As I mentioned recently, brussels sprouts are among my favorite vegetables. I'm not really sure how this happened because my mother never prepared them for us when I was growing up. We didn't really have much from the brassica family except for broccoli. But I started eating them a few years ago and i haven't looked back since.
As you would expect, brussels sprouts are low in calories; a cup of steamed sprouts has only about 40 calories but they feel dense to me so I find them to be quite filling. Thay are full of Vitamin C and a have a pretty good amount of vitamin A as well. They (and the rest of the family) are also reported to have cancer fighting ingredients which is just a perk, as far as I'm concerned.
I generally roast my sprouts in a bit of olive oil with just some salt and pepper but I'v elaso enjoyed them steamed with a bit of vinegar on them.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Where have you gone BIll Bailey?
Ahh, I haven't disappeared for good. I just got hung up with some family drama (now resolved) and was taking classes (lots of work). But I'm feeling spiffy now and still committed to living the (cheap) good life.
As much as I love the assortment of vegetables at the market in the summer, I really love what comes out in the fall. In fact, it may sound crazy, but I think that brussels sprouts are my favorite vegetable. Sadly, they are not cheap. I bought a quart for $3 this past week. That will be 4 servings so it's not disastrous. But, I'm realizing that I may need to readjust how I've been handling my food budget in terms of the breakdown between produce and staples.
The summer was a very luxurious time, peppers and summer squashes were cheap, Even corn didn't break the bank. But now, unless I want to eat only cabbages and greens, I think I have to devote more of the budget to fruits and vegetables.
I'll let you know how that works out.
Meanwhile, I've had a few slip ups but I've mostly been good abotu sticking to my grains and beans as basics with eggs and a little meat thrown in. Truth be told, I've mostly given up eating meat but I still throw it in there to cover vitamin B12 in my diet. I dont' really miss it either, except that now I'm craving things like chicken soup.
In fact, living on $5/day has really become sort of second nature to me. Maybe after the new year, I'll see if I can go lower and still be comfortable and nutritious.
As much as I love the assortment of vegetables at the market in the summer, I really love what comes out in the fall. In fact, it may sound crazy, but I think that brussels sprouts are my favorite vegetable. Sadly, they are not cheap. I bought a quart for $3 this past week. That will be 4 servings so it's not disastrous. But, I'm realizing that I may need to readjust how I've been handling my food budget in terms of the breakdown between produce and staples.
The summer was a very luxurious time, peppers and summer squashes were cheap, Even corn didn't break the bank. But now, unless I want to eat only cabbages and greens, I think I have to devote more of the budget to fruits and vegetables.
I'll let you know how that works out.
Meanwhile, I've had a few slip ups but I've mostly been good abotu sticking to my grains and beans as basics with eggs and a little meat thrown in. Truth be told, I've mostly given up eating meat but I still throw it in there to cover vitamin B12 in my diet. I dont' really miss it either, except that now I'm craving things like chicken soup.
In fact, living on $5/day has really become sort of second nature to me. Maybe after the new year, I'll see if I can go lower and still be comfortable and nutritious.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Farmer's market haul 8/2, stretching food, and moods
Last week, I was surprised at how much food I had left over from the previous week. I was trying to figure it out because it felt like I had been eating my usual diet, for the most part, and I didn't think I'd overbought by that much the week before. In retrospect, I realized that I had changed a few things form what I'd been doing for the weeks before.
For one thing, I made more things that were combinations of foods. For example, I made a ratatouille based on This recipe form Culinate.com, and I made salsa, and I made a pasta sauce. All were tomato based using the second tomatoes I'd bought previously. While they also used other vegetables, they didn't use as much of those as I had.
I realized that before last week, I'd been eating a lot of single foods. For example, I'd roast eggplant or zucchini and I'd slice up a cucumber. When I eat like that, it's easier to keep track of how much is being eaten because I'M aware that I put half the cucumber in the container, and three small eggplants, or whatever.
I guess I was unintentionally doing things that would stretch my vegetables out because I tended to eat more grains and starches with the prepared dishes.
This gets to the other things that was happening for the last couple of weeks: I've been stressed by somethings going on in my family and fighting a mild depression and it's making my diet go off kilter.
My moods are very much affected by what I eat. I know this about myself. I know that eating two much sugar and carbohydrates in the morning without balancing it with protein or fat will make me really cranky by lunch time. I also know that when I"m stressed I have that common reaction of wanting to eat comfort foods that are easy and quick and not generally as well balanced as I try to be.
Because I was having the internal argument of eat what I felt like eating vs eat what I knew I should eat, I wasn't eating as much as I should of anything and that was making me even cranker because I was feeling like I was denying myself things that would make me feel better in the short run. Sometimes, when you argue with yourself, one of you becomes that recalcitrant teenager who sort of knows that the voice of reason is right but refuses to acknowledge it.
So, this week, my goal is to get my diet back on track and spend time investigating moods and food from other people's perspectives.
There are a couple of websites I want to spend some time on:
Mind.org: Food and mood
MoodFoods
I'll also peruse the medical and public health literature (if you don't' already use Pubmed, you should. It's amazing how much of the medical and scientific literature is available and understandable).
From the farmer's market this week:
eggs- $1.75
3 zucchini- $1
3 green peppers $1
2 LB kale $2
1/2 gallon milk $3.50
rhubarb (seems like it's never going to end this year) $3.50
onions $2
Black beans $3 (so much more expensive than buying then canned or dried but worth it)
6 ears corn $2.50
$20.25 total
Not bad. I'm really going to make myself eat it all too!
For one thing, I made more things that were combinations of foods. For example, I made a ratatouille based on This recipe form Culinate.com, and I made salsa, and I made a pasta sauce. All were tomato based using the second tomatoes I'd bought previously. While they also used other vegetables, they didn't use as much of those as I had.
I realized that before last week, I'd been eating a lot of single foods. For example, I'd roast eggplant or zucchini and I'd slice up a cucumber. When I eat like that, it's easier to keep track of how much is being eaten because I'M aware that I put half the cucumber in the container, and three small eggplants, or whatever.
I guess I was unintentionally doing things that would stretch my vegetables out because I tended to eat more grains and starches with the prepared dishes.
This gets to the other things that was happening for the last couple of weeks: I've been stressed by somethings going on in my family and fighting a mild depression and it's making my diet go off kilter.
My moods are very much affected by what I eat. I know this about myself. I know that eating two much sugar and carbohydrates in the morning without balancing it with protein or fat will make me really cranky by lunch time. I also know that when I"m stressed I have that common reaction of wanting to eat comfort foods that are easy and quick and not generally as well balanced as I try to be.
Because I was having the internal argument of eat what I felt like eating vs eat what I knew I should eat, I wasn't eating as much as I should of anything and that was making me even cranker because I was feeling like I was denying myself things that would make me feel better in the short run. Sometimes, when you argue with yourself, one of you becomes that recalcitrant teenager who sort of knows that the voice of reason is right but refuses to acknowledge it.
So, this week, my goal is to get my diet back on track and spend time investigating moods and food from other people's perspectives.
There are a couple of websites I want to spend some time on:
Mind.org: Food and mood
MoodFoods
I'll also peruse the medical and public health literature (if you don't' already use Pubmed, you should. It's amazing how much of the medical and scientific literature is available and understandable).
From the farmer's market this week:
eggs- $1.75
3 zucchini- $1
3 green peppers $1
2 LB kale $2
1/2 gallon milk $3.50
rhubarb (seems like it's never going to end this year) $3.50
onions $2
Black beans $3 (so much more expensive than buying then canned or dried but worth it)
6 ears corn $2.50
$20.25 total
Not bad. I'm really going to make myself eat it all too!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Farmer's Market 07/26/2009
The Farmer's market had a million things to buy but I didn't need much of anything. Honestly, I'm not sure what I ate last week because it seems like there is still lots of food left in the refrigerator.
So, I pretty much limited myself to eggs, milks, rhubarb (yep, they still had some), cantaloupe and and adorable eggplant. My total was $14 so I splurged and got an iced coffee for $1.50.
Splurging is a funny thing. For a long time, I spent some money every single day. Even if all I bought was a soda or a cup of coffee or tea; pretty much no day went my without spending something. In the last few weeks the number of says that I haven't spent any money at all has outnumbered the days I did spend significantly. I didn't really even notice. But, I was also getting a bit obsessive about not spending anything at all just so that I wouldn't be spending.
