Day 75 - Weekend Plans

I know it's a little early to be talking about weekend plans, but it is 4th of July we are talking about.  My family is getting together to do the whole fireworks, bbq and lake thing.  Very typical Minnesota.  Anyway, I am talking about it because Day 75 was a leftover day, and I am planning the meals for Saturday.  I am going to use a similar approach as I did at the last BBQ.  Which is to plan meals around what we have around.  So here is my tentative plan.

Breakfast
Breakfast Burritos

Lunch   
Burgers (Standard Beef and Salmon)
"Mac" and Cheese - but using veggies like cauliflour instead of noodles.

 Dinner
Steak - have exactly decided, but this is what I want to do.  This would have to be purchased.
Side Salad - may purchase some vegatbles to add in here - we have the lettuce.
Some kinda CARB - want something starchy here... thinking about twice baked potatoes, but might require too many purchased ingredients - could do homemade bread..  
Considering doing a fruit ambrosia for dessert... again purchases required here.

Okay so dinner is looking delicious but a little ill in terms of stuff we have around.  The ambroisa would use the watermelon we have around, but would require other items (expensive fruit items to be exact) to really shine.  Steak - still havsies on, but it is truly a favorite to have at the lake.

Today we finally got to averaging $4.97/day - whoo hoo! That means we could spend a little extra for the BBQ, especially since my mom will probably provide us a few meals too.  So maybe we can justify steak... still not sure. 

UPDATE: We also have brats lying around, so we could do that for lunch and burgers still make a half-way decent dinner.  

Day 74 - Made Tortillas

Remember the tortillas I talked about, well I finally got around to making some. 

Here they are while cooking - these are the first two attempts, they got a little more round-like as time went on, but not by much.

I also made up a breakfast burrito mix to go inside.  Here it is before I scrambled it up.

1 Can Black Beans
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
1 Can (4 oz) Diced Chilies
6 eggs.

This recipe makes a lot of burrito material, so bear in mind that you can freeze it.  Cooked scrambled eggs freeze okay as opposed raw which don't freeze at all.  You can also freeze individually made burritos, for a quick/easy meal to warm-up later.  Here's a good tutorial on doing this up.  Keep in mind the eggs will turn black when mixed with canned beans... nothing is wrong, the black bean powder just "dyes" them.  It looks "not-good", but tastes fine.

Okay - here's our final product:

I melted a little cheese on top, and wrapped it up as best I could (considering the shell was pretty misshapen).  The tortillas was were a little thicker and chewier than I am used to, but they didn't taste heavy.  I also like the "joy" of eating a truly warm tortilla, not just microwave warm.  I discovered that cooked tortillas will last at least a day in the fridge - perhaps more.  Also I froze extra dough to see how that works out too - keep you posted.

Passion

The Marketing Mama has sort of started something, and I thought I would join her.  She wants us to blog about passion or What are we passionate about? 

First it's important to identify what constitutes a passion.  The dictionary definition is "strong feeling or emotion".  This is more or less the reason I hesitated about this, and am still finding it difficult to participate.  Strong feeling or emotions tend to lead to strong controversies.  There is a 99% chance that everyone who reads this blog will not appreciate all the passions I have.  There is a 99% chance that someone might disagree with my passions, or like the passion, but disagree with how I carry it out.  Also - I'll add here that I generally a proud moderate, not really a true activist of any kind.  I like that even in my areas of "strong opinion" I can see the other side.  So while I am passionate about things there is always a "but", because I can see the other side or at least understand that there is a cultural difference and not a personal one.

Additionally - I will add here that I view passions and interests as different.  I am interested in many things - it would be impossible to mention them all.  
 
Each of my passions, comes with many questions - How do we educate? How do we motivate?  How do we change?  I hope that these things may happen, but am keenly aware of how difficult they are and I don't claim to have all the answers.

