Day 4: I just couldn't live without...

There are a bunch of things I could think of that I couldn’t live without, but one that I quite literally couldn’t live without is food, glorious food.

But it’s also about the right food at the right time. For example, even the warmest, most nutritious bowl of mom’s lovely vegetable soup just isn’t going to do the trick on a summer’s day in December.

These are some of the scenarios and corresponding foods which, when paired, make life worth living:

SCENARIO: 2AM IN THE MORNING, WHEN UTTERLY PARCHED

IDEAL FOOD/DRINK: COCA-COLA

Okay, so it’s a drink, not a food. But there is nothing as satisfying as a glass of ice cold, just-opened Coca-Cola to appease a serious thirst. Cold Stoney Ginger Beer is a close runner-up.

SCENARIO: MID-GEARCHANGE SNACKING

IDEAL FOOD: BILTONG

There are few scenarios as grim as driving home, starving, to either cook a meal or to be able to attack the dinner you’ve just bought, its aroma consuming every last bit of empty space in your car’s interior. This is the perfect opportunity to snack on some biltong, preferably droewors.

Not only is biltong always good – and I mean always – but it takes a while to chew just one piece, leaving you free to attend to more important matters, like changing lanes, gears and the angle of your rear-view mirror. Plus, it’ll keep your hunger at bay until you get home.

SCENARIO: MID-MORNING MUNCHIES

IDEAL FOOD: DRIED FRUIT PIECES

So, you’re chuffed that you’ve packed in the perfect lunch and you know you’ll be the talk of the office at 12h30pm. But you recklessly forgot that you first need to make it to lunchtime without collapsing (and preferably without wasting money on a R22 muffin).

Here, you can’t go wrong with a few pieces of dried fruit. They are healthy, need no preparation, fill you up just enough to keep you going, and because they don’t make raucous crackling noises while you eat them, you can enjoy them inconspicuously, without colleagues noticing (which means you don’t have to offer anyone). SCORE.

SCENARIO: DINNER AT THE PARENTS’

IDEAL FOOD: A STEW

It’s quite an odd thing, this. You probably recall stews being pretty ordinary and ‘standard’ when you stayed at home. I mean, nobody ever celebrates the arrival of a stew on their plate as they do a sizzling steak fillet.

But once you’ve moved out, that stew is all you want. You can only eat so many Woolies chicken steaklets before craving that good ol' homemade taste that only your mom’s stew can provide. It’s hard to pick just one, but nothing really beats a belly-warming tomato stew.

I could go on forever, but I have a cupcake on my desk that needs consuming. (Cupcakes don’t really need specific scenarios to be fully enjoyed, so I would recommend eating them whenever and wherever you can.)

I’ll leave you all with this profoundly accurate mantra, usually spoken in unison in the office, just after lunchtime starts: “it’s good to eat, ya’ll”