When Life is BUSY!

Wow, it's been a long time since my last post! I guess that's a sign that my life has gotten really BUSY! September's here, work is busy again, and all of my other activities have started up again. What have I learned from this? Eating good, home-cooked meals is definitely harder when life is getting in the way, but it is still possible! I'm getting better at planning... making things ahead of time, baking snacks on the weekend so we don't have to grab things when we're out, etc. But... there are definitely days when I just don't want to cook! *sigh* I will admit, though, usually when I get going, it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Take today, for example. I didn't have any meals on our plan that I could make ahead of time, but I did want to make almond power bars for the week and cookies for snacks and for when I have company in on Tuesday. I fell asleep on the couch watching TV after lunch and woke up again at around 3. It was hot, I was tired, and I really did NOT feel like doing any baking. But, I dragged myself up off the couch and got started, and it really wasn't bad at all... It took me about 10 minutes to make the power bars, and probably 15 for the cookies (not counting oven time). That's really not so bad. I also managed to clean and do laundry.

An update on the how the switch to organic is going: Overall, good! It's much easier to find organic products than I was expecting, and although they do cost more, I'm okay with that. Plus, not everything costs more, or if it does, the price difference isn't always huge. I am, however, thinking that my theory on eating "real" food equating to weight loss was flawed. I haven't gone to the gym regularly for a few months, so that might also have something to do with my weight gain... and I need to get better at portion control... but there is still lots to be said for eating "real" food that is also healthy! My next step is going to be to find more meals that are healthy and down-size my portions on those that maybe have lots of carbs (we've been eating lots of pasta and potatoes). And maybe I'll just put one cookie in my lunch instead of two. :)

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Week Two In Review

I'm now two weeks into this journey, and I'm starting to get busy! Work is crazy now that September has hit, I'm trying to get back into the swing of things with going to the gym regularly and many of my other usual activities have resumed. It's getting harder to find time for cooking, trips to the market and baking. But, I'm pressing on! Despite the fact that I came home from work absolutely exhausted every day this past week, I (mostly) stuck to my plan.

This week I had again made a couple of casseroles in advance. Although to be honest, I didn't end up using one of them. Monday was a holiday, so I had lots of time to cook up some chicken, veggies and rice for us that night. Then, on Tuesday, Peter was scheduled for dinner duty. Boy, was I glad he was, too! I was tired, cranky and had the worst blisters on my feet that I've ever had after a very busy day at work. Wednesday was supposed to be the day for casserole #1 (lasagna!), but one of my best friends was home visiting from Ontario, so we went out to dinner with her instead. Thursday, I made some fish that I had bought at the market last weekend (did you know how easy steaming fish is?? you can literally have an entire meal made in under 15 minutes!), and Friday I was heading out for a weekend retreat with my local Mary Kay group (yes, I'm a Mary Kay lady :). The other casserole (taco bake! dee-lish!!) was planned for today so that I wouldn't have to cook a big meal right after getting back. I had also made some apple cinnamon muffins and almond power bars for snacks this week (both really good, I thought, though Peter wasn't a huge fan of the power bars.. too healthy for him! haha).

Overall, the week was quite successful. We only had one day that didn't go according to plan, and we ended up going to a local restaurant that is known for being organic, local and healthy (her choice, not mine, I swear!) The food there was great! It is a bit more expensive than other restaurants, and I'm not totally sold on it being worth the price, but it does conform with everything that I'm working towards, so I really can't complain.

My biggest concern this week was really not that I would stick to my eating plan, to be honest, and I think that's a big sign that great changes have taken place already in my life. My biggest concern was that I was going to be away Friday evening and all day Saturday. When was I going to make my meal plan, go to the market and do my grocery shopping?? After allowing myself to stress out about it all week, I finally realized that I could probably make a meal plan Thursday evening or Friday during the day, rather than do it Friday after supper like we had been (right. the world is not ending. whew.), and I could do my trip to the market after church on Sunday.

So, let's talk about the market on Sunday. There is not nearly as much there as there is on Saturday! That being said, I was able to get everything I really needed - milk, meat, veggies, fish. I did have to pop into SuperStore quickly on the way home, which I knew I was going to have to do, and make another stop at Julien's bakery (not planned) for bread. Overall, though, not too bad. A tiny bit extra hassle than a planned Saturday trip, but not much. Also, since I had the lasagna already made from last week that I didn't use, I didn't need to do a bunch of cooking today, which I probably wouldn't have had time to do after running errands all afternoon. I did do a bit of baking - more muffins and some granola bars - but that didn't take very much time at all.