Animal Welfare - Primarily most of my animal love energy is extended towards cats right now, but I am working on how that could be changed/expanded and certainly I do feel this is good thing to support - if not only in spirit.  But back to the kittehs!  I volunteer regularly at a cat shelter and truly enjoy the work.  Even though it's pretty much just scooping poop and so on (and lubbing da kittehs).  We are a no-kill organization, which means we won't euthanize unless it is matter of health (the animal is in so much pain in no longer makes sense to continue) - not money.  As I have learned this is not the standard "71 percent of cats that enter animal shelters are euthanized. More cats are euthanized than dogs because they are more likely to enter a shelter without any owner identification."(American Humane).  That sobering statistic can be backed up more than one horror story I know of.  If you would like to learn more about my organization, or "kittehs" that are available for adoption - you can follow this blog.    
 


Education - I feel that many of the issues pressing on us in our world today - childhood obesity, poverty, hate... could be at least helped by some form of education.  As a teacher, I realize that it is no surprise that I would say this, but I would like to add that I don't just put this out there to push the traditional school model (nor to condemn it).  The point is I think learning can occur in many arenas, and it is essential to making many life changes, whether it be a career move, adopting a healthy lifestyle, or understanding another culture.  In my life, the more educated I become on a topic the greater I can understand it and help others understand too.  In this way educational growth can be exponential.  My passion for education fuels my side-passions for people (to see them learning, to understand how others process), and critical thinking (to not just gain knowledge, but to use it and ask questions).

Food - Eating it, Making it, Growing it, Photographing it! Hopefully it's somewhat obvious that I do enjoy food.  I also think food is "powerful".  It's a reason to get together with friends, we can't live without it, but it also can destroy us.  There is "good" food, and "bad" food....  and "good" food that tastes "bad", and "bad" food that tastes "good".  At times it's delightfully simple, at time's it is horrifically complicated.  It interests me - to say the least.  
          
Of course, I am passionate about other things too - My Huzbun, my Family, life, finding joy in small things, and humor - just to mention a few!

Rx 5K - the cure for fear of running.

So - it' basically mandatory that if you have a blog and you run a 5K - you must blog about the 5K.  I am not sure if there is some super special caveat for those who write primarily about food - but if there is one, I am  ignoring it.  
 
For one reason or another, the whole running thing has never been my cup of tea.  The last time I remember running any significant distance was in highschool gym class.  I also remember hating every minute of it.  After I finished that class which was aptly named "Life Fitness", I granted myself the right to never have to run again.  Luckily, I didn't do this for all form of exercise...

Even though I openly regarded running as a form of torture - I secretly admired those who would run.  Waking up early in the day to check out a new path, eating loads of carbs with zero guilt, wearing unusual clothing and strange bracelets... who were these people? what was their deal?

Well for some unknown reason - this year I had this idea that I could run.  I then proceeded to go out running a total of two times (spaced well a part), never very far and never very fast.  However, the idea was in my head.    

Then, Two weeks ago - I was challenged to run a 5K.  A challenge I accepted. 

Yes, it was after I quick googled "Is it okay to run a 5K with two weeks of training?"  In case your wondering the answer I basically got was - as long as you are use to doing at least 45 mins of activity.  

 The race I ran in was called the HeartBeat 5000 - and it is sponsored by local medical device companies.  One of which I was representing.  It was an great trail to go on, and had many nice views along the way.

 
After I grabbed my number and pinned it on, I wasted no time in determining where the starting point was.  This seemed like an important thing to do.  It was not immediately obvious in case you are wondering and was roughly located a five-minute walks away from where I grabbed my number.  Anyway, I arrived to the starting line before anyone else did - so I spent several minutes asking random people inane questions such as "Do you know where the starting line is?" or "Where do we start?"  I learned that Yes, a large flag with the words "START" on it along with colored balloons are good indications of starting line, and that most people do not arrive at the starting line 1 hour in advance.

Anyway, despite that "slow start" har har, I was positioned toward the way front of the pack.  This means I saw many many people pass me.  When the signal was go I was very careful to walk until I got to the official blue mats that initiated the chip timer for us, as to conserve that all important "5 seconds" of running energy.  I ran and ran, and then I wanted to walk, but everyone was still running, so I kept running.  Finally I walked a bit, but not for long so then I ran again.  This pattern continued for most of the race.

