I thought I’d share what my diet looks like here in Orkney. (This is not what my dining is like when travelling. Then, all bets are off.)
Breakfast is either porridge, an egg, or more often than not, some leftovers. I don’t mind soup for breakfast; in fact, in the winter, I’d pop some leftover soup into the slow cooker while Scout & I went out for our morning walk and I’d have a nice warm bowlful when I got home.
I have lunch at home probably six days a week. They’re either homemade soup – I use that little slow cooker at least once a week – or I’ll make up two or three bento boxes at a time, a couple of times a week. As I’m not a big meat-eater, they’re usually vegetarian and often with an Asian theme (I was so impressed with the range of Asian ingredients available in Orkney: I can get gochujang, miso paste, lemon grass, nori, you name it). I will also make vegetable fritters a lot to use what’s left in the crisper: my favourites are Korean jeon (thin veggie pancakes), but I do Middle Eastern vegetable fritters called ejjeh too.
There are some very good food trucks around Kirkwall & Stromness, so about once a week Scout & I will get in the car and head out for lunch, eating in my parked car while reading a book and admiring the view, then a hike on one of the trails. Food trucks seem to serve mostly meat butties ( bacon or sausage sandwiches – I have no idea why they’re called butties), meat pies, and chips, but there are also a couple that are a tad more exotic. Not the healthiest, but the hike is my excuse to indulge. *I admit to having meat pies about twice a month – they are soooo good. Yesterday I went into town for some thread. We passed my favourite bakery, Argos, so I went in and got a Scotch pie. Then, on the way home we passed my second favourite bakery, Rendall’s, so I went in there and picked up a pastie. Two meat-in-pastry meals in two days, oh dear. (I’m having the Scotch pie tonight for dinner, yum.)
Dinners fall into three categories: homemade, takeaway, or dining out. I cook my own dinner probably five days a week – usually either pasta dishes, or what I would call Reid family food. The former are usually vegetarian or seafood, and the latter tend to be things we grew up with: mince & tatties, a lamb chop, grilled fish, or stews. For takeaway, (about once every one or two weeks), my choices are somewhat limited. I usually end up with Indian or Chinese, because they’re a short walk from my house and the vegetarian choices are really good. I would like to order from the Turkish Kabab House (it smells so good when I walk by), but they don’t seem to have any vegetarian options (other than chips. Everyone serves chips. Everyone.) I haven’t been that impressed with the pizzas I’ve had in Scotland, so I haven’t had that as a takeout choice.
About once every couple of weeks I’ll go out for dinner. I try to go to dog-friendly pubs and restaurants. And I always order locally-sourced meals like lamb, fish, seafood, the local cheeses, etc… At first it seemed like every pub was exactly like every other pub: Grimbister Cheese starter, fish & chips or shepherd’s pie, and so on. But I’ve done my research (eating out a lot and asking friends and neighbours) and now have a bit of a roster of what I can get & where: the duck at The Storehouse is delicious; ditto the fish tacos & the cauliflower bites at Twenty-One.
I would say that overall my diet is relatively healthy: mostly vegetarian, mostly homemade, and mostly locally sourced. If I slip up anywhere, it is those damned meat pies. But I figure, once I’m back in Canada they will be a thing of the past, so enjoy them while I can.