September 2012 – That's Just Me

My Healthy Food Budget: Sept Month 11 / Week 4

Healthy Food Budget Weekly total: $23.07
Grand Total for September: $454.46

My healthy budget goal is to eat seasonal (local if possible,) home-cooked meals while sticking to a $400 monthly budget for all food including groceries, dining out, ~~entertaining~~, vitamins/supplements, and gardening.

There’s two of us eating (mostly) 3 meals per day. My husband occasionally eats take-out lunch at work, & that $ comes out of his personal cash stash.

September – Month Eleven, Week Four

This week, I spent $23.07 on groceries, so that brings my grand September total to $454.46.

I’m way past my $400 budget for the month, but as I said last week, I’m looking at the “big” picture of $4800-$5000 total spending for the year. If I stick to $400 for October, I’ll end up at approximately $4825 for the year, which is fabulous!

I am confident I can accomplish it!

Spending Details

Wilmington Farmers Market $15.89: (Farmer Dave’s) peppers, apples, lettuce, celery & (Gaouette Farm) bok choy

Whole Foods $3.24: Bananas and boneless chicken breast (cut from split breasts bought on sale for dogs)

Local Farmstand $3.94: local apples

Week of Meals

Sunday: Stir fried vegetables (peppers, bok choy, scallions) with bulgur and fried egg
Monday: Bread pizza with feta and garden cherry tomatoes
Tuesday: Baked chicken breast and potatoes
Wednesday: Pasta with garden tomato, celery, & pepper sauce
Thursday: Leftover meatloaf from freezer with the last night’s leftover sauce, over quinoa
Friday: Birthday dinner
Saturday: Family party

Who Else is Budgeting?

project food budget

This is the last official week for the Project Food Budget. Good luck to everyone that participated!

My Healthy Food Budget: Sept Month 11 / Week 3

Healthy Food Budget Weekly total: $134.68

My healthy budget goal is to eat seasonal (local if possible,) home-cooked meals while sticking to a $400 monthly budget for all food including groceries, dining out, entertaining, vitamins/supplements, and gardening.

There’s two of us eating (mostly) 3 meals per day. My husband occasionally eats take-out lunch at work, & that $ comes out of his personal cash stash.

September – Month Eleven, Week Three

This week, I spent $134.68, with a monthly total of $431.39. That leaves NOTHING, zip, nada for the rest of September.

Yeah, September is out of control, but in my defense, I did purchase a second 50lbs of tomatoes ($30), a ton of Bob’s Red Mill ↦ Dececco pasta on sale, and we splurged on our end-of-summer seafood dinner for $50+, but there were some other selfish expenses like Olive Garden and Chinese dine-in.

Yep, out of control!

But nonetheless, I am giving myself permission go over my monthly budget this month. Looking at the big picture which is my yearly $ total, I’m within my original $4800-$5000 expectation. So I am okay with spending over $400 this month.

I hope I’ll just need to pick up a little produce at the farmers market or local farm, but I’m not going to beat myself up about my choices this month. What’s done is done, moving on.

Dining Out: $28.75
Groceries: $105.93

Spending Details

Meat CSA $16.46: Pork tenderloin (Luckily, products from the Meat CSA are paid in full, so technically no real money is actually spent, but I apply the cost to my budget as we consume it.)

Market Basket $4.98: (2) Sure Jell Light – emergency pectin for grape jelly!

Wilmington Farmers Market $13.25: pears, apples, green beans, and shell beans from Farmer Dave & (6) corn on the cob from Gaouette Farm

Ocean State Job Lots $68.25: Big BIG sale 20% off Bob’s Red Mill, and Dececco pasta was only $1.50 per package. I stocked up! (7) Dececco pastas, (2) bulgur, (4) whole wheat flour, (1) whole wheat pastry flour, (3) 10 Grain hot cereal, (1) sesame seeds, (2) chick peas, (1) rolled oats, (2) chia seeds, and (1) vital wheat gluten

Market Basket $2.99: 5lb bag of sugar – yep, more white sugar, canning jellies and jams.

Week of Meals

Sunday: Bread pizza with cheddar, chopped tomatoes & scallions
Monday: Soup with leftover pork tenderloin, rainbow chard, scallions, garden tomatoes with homemade veg stock, topped over pasta
Tuesday: Bread pizza with cheddar, slow cooked tomatoes & peppers
Wednesday: Ground grass-fed beef tomato pepper sauce over pasta & fresh cranberry beans
Thursday: Homemade pizza with slow-roasted garden cherry tomatoes & cheddar cheese
Friday: Pasta with olive oil and toast with feta & garden sungold tomatoes
Saturday: Family party

Who Else is Budgeting?

project food budget

Find the details.

After 1000 Days, My Top 3 Weight Loss Tips

Yesterday was my 1000th login day at MyFitnessPal and a friend asked me for my top 3 tips from my journey.

I took a little time to think about it, and here they are.

