Well, today I had planned on writing part 2 of my post from yesterday, but it just never happened.  I ended up being very productive at home which was way past due much needed.  My housekeeping has definitely gotten pretty lax while I’ve been battling my knee injury.

Since I was feeling pretty good today, I decided it was time to play a little catch up in the cleaning department.  What did I do?  Well, the dryer vent vacuumed followed by three loads of laundry done, kitchen cleaned, furniture dusted, carpets vacuumed, floors mopped, bathrooms cleaned, litter box changed, magazine stash cleared, bills paid, healthy meals cooked, trash taken out, and a strength training workout done. All of that by 5pm, too.  Go me!

The task for today’s 30 Day Blog Challenge is to post a photo of something you ate.  I tried a new recipe tonight that I’m planning to post over at the Sisterhood on Sunday, Jan. 15.  It’s called Dijon Shrimp and it was super yummy!  Here’s of pic of the finished product for now, but be sure to visit the Sisterhood on the 15th for the easy peasy recipe that comes in at only 4 PointsPlus value on Weight Watchers!

Well, that’s it from me for now.  I’ll try to get to that part 2 post tomorrow.

Until next time …

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In case you aren’t already aware, September is Hunger Action Month.  Hunger, both domestically and internationally, has always been a cause that’s important to me.  Because of that, as I recently posted, I’m participating in the Lose for Good campaign with Weight Watchers over the next couple of months and Lose-a-Palooza on Monday, Sept. 19.  At the end of the challenge, I will be donating 2 pounds of food to a local food bank for every pound I lose during the challenge.  I’m down 7 pounds thus far, so that’s 14 pounds of food!

In addition to Lose for Good, I’m also participating in the 2011 Hunger Challenge this week being coordinated by the San Francisco Food Bank and the Marin Food Bank.  The basic premise of the Hunger Challenge is eating for one week on the same amount of money as someone who receives Food Stamps assistance, this includes all food and beverages consumed.  In California, that works out to $4.72 per person per day or $33.04 per week.  Staples such as seasonings, oil, condiments, etc. can be used from one’s pantry for “free” during the challenge.  Any food items used from one’s pantry should be priced out using current costs and included in the total.

In addition to staying within the cost restraints, I had a couple of other rules for myself as well.  Here are my personal rules:

• Must eat as cleanly as possible.  No loading up on inexpensive junk food.
• Must have at least 1 serving of fruit per day.
• Must consume at least 3 veggie servings per day.
• Must consume only whole grains.
• Must consume 2 dairy servings per day.

Instead of breaking it down on a daily basis, I opted to do my shopping for the week and keep my total below the $33.04 threshold.  By doing that, it doesn’t really matter if I happen to go over a bit on any single day as my grand total for the week would still be on target.  I would imagine this is how most folks relying on Food Stamps assistance work things as well since it’s definitely cheaper to buy things in quantity than individually.  So, I headed out on Sunday to Trader Joe’s and Target to pick up my food for the week.

Here’s how I spent my $33.04 (links show the item I purchased and proof of cost):

Well, as you can, I managed to squeak in just 3 cents shy of the limit. The only thing that saved me was the instant oatmeal priced out from my pantry. I purchased it on sale recently for $1 per box (5 packets), but there were only 4 packets left in the box so that prices out to $.0.80.

Since I know how to butcher a chicken thanks to my late Gran and good Tennessee farm upbringing, I opted to purchase a whole chicken rather than parts.  It was not only cheaper that way, but I was also able to use the giblets, bones, etc. to make some chicken stock which I used to cook my rice and lentils to give them more flavor.

Now those of you who know me well know I loooooooooove my Keurig coffee brewer.  Since K-cups aren’t something a person relying on Food Stamps assistance would be buying, I’m back to drinking budget coffee and using some of the fat-free milk I bought in it instead of creamer.  I will still be brewing it my Keurig though using my Solofill Cup.

The challenge started on Sunday, so I’ve completed 3 days thus far.  It’s definitely more challenging than I expected, even with my planning.  One of the biggest changes for me is consuming much less organic food than normal.  I was able to fit organic salad greens from Trader Joe’s into my budget this week, but my usual organic meat and most produce simply wasn’t an option.

Not only do I normally buy organic for my health, but this really reinforced to me the importance of buying organic whenever I can since I’m blessed to be in a position where I can afford it.  The more those of us who can afford it buy organic, the better the likelihood prices will come down to the point that one day it will be affordable for those on a limited incomes as well.

