Goals Update: Week 24

Let’s see how well I did with this week …

1. Loose some weight: out if town and no scale

2. Exercise:  Total Biked: 206 miles… the bike is surrounded by boxes… don’t expect much change until July

3. Eat more whole foods: total fail this week… mostly take out.

4. Pay off some debt: almist 15% to new goal

5. Finish 6 quilts: Working on quilting the sandwich of the pixie quilt… already packed the binding though… in one of those many boxes… it will be finished in July or August.

6. Host 4 dinner parties: 4/4… success

7. Try 12 new recipes: 6/12

8. Read 12 non-fiction books: 6/12

9. Write at least 100 words a day on my maybe novel… that would be at least 36,500 by the end of the year: 8.24% to 36,500 words… I have not wanted on this at all something about not being inspired… maybe it is writers block

10. Go to Ireland… again: are we planning on this?

11. Try 12 new wines: 6/12

12. Learn some basic phrases in German: too busy this week… I really need to work on this

13. Go to Saint Augustine or New York City: not yet

14. Switch banks: not yet

15. Participate in 6 WDC review raids: 2/6

16. Find a new place to live and move: Counting Down

17. Attend couples cooking class: not yet

18. Join a meet-up group: Already complete

19. See 6 movies in movie theaters: 3/6

20. Visit 3 new wineries: 1/3

21. Get rid of 100 things: Working on it while packing

22. Make cleaning schedule and stick to it: Might be best to wait until we move

23. Yoga!: Getting back into stretchy mode

24. Stay on budget: not too bad this week… too tired to spend anything

25. Take vitamins on regular basis: fail…

26. Date night out at least once a month preferably somewhere new: 6/12

28 more weeks to go.

~Emme

25 Days!

 

Yeah… I can hardly believe it either.

In 25 days I must finish (or come close to finishing) everything that does not need to be immediately used. It should be enough days… but for some reason my body feels like it is starving for sleep. There is not enough hours in the day and all I wish to do is sleep. I know I am not drinking enough water and completely not eating right…

… but on another note… I do not like pickled eggs… there… I said it. For those of you that ask… yes… it was homemade…. by someone who has made them before and likes them… I however do not like them. It could be because I am really only an occasional fan of egg salad… who does not usually want eggs on any situation. The vinegar was good… that I did like.

25 days to go on the closing countdown.

3 days to go on the no-sugar/yeast diet countdown.

~Emme

How Not To Use a Grocery List (again…)

Grocery shopping? I’m game! Here’s how I did the second time this week:

Wait… twice? Yes… that’s the thing about not buy large quantities of things…

What was on the list? (Please keep in mind we are trying to use up perishables before the move)

  • Chocolate Milk
  • Tomatoes
  • Basil
  • French Bread

What did I come home with?

  • Chocolate Milk
  • French Bread
  • Mozzarella Cheese
  • White rice
  • Tomatoes
  • Bananas
  • Basil
  • Avocado

What was thrown out this week?

  • Already threw things away for this week.

What did you throw out this week?

~Emme

How Not To Use a Grocery List

 

Mission Ignore tradition at tower of Pizza 2011

Grocery shopping? I’m game! Here’s how I did this week:

What was on the list? (Please keep in mind we are trying to use up perishables before the move)

  • Jelly

What did I come home with?

  • Bread (completely remembered jelly has to go on something)
  • Peanut Butter (Completely remembered we were almost out)
  • Jelly
  • Bananas
  • Chocolate Chip Cookies (don’t judge)
  • Kraft Cheese Singles

What was thrown out this week?

  • Garlic cheese sauce… expired… only about a teaspoon left
  • Old Vodka sauce

What did you throw out this week?

~Emme

May 2012 – Grocery Staples

What did we end up using the most of this month with our at home cooking… since we ate out almost every meal?

  • Bananas
  • Bread
  • Tortillas
  • Salsa
  • Pasta
  • Tomato Sauce
  • Chicken
With physical therapy 2X a week and continuous other appointments eating up our evenings we ate out again… almost every night… and when we didn’t? PB&J. What can you do?
What did you eat the most of this month?

~Emme

What’s local to me in June?

 

What is local by you right now?

I had no idea, so I asked the internet what is local to my state and what should be freshest this month.

  • Basil
  • Blueberries
  • Cabbage
  • Chard
  • Cherries
  • Collard Greens
  • Corn
  • Cucumbers
  • Eggplant
  • Green Beans
  • Greens
  • Green Onions
  • Kale
  • Melons
  • Wild Mushrooms
  • Nectarines
  • Peaches Peas
  • Pea Pods
  • Sweet Peppers
  • Radishes
  • Scallions
  • Summer Squash
  • Strawberries
  • Watermelons
  • Zucchini
  • Zucchini Blossoms

We do have quite a bit that are year-round foods. My assumption is that this is due to storage of root vegetables/pods and greenhouses.