Yesterday, I volunteered at a small local festival. It's a fun day and bring sin a very diverse crowd which always makes me happy. There are always a few vendors and I never know how well they do so I usually try to buy a few little things to support them, but I've gotten into such a frugal state of mind that I couldn't convince myself to buy anything yesterday. Now I'm sorry because they had falafel sandwiches from the best place in the city for $5 and I love a good falafel.
I had a similar ambivalence earlier in the week when I went to a donation only performance. I want to support that kind of endeavor and make it worthwhile for all involved but I also don't want to break my own budget. As it happened, I forgot my wallet (hmm, what would Freud have to say about that?) and couldn't pay anyone anything. I was mortified and will find a way to make it up to them.
These events raise an issue I struggle with frequently: supporting events that I think are useful without sacrificing my budget. Volunteering is one way to do it. But many of the events rely on people who need to make something back on their investment (even if it only means breaking even). I make an effort to find inexpensive things that I can buy to show support. but i also don't want to end up with a bunch of things I don't need and, sometimes, the less expensive food items are things I don't eat (soda or high sugar foods).
I suppose that I will continue to struggle with this and will just have to take it on a case by case basis.
So, I pretty much limited myself to eggs, milks, rhubarb (yep, they still had some), cantaloupe and and adorable eggplant. My total was $14 so I splurged and got an iced coffee for $1.50.
Splurging is a funny thing. For a long time, I spent some money every single day. Even if all I bought was a soda or a cup of coffee or tea; pretty much no day went my without spending something. In the last few weeks the number of says that I haven't spent any money at all has outnumbered the days I did spend significantly. I didn't really even notice. But, I was also getting a bit obsessive about not spending anything at all just so that I wouldn't be spending.
Yesterday, I volunteered at a small local festival. It's a fun day and bring sin a very diverse crowd which always makes me happy. There are always a few vendors and I never know how well they do so I usually try to buy a few little things to support them, but I've gotten into such a frugal state of mind that I couldn't convince myself to buy anything yesterday. Now I'm sorry because they had falafel sandwiches from the best place in the city for $5 and I love a good falafel.
I had a similar ambivalence earlier in the week when I went to a donation only performance. I want to support that kind of endeavor and make it worthwhile for all involved but I also don't want to break my own budget. As it happened, I forgot my wallet (hmm, what would Freud have to say about that?) and couldn't pay anyone anything. I was mortified and will find a way to make it up to them.
These events raise an issue I struggle with frequently: supporting events that I think are useful without sacrificing my budget. Volunteering is one way to do it. But many of the events rely on people who need to make something back on their investment (even if it only means breaking even). I make an effort to find inexpensive things that I can buy to show support. but i also don't want to end up with a bunch of things I don't need and, sometimes, the less expensive food items are things I don't eat (soda or high sugar foods).
I suppose that I will continue to struggle with this and will just have to take it on a case by case basis.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Market haul 18 July
Not the nest picture but it shows how much stuff there was.
Rhubarb is almost done for the year so I bought two pounds so I can put some away for the fall. That was my big expense.
8 tomatoes (seconds) 2.50
2 lb rhubarb 7.00
3 big zucchini 1.00
3 medium cucumbers 1.00
8 small eggplants 3.00
5 apples 3.00
1/2 gallon milk 3.50 (I split this with my housemate so i don't usually count the whole thing in my expenses)
$21.00 for the lot and the milk, rhubarb, and apples are really only half mine.
I feel a ratouille coming on this week. I usually just wing it when I make something like that but I may go and find an actual recipe.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
In the end, I couldn't help myself. I just know that someone is going to clear out the refrigerator at work and throw away a ton of the food that is still hanging around. So, last night, I made a nice plate to take to a meeting I had up the street. It's not required to take food but I knew that people would eat it if I took it. So I picked up some cheese and salami and pepperoni and olives. Yes, this goes against my belief that eating just to get rid of food when you don't need to eat is the same as throwing the stuff away. But, I couldn't fight the urge.
It turned out to be a great idea. At least two people hadn't eaten dinner before the meeting and were starving and afraid that all there would be were sweets or junk. They were incredibly happy to see real food. I was happy to put it to good use. One of my meetingmates took the leftovers home to make pizza. I feel much better.
My trash for the week consists of:
teabags (bag in composting tag in recycling)
Tea wrappers- two in recycling, several in the trash
veggie bits into the composting
plastic wrap that was on some containers I found in the cupboard
my big trash is dog poop. I live in a city and I walk the dog in the park so I have to pick up his poop and throw it away. I reuse the plastic bags from the farmer's market and grocery store which means lot of extra plastic for clean up. But, when I've looked up biodegradable dog poop bags, they average over 10 cents each and I'm not sure about the expense vs the plastic. The problem is that I don't have any other way to recycle the plastic bags so I feel better that they are at least being used for something.
It turned out to be a great idea. At least two people hadn't eaten dinner before the meeting and were starving and afraid that all there would be were sweets or junk. They were incredibly happy to see real food. I was happy to put it to good use. One of my meetingmates took the leftovers home to make pizza. I feel much better.
My trash for the week consists of:
teabags (bag in composting tag in recycling)
Tea wrappers- two in recycling, several in the trash
veggie bits into the composting
plastic wrap that was on some containers I found in the cupboard
my big trash is dog poop. I live in a city and I walk the dog in the park so I have to pick up his poop and throw it away. I reuse the plastic bags from the farmer's market and grocery store which means lot of extra plastic for clean up. But, when I've looked up biodegradable dog poop bags, they average over 10 cents each and I'm not sure about the expense vs the plastic. The problem is that I don't have any other way to recycle the plastic bags so I feel better that they are at least being used for something.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Another interesting blog I found
There are lots of frugal living blogs out there these days. I love to browse them when I have time because it's interesting to see all the different circumstances under which people started and are living the "frugal life"
(for the record, I don't see myself as being particularly frugal for frugality's sake. I have financial goals which meant that I needed to re prioritize my spending).
One blog that I like in particular is The Grocery Cart Challenge. Why this one? A few reasons: one is that what she is doing is very different from what I'm doing even though the principle is the same. She is feeding a family of 6 on $60/week. I swear that I would not have thought it possible but she is doing it even with all the challenges of having kids and a husband. The second is that she has really opened her blog up to participation by her readers through a nifty widget that allows people to enter the link to their own blog. The third follows along with that and that is that you can find lots of links to other frugal shoppers there.
Visit her blog and you will find shopping lists and recipes and all sorts of other stuff.
(for the record, I don't see myself as being particularly frugal for frugality's sake. I have financial goals which meant that I needed to re prioritize my spending).
One blog that I like in particular is The Grocery Cart Challenge. Why this one? A few reasons: one is that what she is doing is very different from what I'm doing even though the principle is the same. She is feeding a family of 6 on $60/week. I swear that I would not have thought it possible but she is doing it even with all the challenges of having kids and a husband. The second is that she has really opened her blog up to participation by her readers through a nifty widget that allows people to enter the link to their own blog. The third follows along with that and that is that you can find lots of links to other frugal shoppers there.
Visit her blog and you will find shopping lists and recipes and all sorts of other stuff.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Freebies
Yesterday was "free slurpee day" at Seven Eleven. Apparently, Monday is free mocha day at McDonald's. There is a ton of leftovers in the kitchen here at work so it is not an exaggeration to say that I could have free lunch and snacks for the next few days.
The problem is that I don't really want any of these things. Occasionally, my Sevem Eleven has a sugar free slurpee that is nice but I wouldn't drink the sweetened kind at all, ever. I enjoy a nice mocha but I'm not really interested in one from McDonalds and I'd have to make a special effort to go there to get it anyway. The stuff in the kitchen includes a lot of chips and store bought dips. There is also cheese and pepperoni but how much of that do I want to eat at lunch time?
I'm constantly running into things I could get for free and having to debate whether I want them enough that I would pay for them if they weren't free. I know people who reflexively take anything that is free regardless of whether they want it or not. My old boss would always get the potatoes and toast with her eggs even though she was doing the Atkin's induction, just because they came with the meal (funny thing is that it turns out that if she has just been nicer to the people at the restaurant, they would have discounted the price for her for not taking the extras).
On some of the coupon blogs I've seen people comment that they've gotten so much free stuff they don't even know anymore what they have.
