am I malnourished?

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Walked to the radio station and back yesterday. I can't describe the pain I'm in. And it's not just the usual joint pain, either; my muscles are cramping. And the stabbing pain between my shoulders doesn't make any sense.

Here's what I ate yesterday:
2 c coffee
1 orange
1/2 c oat cereal
1/4 c milk
6 oz turkey
12 oz cola
about 6 cookies.
2 c tea
16 oz water
That's all.

I had no appetite for anything more. And, as the food stamps don't come in for 2 more weeks, I'm very conscious of conserving whatever food is left here.

On the way back, I was going through the alleys, looking for stuff in dumpsters. A young woman gave me two sacks of raisin cookies. I guess she thought I was homeless? They were unopened, so I accepted them. I ate so many because the raisins tasted so good.

The meal I describe above isn't unusual for me. I eat very little.

I'm getting pretty tired of eating turkey. But it's the only animal protein in the house. So, I'm being as creative as I can with recipes.

I'd seen a tv commercial for "chicken strips." It sounded tasty.

So, when I thawed out a turkey half this time, I made soup of the wing, drumstick, back and rib bones. I deboned the thigh and breast, and cut them into thin strips.

I made a tempura batter, dipped some strips into it, and fried them in my Fry Daddy.

I made honey mustard dip for them. That was lunch yesterday.

Tempura style batter:

1 egg
1/4 c flour
1/4 c corn meal
water

Beat egg thoroughly with about 1/4 c water. Add corn meal and flour, beat, adding water, until you have a reasonably-runny batter.

You can add seasonings, cracker crumbs, corn flakes, sugar, etc. for taste and texture, but I made this batter plain.

Dip strips of meat, vegetables, noodles, potatoes, cheese, whatever in batter. Gently shake excess.

Vegetable oil should be heated below smoking point.

Dip battered foods into oil. Do not crowd. They'll sink, at first, but will float to top when water begins evaporating from batter.

Remove with chop sticks, into wire strainer, to remove excess oil.

Honey Mustard Sauce

thoroughly blend 4 tbsp. each of:

Mayonaise
Mustard
Honey

Again, seasonings may be added, such as onion powder, parsley, black pepper, etc. A dash of wasabi horseradish tastes good, too. So does the juice from candied ginger.