Around the half-way point someone shouted out a time of 15 minutes.  Is that right....? What point this race are we?  It sounded good.  Too good.  This is when I met up some runners who appeared to be at my pace (before this everyone was just plain old passing me).  I talked to one guy who said he had just started training a week ago.  I decided we were about the same pace, so I determined to keep pace with him the rest of the time.   

At the 2 mile mark I saw there was a water station.  This allowed me to I imagine myself guzzling down gallons of refreshing cold water.  Then they gave me a half-cup of luke warm water.  While I admire the gesture, I feel I have slightly better understanding of what it's like to experience a mirage in the dessert.

Then some more running. Or should I say series of mental games in which I tell myself to run.  Should run when going down this hill.  Should run when in front of photographer (umm... can we say vanity?).  Should run when under shade.  

As we neared the end I saw a stack of baloons - ahh the end! I can sprint to the end.  I sprinted with all my might, and then I realized those balloons were the 3 mile mark... and I would have to sprint some more - I lagged for about 15 ft, but sprinted to the end. Again.  

I can run and smile.

I finished with a time of 36:52.  It's not super fast, but I am super proud of it anyway, because my goal was to be under 40 minutes.

After the race, Hubs and I got free food.

Day 73 - Da BBQ

A couple weeks ago I mentioned that I would be having some people over for a BBQ, but remain "in budget". 

Some of the ways I was able to do this were:

1) I planned food options that were from things we already had around.  For instance, these Mini-Turkey Burgers, and Brats

2) I asked people to bring a dish.  Most people are happy to do this, and it allows for everyone to have at least one thing they like.  

So how did it go.  Well I "had to buy" Hawaiian Buns, and I decided to get Watermelon too as a healthy side.  Total that was about $7.68 in additional spending.  A little over the $5 budget, but super economical. 

Having friends bring food was nice, but it does result in some really random options.  Everybody was super nice to bring stuff, but we had doubles of some things.  Also, I'm not sure why, but most people left their leftovers behind (despite my remindering to not).  So our fridge is extra-full.  Anyway, I'm sure whatever extra food came in compensated for the extra money spent.. and perhaps even some of the other (sunk) food costs. 

People really like the Turkey Burgers, and raved about the sauce (it was extra basil-y).  Also (no surprise), I doctored up the Turkey Burgers a bit to include Worcester and cumin... these have rich flavors, which allow for meat to tastes ... more meaty? and I thought that would make the manly men happy.  Huzbun think turkey-burger is dirty word, and says his friends think so too.  ... I said "try these!"  It seemed like people enjoyed them, and even Huzbun said "They weren't bad, and were made even better by the sauce."  I guess I will be throwing Basil in just about everything now. 

Okay - one more thing! What's a party without drinks? aye?

Here a new drink I concocted - WaterLemon Rum

1/2 cup chunk watermelon
1/2 Ice cubes
1 TBS Lemon Juice
1 tsp Sugar (optional)
1 TBS Rum (or more, if you like)

Turns out looking like this! It tastes really light, airy and lemony. 

Truth be told most of the boys (which was most of everyone) Brought their own Beer (BTOB?).   However, I couldn't resist sharing the recipe - I liked it at least.

Day 72 - Coffee, Coupons and Crepes

I started out the day meeting a friend to run, but on my way there she said she would be coming a bit late.  I was like SWEET! - time for picking up coffee!  But wait... I can't spent money.... think.... think.  I know I have rewards points at SA! I got "free" coffee at SA.  All I had to do is buy gallons and gallons of gas ( but I guess I was going to do that anyway). 

Ok then I ran. 

After running, I still thought it would be fun to hang out with J some more, so we went to La Bella Crepe. I purchased a groupon for this place roughly forever ago.  Anyway, the groupon was worth about $10, and J was willing to put in a few dollars.  (I paid for parking - so you know I'm not just out there guilting all my friends to buy me food) 

On to the good stuff - you must see the crepe's!

This one is called Berries and Cream

This one: Caprese 

Sweet and Savory.  

By the way - The one thing I am really coming to love about running is it works up an appetite. 

Day 71 - The quintessential weekly link post #5

MEGA CHEAT yesterday.  Huzbun started telling stories of grandeur of days long gone where we ate a beautiful place called Sweeney's.  How they have a most wonderful patio..... 

