Editor's note: Aspiring photojournalist and Gut Check contributor Kholood Eid is chronicling her Ramadan fast in diary form. Click for all Ramadan Diary entries.

Kholood Eid

​This past Friday marked the first of two things: the first day of Eid Al-Fitr, the three-day holiday that follows Ramadan; and the first time I could eat breakfast (with the sun out) in a very long time.

And my, was it glorious.

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​When you fast for a month, you're bound to experience at least one day that's an epic fail.

The only thing worse than a plate of bad food is several plates of bad food. An all-you-can-eat buffet would normally sound like a dream come true for a person who has been fasting, but for me Hometown Buffet proved to be a nightmare.

Mama loves buffets (I think it's mostly for the salad), and so for her birthday we took her to Hometown Buffet. (And no, she didn't turn 80. That's actually her restaurant of choice.) So we gathered (most of) the family and headed over, were seated at a table and then waited as patiently as we could until it was time to break our fast.

After what seemed like an eternity -- sometimes those few minutes of waiting for sunset feel just as long as the entire day -- we all headed to our preferred spots at the buffet. My approach is always chronological, as if I were at any other restaurant. I always begin with a salad.

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Editor's note: Aspiring photojournalist and Gut Check contributor Kholood Eid is chronicling her Ramadan fast in diary form. Click for all Ramadan Diary entries to date.

Kholood Eid

​I love Greek food. Pair it with a shimmying belly dancer balancing a sword on her head and I'm in nirvana.

My friend and one of my cousins joined me for a Mediterranean-style Saturday evening at Momos Ouzaria Taverna in U. City. I've been to Momos, so I took charge in ordering the appetizers -- and there were no objections once the gals got a taste of the "Momos Spread Sampler" -- htipiti, tzatziki and hummus -- and spanakopita.

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Editor's note: Aspiring photojournalist and Gut Check contributor Kholood Eid is chronicling her Ramadan fast in diary form. Click for all Ramadan Diary entries to date.

Kholood Eid

​Last Wednesday, August 18, was the absolute toughest day of my fasting to date. I'd decided to go to a day game at the ballpark (while getting over a cold, to boot). The seats were just too good to pass up.

Bad idea.

Very, very bad idea.

Our seats were on the first level, under the merciless sun. A breeze occasionally drifted our way, but it was too rare to make much difference.

For me, food is a key part of the ballpark experience:

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Editor's note: Aspiring photojournalist and Gut Check contributor Kholood Eid is chronicling her Ramadan fast in diary form. Click for all Ramadan Diary entries to date.

Kholood Eid

​For many, Sunday is a day of rest. For Mama, Sunday is a chance to shovel a ridiculous amount of food onto her grown children's plates, making sure they're extremely well fed.

Last Sunday was our first family dinner during Ramadan, and it was no exception.

My mother usually cooks in quantities that could feed a Third World country, but with Ramadan upon us she cooks a wider variety of meals. This is to ensure that she has met the individual needs and requests of each of her five kids, two daughter-in-laws, two grandchildren and husband. One of my sisters-in-law, like me, doesn't eat red meat. This often gives my mom a chance to improvise on traditional, normally meat-based dishes -- like bamya.

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Editor's note: Aspiring photojournalist and Gut Check contributor Kholood Eid is chronicling her Ramadan fast in diary form. Click for all Ramadan Diary entries to date.

Kholood Eid

​Choosing to go to a teppanyaki restaurant has the potential to be disastrous if you're fasting and haven't eaten all day. I took a chance and lucked out.

My friend (who was also fasting) and I went to Kobe Steak House of Japan in Westport, which is one of my favorite restaurants. Although I was the one to suggest Kobe, I was apprehensive about it. Sitting in front of a talkative chef who performs fire tricks with your food while you wait there doesn't sound like a good idea for someone who's fasting. But it works, and here's why.

Like many Japanese grills, Kobe begins each meal by serving miso soup, followed by salad. And this is before the chef makes his way to his station. So, if you find yourself in a situation where you're greeted by an energetic, playful chef who'll throw peas down your shirt when you're not looking, you can handle it a lot better.

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Editor's note: Aspiring photojournalist and Gut Check contributor Kholood Eid is chronicling her Ramadan fast in diary form. Click for all Ramadan Diary entries to date.

Kholood Eid

​Every year my non-Muslim friends groan, "Not that again! Already?"

Yes, it's here -- again. Ramadan.

For 30 days Muslims around the world fast from just before sunrise to sunset. This means no eating or drinking anything (including water) during the day. Ramadan is a time meant to feel true appreciation for all that we're blessed with. It's a time for empathizing with those less fortunate than we are.

As disgruntled as I may become by the end of a day without food or water, I find myself appreciating those first sips and bites as the sun dips into the night just as much as -- if not more than -- anything I've ever appreciated in my life. There's nothing like the first sip of cold water after a long, unbearably hot St. Louis summer day.

People sometimes ask the question, "If you were on Death Row, what would be your last meal?" And while I'm obviously not on Death Row, I -- and many Muslims I know -- approach each day of Ramadan with a similar enthusiasm toward that one meal. Some of us (ahem) may spend our entire day envisioning what our one meal will consist of. Nobody wants to live with the regret of a mediocre meal after starving oneself all day, but mostly it's pretty hard not to think about food when fasting.

I know it's not exactly in the spirit of Ramadan to be thinking of a meal as "mediocre." After all, it's about not taking anything for granted. Still, I won't pretend to be something I'm not. Food is a key element to my happiness. (And maybe that's part of the point!)

Wednesday was my first day fasting.

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