The verdict after week two? I can do this! Cooking's not so bad (even when I'm tired and cranky), I can be organized, and I can find ways to work around weekend trips!

Coming up next on the blog? I'm working on two posts - one on defining what organic is and one on the price difference between organic and "conventional". I don't have quite as much information as I want yet, but I'm doing some more reading and hope to have them ready soon!

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Week One in Review

It's officially been one week since I started this whole cooking thing. It actually went pretty well! We made a meal plan for the upcoming week last Friday, and we stuck to it pretty closely. At that point, the organic thing was still just an idea, so the focus was just to cook real meals. We decided that if we stuck to our plan, we'd reward ourselves by going out to eat on Sunday evening. After all, we both do enjoy going out, and this whole thing isn't about depriving ourselves of things we like... just about being smart. If we like eating out, we'll still do it.. just not as often. Well, we did decide we earned our reward, but we didn't end up using it... here's what happened.

Day #1 ~ Monday
I had something going on that evening, so Peter was supposed to make me supper. Looking back, I'm not sure why we thought this was a good idea... I usually get home first if I don't go to the gym (which I didn't... didn't want to mess up my hair... sad, but true...), so it would have made more sense for me to make supper for us so that I could get out the door on time. Anyhow, I'll blame that one on inexperience... Peter had to work late and didn't have time to make his Sloppy Joes, so we traded it for Thursday's dinner, which was supposed to be a homemade pizza... only we didn't have time to make the dough... so we put a frozen pizza in the oven. Ugh... Day 1 = epic fail!!!! But instead of beating myself up about it, I just decided to move on, learn from my mistakes and start over. After all, a frozen meal every now and then isn't necessarily a bad thing! They are handy in case of emergency!

Day #2 ~ Tuesday
I was going to the gym after work, so I wanted something that was quick and easy to make. I decided on fish, rice and veggies. You can grill up some fish super fast, rice is easy, and I had frozen peas and corn in the fridge. Everything went off without a hitch, and I finally got to use some of that salmon I had bought on sale forever ago and froze!

Day #3 ~ Wednesday
I walked home from work, which takes about an hour, and I was really, really thankful that when I got home, I was able to pop a frozen Shepherd's Pie that I had made over the weekend into the oven and not do anything. It was hot out that day, so by the time I walked all the way home, I was hot, sweaty, and CRANKY. Hooray for pre-made meals! This day alone sold me on that idea! Actually, I guess I've been a fan for a long time, but now I'm just making them myself... Huh... Well, anyways... I also had enough leftovers for both of us to have for lunch the next day and me the day after (Peter took two portions for lunch on Thursday).

Day #4 ~ Thursday
Peter made his Sloppy Joes, and I was glad he was on dinner duty! I went to the gym after work, and it was very, very nice to come home and have dinner on the table. Starting to get the hang of this planning thing so that days I'm not coming home from work right away (in a non-exercising manner), I either put Peter on dinner duty, or I have something ready to pop in the oven that I've already made.

As a side note, Peter's Sloppy Joes are AMAZING. I could eat them every night, I think... Well... at least once a week.

Day #5 ~ Friday
Ahhh, another pre-made meal after another hot and sweaty walk home! I'm LOVING this! I had made a Mac and Cheese on the weekend that I was able to pop in the oven. This was also the first meal that Peter was really excited about after he ate it. He NEVER comments on anything I make (or anyone else for that matter) unless he's asked, and he told me several times how good it was - without any prompting from me. I think he was surprised because he really isn't a big fan of Mac and Cheese. Thankfully, he liked this recipe (thanks, Peg!!!), and I'll definitely be making it again. Actually, this was the scariest thing I'd made.. I made the cheese sauce myself and was sure I had done it wrong, but I guess it turned out okay! Turns out I can cook! Who knew! And, I also had leftovers from this, so lunch on Saturday was taken care of, which was also really handy because we were out running errands all day and probably would have eaten out if I hadn't had something prepared.

