Most of you are probably encountering the all to familiar post-Christmas letdown – when the business of the holidays has lulled, parties are over and family has returned home. For a daughter of a chef and the lover of all fine foods, the loss of Christmas feasts marks my lowest point.

For days now, Nick and I have been indulging ourselves in the leftovers from Christmas day. We’ve bought nearly nothing for over a week and often turn to candy for breakfast. Our fridge, which was almost bursting on Christmas day, has bald spots where ham, potato salad and pumpkin pie once sat.

I deal with my angst by ignoring the shops and pretending I can still live off the remains in the fridge. Nick will sift through plastic containers, almost every hour, as if the food might miraculously reproduce. When he says there is nothing to eat, I tell him of course there is  – we have plenty of m&ms.

Sadly, there is now nothing left and we had to go the supermarket tonight to find something for dinner. With no desire at all the shop for the week, we tried to keep our budget small.

“What can we do for $5?” Nick asked. I wracked my brain to think of what the heck we could make for that much. Moments later, while I was calculating the cost of salami per kilo, Nick called me over to the deli.

“Look what I found! Curry for ‘quick sale’!” He pointed to the hot section of the deli counter. Something we love about Australia is ‘quick sale’. If you reach the store late enough, a glorious red sticker with red writing will appear on various items. Tonight, the red sticker read “$5″ on a kilo worth of freshly cooked chicken curry.

We picked up our treasure and realized we had no bread for the morning and headed to the bread aisle. We stood there for a moment and winced at the cost of paying $4.50 a loaf.

“I can just make bread at home,” Nick offered. Nick’s homemade bread is wonderful and we worked it out that it costs us $1.50 at most to make (that’s if we use the gourmet flour).

We headed home after refusing a plastic bag (which they rarely give out in Australia, thanks to our green government), having spent a little over $10 for 2 days worth of meals. When we arrived at our little flat, we pulled out leftover rice and filled our stomachs for $2 each. It was hard not to feel proud.

There is something about being so frugal that brings joy to Nick and I that no rough toilet paper or totally nonabsorbent paper towel can take away. I know that if our parents read this, they will become immediately concerned for our well-being.

But this is part of growing up – learning how to adapt and survive in the world. I remember my parents talking about when they were poor, and someday when our children whine about why they don’t have the latest video games or clothes, we’ll tell them similar stories. We’ll tell them that we used to cut toothpaste tubes in half to get all the toothpaste out. Then, we might mention how we used baking soda instead of cleaning products (and sometimes deodorant). And then, we’ll finish by telling them if they don’t eat their dinner, they’re going to eat it for breakfast. Or lunch.

I can already see their faces contorting in disgust.

I’m o.k. that we’re learning how to be resourceful in a world where resources are everywhere for some and nowhere for too many. Hopefully, our children will grow up in a world where people are preserving what’s left of this little green and blue gift called earth, and giving the rest away to those who need it most.

Happy New Year, friends!

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