 

How they have the most wonderful burgers.....

Well was it worth it?  You tell me.... but first take a long serious look at the Greek Burger pictured above. 

Ok now for some links. 

Summer Stir Fry - The Pioneer Woman cooks something wonderful as usual, but this time it might actually be healthy.  Anyway, I really like her thoughts at the beginning at the post too.

Cutting Yourself Some Slack - Great piece on balance. 

And good list of more links here.

Day 70 - Butter, Sugar and other good foods.

Why is this day a milestone?

No real reason, other than it means 70 days down and 20 days to go - and those are round numbers.

Day 70 we had Grilled Jerk Chicken and Vegetables.  Unfortunately there is not a ton to say about it, other than it was good, and I did not take a photo.  Huzbun thought the vegetables were a bit bland, and I will have to think about ways to enhance the flavor without adding straight cheese, although that doesn't seem like a terribly terrible idea - does it now? I actually think I have a moderately healthy recipe for cheese sauce right now.  When I say moderately healthy - I mean healthy in terms of cheese sauce, and not exactly healthy.

Wha HA! I found it! (My Huzbun helped locate the book I have).

This recipe comes from the The Tightwad Gazette. 

 The cheese sauce is simple (no, don't buy Cheez Whiz and melt it in the microwave).  Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan.  Blend 2 tablespoons of flour. Combine it with 1 cup of milk, and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until the sauce thickens.  Add a half-cup of grated cheddar cheese and cook until smooth.  You can freeze any extra. 

I'm sure some of you are saying anything with cheese and butter probably isn't healthy, and that might be true.  However, I would point out that it's certainly an improvement over any manufactured cheese sauces, such as Velveeta as it does not contain "fake food"... and a cost savings for sure.  I also think - though by no means tested - that you could substitute some sort of low-fat cheese and use skim milk for this.  I think skim milk (or another kind of low-fat milk) would be and easier switch than using low-fat cheese - but that's just my two cents.  Many chefs it seems will tell you or what I've learned from many of the cooking shows I've watched is that you MUST HAVE FULL FAT ALL THE TIME.  I believe a favorite chef of mine, Sam from Top Chef Season 2 can be quoted as saying "I would make love in Duck Fat if I could."  That's all very entertaining,  but I like to think that everyone is different.  I personally don't see much difference between olive oil and butter in a stir-fry.  However, despite a few attempts (truvia, splenda and so on) I can not bring myself to eat non-sugar sweeteners.  I rather just hold back on the sugar in general - or indulge in the sugar however I see fit.  Is that a pun?


*Disclaimer: There is a trend now with more and more chefs cooking with healthy ingredients and of course making great food.  I just said what I did because the traditional french cooking philosophy dictates for a lot of butter and of course fat.

Day 69 - Healthy, Tasty, Easy

I'm not exactly sure what Salmon costs, but the last time I bought it was about $21 for two (approx 1lb) packages.  I remember thinking that was a good deal at the time.  So - the point is this wouldn't be a very frugal meal if I had purchased the salmon, but my soon-to-be brother-in-law gave it too me, after his adventures in Alaska. 

We used our fancy shmance pan to cook this one up.  Basically I threw in Raw Salmon, Raw Asparagus, Kalamata Olives.  I then made a "sauce" consisting of Kalamata Olive juice, Mike's Hard Lemonade, and Kung Pao Sauce.  I poured the "sauce" over everything and let er rip!

Ta Da!

Also in food news - I made a trip to gasp! ..... Costco.  The motivation for the trip was to purchase some cereal for Huzbun.  In retrospect, maybe I should have tried to con him into eating oatmeal, but he loves this new cereal we found.  It's Natural Granola, and apparently it's very good and very filling.  I never understood eating cereal though - I tend to think it's gross.  We got ours for $7.99

Of course, cereal was not all we found - there was Blueberries ($4.99), BIG Watermelon ($4.99) and Kashi Bars (12 Pack - $8.29).  I just learned that Fiber ONE bars are 90% sugar, so not the healthy breakfast I had imagined.   Oh well, I'll finish the box anyway, but then have to kiss them good bye and move on to Kashi Bars. 

