Day One: Walking, Cooking, and... Walking

Fortunately we have run into fine weather in Northwestern Ontario because the walk to and from work today (2X with a trip home at lunch) and to meal program tonight would have been a real character builder at -30. On the other hand, I wasn't able to take a snowy/frosty faced selfie after my walk. So here is one of Leo instead:

As I mentioned in my first post, Sam and I are sharing meals (in ziploc bags since containers were too expensive). Today I walked home at lunch and prepared us a veggie and bean chilli. I'm super happy with how it turned out and it was a relatively inexpensive recipe (and it was a 'colourful' dish, which would make my Grandma proud 😀 ): 1 can each - black beans, kidneys beans & mixed beans, half can crushed tomatoes, two cans tomato soup, chilli powder, two onions, 4 cloves of garlic, half a bag of frozen mixed veg (beans, corn, carrots and peas). I had a cup for lunch but definitely would have eaten more if not on the challenge.

Note: Cooking such a meal over lunch while wearing your work clothes may lead to three different co-workers asking you why your office smells like onions. (It was not my office, it was me!)

For dinner, Sam and I visited the St. Alban's dinner program for a delicious meal of mac and cheese, salad and a bun. The volunteers were so incredibly warm and welcoming, very respectful towards all of the patrons. One of the volunteers pointed us to the following video about their program - it is amazing and definitely worth a watch! Connection and community are so important; I admire the patrons, the volunteers and the kids featured in the film for sharing their stories. If you are interested in offering up time to support the program at St. Alban's please contact the church at (807) 468-6227.

I'll fill you in on my challenge for Day One... on Day Two. Off to bed!