Challenge: Eat like my 19-year-old boy flatmate for a day
This year, I made the brave decision to live with a man.
Will is a 6ft 5, 19-year-old mulleted drama major who proclaims that his eating habits are the straightest thing about him.
Will’s cooking mesmerised me from the moment he moved in. Microwaved steak, eggs scrambled into Bolognese, a fried egg for every meal – along with a general lack of refrigeration–are a few of his specialties.
Me, however? I have dealt with food-related anxiety for as long as I can remember. I often plan my exact meal plans for the week and have realised my food scheduling has started to affect my relationships and my ability to enjoy trips or meals out.
I was in awe that Will can eat whatever he wants, whenever he wants without guilt. Although I am not 6ft 5 and follow a vegetarian diet, I knew there was something valuable in his carefree approach to eating.
To carry out our experiment we both had to photograph meals, stick to timelines provided by the other person, obey recipes, and only eat what we could, subtracting or adding to meet nutritional needs.
Will’s Menu for Maisie
10am – Breakfast
BBQ Hash Browns and coffee (I know Maisie will die if she doesn’t eat before her lecture)
10.30am – Morning Tea
Second Coffee
1pm – Lunch
Leftover cheeseburger (emphasis on the cheese. Add more cheese if you’re unsure)
2.30pm – Second Lunch
Treat time! Cheeky vending machine trip, Red Bull, apple
6pm – Dinner
Creamy Rigatoni Pasta, buttery onions (the right way to cook them)
10pm – Second Dinner
Leftover pasta (the fridge is already full of forgotten food containers), chamomile tea
Maisie’s Menu for Will
8am – Breakfast
Blueberry porridge (You’re supposed to cook the oats, Will), oat milk coffee
10.30am – Morning tea
Muesli bar from the bottom of your bag
1.30 – Lunch
Tuna and hummus pita (or as Will discovers again, something that shouldn’t be left dry and uncooked)
3.30pm – Snack
Apple with peanut butter
6.30pm – Dinner
Falafel couscous and salad (thanks My Food Bag <3)
8pm – Dessert
Chocolate, peppermint tea
Will usually never eats breakfast but he courteously tells me, "I know you will die if you don't eat before your lecture. Thus, I'm allowing you Hash Browns.” I eat my Hash Browns with BBQ sauce and coffee in my room, listening for scuffles downstairs before I beat his door down for him to eat oats at 8am like I do every morning.
By 8:30am, Will is slumped over in the kitchen in defeat, surrounded by a halo of dry oats. Will was unaware that oats were meant to be cooked – and consumed a comforting bowl of dry porridge and yogurt. He says, "I was wondering why it was so dry.”
After my lecture and second coffee, I was peppy and ready for substance. Will’s burger was the most nerve-racking meal on the list. The numbers were ticking as I thought about two cheeses, pickles and a patty all in my burger.
I tell you – this was the best lunch of my life. The brie melted into the top of the veggie patty supported by the sharp edam. The lettuce danced around the pickles and its juices soaked into the bagel bun and mayo.
Will’s lunch was not nearly as exciting. My favoured lunch did not withstand the trek to the Kelburn campus and a theater class, and the pita exploded in his bag leaving a mush of crumbs, tuna and spinach.
Looking at Will’s documentation I noticed it looked rather dry. I ask, “Did you toast the Pita?” Will exclaims, “Huh? Toast?!” On reflection I should have included cooking instructions for Will as he had already suffered a devasting dry loss with the breakfast oats.
After Will enjoyed my snack of apple and peanut butter and my red bull, we went for a swim. Swimming felt easier, a lot easier than usual. I left feeling strong and energised, whilst Will was feeble after his pita mash.
For dinner, Will usually cooks his onions in butter because “it just makes it taste better”, which made my heart start to rise – especially when I saw the cream waiting to go in the sauce.
Once a fortnight, I invest in My Food Bag. But Will is not overly thrilled about herby falafel couscous, seeing as he has an apprehension towards salad in most forms.
After an hour of stretching over each other in our cramped kitchen we sat down for dinner. My creamy tomato pasta left me scraping the bowl and Will said he fucked hard with the salad.
As I wash the dishes, Will reflects while drying them with the tea towel. “I’m actually going to start making breakfast now, it just set my day right.”
I made Will a cup of peppermint tea to go with his sweet treat and he made me a cup of sleepy chamomile.
The menu swap was challenging. Will and I have different nutritional needs, completely different bodies, and need different amounts of food at differing times. Though, I learnt from my slightly crusty flatmate to not stress about food so much. And this morning at 8.30am, a red-eyed Will was hunched over the air fryer, making breakfast.