Day #6 ~ Saturday
Oh man... this was the big one... I made my Nana's Baked Beans and Weiners recipe... I've been eating this meal since I was a kid, and I LOVE it. Peter's been eating his Mom's recipe since he was a kid, and he LOVES it. Could I measure up? I came pretty close! It turned out just like Nana's (minus the fact that I bought red kidney beans, and she now uses Joseph's cattle beans... I'll remember that for next time). Peter found it a bit too thick (note to self: add more water next time), and he likes it better with bacon. Well, I happen to be a big fan of bacon (added it to the Mac and Cheese I had made for Friday, and it was delish!), so next time, I will put in some bacon. We also had trucks of leftovers from this, so that kept us going for lunch on Sunday, today, and there's still more left! Anyone know how long beans keep in the fridge??

Day #7 ~ Sunday
This was the day we were supposed to go out! We have a Team Buy ticket for Mongolie Grill that we were planning to use. This was also my cooking/baking day. After church, I was planning to make a Lasagna for Wednesday, a Taco Bake for next weekend, almond power bars for lunch snacks (turned out sooo good, by the way!), and apple cinnamon muffins. I finished all this around 6ish, and we both decided that the lasagna smelled to good to save... plus... it was ginormous. There's enough in that recipe that both of us could eat supper on Sunday, lunches to take to work on Tuesday, and still freeze half to do the same later in the week. Good thing we like lasagna!!

Overall, a very successful week! I didn't mind not going out on Sunday one bit, and the baking I had done last weekend (homemade granola bars and dark chocolate bran muffins) kept us going for snacks all week. No chips, no fruit snacks, no puddings... nothing processed or packaged! I'm also feeling better already. Maybe it's all in my head, but I'm pretty sure I have more energy, am feeling less bloated, and most of my cravings for sweets have disappeared! This whole cooking thing really isn't too bad! I never thought in a million years I would ever say this... but... I kind of enjoy it!!

 

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Why Organic?

Since this all really started as a journey towards getting healthy (aka losing weight) and saving money (aka earning some brownie points with the hubby), what made me decide to go organic? Well, let's rewind a few years (okay, more than a few... but who's counting?) to my required Intro to Environmental Studies class at university.

I was soooo not interested in taking that class. Of course I'd heard about the hole in the ozone layer, but I wasn't really sure how big of a problem it really was and, quite frankly, didn't care anyways. That all changed about two lectures in to this new class that I didn't want to take. It turns out that the environment is in a bit of trouble, thanks to us, and I was actually interested in doing something about it. In fact, I was so interested that I ended up doing a concentration in Environmental Science and had planned on following up that concentration with some graduate work. Well, I did do some graduate work, but in a different field (that's a long story), and while I remained interested in environmental issues, they did take a back seat to some other things that were going on in my personal life - namely, getting married, moving out of my mother's house, finding a "real job", etc.

Anyhow, one of the topics we discussed in my intro class was the environmental impact of mass food production - it's actually pretty bad (I'll probably get into that more in another post). Ever since, I've felt that I should switch to organic, locally made food. While I did make an effort to buy organic when it was convenient, I didn't end up doing much beyond that. But still... I've always had this feeling that organic is best - healthier for me, healthier for the planet. It's just that they don't really make much in the way of organic frozen dinners... and I'm lazy and don't cook, remember? So, when I decided that it's time to really do this whole get healthy thing, the idea of organic came back to me.

When I first made the decision to cook more, my goal was really just that - to cook more. It largely started as a "we can't afford to eat out all the time, so I better start making more homemade meals so that I don't lose my shoe shopping budget" thing. Plus, it had the added benefit of helping me work towards my health and fitness goals. I really do believe that eating food made from real ingredients (meat, vegetables, spices, etc.) is a good step towards becoming more healthy. No, this isn't a fool-proof method, but it is a good start. When my husband and I started talking about potential things we could make, I would always say, "In an ideal world, I'd really like to switch us to organic." In fact, I said this so many times, that it really started to become ingrained in my head that I would actually like to go ahead and do this. I did a little bit of research online ad found out that switching to an organic and/or local diet can actually go a long way towards a more healthful lifestyle (aka losing weight! yay!), as well as a more green, environmentally-friendly lifestyle. I decided that I wanted to know more, so I bought a couple of books, and even though I'm only a couple of chapters into the first book I picked up, the more I read and learn, the more convinced I am that organic and local is the way to go.

