Tag Archives: food

Works

Woot, Canada!

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Today is my tenth wedding anniversary! I mentioned in passing that my husband took our anniversary trip last month to Alaska and the Yukon. In case you missed it in geography classes, the Yukon is in Canada.

Which means I got to go to Canada last month. Granted, I was thousands of miles away from Ottawa, where my stories are set, but still, I got to enjoy some quintessentially Canadian things!

20140618_182302The Real Canadian Superstore (a warehouse style grocery store) and me
Whitehorse, Yukon

20140617_200407Tim Hortons . . . and me.
Whitehorse, Yukon

I’m not sure what planet people thought I was from, getting a picture at Timmy’s & TRCS, but I was too excited to care.

Obviously.

And FOOD.

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Our donuts from Tim Hortons, clockwise from top:
Old Fashion Glaze (I think), Honey Dip (I think), Strawberry Shortcake, Birthday Cake, Strawberry Shortcake, Boston Cream

20140619_151349Me enjoying a butter tart (a little like a pecan pie with no nuts)
a place called Moose Crossing (I kid you not), between Whitehorse and Dawson City, Yukon

Also enjoyed that day:
Nanaimo bars!
I failed to get a picture, but here’s a shot by Jamieanne via Flickr & CC:
Nanaimo Bars
(The top layer is hard chocolate, the middle layer is made with custard powder, and the bottom layer is chewier chocolate, often with a base of coconut, etc.)

My husband lived in Scotland as a missionary for two years, so he loves Cadbury and other UK candy—which is imported here in the States, but available at every grocery store in Canada. We picked up a Crispy Crunch bar, a Crunchie bar, and Crunchie biscuits (which were a little weird). Here are our candy bars!

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(A Crunchie bar is chocolate on the outside and “hokey pokey,” burnt sugar honeycomb. A Crispy Crunch is chocolate on the outside and peanut buttery toffee like stuff inside.)

And this isn’t in Canada or Canadian, but it’s related to my stories, so I had to get a photo!
20140616_193856
Remember how we bought Alaska from Russia? Marketers do!
Dom Rossii and me (after climbing a glacier!)
Juneau, Alaska

What have you been up to this summer?

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Technique

NaNo fuel: actual food!

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This entry is part 4 of 16 in the series NaNoWriMo success and inspiration

Food. I like it. I like making it. I like eating it. Jami Gold made me think of this when she asked, “What Food Fuels Your Writing?” And when I’m writing, food can play two very important roles: fuel and incentive.

Yes, incentive. I’m not talking about fasting until you hit your word count. No, two words for you:

Incentive. Chocolate.

I so want to do this, but I don’t know if I have the self-control. But the idea is that for every X number of words/pages/scenes/chapters you rack up, you get an incentive, like a piece of chocolate.

But there’s more to a balanced diet than chocolate. There’s chocolate with peanut butter, chocolate with caramel, chocolate with cookies, chocolate with . . . What? Oh, other foods?

When you’re trying to write as fast as possible, one thing that also helps your life not fall apart: healthy snacks. I’m trying not to gain the “NaNo Nine”—and also not starve my children—so I’m planning to stock up on quick and easy snacks (for me and the kids!). Also, if I don’t have readily-accessible food around, I’m liable not to eat altogether, so emphasis on the quick and easy:

  • Baby carrots (with hummus!)
  • Celery sticks—prepare them in advance—with peanut butter
  • Apple slices with peanut butter or cheese
  • Grapes
  • Cheese sticks
  • Pretzels sticks and crackers (with hummus, peanut butter, cheese—you get the picture)
  • Popcorn (especially air-pop)

That’s just a start, of course, but those are some of my favorites! Preparing them in advance is one of my tricks to keeping my family—and my health—from falling apart while I’m writing like crazy.

I also planned a month of meals in advance that are fast and easy to make that we like—like leftovers I squirreled away in the freezer this year that I never got around to using. Add in breakfast cereal and peanut butter sandwiches, and we’re all set. (Plus twice weekly mini grocery store runs for milk, produce and bread give me guaranteed face time with the kids!)

What fuels—or rewards—your writing? Did you do anything to prepare food-wise for NaNo?

Photo by Brent Miller

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