Morning Fuel

Fuel, fuel, fuel. The most basic of needs without which we wouldn’t be able to survive. This morning fuel I’m referring to isn’t the Kshs.102 unleaded dose cars use. I’m referring to food. #sincewebeinghonest food is the main reason I wake up in the morning. It’s my innate alarm clock. It certainly works better than my phone or any alarm device I’ve ever had. It’s ruthless to say the least, but it leaves me ecstatic when I tend to it.

As mentioned a few days back, I’m accounting for my expenditure. This time round, my weekly income was spent on breakfast. It was that time of the month; you know…..when all term papers & assignments are due. So I found myself rushing to school earlier than usual to start/finish my work. I decided to buy bread. I like how it comes with a free sachet of coffee, right at the bottom, but that’s another story. Didn’t know how much it cost so I paid with a Kshs.50 note and got back two really big 5 bobs. These coins were mint in 1994, I checked. Back then, I would have paid Kshs.20 and had a blast. Now I have to part with twice that amount and a half empty stomach!! Tea is needed to compliment this and even then, it’s not filling. So I set out to find the next best alternative.

Option 1: Noodles

This could possibly be the best man-made creation since lingerie. It’s simple, effective and comes in varieties. I found that a pack of 5 costs Kshs.90 and it completely falls within my budgets range. It comes with a sachet of flavoring, which means my breakfasts can differ in taste for the same price.  I can have prawn, beef, shrimp, chicken, pork or vegan flavors at will. It’s definitely not as dry as bread and I have it all to myself. It takes all of 10 minutes to prepare from scratch. No 5-star meal can beat the simple delight of noodles made right. None!!

Option 2: Cereals

I lean towards crunchy oats and Weetabix, the latter being more budget friendly. It has been a favorite of mine since childhood and its taste has never changed. It’s a nutritious wholegrain cereal that’s high in fiber. For the price of Kshs.450, one can buy the 900g pack. It contains 48 biscuits and can last a month as follows: 24 days if eating 2 biscuits @ day or 1.5 months if eating 1 biscuit @ day. That’s about 65-130 calories oh yee healthy ones.  Add one banana to each sitting and you’ll be filled to the brim. It’s an all-time classic and it’s healthy.

I looked at it this way. Kshs.700 a month can get me either one 900g pack of Weetabix & milk to go with it (calcium is kind of important) or five 5-pack noodles & a tray of eggs (morning protein). Been taking a mix of these for the past two weeks and the results are AWESOME. My stomach gets its fill and I get to save money. Of course, I’m not lactose-intolerant and I don’t fart every time I eat boiled eggs….not that there’s anything wrong with yawning from your ass!!!

Previous breakfast budget: Kshs.1000

New breakfast budget: Kshs.700