For me, I think that unless I'd be willing to pay for an item or know of someone who would appreciate it, I'm going to pass up on the freebies. In the end, they just raise the price of the item for the regular buyers, they generally have a bunch of packaging that will have to be thrown out, and they are often form food companies I think I'd rather not appear to support.
fr
The problem is that I don't really want any of these things. Occasionally, my Sevem Eleven has a sugar free slurpee that is nice but I wouldn't drink the sweetened kind at all, ever. I enjoy a nice mocha but I'm not really interested in one from McDonalds and I'd have to make a special effort to go there to get it anyway. The stuff in the kitchen includes a lot of chips and store bought dips. There is also cheese and pepperoni but how much of that do I want to eat at lunch time?
I'm constantly running into things I could get for free and having to debate whether I want them enough that I would pay for them if they weren't free. I know people who reflexively take anything that is free regardless of whether they want it or not. My old boss would always get the potatoes and toast with her eggs even though she was doing the Atkin's induction, just because they came with the meal (funny thing is that it turns out that if she has just been nicer to the people at the restaurant, they would have discounted the price for her for not taking the extras).
On some of the coupon blogs I've seen people comment that they've gotten so much free stuff they don't even know anymore what they have.
For me, I think that unless I'd be willing to pay for an item or know of someone who would appreciate it, I'm going to pass up on the freebies. In the end, they just raise the price of the item for the regular buyers, they generally have a bunch of packaging that will have to be thrown out, and they are often form food companies I think I'd rather not appear to support.
fr
Pot luck hangover
Ahh, the pot luck last night was fantastic! The food was all beautiful and a lot of it was local. there was a delicious cole slaw, my quinoa salad, a wheatberry salad. An incredible Trinidadian dish (the hostess is trini) made with vegetables and dried fish was the only non vegetarian thing there. there were amazing roasted vegetables with fresh mozzarella and a dip that I'm not even sure what all was in it apart from a home made pepper jelly and beans and shallots. Many of the vegetables came from the farmer's market or from people's rooftop gardens and backyard planters.
There were lots of leftovers so I managed to come home with almost as much food as I took, including two cucumbers, some of the fish dish, and wheatberry salad.
On a different note: I'm continuing the fight with my neighbor about his annoying tree. He came by yesterday to ask me to open my back gate so that he could cut some more branches. I opened it and told him that I'm happy to have the tree gone but that he MUST be sure not to harm any of my food producing plants. He said that he couldn't guarantee the safety of my herbs and tomatoes. I was pretty mad (because my housemate told me that when they went out last time, the neighbor was cutting branches and letting them fall where ever on the theory that as long as I didn't know, it wasn't a big deal) and told him that if my plants were damaged I would expect him to compensate me for them and that he's had ten years to cut the tree down and there is no reason why he needs to be doing it in the middle of the summer putting my stuff at risk.
He stomped off in a huff.
There were lots of leftovers so I managed to come home with almost as much food as I took, including two cucumbers, some of the fish dish, and wheatberry salad.
On a different note: I'm continuing the fight with my neighbor about his annoying tree. He came by yesterday to ask me to open my back gate so that he could cut some more branches. I opened it and told him that I'm happy to have the tree gone but that he MUST be sure not to harm any of my food producing plants. He said that he couldn't guarantee the safety of my herbs and tomatoes. I was pretty mad (because my housemate told me that when they went out last time, the neighbor was cutting branches and letting them fall where ever on the theory that as long as I didn't know, it wasn't a big deal) and told him that if my plants were damaged I would expect him to compensate me for them and that he's had ten years to cut the tree down and there is no reason why he needs to be doing it in the middle of the summer putting my stuff at risk.
He stomped off in a huff.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Another potluck and farmer's market haul
My tabouleh received a lukewarm greeting at the baby shower. Mostly because the party was at 2:30 and people wanted more snacky food. This was good for me because it means I got to bring most of it home.
I have another potluck today, a picnic in the park at a concert. I want to be sure to bring something unusual but also to work with what I have so I've picked a recipe for Tomato Mint Quinoa salad which will be fresh and light and probably not something anyone else is making. Plus, I have all the ingredients except the radishes and I'm just going to leave them out. I don't think I've ever bought a radish in my life. I will FINALLY finish the tomatoes from a couple weeks ago.
My farmer's market haul for the week:
1 lb kale $1
6 yams $2
3 cucumbers $1
3 green peppers $1
1 qt green beans $2
1/4 peck peaches $6 (but it's a ton of peaches!)
1 lb rhubarb $3.50
1 dz eggs 1.75
1/2 gall milk 3.50
6 small onions $2
Total: $23.75
I have chicken, oatmeal, rice and some beans left so I'll probably buy a few loaves of bread and maybe a jar of peanut butter and be done with it.
Two weeks ago the big market explosion was the tomatoes. This week it was the peaches. I can't wait to have peachy oatmeal and since I have so many, I will probably freeze the rhubarb to use in the fall with apples.
I have another potluck today, a picnic in the park at a concert. I want to be sure to bring something unusual but also to work with what I have so I've picked a recipe for Tomato Mint Quinoa salad which will be fresh and light and probably not something anyone else is making. Plus, I have all the ingredients except the radishes and I'm just going to leave them out. I don't think I've ever bought a radish in my life. I will FINALLY finish the tomatoes from a couple weeks ago.
My farmer's market haul for the week:
1 lb kale $1
6 yams $2
3 cucumbers $1
3 green peppers $1
1 qt green beans $2
1/4 peck peaches $6 (but it's a ton of peaches!)
1 lb rhubarb $3.50
1 dz eggs 1.75
1/2 gall milk 3.50
6 small onions $2
Total: $23.75
I have chicken, oatmeal, rice and some beans left so I'll probably buy a few loaves of bread and maybe a jar of peanut butter and be done with it.
Two weeks ago the big market explosion was the tomatoes. This week it was the peaches. I can't wait to have peachy oatmeal and since I have so many, I will probably freeze the rhubarb to use in the fall with apples.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Wste Not Want not
I ran across the Confessions of a (Sometimes!) Serendipitous Girl which is a cute (in layout)and smart (in content) blog by a woman who has recently relocated to Oregon. SSG is planning on starting a food budget of $40-50/week and will be posting about her shopping and menus. I have a feeling that she will come up with some new ideas that I can certainly use.
She also posted the first of Food Waste Friday pictures, an idea she got from the Frugal Girl. I was considering a similar idea myself (err, great minds and all that?) but it's hard for me because my housemate adds a lot to the trash!
If I'm going to pursue this, now is the time. My city is switching to a one plus one trash pickup. This will mean once a week for trash and once a week for recycling. I'm beyond excited about the recycling because I have so much more of that than trash anyway.
In fact, my actual trash is usually only a few plastic bags that food comes in, the plastic covers from oatmeal,
Recyclables: cardboard oatmeal container, egg cartons that go back to the farmers, milk bottle that also goes back to the farmer. Bread bags which I can use for cleaning up after the dog (ok, it's a total stretch to call this recycling)
Compostables: tea bags, coffee grounds, vegetable ends.
As far as my food waste goes, I'm pretty careful about it. If I have a sense that something will go off before I can eat it, I figure out how to freeze it or try to find another way to make it last longer. A few years ago I got a dehydrator for my birthday because I needed a way to handle all the figs my tree was producing. Since then, I've used it for all sorts of things, some more successful than others.
I'm fairly happy with the extent to which I've cut down on my waste. I'm still looking to reduce it more, if possible.
On another note: I'm watching King Corn today. I was hoping to buy corn on the cob at the market tomorrow but now I don't know. I know that the film isn't about corn in that way but I've always have strong reactions to films about food. I have to be careful because I'm always dropping foods out of my diet because of it! Anyway, it's a great documentary and I highly recommend it while you wait for Food Inc to come your way.
She also posted the first of Food Waste Friday pictures, an idea she got from the Frugal Girl. I was considering a similar idea myself (err, great minds and all that?) but it's hard for me because my housemate adds a lot to the trash!
If I'm going to pursue this, now is the time. My city is switching to a one plus one trash pickup. This will mean once a week for trash and once a week for recycling. I'm beyond excited about the recycling because I have so much more of that than trash anyway.
In fact, my actual trash is usually only a few plastic bags that food comes in, the plastic covers from oatmeal,
Recyclables: cardboard oatmeal container, egg cartons that go back to the farmers, milk bottle that also goes back to the farmer. Bread bags which I can use for cleaning up after the dog (ok, it's a total stretch to call this recycling)
Compostables: tea bags, coffee grounds, vegetable ends.