Eat whole, unprocessed foods. If you are truly hungry, eat, even if it means going over your calories a little bit every once in awhile (as long as you are eating healthy whole foods.) No need for “fads”, like eating every 2 hours or not after 6pm. Listen to your body and eat when you feel it’s right.
Treat yourself every once in awhile. Don’t call it a “cheat”, it’s a treat to reward yourself for a job well done. When treating, make sure to choose something really worth the calories, not some crappy Oreo cookie. Treat yourself to a piece of chocolate cake or dinner at your favorite chain restaurant. And LOG LOG LOG. Don’t hide your choices, always log!
Soul Search to figure out what made you overweight in the first place. It’s a long process, and you might not ever be “cured” but once you understand what’s inside your brain, you can learn to live with it.
It might feel scary to keep your food diary “open” to your friends, but it will force you to be accountable for your actions, and that is a good thing. Don’t ever be ashamed of your food choices, just strive to get better.

Remember that nothing happens overnight.

Food choices don’t magically become healthy in one week; it might take months before you transition to whole foods.

Baby steps! You are in this for the long haul, not for a quick fix! it’s a lifestyle not a diet!

1000 Straight Days of Logging Into MyFitnessPal

Whoo hoo.

Today marks the 1000th day of login days at MyFitnessPal!

Even though I am in weight-loss maintenance, for me, it’s important to continue logging my daily food intake. It keeps my calories and other nutritional data on track and since my diary is open to my MFP friends, it keeps me accountable.

Happy 1000th day to me! :)

1000 days of logging in at myfitnesspal

Gardening Diary: Tomato Frog (Toad)

I’m so behind on my gardening updates. I’ve been shooting a lot of photos, but I just don’t have the time to update the blog!

But I wanted to mention another fascinating bit of nature. Back about a month ago, I was in my garden in the morning, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a teenie tiny frog (or is he a toad?) sitting atop of one of my cherry tomatoes. He was mid-plant, about 2-3 feet up.

I immediately rushed inside to get my camera, and snapped a bunch of photos of his cuteness.

Look, can you see him? He’s in the middle of the photo, on a tomato. He was so tiny!
tomato frog/toad on top of cherry tomato in my garden

Here is a close up. You can see his tiny fingers grasping onto the tomato stem. So freakin’ cute!
tomato frog/toad on top of cherry tomato in my garden

I love my garden! There’s always something new to discover. It’s sad that summer is fading, and so is my lovely garden.

Even though I’ve grown a few veggies in prior years, this was truly the first year that I was serious about gardening. The first year is always a bit special, but I hope I always feel the same appreciation and respect for what’s growing out there EVERY season. I know subsequent seasons probably won’t feel as “wondrous” as this year, and that makes me sad too.

My Healthy Food Budget: Sept Month 11 / Week 2

My Healthy Food Budget Weekly total: $165.95 (extra long week!)

There’s two of us eating (mostly) 3 meals per day. My husband occasionally eats take-out lunch at work, & that $ comes out of his personal cash stash.

September – Month Eleven, Week Two

The official “Project Food Budget” is coming to a close in a couple of weeks, but my full year of budgeting will end in October. I’ve decided to adjust my “budget week” as Sunday to Saturday, as I think it’ll make it a lot easier to stay on track.

This week, I spent $165.95, with a monthly total of $296.71. That leaves $103.29 for the rest of September, calculating to about $50 per week.

Our dining-out spending was through the roof this week, but since we didn’t take any vacation time this year, we wanted to treat ourselves to one last blast of summertime fried (local) seafood. We’re so lucky to be on the coast!

Dining Out: $64.34
Groceries: $101.61

Spending Details

Mann Orchards $15.12: (Friday) half peck of local Mac apples (.99/lb), 1/2 gallon local apple cider, local green peppers, onions, lemons, garlic

Whole Foods $46.64: (Friday) 2lbs grassfed 90% ground beef (not local, but on sale), Tamari soy sauce, organic bananas, organic grapes (sale), kerrygold cheddar, bulk sucanat, bulk raisins, organic cashews (Canada), organic pasta, (2) fair trade chocolate bars, artichoke spinach hommus

Seven Acre Farm $7: (Saturday) 2 dozen jumbo eggs

Andover Farmers Market $4.50: (Saturday) bunch of “red” baby bok choy from Gaouette farm and three potatoes from Farmer Dave’s

Trader Joe’s $20.13: (Thursday) organic raisins, (2) peanuts, raw almonds, (2) organic pasta, feta cheese

Market Basket: (Thursday) Not part of my food budget, but I bought two Dr Bronner’s Magic Soap 32 oz bottles for only $6.99 each, in tax-free New Hampshire! whoo hooo!

Lowell Provisions Store (Thursday) $0 free coupon for 1 lb ground beef

Local Farm stand $8.22: (Saturday) Green pepper, large scallion, rainbow chard, (2) apples, (2) pears

Week of Meals

I’m adjusting my budget “week” as Sunday to Saturday, so there’ll be extra meals this week.

