meal for the ones I love and them grateful for what I have made them. So that is one thing I look forward to most once leaving here.
Let’s see how much more weight I lose with my new boycott of sack dinners. 🙂