As far as my food waste goes, I'm pretty careful about it. If I have a sense that something will go off before I can eat it, I figure out how to freeze it or try to find another way to make it last longer. A few years ago I got a dehydrator for my birthday because I needed a way to handle all the figs my tree was producing. Since then, I've used it for all sorts of things, some more successful than others.
I'm fairly happy with the extent to which I've cut down on my waste. I'm still looking to reduce it more, if possible.
On another note: I'm watching King Corn today. I was hoping to buy corn on the cob at the market tomorrow but now I don't know. I know that the film isn't about corn in that way but I've always have strong reactions to films about food. I have to be careful because I'm always dropping foods out of my diet because of it! Anyway, it's a great documentary and I highly recommend it while you wait for Food Inc to come your way.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Rethinking coupons
Yesterday I suddenly remembered that I was supposed to bring something today for an office baby shower. Luckily, at my suggestion, the food theme is sort of middle eastern so I knew it would be easy to find something in my budget that I could do quickly.
Since I STILL have tomatoes and a cucumber, I decided to make Tabouleh using a pretty much standard recipe like the one here. I'm not a big fan of too much parsley so I went out back and picked about half the amount the recipe calls for and some mint. My backyard is fairly sheltered so things like sage, parsley, mint last all year for me. I also have basil, rosemary, and lavender back there. The only ingredients I needed to buy were the bulgar wheat and lemon. The Bulgar seemed expensive at $4.99 for 28 ounces but I have about half of it left for later use so that isn't too bad. For the lemons I had the option of one lemon for .69 or a 2lb bag for 2.99. Since I don't use lemons all that much, I opted for the single lemon.
While I was at the Safeway, the cashier suggested that I go online and look at all the coupon options they have just added. In February, it was really cold and my housemate was stuck inside with pneumonia and broken ribs so I started having groceries delivered. That made me very familiar with the store's website and I use it a lot now when I am checking on prices of things before I buy. In over a month of food delivery, I don't think I ever found a coupon on the site that was useful to me. I also scan many blogs and other money saving sites routinely and almost never find coupons for anything I want to buy.
As a result, I've sort of given up on the whole coupon thing altogether. It seems to me that a lot of people who rely extensively on coupons aren't actually eating all that well and are also teaching their children to have a taste for more processed foods. I just find it easier to buy things that I know I both want and are in my budget than to try to figure out what I have coupons for that haven't expired and how I will combine those foods, etc. it just seems like a lot of work to me.
So, out of curiosity, today I went online to check the "new" coupons that my store was offering. Much to my surprise, there were many that I would consider using. In most cases I'd still have to do some research on the best value for my money and situation. But they had coupons for things like olive oil, fresh salmon, dried cranberries, boneless skinless chicken breasts, a couple different kinds of vegetarian frozen foods, and several kinds of yogurt. There were still a bunch of processed and frozen things but I hadn't expected to find anything much that I would eat.
I doubt that I will ever become one of those people who goes crazy over coupons but it's nice to know that there are some that I can use.
Since I STILL have tomatoes and a cucumber, I decided to make Tabouleh using a pretty much standard recipe like the one here. I'm not a big fan of too much parsley so I went out back and picked about half the amount the recipe calls for and some mint. My backyard is fairly sheltered so things like sage, parsley, mint last all year for me. I also have basil, rosemary, and lavender back there. The only ingredients I needed to buy were the bulgar wheat and lemon. The Bulgar seemed expensive at $4.99 for 28 ounces but I have about half of it left for later use so that isn't too bad. For the lemons I had the option of one lemon for .69 or a 2lb bag for 2.99. Since I don't use lemons all that much, I opted for the single lemon.
While I was at the Safeway, the cashier suggested that I go online and look at all the coupon options they have just added. In February, it was really cold and my housemate was stuck inside with pneumonia and broken ribs so I started having groceries delivered. That made me very familiar with the store's website and I use it a lot now when I am checking on prices of things before I buy. In over a month of food delivery, I don't think I ever found a coupon on the site that was useful to me. I also scan many blogs and other money saving sites routinely and almost never find coupons for anything I want to buy.
As a result, I've sort of given up on the whole coupon thing altogether. It seems to me that a lot of people who rely extensively on coupons aren't actually eating all that well and are also teaching their children to have a taste for more processed foods. I just find it easier to buy things that I know I both want and are in my budget than to try to figure out what I have coupons for that haven't expired and how I will combine those foods, etc. it just seems like a lot of work to me.
So, out of curiosity, today I went online to check the "new" coupons that my store was offering. Much to my surprise, there were many that I would consider using. In most cases I'd still have to do some research on the best value for my money and situation. But they had coupons for things like olive oil, fresh salmon, dried cranberries, boneless skinless chicken breasts, a couple different kinds of vegetarian frozen foods, and several kinds of yogurt. There were still a bunch of processed and frozen things but I hadn't expected to find anything much that I would eat.
I doubt that I will ever become one of those people who goes crazy over coupons but it's nice to know that there are some that I can use.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Other people's food
I have a real post in draft form but I wanted to ask people to do two things:
1. Click at the Hunger Site
2. Look into the H.R. 1410: Newborn, Child, and Mother Survival Act of 2009
Personally, I waste a lot of time each day so I have no problem wasting it somewhere that might mean food for people living in poverty. I'm also not convinced by the argument that giving people food undermines their ability to produce food. People are not animals, there is no simple "If you feed me I"ll stop hunting" response lime in zoo animals. I believe that most people want to be self-sufficient and will work towards that goal if they see it as attainable. I also think that when you are starving, you don't really have time to worry about the finer politics of food.
Now, I admit that I need to do more research on the relationship between giving people food and food security. I know it isn't simple and that there are a million other variables including public health programs, education, culture, geography, etc.
But, until I have done enough research, I'll probably keep clicking.
In any event, you can still always click on the breast cancer site, child health, literacy, rain forest, and animal rescue.
1. Click at the Hunger Site
2. Look into the H.R. 1410: Newborn, Child, and Mother Survival Act of 2009
I know that there are two sides (or more) to The Hunger Site. Some people feel that it is just a bandaid to make people who spend too much time on the internet feel good about themselves and that the amount of time spent clicking would be better spent elsewhere.3/10/2009--Introduced.Newborn, Child, and Mother Survival Act of 2009 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to furnish assistance to improve the health of newborns, children, and mothers in developing countries.Directs the President to develop a comprehensive U.S. government strategy to reduce mortality and improve the health of newborns, children, and mothers in developing countries.Establishes the Interagency Task Force on Child Survival and Maternal Health in Developing Countries.
Personally, I waste a lot of time each day so I have no problem wasting it somewhere that might mean food for people living in poverty. I'm also not convinced by the argument that giving people food undermines their ability to produce food. People are not animals, there is no simple "If you feed me I"ll stop hunting" response lime in zoo animals. I believe that most people want to be self-sufficient and will work towards that goal if they see it as attainable. I also think that when you are starving, you don't really have time to worry about the finer politics of food.
Now, I admit that I need to do more research on the relationship between giving people food and food security. I know it isn't simple and that there are a million other variables including public health programs, education, culture, geography, etc.
But, until I have done enough research, I'll probably keep clicking.
In any event, you can still always click on the breast cancer site, child health, literacy, rain forest, and animal rescue.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Weekly Shopping (sort of)
Becaused I overspent a bit last week, I wanted to keep my spending this week to a minimum. I also looked around and realized that I still have lots of food in the house so I'm not in dire need of much. Before i left last week, I put two qurts of tomatoes in the freezer, half of teh peas that I had, rhubarb, and some rice that I'd already cooked. I still have a cucumber, and some squash in the refrigerator and LOTS of beans and rice leftover. Really, the only thing I need is milk because what I had left went bad (I get it from a local farmer at the farmer's market- it's more expensive than the grocery store but the bottle is recylable and I like knowing the guy who feeds the cow who gives me my milk).
So, my plan this week was to stock up on things I might not normally get. I decided to check out the coupons to the local Safeway (I need to write more about coupons sometime, I have a love hate relationship with them). My housemate was going shopping so this is what I sent him out to buy for me:
I don't love quinoa but it's a "superfood" and I like it well enough to have it around for a little variety. The bacon was purely because it was on a 2 for 1 sale and keeps forever and I can use it for flavoring and in salads and omelettes. Chances are that my housemate will end up eating it anyway. The chicken seemed like a really good deal and I haven't had any in a while and the milk was the thing I most needed.
