I went to Trader Joe's and stocked up my snack drawer at work and also planned some meals for the week.
In my Snack drawer at work:
Organic pistachios
Hormone free bison jerky
Organic pumpkin seeds, salted, in shell
Valencia oranges
Tazo organic chai tea
Fair trade coffee to use in my french press (the greenest brewing system)
Delish.
This week i will be having
roasted veggies with parsnips, organic carrots, acorn squash, and pumpkin.
cauliflower pizza w/ jalapeno chicken sausage
Crustless quiche w/ organic spinach and white mushrooms.
Yay for planning and discipline, for without it i would fail.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Baked pumpkin
There are a lot of inexpensive baking pumpkins still at stores!
I roast pumpkin by cutting up a washed baking pumpkin around 2 lbs by cutting it up like cantaloupe slices after taking out the seeds. I will have between 8 and 10 slices that look like ribs.
I mix up 3 tbls of melted butter with 1/2 tsps of cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom. Brush this mixture all over the slices and drizzle with agave nectar. Cook at 400 for 15 min, baste with any drippings on your baking sheet, and bake another 15 min. Top with whipped cream if you feel like a little cheat.
Roast the pumpkin seeds at 350 for around 40min after tossing them in some olive oil, cumin, garlic salt, and a bit of chili powder. Mmmmmmmmmmm.
I roast pumpkin by cutting up a washed baking pumpkin around 2 lbs by cutting it up like cantaloupe slices after taking out the seeds. I will have between 8 and 10 slices that look like ribs.
I mix up 3 tbls of melted butter with 1/2 tsps of cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom. Brush this mixture all over the slices and drizzle with agave nectar. Cook at 400 for 15 min, baste with any drippings on your baking sheet, and bake another 15 min. Top with whipped cream if you feel like a little cheat.
Roast the pumpkin seeds at 350 for around 40min after tossing them in some olive oil, cumin, garlic salt, and a bit of chili powder. Mmmmmmmmmmm.
Friday, November 4, 2011
The price of health
Trying to eat healthy is expensive.
For every added feature, whether it be organic, fare-trade, local, antibiotic free, no human growth hormones, free range, grass fed, the price goes up and up.
Will there ever be enough demand to eat naturally, that the prices will start to go down?
Every time you buy something, you're voting. If you support organic and sustainable practices, I'd like to believe eventually we'll be able to see a difference in cost. Heck, we must be getting somewhere, as Walmart has an organic selection now.
When I get my CSA next spring, food is not going to be so tight. I can't wait to support a local farm that believes in organic practices and community involvement. I'd love to cow pool... any one interested?
For every added feature, whether it be organic, fare-trade, local, antibiotic free, no human growth hormones, free range, grass fed, the price goes up and up.
Will there ever be enough demand to eat naturally, that the prices will start to go down?
Every time you buy something, you're voting. If you support organic and sustainable practices, I'd like to believe eventually we'll be able to see a difference in cost. Heck, we must be getting somewhere, as Walmart has an organic selection now.
When I get my CSA next spring, food is not going to be so tight. I can't wait to support a local farm that believes in organic practices and community involvement. I'd love to cow pool... any one interested?
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
K-cup waste
Coffee is something of a crutch for me. And let's face it, as Americans most of us could admit to having a habit. K-cups are so popular that I went to the spa, to work, and then to a friends house in one day and had 4-5 complementary cups (not my first choice, i prefer fresh Starbucks..Organic if possible).
K-cups are a problem. They produce waste that is unnecessary. Although they are trying to make them more recyclable, problems with locality and recycling are an issue as it is. My neighborhood doesn't take many recycling substances. A compostable cup would be best.
The solution... brew it the old fashion way. Try a french press, which doesn't even need a filter (it's the superior way.. most caffeine, less waste!).
If you must support Green Mountain and their mountains of nonrecyclable cups... Use their metal filter and brew your own coffee.
K-cups are a problem. They produce waste that is unnecessary. Although they are trying to make them more recyclable, problems with locality and recycling are an issue as it is. My neighborhood doesn't take many recycling substances. A compostable cup would be best.
