Week Two of my Spring Equinox Experiment feels like I’m getting settled into new habits already. It still brought some interesting challenges – how to maintain this restorative habit when life throws special occasions and celebrations into the mix! This week included a Texas Longhorns women’s basketball game and a big celebration dinner with family before my art show opening. Despite these events, I’m learning to navigate the experiment with flexibility and intention.

The Texas Longhorns beat the Oklahoma Sooners, but the most exciting win? Only 4 single-use containers for the entire week – all from the basketball game (two food bowls and two water bottles). I completely eliminated single-use packaging waste from my regular eating patterns (no takeout, no convenience food), which had been my biggest concern going into this project.

Here’s how Week 2 unfolded!

By the Numbers: Week 2 Progress

Meals from Home Cooking: 15+ | Outsourced Meals: 2

Containers/Packaging: 4 single-use containers (all from basketball game)

Financial Impact

• Spent on convenience (takeout/DoorDash): $0
• Spent on dining out (restaurants): $56 (Does not include dinner on Friday where we treated our parents to dinner and wine at a very nice/expensive restaurant. I’m counting that as a one-off gift expense.)
• Spent on groceries: $68.55
• Total food spending: $124.55

Comparison to Baseline

• Baseline average: ~24 containers/week → 83% reduction (down to just 4 containers)
• Baseline average: ~$81/week convenience → Week 2: $0 (100% reduction)
• Baseline average: ~$162/week dining out → Week 2: $56 (65% reduction; transparently – excludes the dinner out Friday night)
• Baseline average: ~$88/week groceries → Week 2: $68.55 (22% reduction)

The bottom line: I spent about $205 less on food this week compared to my baseline average of $330/week. Even with a special celebration dinner included, I maintained strong reductions in waste and spending while increasing home-cooked meal frequency.

Two-Week Snapshot

Across both weeks, my home cooking has provided 21+ meals and I’ve used just 5 single-use containers total (compared to a baseline of 48 containers over two weeks). I’ve spent $329.60 on food – saving over $330 compared to what I would have spent at my old pace. These numbers don’t include the celebration dinner gift, which I’m tracking separately – this experiment is about changing my default eating patterns, not eliminating meaningful celebrations.

What’s Working

The batch cooking strategy from Week 1 continued to pay dividends this week! I made several dishes that I could mix and match throughout the week. My home cooking fed us for 15+ meals this week – 6 healthy lunches for me, 4 solo dinners, 2 dinners together with Em, one special waffle breakfast with Em and a friend, and at least 2 meals for Em to take on the road. That’s the beauty of batch cooking – just a handful of cooking sessions yielded enough food for the entire week and a little more! Leftovers and pre-prepped components meant I could assemble healthy meals quickly without reaching for convenience options.

I also cooked for a friend this week, which felt wonderful. Sharing home-cooked food with people I care about adds another layer of meaning to this practice beyond just waste reduction and budget management.

I’ve been shocked at how much less I’m spending at the grocery store! I bought lots of veggies and fruit, a big package of chicken breasts, and a few other pantry staples and only spent $68 for the week.

I’ve also been reviewing my freezer for anything I can use up before buying more, and discovered a bag of turkey chili I thawed and ate for lunch a couple of days.

The key insight from this week: meal prep creates freedom, not restriction. Having cooked food ready to go meant I could handle a busy week without defaulting back to old patterns.

The Hard Parts

This week brought two situations where I chose to eat out, and they highlighted the reality of balancing this experiment with a full life:

The basketball game: I ate a meal at the Texas Longhorns game, but I specifically took a photo of the trash it created to stay mindful of my goal. Stadium food is notoriously packaged in single-use containers, and it was a good reminder of how much waste accumulates in these settings.

The celebration dinner: Friday night was a big night – my art show opening! Emily’s parents and my parents joined us for wine and dinner beforehand at a fancy restaurant, and we picked up the whole tab. The bill was significant, but this was absolutely a special occasion worth celebrating. (In addition to the celebration of my first art show, this was also the first time Em’s parents and my mom and stepdad had ever met. And we’ve been together more than 9 years!)

These moments reminded me that this experiment isn’t about perfection or rigid rules. It’s about shifting my default patterns while still making room for meaningful experiences and celebrations.

Deeper Reflections

What strikes me most about Week 2 is how quickly the new habit is becoming normalized. Last week, I was discovering that I do have time to cook. This week, I proved to myself that I can maintain the habit even when life gets busy and special events pop up.

The single-use container reduction feels significant. In just two weeks, I’ve gone from generating roughly 24 containers per week to just 4 containers – all from that basketball game meal. I’ve completely eliminated single-use packaging waste from my regular eating patterns, which means zero takeout containers and zero convenience food packaging. The only single-use waste I created was from a special experience, and even that was a conscious choice rather than a default.

I’m also noticing that the financial benefits are becoming more consistent. Even with some dining out, I’m still spending significantly less overall because my baseline grocery shopping is more intentional and I’m not supplementing with constant takeout and convenience food purchases.

There’s something deeply satisfying about opening my fridge and seeing real food that I prepared – knowing exactly what’s in it, knowing it will nourish my body, and knowing I’m reducing my environmental impact at the same time.

This Week in Photos

Into Week 3

Week 3 will be an interesting test case! We’re heading to Colorado on Friday for a Galentine’s Day weekend with friends we don’t see very often. This means my focus for the week is:

• Batch cooking meals for Monday through Thursday
• Prepping fresh fruit and grab-and-go snacks for Emily to take with her to work
• Leaving healthy food stocked for my nephew, who will be pet sitting while we’re away
• Accepting that the weekend will include dining out with friends

This feels like another real-world scenario: How do I maintain my new eating patterns at home while also making room for travel and celebration? I’m curious to see how the numbers shake out when part of the week is away from my kitchen.

Join Me

If you’ve been following along or considering starting your own restorative habit experiment, I’d love to hear from you! How are you balancing intentional habit changes with the reality of special occasions and busy weeks? Let’s connect and support each other through this journey.

And as always, if you have favorite easy recipes or meal prep tips, send them my way!

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