When I was making my list, I noticed that my thought process hasn't really changed over the last few weeks. It sounds strange but I was feeling almost obliged to spend the full $35 that I had budgeted. It was easy to talk myself out of it because of the overspending last week. But in my head there was $35 to spend and spend it I must even though I didn't need that much food.
I guess I'll still have to work on that
So, my plan this week was to stock up on things I might not normally get. I decided to check out the coupons to the local Safeway (I need to write more about coupons sometime, I have a love hate relationship with them). My housemate was going shopping so this is what I sent him out to buy for me:
| Item | Price/amnt | Price/serving | #servings |
| quinoa | 4.15/14oz | .46 | 9 |
| Bacon | 3.99/24 oz | .28 | 14? |
| Chicken breast | 9.99/4lb | .62 | 16 |
| milk | 1.99/half gall | .25 | 8 |
| | 20.12 | | |
I don't love quinoa but it's a "superfood" and I like it well enough to have it around for a little variety. The bacon was purely because it was on a 2 for 1 sale and keeps forever and I can use it for flavoring and in salads and omelettes. Chances are that my housemate will end up eating it anyway. The chicken seemed like a really good deal and I haven't had any in a while and the milk was the thing I most needed.
When I was making my list, I noticed that my thought process hasn't really changed over the last few weeks. It sounds strange but I was feeling almost obliged to spend the full $35 that I had budgeted. It was easy to talk myself out of it because of the overspending last week. But in my head there was $35 to spend and spend it I must even though I didn't need that much food.
I guess I'll still have to work on that
Monday, July 6, 2009
Back from the weekend
I'm back from the weekend at my sister's. It was very interesting to b ein her house after having gone through eating my own house down to bare bones. She is a warehouse shopping addict! Her house has 4 jars of peanut butter, five large containers of various kinds of nuts, 8 bags of chips of various sorts, 6 boxes of boca burgers, 5 boxes of vegetarian corn dogs, four kinds of cereals, a refrigerator full of beer and Mike's Har lemonade things. That's all I can remember and that's not the half of it.
On one hand, It was really fun to have access to so much stuff. Most of what she has around is not really bad food if eaten in moderation. But having so much around meant that it was hard to walk through the dining room without wanting to snack on something. i worked hard at being good but had my moments. Others in my family never made it through without eating something.
For the Fourth, one of the dishes that we made was potatoes roasted in the oven with a little olive oil and herbs(one pan was rosmary, one was sage and onion, one was mint). Now, this i sthe easiest possible dish to prepare. In fact, roasting various kinds of vegetables with olive oil is something I do several times a week. So you can imagine how strange I find it that people are always amazed by the dish when I prepare it. It's incredibly cheap and easy and delicious. Really, the only hard part about it is having the patience to let it cook for long enough. Even then, as long as it's brown outside, you can alway microwave it to get the inside done.
I thought this was how everyone cooks!
On one hand, It was really fun to have access to so much stuff. Most of what she has around is not really bad food if eaten in moderation. But having so much around meant that it was hard to walk through the dining room without wanting to snack on something. i worked hard at being good but had my moments. Others in my family never made it through without eating something.
For the Fourth, one of the dishes that we made was potatoes roasted in the oven with a little olive oil and herbs(one pan was rosmary, one was sage and onion, one was mint). Now, this i sthe easiest possible dish to prepare. In fact, roasting various kinds of vegetables with olive oil is something I do several times a week. So you can imagine how strange I find it that people are always amazed by the dish when I prepare it. It's incredibly cheap and easy and delicious. Really, the only hard part about it is having the patience to let it cook for long enough. Even then, as long as it's brown outside, you can alway microwave it to get the inside done.
I thought this was how everyone cooks!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Visiting Family
I'm leaving tonight for my sister's until Monday. it's about 600miles so we will drive through the night (I sleep and my housemate drives and then when we get there, he gets to sleep).
This presents a dilemma for me because I want to be generous and share in the expense for food but I'd also like to stay within my weekly budget if I can. So my plan is to take actual food with me rather than offering my little $15 dollars. I think this works really well because there are things I can get cheaper here than she can get there and it also helps with her ability to get everything done.
This is the list of what I'm planning to take:
6 loaves of bread (from the outlet 3/$1)
2 sets of hot dog buns 2.50
Two pounds of coffee which I already have in my freezer
that "relish" accident I made the other day- I'm going to stick it in a pretty jar and make it be gourmet
I'm also going to make a couple pounds of Greek style green beans . green bean are running about $1.50/lb right now.
and, since I am developing a surplus of milk and eggs, I'll do a bread pudding to take with me too.
Then I need to get some beer so I'll get a case of the local stuff and that will put me over budget but it will be worth it since it's sort of a gift.
The more I plan, the more excited I'm getting!
This presents a dilemma for me because I want to be generous and share in the expense for food but I'd also like to stay within my weekly budget if I can. So my plan is to take actual food with me rather than offering my little $15 dollars. I think this works really well because there are things I can get cheaper here than she can get there and it also helps with her ability to get everything done.
This is the list of what I'm planning to take:
6 loaves of bread (from the outlet 3/$1)
2 sets of hot dog buns 2.50
Two pounds of coffee which I already have in my freezer
that "relish" accident I made the other day- I'm going to stick it in a pretty jar and make it be gourmet
I'm also going to make a couple pounds of Greek style green beans . green bean are running about $1.50/lb right now.
and, since I am developing a surplus of milk and eggs, I'll do a bread pudding to take with me too.
Then I need to get some beer so I'll get a case of the local stuff and that will put me over budget but it will be worth it since it's sort of a gift.
The more I plan, the more excited I'm getting!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Mid morning snack
I was playing with "StumbleUpon" this morning and ran into this article on WomansDay Magazine:
What You Should Be Eating for Breakfast
Include these foods in your morning routine to help curb hunger
By Olivia Putnal Posted June 26, 2009 from WomansDay.com
It seems like every morning around 11 our stomachs start rumbling, even though we just ate breakfast three hours earlier. To avoid getting hungry well before lunchtime, there are nutritious foods you can eat for breakfast that will increase your morning productivity and help curb your appetite. For maximum results, combine two or three of the foods listed below to achieve a nice balance of carbohydrates, fiber, protein and good fats for a hearty meal that stays with you through the entire morning.
Now, apart from the fact that I would bet that I can find another article published in the same magazine that recommends eating something midmorning, it made me wonder what is so bad about eating a snack between breakfast and lunch? As long as it's planned into the day and not something you grabbed out of a vending machine with no nutritional value and costing a relatively large amount of money, I see nothing wrong with it.
In fact, during the week, I have a midmorning snack every day. Usually, it's two slices of multigrain toast but it could also include fruit, tea, nuts, etc. I make every effort to eat a breakfast that is well rounded and satisfying but I have just never ever been able to eat enough for breakfast to prevent being hungry before lunch. So it doesn't make sense for me to stuff myself so I can barely walk in the hopes of surviving to lunch just to risk stuffing myself again because I'm so hungry.
The article made me mad enough to leave a comment.
Today's breakfast:
1/2 cup rhubarb with sugar and cinnamon and 1/2 cup water in microwave until rhubarb is soft (in a small single serving casserole dish)
remove form microwave and sprinkle 1/2 cup of oatmeal on top. Add water until just visible around the oatmeal. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
Because I didn't add milk to the oatmeal and I'm back to drinking coffee for a bit, I made a strong coffee and added a lot of milk to it.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Food experiments and Parental influences on food
As you may recall from yesterday, I was looking for recipes using carrots and I had located one for a sweet carrot relish. I had already made up some cabbage and tomato and since those are both ingredients in the relish, I thought "Oh, I'll just add some carrot." This worked very well. I added two medium carrots and some more vinegar and some sugar. The result was lovely but a bit too much like a relish. I was hoping that I had not added too much of the vinegar and sugar. So,the flavor is just a bit too strong for eating with rice or just as a side dish (although, it would be fantastic on a hot dog!).
I'm eating it as part of my lunch today with brown rice because I needed an extra something and didn't have time this morning to fix something else. But it made me think about how much I will be willing to experiment if I know that I'm not willing or able to stretch my food budget to cover failures. In this case, I know I have enough food at home so that I can put this dish aside and use it in a different way. But, it could have gone terribly wrong and been completely inedible too. Then where would I be?
I can see how easy it is to slip into the same routine because it's safe and predictable and there is a much smaller chance of wasting food because it's been rendered inedible.