Thursday: Baked egg & brown rice with cream, radish greens, onions, garden eggplant & garden tomatoes topped with mozzarella
Friday: Grassfed beef burger sandwiches with roasted peppers & onions and steamed green beans
Saturday: Take out
Sunday: Dining out fried seafood shack (splurge for end of summer)
Monday: Chicken broth soup with vegetables (carrots, scallions, baby bok choy, garden tomatoes) and quinoa
Tuesday: Pasta with garden tomato sauce
Wednesday: Leftover quinoa with tomato sauce
Thursday: Baked haddock (frozen from DH’s fishing trip) with leftover quinoa topped with butter & cheddar
Friday: Beef Meatloaf topped with stewed garden tomatoes with brown rice and side of steamed carrots
Saturday: Baked eggs & veggies (garden eggplant, baby red bok choy, bell pepper, garden Carmen peppers, scallions with a little bit of leftover brown rice)

Who Else is Budgeting?

project food budget

Find the details.

Food Babe Investigates Chipotle vs Moes

Please read this article!

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/08/14/food-babe-investigates-chipotle-vs-moes/

We don’t have any Moe’s restaurants in our area, but we do occasionally dine at the local Chipotle restaurants. I’m really shocked by the “expose” from 100 Days of Real Food, although I suppose nothing should shock me about our commercial food system.

Yea, I understood that Chipotle was fast food, but I always thought it would be a better choice than perhaps McDonalds or even the 99 Restaurant. Yeah, I fell for the marketing.

But after reading her article (please go read it, it’s fascinating!), I’m really saddened.

I should have expected it though. It only proves that any large-scale food business is going to be somehow compromised. It’s impossible to feed millions of people and not have to cut corners with GMOs, trans fats, and fillers.

Will I continue to eat at Chipotle? Maybe. Probably.

But my eyes will be open, and I will rank their restaurant the same as any other fast food or chain restaurant. If I feel like Mexican, okay, but I won’t single them out as being a healthier choice than IHOP or Wendy’s. They’re all the same!

UPDATE: From the Food Babe web site: http://foodbabe.com/2012/08/28/whats-in-chipotles-food-they-still-wont-tell-us/

My Healthy Food Budget: Sept Month 11 / Week 1

My Healthy Food Budget Weekly total: $130.76

There’s two of us eating (mostly) 3 meals per day. My husband occasionally eats take-out lunch at work, & that $ comes out of his personal cash stash.

September – Month Eleven, Week One

This week, I spent $130.76 so that leaves $269.24 for the rest of September.

Dining Out: $39.45
Groceries: $91.31

Wow, I can’t believe I’m on week 11 in my Budget year! Seems like it wasn’t that long ago when I started but then again, looking back, I can definitely see how much I’ve learned from the experience & applied to my life.

Spending Details

Am I a masochist for purchasing another 50 lb case of tomatoes? No, because I know all the work will be worth it when I’m eating fabulous tomatoes in the winter! I’m just about done with this last batch, and along with a few of my own garden tomatoes, I’ve canned, frozen (cooked & raw), and dehydrated enough to last awhile in the colder months when I’ll be longing for a garden tomato!

Meat CSA $13.99: chicken legs and ground beefalo

Market Basket $1.99: oops missed this receipt from last month, so I’m applying it for this month. Just a bottle of lemon juice for canning

Whole Foods $19.52: Local mozzarella, Pomona’s Pectin (psyched they sell it at WF), Hommus (sale), Hawthorne Valley whole yogurt (no more Brown Cow yogurt for me!), organic bananas, (2) avocados (sale), and Costa Rica 71% chocolate bar

Wilson Farm $45.34: another 50 lb case of plum tomatoes, dozen corn, scallions, green beans, cilantro, nectarines, and bell peppers, PLUS Bonus! A woman nearby didn’t want her radish greens, so long story short, I got a huge batch of greens for free!

Market Basket $10.47: One last trip to get Bragg’s apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and King Arthur white flour (sale)

Week of Meals

Thursday: Roasted chicken legs with barley and a huge veggie salad with homemade avocado green goddess dressing
Friday: Fried eggs topped over barley and sautéed scallions & zucchini
Saturday: dinner out
Sunday: Burgers with corn on cob & green beans with garden tomato sauce (leftover from my canning jars)
Monday: Pasta with leftover beefalo burgers and veggie sauce (tomatoes, garden eggplant, peppers, radish greens)
Tuesday: Fried eggs, bulgur, with sautéed scallions, bell peppers, & radish greens. Topped with avocado & garden tomatoes.
Wednesday: Bulgur with mozzarella and butter

Who Else is Budgeting?

project food budget

Find the details.

Autumn is on the Way!

Haha! I know autumn is coming because my jar of coconut butter is starting to slightly solidify!

I love summer and I really don’t want it to end, but there is something about the crispness of autumn that I really enjoy!

I’m excited for apples, pears, carrots and butternut squash. I am looking forward to warm nights by the wood stove. I’m also looking forward to cooking up some yummy soups for dinner.

Life is good!