The other big change is in serving sizes.  I typically eat a large number of fruit & vegetable servings per day, sometimes as many as 8-10 servings.  That was really going to be challenging to continue within the spending constraints, so I’ve pared back to 4-5 servings instead.  I also skipped my typical bag of almonds that I use for snacks since nuts are so expensive.  I’m definitely feeling more hungry compared to my normal way of eating, but I’m not ravenous either.

How am I dividing my food for the week for my meals?  Well, breakfasts are typically either a packet of oatmeal and some fruit, one of the yogurts and some fruit, or an egg white veggie omelet.  Dinners will obviously be chicken/veggie meals several times, roasted eggplant  one evening, lentils another, etc.  I’m using leftovers from dinner to take to work for my lunch the next day.

That’s my update thus far for the challenge.  Until next time …

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Life has been so busy lately that it’s hard to believe it’s been 10 days since my last post. WOW!  I’m still on track with my weight loss efforts though, so no worries there.  I’ve just been busy.

Part of that included going over to a friend’s house on Saturday night to lend her a hand.  She’s recovering from recent knee surgery and her husband was out of town.  I helped her with a couple of chores around the house her husband normally takes care of when he’s home.  I also offered to cook dinner for us and made enough to give her leftovers to carry her over until her husband is back home tomorrow.  I made Betty Crocker’s Healthified Chicken Tortilla Casserole.  It was so tasty!  This recipe is definitely a keeper!

From start to finish, this recipe took me about 90 minutes to make since I had to start by cooking the chicken since the recipe calls for 2.5 cups of cooked chicken.  There are definitely a couple of ways you could make this dinner more quickly.  You could use leftover chicken from another meal, or you could purchase a rotisserie chicken at the supermarket.

In the category of she shouldn’ve have, Nancy gave me a lovely gift for coming over and helping her out.  She gave me a bottle of perfume and matching lotion from Crabtree & Evelyn.  It smells so lovely.  Thanks, Nancy!

Lastly, I just wanted to take a minute to send out a big thanks to Tara over at taraburner.com and Erin at Baker’s Breakfast Cookies.  I recently won a giveaway on Tara’s site for a sampler pack and it arrived today.  I’ve already sampled the oatmeal raisin mini cookie and it was deee-lish!  I can’t wait to try the other items, too.

Well, that’s it from me for now.  Until next time …

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This is, by far, one of my all-time favorite crockpot recipes.  I know it sounds like an odd combination of ingredients, but it really is tasty, promise!

Enjoy!  Please leave a comment if you try this recipe and let me know what you think.

Until next time …

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Yes, I know it’s not even September for a few more days, but I did a little Christmas shopping for myself today.   Since I’m divorced and don’t have a significant other in my life these days, I always splurge and buy myself a somewhat indulgent Christmas gift each year.  Two years ago was my Olympus d-SLR camera, last year was my Keurig Platinum coffee brewer, and this year, it’s a Vitamix!Now, I’m sure you’re thinking, “What the heck is a Vitmix?”  Well, you probably already know and don’t even realize it.  They are used is more bars, smoothie bars, and coffee houses than any other blender out there. So, if you’ve ever been to a Starbucks, Jamba Juice, Smoothie King, etc., you’ve already seen the Vitamix in action.

I first learned about the Vitamix when my mom bought one back in the 70′s.  I thought it was the coolest thing ever!  We used it to make everything from hot soups to ice cream to fresh nut butters.  Trust me when you I tell you, there’s nothing better than freshly made almond butter from whole almonds with no added sugars, oil, etc.  It just doesn’t get any better!

I’ve wanted a Vitamix of my own ever since I left home and went off to college, but never got one due to the cost.  Yeah, they aren’t cheap!  Anyway, as I was cruising through my TV stations this morning, I saw one offered as the Today’s Special Value on QVC.  The package is nearly $100 the regular price, includes free shipping, and they offered an option for five (5) interest-free payments to boot.  After taking everything into consideration, I decided today was apparently Christmas morning for me!  Did I mention these things make awesome frozen margaritas, too?

Here’s the first recipe I’m planning to try when it arrives (from the Vitamix recipes page):

I’ll close out by apologizing for being so quiet lately.  Work has just been a beast.  By the time I got done with work every day last week, I just collapsed in a heap to sleep.  Blogging was the furthest thing from my mind.  Hopefully things will be less hectic this week and I’ll have some time to blog.  *fingers crossed*

Until next time …

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