This is really the mind set of many people who lived through the Depression or WWII. They were taught not to waste and not to take or try food they might not like in case they hated it. My housemate's father is extremely cautious.
I can understand it for people who lived through really trying times. But I've also found that parents easily pass those attitudes on to their children. My housemate grew up with a very limited diet and is unwilling to try anything new. Even when I lived alone, I had to fight the urge to save the "good stuff" for company
Although a recent study suggests hat Parents influence in their children's eating habits is small, I have a hard time believing it. I need to read the full article to see what I think . I can see where parental control over teenagers might be limited. But I wonder what happens when the child grows older. I know that when I was at the end of my teens and into my twenties, I didn't eat anything like a well balanced diet so the correlation between how I was raised and how I was eating would have been really small. But, as I got older and started realizing how diet affected my body and health, my habits became much more like my parents.
Now, I eat a much wider variety of food than they do. But ultimately, they came me a taste for well balanced and interesting foods. I'd like to see the above study go further to see the parental influences into adult life.
I'm eating it as part of my lunch today with brown rice because I needed an extra something and didn't have time this morning to fix something else. But it made me think about how much I will be willing to experiment if I know that I'm not willing or able to stretch my food budget to cover failures. In this case, I know I have enough food at home so that I can put this dish aside and use it in a different way. But, it could have gone terribly wrong and been completely inedible too. Then where would I be?
I can see how easy it is to slip into the same routine because it's safe and predictable and there is a much smaller chance of wasting food because it's been rendered inedible.
This is really the mind set of many people who lived through the Depression or WWII. They were taught not to waste and not to take or try food they might not like in case they hated it. My housemate's father is extremely cautious.
I can understand it for people who lived through really trying times. But I've also found that parents easily pass those attitudes on to their children. My housemate grew up with a very limited diet and is unwilling to try anything new. Even when I lived alone, I had to fight the urge to save the "good stuff" for company
Although a recent study suggests hat Parents influence in their children's eating habits is small, I have a hard time believing it. I need to read the full article to see what I think . I can see where parental control over teenagers might be limited. But I wonder what happens when the child grows older. I know that when I was at the end of my teens and into my twenties, I didn't eat anything like a well balanced diet so the correlation between how I was raised and how I was eating would have been really small. But, as I got older and started realizing how diet affected my body and health, my habits became much more like my parents.
Now, I eat a much wider variety of food than they do. But ultimately, they came me a taste for well balanced and interesting foods. I'd like to see the above study go further to see the parental influences into adult life.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Excitement in the back yard
My neighbor is finally chopping down the ailanthus tree (aka, weed tree or ghetto palm). Chopping at is is a better term, though. For some dumb reason, he refuses to take it down even though it qualifies as a weed and is a finable offense.
This is exciting not just because it mean less crap falling into my yard and, hopefully, fewer seedlings to be yanked up every year. But it's really exciting because it means that my tomato plants may have a shot at getting enough sunlight to produce fruit. I'm not supervising the process because it's too stressful for me and experience shows that my neighbor doesn't care much about protecting my plants. the last time he cut the tree was just before Hurricane Isabel hit and he just let the branches fall where ever, including on top of my fig tree.
I told him this morning that if any of my plants got hurt he would be replacing them and if any of the food producing plants got hurt or destroyed, there would be more than money to pay.
We will see what happens.
My search for carrot recipes (which has been successful and means that he hasn't cut the phone/DSL line yet) turned up a bazillion carrot raisin salads which are not that interesting to me but also this recipe form allrecipe.com for Grandma's sweet carrot relish. I'm thinking that i can modify it a bit for the ingredients I have on hand and it also means that I might be able to use the breadmaker for which I no longer have a paddle which is also supposed to do jams. this could be interesting!
This is exciting not just because it mean less crap falling into my yard and, hopefully, fewer seedlings to be yanked up every year. But it's really exciting because it means that my tomato plants may have a shot at getting enough sunlight to produce fruit. I'm not supervising the process because it's too stressful for me and experience shows that my neighbor doesn't care much about protecting my plants. the last time he cut the tree was just before Hurricane Isabel hit and he just let the branches fall where ever, including on top of my fig tree.
I told him this morning that if any of my plants got hurt he would be replacing them and if any of the food producing plants got hurt or destroyed, there would be more than money to pay.
We will see what happens.
My search for carrot recipes (which has been successful and means that he hasn't cut the phone/DSL line yet) turned up a bazillion carrot raisin salads which are not that interesting to me but also this recipe form allrecipe.com for Grandma's sweet carrot relish. I'm thinking that i can modify it a bit for the ingredients I have on hand and it also means that I might be able to use the breadmaker for which I no longer have a paddle which is also supposed to do jams. this could be interesting!
Farmer's market Haul 6/28/09
I was incredibly excited to go to the market today because I knew that I am pretty much set for my staples form my shopping last week which meant that I could be a little more free in my spending on produce this week.
This was a good week to be able to buy what I wanted because the market has exploded with all the summer stuff. For me and my friends, the market is as much social event as shopping so we always take a walk around to see who has what and for what price and to get all our chit chat for the week done. After we’ve seen everything, we start our shopping.
My haul for the week:
| item | Cost/size | Cost/serving | servings |
| Milk | 1.75/half gallon | .11/half cup | 16 |
| Eggs | 1.75.dozen | .30/2 | 6 |
| Rhubarb | 3.50/lb | .70 | 5 |
| Tomatoes | 4.00/11 pieces | .28 | 14 |
| Potatoes | 3.00/ 20 small | .60 | 5 |
| Peas | 3.00/ lb | .60 | 5 |
| carrots | 2.00/ 4 large | .28 | 7 |
| Zucchini | 2.00/ 4 medium | .40 | 5 |
| Cucumbers | 1.00/3 med-lg | .16 | 6 |
| garlic | .50/head | | |
| | 22.50 | | |
The tomatoes were an amazing deal, I bought the seconds basket for $4 and got 11 tomatoes ranging from mid size to large. I decided against things like broccoli or cauliflower because I still have kale and cabbage left over from last week and because they weren’t actually that great of a deal. Both were about $1.50 a head but the heads were kind of small and would only have been maybe 2.5 servings. Next time I go, I’ll probably buy some and use it in stir fries and soups. Generally, the goal is to make sure that I have 35 servings (strive for 5) of vegetables. So I wanted to be sure that I was getting enough helpings. From the chart above, I ended up with 47 helpings, some of which are freezable.
After I’d finished my shopping and could barely carry my bags, I remembered that I’m going to be away Thursday-Monday . I know I can’t eat everything before Wednesday, even with some dedicated eating. But, this also means that I won’t be going to the market next week which is a bigger problem. I have a local market near work where I can get vegetables but I never really know if they have been grown locally or not.
My plan is to freeze half of the rhubarb, peas, and a bunch of the tomatoes. I’m figuring that the zucchini, carrots and potatoes will still be good. I’ll probably just try to eat all of the cucumbers before then or make a salad with vinegar which will make them keep a bit longer.
So, now I’m off to look at carrot recipes. The ones I bought are huge so I’m not just going to peel and eat them with salt. I’ll let you know what I find.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Vitamin E(lusive)
I routinely keep track of my daily diet using Fitday.com which gives all sorts of information about calorie intake, carbs, fats, protein, and vitamins and minerals. (my only complaint is that it gives you the average for the week for most reports so to find out the numbers for a single day, you just have to have that be the only day for which you enter data for that week)
For the most part, I'm pleased with the nutritional content of my diet. I think I've done a good job of combining carbohydrates, fats, and protein and I still feel like I'm eating enough food. But, I have been curious to know about the vitamin and mineral breakdown as well. I know that the amount of kale I eat is giving me enough in the way of Vitamin A and C and I am outside enough not to have to worry about D. But I'm never really sure where I stand with some of the others.
What I keep finding is that I'm lacking Vitamin E. For the most part, I seem to hover around 39% of the daily recommended amount. In truth, I have to say that I sometimes wonder if it really natters. I mean, if I'm lacking it with my healthy diet now, I must not have been getting any before!
When the USDA devised it's Thrifty Food Plan basket, one of the constraints it noted was that it was impossible to create a thrifty plan that included enough Vitamin E. In fact, they relaxed the standard for the basket so that they were meeting about 63% of the RDA.
The Ohio State University Extensionhas a nice fact sheet on Vitamin E which tells us that:
I guess it's a good thing I get a lot of A since I have no E to protect it.