I still don't know a whole lot. The idea of organic is still partially just convenient. I don't have to give up chocolate or do any other crazy diet fads that I'll never stick with anyways. I can eat, basically, what I want. Let's face it. I'm picky. I have issues with smells and textures of foods. I like beef. I have a sweet tooth. I'm not ready to jump into the most earth-friendly diet possible. Plain yogurt with active cultures? You can smell that stuff from a mile away, and it doesn't smell good!! If the smell makes me want to hurl, what's eating it going to do to me?? But I can take baby steps. I can buy my beef at the farm market from local beef farmers who raise their cattle in a humane way, feed them grass, and don't pump them full of hormones and antibiotics. Organic, non-homogenized whole milk? I'm willing to give it a go! A whole lot of baby steps can add up to some real progress over time. I'm planning to track that progress here and see where it takes me! You never know where I might end up! I could give up after a few weeks and go back to my lazy, frozen-dinner-consuming self, or it could really pay off. I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out. :)

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You Are What You Eat?

I've been feeling guilty about what I'm eating (and what I'm feeding my family) for some time now. If I'm not at a restaurant (and probably half the time when I am at a restaurant, too), nearly everything I eat comes from a box... it's processed, preserved, and easy to make - almost too easy to make. It can't be healthy. My expanding waistline is proof of that... as is feeling depressed, sluggish, and just plain lazy. But... I'm terrified of cooking... No, really... I don't cook. Taking something out of the freezer and popping it into the oven is my idea of cooking. This is the factor that's been holding me back for, oh, I don't know... about three years now? Probably longer? But, I think I'm ready to make a change. Why? Because I'm turning into what I'm eating - lazy and unhealthy.

Let's back up for a minute. How did I get to this point?

I was raised by a very busy single mom. She did her absolute best to get dinner on the table for me every night, and I did enjoy some great home-cooked meals growing up (especially when we went to visit my grandmother!), but a lot of times, Kraft Dinner, Zoodles, and Swanson frozen dinners were the staples of my diet. It didn't help that I was an extremely picky eater when I was young (and still am, although not nearly as bad as I was back then) and that I loved to eat out. In fact, eating out became a real bonding time for my mother and I. When we didn't know what to eat for supper, one of us would be quick to suggest that we go out, and if we couldn't... Well, back to the frozen dinners! When we did cook, my experience helping out in the kitchen was limited to peeling vegetables and washing dishes. Sure, I could scramble an egg, boil noodles for pasta, brown some ground beef, and do a couple of other very basic things, but for the most part, cooking was a totally foreign idea to me.

These habits have definitely carried forward into my adult life. When I met the man who is now my husband, we ate out a lot... and when we didn't, since I couldn't cook, we made very easy (read: frozen) meals. Since getting married, we've continued along this path, but now we're running into some hiccups. For one, eating out all the time is way too expensive. As well, we're both gaining weight and are feeling more and more lethargic and just plain unhealthy! I don't know if our metabolism is slowing down or we're losing our youthful zeal or what, but our bodies are definitely responding to the poor nutrition. Besides, there's only so many frozen pizzas that a person can be reasonably expected to eat. We've been saying for years that we need to change, but this time, I think we're actually going to do it.

What makes this time different?

To be honest, I have absolutely no idea. I know that my health is important. I know that eating well and being healthy in general will make all other aspects of my life easier. But I've known these things for a long time... I guess this time I've just gotten up off my lazy behind and have actually started to look into the issues, read the labels on the food I'm buying, and think about the choices I'm making. What I've found has been alarming... alarming enough to make me want to change. Did you know that they add SUGAR to sliced lunch meats!? Anyways... I'm going to change. I am going to change. I'm actually excited about this!

This change is going to be so significant to my life that I thought I better document it. I debated between writing in a traditional journal and starting a blog, and I decided to start the blog because I know that there are other people out there in my shoes. People who want to live a more healthy lifestyle, but who aren't in love with cooking and feel too overwhelmed by all of the conflicting information out there about what to eat that's healthy, what type of exercise is best, etc. etc. etc. Maybe my journey can help someone else.

So, here we go! At this point, I've barely touched the surface of my research, but this week I'm working on making homemade meals, getting to the gym a couple of times, and packing my lunch every day without using a frozen dinner. I'll keep you posted on how this goes, and I'll give some thoughts on why I've chosen to go organic over any of the other diet/exercise plans that are out there. Hope to see you back here soon!

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