  • Beets
  • Carrots
  • Garlic
  • Herbs
  • Leeks
  • Lettuce
  • Onions
  • Potatoes
  • Shallots
  • Sorrel
  • Spinach (We like to buy it frozen as we use it mostly in smoothies or soups)
  • Sweet Potatoes

Oddly enough I know what everything is this month and I am very excited for more of a variety!

What are your produce plans this month?

~Emme

100 Foods: Mushrooms

 

While decluttering my bookcase I discovered a hidden gem: Parragon Books’ “100 Best Health Foods.”

This book takes an interesting, in-depth look at 100 amazing foods and discusses their healthy properties. That said, Parragon does not bother to go into any sort of detail as to which seasons the foods are from or where they are from, which is great… as the publisher is in the UK and I am not.

Also the recipes in this book are not necessarily for the busy on-the-go people or they don’t really make the healthy food the stand out in the completed dish.

My plan… I’m going to tackle these 100 health foods relative to their seasonality in my area (some are never seasonable here… but I will follow their seasons in the location in which they are grown) and find simple easy recipes that showcase the foods. Which could be great for amazing foods like plums… but not so great for anchovies…

—

Mushrooms

I have spent the majority of my life abhorring (the word hate is just not strong enough) the texture of mushrooms. Still, the texture of wet, moldy sponge in my mouth really grosses me out. There is a problem though… I do love the flavor from mushrooms. Usually when I am cooking with mushrooms I chop them into tiny bits or puree them to get rid of the whole texture issue for me. It’s a good thing… mushrooms are really good for you!

Mushrooms are filled with B Vitamins and potassium and commercially produced mushrooms sometimes contain Vitamin D. They are also extremely low in calories. We prefer portobellos. Usually we dice them fine and either toss them into our tomato sauces and stir-fries or (if there is a good sale) into the freezer to wait until our next meal.

I do not have any specific recipes for mushrooms as I use them in addition to something to add the beefy, hearty background flavor that I love and none of the spongy texture issues that I do not love. I do love a simple cream of mushroom soup… tell me… what is better than that?

~Emme

30 Days!

Oh my goodness! There is so much that has to be done in the next few days… and less I am using the term few loosely.

Then Mr. Wonderful suggests a new challenge for me. It is not really new as I have done it before. (I am not being
totally accurate with my terms today… my appologies.)

The Yeast Free Diet

The rules?
- No yeast
- No dairy*
- No processed meat*
- No coffee*
- No black tea*
- No vinegar
- Nothing fermented
- Only a small amount of fruit a day
* There is always a small risk of yeast contamination.

Yeah… last time I spent the month eating mostly chips and guacamole.

Why do this?

I got sick over a glass of apple juice.

I know that I never really mention it much since the last time I took this route… as it really helped me with my sugar sensitivity. 

This week will be about ridding the house of any perishables that happen to fall on that list… then I will try and come up with more creative with food options and maybe even post them here.

This should be make for an interesting next few weeks.

Any suggestions?

~Emme

Goals Update: Week 23

Let’s see how well I did with this week …

1. Loose some weight: 155.5… same as last week

2. Exercise:  Total Biked: 206 miles… the bike is surrounded by boxes… don’t expect much change until July

3. Eat more whole foods: total fail this week… mostly take out.

4. Pay off some debt: 10.22% to new goal

5. Finish 6 quilts: Working on quilting the sandwich of the pixie quilt… already packed the binding though… in one of those many boxes… it will be finished in July or August.

6. Host 4 dinner parties: 3/4… #4 will be tonight

7. Try 12 new recipes: 6/12

8. Read 12 non-fiction books: 6/12

9. Write at least 100 words a day on my maybe novel… that would be at least 36,500 by the end of the year: 8.24% to 36,500 words… I have not wanted on this at all something about not being inspired… maybe it is writers block

10. Go to Ireland… again: are we planning on this?

11. Try 12 new wines: 6/12… tell you about it soon.

12. Learn some basic phrases in German: too busy this week… I really need to work on this

13. Go to Saint Augustine or New York City: not yet

14. Switch banks: not yet

15. Participate in 6 WDC review raids: 2/6

16. Find a new place to live and move: Counting Down

17. Attend couples cooking class: not yet

18. Join a meet-up group: Already complete

19. See 6 movies in movie theaters: 3/6

20. Visit 3 new wineries: 1/3

21. Get rid of 100 things: Working on it while packing

22. Make cleaning schedule and stick to it: Might be best to wait until we move

23. Yoga!: Getting back into stretchy mode

24. Stay on budget: not too bad this week… too tired to spend anything

25. Take vitamins on regular basis: fail…

26. Date night out at least once a month preferably somewhere new: 6/12

29 more weeks to go.

~Emme