Category: Food

There are frozen burritos at Save-On. There haven’t been frozen burritos (at least the ones I want) in the stores for at long time. There was a production shortage? Maybe? Someone said that, so I sortof stopped looking, but there were some there on Saturday morning when I was at the Save-On Foods at [redacted – my burritos].

I haven’t had a frozen burrito for three years almost to the day. You might be wondering: How can I remember something so mundane? Well first off, Hi, I’m Lindsie, nice to meet you. But second off. There are extenuating circumstances surrounding the event.

Trigger Warning: COVID.

When I got COVID in early July 2022 I had two frozen burritos in my freezer. They were probably Reisers brand, as that is the brand I prefer over The Other Brand, and the beef and bean flavour (e.g. the flavour that doesn’t contain cheese). (Note that I think I’ve seen “vegan” burritos in this three years since I said I haven’t had frozen burritos, but I don’t feel those count.) At the time I would have purchased a bulk bag of them: 12 to a bag, though maybe it was a box? Twelve individually packaged ones to a box. I’ve experienced both, though now I think, it was The Other Brand that had the bag.

Either way.

I remember I had two left because I had COVID, and I had taken an inventory of food in my house after taking the test to make sure I could survive not leaving the house for a week or five days I was supposed to quarantine for. Or, as it turned out, the two weeks before I could physically move enough to leave my apartment. Whatever.

I probably remember i had two burritos because I was calculating when to eat them, or whether to eat them. Two days into knowing I had COVID I stopped wasting energy on making myself regular bowl-sized portions of food because I couldn’t eat them, and I didn’t want to eat any of the leftovers. I remember making a big dish of rice pudding and eating it in custard cup-sized portions that I couldn’t finish.

I don’t remember eating the first of my last two burritos, but lots of protein and easy to prepare: I would have been glad to have it.

The worst of my days with COVID was the Tuesday of the second week. This came probalby after a weekend of maybe thinking I was starting to feel better ( you know, COVID). But on that Tuesday, I felt bad: as in, not comfortable in any position, and most of the day spent curled up in bad (where I had been spending a lot of time before that in various reclining-sitting positions on my bed or on the couch).

There was a point in the afternoon where I realized that I hadn’t eaten all day, and the thought was that food is necessary to live even if I don’t want it. But what was there to eat that I could even stomach when I didn’t want to eat? Luckily, there was that one last frozen burrito.

I remember waiting for it to warm up in the microwave. I sat on the armrest of the couch, uncomfortable and having a hard time being upright, thinking to myself, This Isn’t Good.

I ate the last burrito lying down on my side? Feeding it into my mouth sideways? Halfway through and that was enough. I moved the plate away from my face, picturing waking up with it smashed into my cheek or something. (Hehe)

I maybe slept then, or watched/listened to the TV shows I would have had streaming – Coronation St for when I was going to sleep for sure. I don’t remember what I watched when was awake. Maybe nothing; it was a bad day and concentrating on a plot might have been too much. I would have had my curtains open to let in the light, which is nice, maybe even the window open for fresh air – Yes, in July. Yes. My laptop would have been open beside me on the bed. Close to my face: if I wasn’t wearing my glasses so I could eventually sleep I can’t see far enough if I have to adjust the volume or change to the next episode.

I did sleep at some point, and when I woke I finished the bit of burrito, glad I didn’t have to get up to make something else; still not hungry but needing to eat. Also: imagery of baby chicks who eat at their lil trough, then sleep right there, ready to eat again when they wake up again. (Hehe.)

Later, when I was better and looking to get them again, the Great Burrito Shortage must have been happening. Probably – like lots of things in 2022. I wondered if that maybe was a good thing – if maybe eating them again might be triggering, or if I might have lost a taste from eating them while I was sick, as happens. However, I’m pretty happy to have found them again, and not too much more expensive than they were before(burrito miracle). I bought two.

P.S. I laughed mabye waaaay too much when I was relating this whole story to Mum this evening during our phone call. She was just quiet in a “uh that’s not really funny?” sort of way. To be fair, I found it all very hilarious at the time, so.

P.P.S. On the day after this bad day I started getting hungry again for very specific foods. I had a list ready when Susan asked at three and she delivered after work: oranges, ketchup chips, and yogurt. I went though the whole bag of chips very quick and I was a little concerned– but then I remembered how I hadn’t eaten anything for about a week at that point so if ketchup chips was all I wanted, it was ketchup chips I was going to have.