According to eMedicine from WebMD:
In general, when studies contradict each other, I'm of the opinion that following the one that suggests that I can lower my chances for a diseases is the better idea.
For and adult woman, the recommendation is 15mg per day. So I decided that I needed to find out where I'm going to get that much and how I'm going to fit it into my diet.
Some foods with good Vitamin E content include:
Table from the Office of Dietary Supplements Vitamin E fact sheet
Actually, this is pretty good news for me. I love almonds but they aren't cheap so I probably won't be having them all that often. But, I see that I can easily switch out some of the olive oil I generally use for safflower or sunflower oil and add sunflowers to salads and other dishes. Those are quite inexpensive ways to get a lot more E in my diet.
Ha, for once, the cheaper choice (safflower oil) is going to give me more of something I need than the more expensive olive oil.
Now, I realize that Olive oil has a bazilion other benefits so I'm not going to leave it out completely but I think this shows that it's worth it to switch my oils around sometimes. I can also make sure that I use a good quality margarine that will also provide some Vitamin E.
Happily, it turns out that it isn't as Elusive as I thought!
For the most part, I'm pleased with the nutritional content of my diet. I think I've done a good job of combining carbohydrates, fats, and protein and I still feel like I'm eating enough food. But, I have been curious to know about the vitamin and mineral breakdown as well. I know that the amount of kale I eat is giving me enough in the way of Vitamin A and C and I am outside enough not to have to worry about D. But I'm never really sure where I stand with some of the others.
What I keep finding is that I'm lacking Vitamin E. For the most part, I seem to hover around 39% of the daily recommended amount. In truth, I have to say that I sometimes wonder if it really natters. I mean, if I'm lacking it with my healthy diet now, I must not have been getting any before!
When the USDA devised it's Thrifty Food Plan basket, one of the constraints it noted was that it was impossible to create a thrifty plan that included enough Vitamin E. In fact, they relaxed the standard for the basket so that they were meeting about 63% of the RDA.
The Ohio State University Extensionhas a nice fact sheet on Vitamin E which tells us that:
"Vitamin E, a fat-soluble vitamin, is an antioxidant vitamin involved in the metabolism of all cells. It protects vitamin A and essential fatty acids from oxidation in the body cells and prevents breakdown of body tissues."
I guess it's a good thing I get a lot of A since I have no E to protect it.
According to eMedicine from WebMD:
Vitamin E, one of the most important lipid-soluble antioxidant nutrients, is found in nut oils, sunflower seeds, whole grains, wheat germ, and spinach. Severe deficiency, as may occur in persons with abetalipoproteinemia or fat malabsorption, profoundly affects the central nervous system and can cause ataxia and a peripheral neuropathy resembling Friedreich ataxia.Patients receiving large doses of vitamin E may experience a halt in the progression of the disease.
This vitamin is thought to have a role in preventing atherosclerosis by inhibiting the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Several epidemiologic studies have indicated that high dietary intake of vitamin E is associated with high serum concentrations of alpha tocopherol, as well as with lower rates of ischemic heart disease. However, although the Cambridge Heart Antioxidant Study supported this hypothesis, a subsequent report, the prospective Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation Study, did not.
In general, when studies contradict each other, I'm of the opinion that following the one that suggests that I can lower my chances for a diseases is the better idea.
For and adult woman, the recommendation is 15mg per day. So I decided that I needed to find out where I'm going to get that much and how I'm going to fit it into my diet.
Some foods with good Vitamin E content include:
| Food | Milligrams (mg) per serving | Percent DV* |
|---|---|---|
| Wheat germ oil, 1 tablespoon | 20.3 | 100 |
| Almonds, dry roasted, 1 ounce | 7.4 | 40 |
| Sunflower seeds, dry roasted, 1 ounce | 6.0 | 30 |
| Sunflower oil, 1 tablespoon | 5.6 | 28 |
| Safflower oil, 1 tablespoon | 4.6 | 25 |
| Hazelnuts, dry roasted, 1 ounce | 4.3 | 22 |
| Peanut butter, 2 tablespoons | 2.9 | 15 |
| Peanuts, dry roasted, 1 ounce | 2.2 | 11 |
| Corn oil, 1 tablespoon | 1.9 | 10 |
| Spinach, boiled, ½ cup | 1.9 | 10 |
| Broccoli, chopped, boiled, ½ cup | 1.2 | 6 |
| Soybean oil, 1 tablespoon | 1.1 | 6 |
| Kiwi, 1 medium | 1.1 | 6 |
| Mango, sliced, ½ cup | 0.9 | 5 |
| Spinach, raw, 1 cup | 0.6 | 4 |
Table from the Office of Dietary Supplements Vitamin E fact sheet
Actually, this is pretty good news for me. I love almonds but they aren't cheap so I probably won't be having them all that often. But, I see that I can easily switch out some of the olive oil I generally use for safflower or sunflower oil and add sunflowers to salads and other dishes. Those are quite inexpensive ways to get a lot more E in my diet.
Ha, for once, the cheaper choice (safflower oil) is going to give me more of something I need than the more expensive olive oil.
Now, I realize that Olive oil has a bazilion other benefits so I'm not going to leave it out completely but I think this shows that it's worth it to switch my oils around sometimes. I can also make sure that I use a good quality margarine that will also provide some Vitamin E.
Happily, it turns out that it isn't as Elusive as I thought!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Ahh kale
I don't think I ever had kale when I was growing up. In fact, if I had to guess, I'd say I probably never had it before two years ago. For sure, I never cooked it before then. But, a year or two ago I was at a retreat center that inlcuded a "plain" food section in its buffet every day. One day, the regular fare (all vegetarian) didn't look all that appealing to me so I was looking around for something to add to my plate. That's when I found kale. At the time, I followed the example of the Buddhist nuns with whom I was sharing a table and I added Gomasio (sesame salt) and a dash of umeboshi plum vinegar (I learned fast that a small dash of this is enough!).
Now, I'm not sure that I would say that I think kale is the most delicious food ever but I enjoy the flavor and eating it always makes me feel like I'm doing something good for my body. Just look at the ratings: (table courtesy of The World's Healthiest Foods
| Kale, boiled 1.00 cup 130.00 grams 36.40 calories | ||||
| Nutrient | Amount | DV (%) | Nutrient Density | World's Healthiest Foods Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| vitamin K | 1062.10 mcg | 1327.6 | 656.5 | excellent |
| vitamin A | 9620.00 IU | 192.4 | 95.1 | excellent |
| vitamin C | 53.30 mg | 88.8 | 43.9 | excellent |
| manganese | 0.54 mg | 27.0 | 13.4 | excellent |
| dietary fiber | 2.60 g | 10.4 | 5.1 | very good |
| copper | 0.20 mg | 10.0 | 4.9 | very good |
| tryptophan | 0.03 g | 9.4 | 4.6 | very good |
| calcium | 93.60 mg | 9.4 | 4.6 | very good |
| vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) | 0.18 mg | 9.0 | 4.5 | very good |
| potassium | 296.40 mg | 8.5 | 4.2 | very good |
| iron | 1.17 mg | 6.5 | 3.2 | good |
| magnesium | 23.40 mg | 5.8 | 2.9 | good |
| vitamin E | 1.11 mg | 5.6 | 2.7 | good |
| omega 3 fatty acids | 0.13 g | 5.4 | 2.7 | good |
| vitamin B2 (riboflavin) | 0.09 mg | 5.3 | 2.6 | good |
| protein | 2.47 g | 4.9 | 2.4 | good |
| vitamin B1 (thiamin) | 0.07 mg | 4.7 | 2.3 | good |
| folate | 17.29 mcg | 4.3 | 2.1 | good |
| phosphorus | 36.40 mg | 3.6 | 1.8 | good |
| vitamin B3 (niacin) | 0.65 mg | 3.3 | 1.6 | good |
| World's Healthiest Foods Rating | Rule | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| excellent | DV>=75% | OR | Density>=7.6 | AND | DV>=10% |
| very good | DV>=50% | OR | Density>=3.4 | AND | DV>=5% |
| good | DV>=25% | OR | Density>=1.5 | AND | DV>=2.5% |
Of course, the other fantastic thing about Kale is how incredibly cheap it is. I can buy a pound for a dollar and that will last me at least 4 meals. It's such a hardy plant, too, that I can get it fresh and local from the farmer's market for most of the year.
For preparation, I still tend to eat it just as I did that first time with a bit of Gomasio or plum vinegar. I make my own sesame salt which end sup being really cheap and useful to have around the house (I just toast the seeds with regular table salt in the toaster oven). If I have them, I may also add other Japanese seasonings.
