I still feel sad, but what to do? Life has to continue. I did two trips for grocery after lunch: Polish shop and Lidl. On the way to Polish shop I decided to unexpectedly treat myself with a donut that are sometimes being sold outside of Outlet Village but the donut lady wasn’t there today. It’s Monday, so that’s probably why. So what I did was, I went to Patisserie Valerie for coffee and cake. I really like the idea of Patisserie Valerie as their cakes look very similar to Polish cakes, with all those fillings and cream but somehow I only been there once, during a trip to London. It was years ago, when I was still living in Reading and the idea of buying a place to live didn’t even cross my mind. So I thought I need to go today, in case they go bankrupt for real soon.

And you know, I don’t want to complain, as I did quite a bit of that recently, but it was not worth it. I guess if I pay £8 for coffee and cake it’s not unreasonable to expect something special, is it? And in reality the cake was OK, but nothing more than that, and coffee was rather watery, definitely below average. So I guess I won’t be coming back any time soon. I guess I will be better off getting a cake from Polish shop and eating it at home? But then some people will judge me for being cheap! Oh well…

After coming back home I started cooking cottage pie. Potatoes are still boiling but I’m really pleased with how mince turned out, I cooked it with some baked beans and tomato puree. I suppose I am a flexitarian, that means a person who doesn’t eat a lot of meat. I quite like good quality hotdogs, ham and pate but dinner meat is a bit of a sensory nightmare for me. I really prefer if it’s mixed with things like beans or vegetables and I find it quite annoying when some people interpret it as me trying to save money. And even if that would be the case, then what? I wonder whether they would judge another British person the same way?

At the same time I don’t like the fact that ‘not eating a lot of meat’ has to have a name. I was convinced we shouldn’t be eating loads of meat anyway? Is that not what dietitians say? Unless the advice changed again. I mean, I get it, we also shouldn’t be eating too much cheese, flour, sugar, salt, eggs. We should be eating legumes, unless they make us bloated, then no. Milk can contain hormones and salmon is not usually farmed responsibility. I did hear that sometimes it may be infected by parasites! So no salmon (I actually have some in the fridge). Other fish may contain mercury, so also no. I suppose we’re left with vegs, fruits, rice and potatoes but then where to take proteins from? I guess sometimes it may be better not to read dietary advice.

I’m still bitter, as you can see. Although possibly a bit less sad than I was in the morning, or even when I started writing this post. Maybe those are my choices for the nearest future: either sad or bitter. Either way life has to continue.