The solution... brew it the old fashion way. Try a french press, which doesn't even need a filter (it's the superior way.. most caffeine, less waste!).
If you must support Green Mountain and their mountains of nonrecyclable cups... Use their metal filter and brew your own coffee.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
Cooking Time
Before I went primal, I ate very little meat, and mostly carbs. i ate frozen, pre-packaged lunches by lean cuisine and the like. I was a chronic napper.
The first thing that overwhelmed me about the new eating style was the perish-ability of the food i was buying. I must say, due to poor planning, I have wasted alot of food (and money) but I am getting much better. In doing more planning, I have been cooking more often, and going to the store more often, and meal preparation now takes up alot of my free time. the bonus... I actually like it.
Remember when your grandmother would be in the kitchen half the day cooking on the weekend? I always wondered why she was always in there. She was making food from scratch! she didn't have anything to "nuke" for my grandfather.
There is a whole culture and ritual that I am now assimilating to. Musing at what i want to eat, checking out recipes online, stopping at a local store, asking my family who is going to be home, timing the meal so it's hot when most people are home, planning my lunch for the next day... a lot of time and effort go into cooking.
I used to go to the store once a week and get 5 frozen lunches, 3 boxes of cereal and a couple of gallons of nonfat milk. i literally don't eat any of that anymore. for around 10 years I've had oatmeal almost every morning of my life. Now it's eggs.
Ans speaking of eggs.... i eat about 2 dozen a week by myself. its the most portable, easy, no-fuss fatty protein source. love it.
I'm not sure why i love cooking now, after avoiding it most of my life before i was primal. Maybe it's because I wasn't doing anything productive in the free time i had if i wasn't cooking.
I like that my dad has become involved, too. Around 5 o'clock one of us calls the other and asks what there plan for dinner is. sometimes he has it all planned out. other times we both had plans and grumble over who's going to use the stove first, or how we had already thawed our meat so the other is too late!
I enjoy looking at my groceries as they convey towards the register... all different colors of veggies, fruits, nuts and meat. bottles of spices and coconut oil. I'm proud at my new competence in the kitchen, and very pleased to watch my boyfriend go back for second and third portions. i love food.
The first thing that overwhelmed me about the new eating style was the perish-ability of the food i was buying. I must say, due to poor planning, I have wasted alot of food (and money) but I am getting much better. In doing more planning, I have been cooking more often, and going to the store more often, and meal preparation now takes up alot of my free time. the bonus... I actually like it.
Remember when your grandmother would be in the kitchen half the day cooking on the weekend? I always wondered why she was always in there. She was making food from scratch! she didn't have anything to "nuke" for my grandfather.
There is a whole culture and ritual that I am now assimilating to. Musing at what i want to eat, checking out recipes online, stopping at a local store, asking my family who is going to be home, timing the meal so it's hot when most people are home, planning my lunch for the next day... a lot of time and effort go into cooking.
I used to go to the store once a week and get 5 frozen lunches, 3 boxes of cereal and a couple of gallons of nonfat milk. i literally don't eat any of that anymore. for around 10 years I've had oatmeal almost every morning of my life. Now it's eggs.
Ans speaking of eggs.... i eat about 2 dozen a week by myself. its the most portable, easy, no-fuss fatty protein source. love it.
I'm not sure why i love cooking now, after avoiding it most of my life before i was primal. Maybe it's because I wasn't doing anything productive in the free time i had if i wasn't cooking.
I like that my dad has become involved, too. Around 5 o'clock one of us calls the other and asks what there plan for dinner is. sometimes he has it all planned out. other times we both had plans and grumble over who's going to use the stove first, or how we had already thawed our meat so the other is too late!
I enjoy looking at my groceries as they convey towards the register... all different colors of veggies, fruits, nuts and meat. bottles of spices and coconut oil. I'm proud at my new competence in the kitchen, and very pleased to watch my boyfriend go back for second and third portions. i love food.
Friday, October 28, 2011
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