Based on a general search for kale recipes, it seems to go well with lots of other ingredients, form noodles to beans to other vegetables.
For a nice selection of Kale recipes, try Culinate.com or Epicurious
Given what's hanging around my house at the moment, the two recipes I'm most interested in trying are:
Tuscan Kale Chips and Rice with Kale and Tomatoes
There are a couple of other recipes I'm eying up for next week too!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
I was poking around on the web, looking for dieas for thrifty eating and I ran into Disney's Family.com site. Listed on this site were "15 cheap dinner recipes" which average under $1.50 per serving. The recipes include "amost lasagne", chicken lo mein, cheeseburger pie, easy calzones, chicken lettuce wraps, fried rice, chicken ravioli soup, etc. While some of the recipes weren't too bad nutritionally, others, such as the "lasagne" clocked in at 587 calories per serving with 27 gm of fat.
As bad as that was (I think it's bad, anyway), what I thought was worse were the serving tips for the various dishes. For the lasagne they recommend opening a "bagged salad" to make a quick and easy meal, for one of the burgers, they recommend "Buy family-sized bags of frozen fries to serve as an inexpensive side dish." For the pasta and cheese they recommend cutting costs by using a cheaper American cheese
I don't know, I just felt like I was getting mixed messages about the whole thing.
As bad as that was (I think it's bad, anyway), what I thought was worse were the serving tips for the various dishes. For the lasagne they recommend opening a "bagged salad" to make a quick and easy meal, for one of the burgers, they recommend "Buy family-sized bags of frozen fries to serve as an inexpensive side dish." For the pasta and cheese they recommend cutting costs by using a cheaper American cheese
I don't know, I just felt like I was getting mixed messages about the whole thing.
Menu planning
I'm planning out my menu for the week (and wishing now that I maybe hadn't bought so much rice). I realized that I do tend to think of most of my food in terms of portions. I've been a little fanatical about portion control for a while now because most people know that it's the best way to a healthy weight and it's also the best way to a healthy budget.
When I say that I care about portion control, I mean that I do things like count out 22 almonds (1 oz) into a container or bowl, I measure out my grains with a measuring cup, I portion out things like green as soon as I bring them home so I know how many meals they will be. I never, ever just grab a handful of pasta or pour it out of the box into the water.
There is still always the surprise of finding out that you had more or less than you thought but I like to keep that to a minimum if I can.
I was thinking that I'm almost out of caffeinated tea but I actually have 5 bags left so that will get me through the week without a problem. I've decided not to buy any this week because I also have some coffee still in the freezer so I'll drink that over the weekend. My housemate bought a large block of cheese for about $5 so my plan is to buy half of that from him to round out my dairy consumption some.
My early menu planning is going something like this:
breakfast- oatmeal with milk and dried fruits
toast in the mid morning
Lunch will be veggies and rice (yeah all week, kind of dull but I can use different spice combinations to perk it up)
Dinner will include a frittata one night, tacos for probably two nights, beans and rice for a night or two, probably some kind of sandwich and some kind of pizza other nights.
I didn't get lettuce this week because I was so tired of it after having so much the last couple of weeks but I'm already looking forward to getting some next week!
When I say that I care about portion control, I mean that I do things like count out 22 almonds (1 oz) into a container or bowl, I measure out my grains with a measuring cup, I portion out things like green as soon as I bring them home so I know how many meals they will be. I never, ever just grab a handful of pasta or pour it out of the box into the water.
There is still always the surprise of finding out that you had more or less than you thought but I like to keep that to a minimum if I can.
I was thinking that I'm almost out of caffeinated tea but I actually have 5 bags left so that will get me through the week without a problem. I've decided not to buy any this week because I also have some coffee still in the freezer so I'll drink that over the weekend. My housemate bought a large block of cheese for about $5 so my plan is to buy half of that from him to round out my dairy consumption some.
My early menu planning is going something like this:
breakfast- oatmeal with milk and dried fruits
toast in the mid morning
Lunch will be veggies and rice (yeah all week, kind of dull but I can use different spice combinations to perk it up)
Dinner will include a frittata one night, tacos for probably two nights, beans and rice for a night or two, probably some kind of sandwich and some kind of pizza other nights.
I didn't get lettuce this week because I was so tired of it after having so much the last couple of weeks but I'm already looking forward to getting some next week!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Weekly Shopping
I’ve been neglectful while I’m still in my hybrid budget eating mode. Happily, last week I did not spend really anything extra on food and so I’m feeling very enthusiastic about the project. It helped that I had a large credit card bill and electric bill to pay off so that was good incentive to keep the food bill low.
For me, this project is much easier when I have tangible goals for it. On one hand, there are a set of abstract goals of wanting to reduce waste which is better for the environment and of wanting to know where my money is going. I believe that if I have good control over my food budget, it will help me gain control over other parts of my budget. These are all good as a start but it’s easier on a day to day basis if there is something I can point to at the end of the week or month as having been accomplished that is direct and personal.
Last week, the goal was to put a big payment on the credit card and the utility bill which I had slipped behind on during the winter. This meant not having really any disposable income for the week. Now, I still have a lot of food around so this wasn’t so difficult as far as developing meals for the week. At the end of the week, I could look at my bank account and be sad that there isn’t much in there but I can also look at my two major debts and be glad that a chunk is gone from both of them (I paid off the utility bill but still have a balance on the credit card).
In the next couple of weeks, I have a trip planned out to my sister’s and this will mean renting a car, buying gas, and various other expenses. Having the car means that the dog can go with us, which saves on boarding and staying with my sister means little money spent on food and board. But I still anticipate spending about $500 for the 4 days with all the other expenses.
These small goals are useful and I also have an ultimate goal of a trip to
Because I go to the Farmer’s market on Sunday- I consider that the beginning of my shopping week. My housemate will do my shopping at the supermarket so, using the store’s website, I developed this list (it might look familiar from one of my earlier posts). I am beginning to get desperate for grains because I haven’t really had any for the past couple of weeks. So, I kind of loaded up on the rice this week. I had to laugh when I figured out the total number of servings and it came to 116! In truth, my housemate will eat some of the bread and maybe some of the rice. According to most nutrition guides, I should be eating about 7 servings of grains a day so I have purchased more than twice as much this week as I need. Oh well, I’m not willing to give up the smell of basmati rice!
edit: ha! I realizd the error in my math and can subtract out the beans from the total grains. That's what i get for lumping by shopping site and not food group. Still, it's 79 servings at least it's not twice what I need.
I was trying to figure out price per serving but it gets complicated when you start making dishes that include a lot of ingredients. For example, I never eat raw tomatoes so I pretty much always end up using them in large cooked dishes so I’m not sure how to divide those out, the six that I bought this week, are sure to last me at least the whole week so I will divide them out by day to get a general sense of the daily expense. I have no idea how to figure out the onions as a per serving item so I’ll do the same
Weekly Shopping 6/21/2009
Supermarket shopping:
| item | Price/amount | Price serving | #servings |
| Rice white | 2.49/32 oz | .12 | 20 |
| Rice basmati | 4.14/32 oz | .20 | 20 |
| Rice brown | 1.25/16 oz | .12 | 10 |
| lentils | 1.35/16 oz | ,10 | 14 |
| Red beans | 2.49/16 oz | .20 | 13 |
| Corn tortillas | 1.89/36 small | .19/2 | 18 |
| bread | 1.00/ 3 loaves | .05/2 slices | 21 |
| | 14.61 | | 116 |
Farmer’s Market
| Kale | 2.00/2lb | ..25/ quarter lb | 8 |
| Eggs | 1.75/doz | .30/2 | 6 |
| Milk | 1.75/ half gal | .11/half cup | 16 |
| tomato | 4.00/6 | .58 | 7 |
| squash | 2.00/4 | .50/1 | 4 |
| yam | 2.00/4 | .50/1 | 4 |
| onions | 2.00/6 | .29 | 7 |
| | 15.50 | | |
For fruits and vegetables, I need 35 servings, From the Farmer’s market, I only have 23 (and I’m not even sure I should count the yams). Luckily, I have cabbage left from last week
Total over all is 30.11. This leaves me about $5 for anything else that I need. That could go for chicken, maybe peanut butter which would last more than a week easily, or maybe some extra fruit. Unfortunately, unless I start stealing tea from work, that may be where the $5 is going.
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