Day 68 - Double Trouble

I had to work all day yesterday, I realize most people do this every M-F, but I haven't had to do it in a while.  So I'm not complaining, but the end result was Taco Bell for lunch, as I forgot to bring something.

When huzbun came home later in the evening... we had this conversation

Huzbun: What did you have for lunch today  (sheepish grin on face)

Me:  I don't know what did you have...

Huzbun:   I think you had Taco Bell!

Me: What?! How did you know I had Taco Bell?

Huzbun: You left your cup in the holder

Me: shoot!

Huzbun: It's okay I had Taco Bell too.

Me:  Oh no!  Double Fail!(laughing)

hmmmm.... apparently we both have a terrible weakness for Taco Bell.

Anyway, total cost of trips to Taco Bell $7.39, I'm counting it! 

Day 67 - The perks of volunteering

Got into a good conversation with my sister the other day (as I always do), in which I think she gave me an indirect compliment.  She said I'm always starting new things.  Obviously, I think it's good to try new things, so I can appreciate this quality of mine, but in fairness... I don't always "finish new things".   Some of them cost money, so I know this is not the most financially friendly trait of mine, as I own many things that don't get used often enough to justify their ownership.  An electronic keyboard and climbing gear come to mind.  I also think there is something unsavory, about a starter who doesn't finish much.   

I guess I do start things quite regularly though. Most recently, blogging and running come to mind - but throughout my life there have been many other things.  It's good to be a "self-starter" I see that as a job requirement on many "job ads" these days, but of course what they are actually looking for is a "self-finisher"... I think. 

Anyway, before I get too much into negative self-talk, my point is that one of the side-affects of being a new thing try-er... is near constant volunteerism.  I love volunteering.  While from a distant is seems like altruism, a closer look reveals that it is a way to try new things at a low cost with relatively no expectation and often times some great perks.

For instance, I volunteer at a Cat shelter... the obviuous benefit here is lots of cat love, and getting to see cute kitties, even when your cats have grown up (of course still love them at this stage, but kitties are cuter - I just say it like it is).  Okay - you might end up with a few extra cats, after seeing too many cute kitties (as though there is such a thing), but the benefits really out weight the cons.

In another scenario, Sunday (Day 67) I volunteered with The Works.  Some items of note about The Works include 1) Their color is purple (good choice!) 2)The do fun projects 3)They are hand's on and 4) They help your kids learn science, engineering and math... the three under taught subjects in Elementary School... ok maybe that's just my opinion.

Anyway - the perks!

The Works was a part of an event at the Science Museum of Minnesota and us volunteers recieved a $5.00 food voucher.  yipee! Of course, there wasn't much on the menu for less than five dollars, so I ended up with a cheese burger that came to $5.05, anyway... I gave the cashier my voucher, plus a five dollar bill, and I got $5.95 in change.  WHOOT! I just got paid $0.95 to eat.  As a math teacher, this situation does make me cringe a bit, but well what did I say - the benefits of volunteering are endless, especially when there are cashiers with poor math skills.

Day 66 - The free food blog continues...

Huzbun made me some breakfast - eggs, sausage and hashbrowns.  A pretty straightforward breakfast, but what was great about is that he made all of it, and cleaned all of it. Huzbun helps in the kitchen quite a bit anyway, but this was extra nice. 


Then we went to my cousin's open house and they had this:

A really huge sandwich and vegetable buffet! YAY - for free food. 

Well actually we did get my cousin a gift (great job Z!), so maybe not free in the truest sense.  But I didn't count that gift toward the $5/day budget so.... pretty free. Also, my aunt gave me two bags of extra hamburger buns before we left, so sweet!

My aunt and uncle always do an amazing job with the "eats" and this was no exception. 

Housekeeping:

As of day 66 - we have reached $5.13/day so very close to the goal. (We will be on track on Day 68).  That included the $2.69 spent on Hawaiian buns for next Saturday's event.   

And.... j. has a challenge... which I want to participate in, but am not sure what to do with it yet.  I have until Friday to figure it out.  I was thinking Fajitas, but make the tortilla's from scratch... use rotel instead of salsa.  Doesn't seem creative enough to be challenge worthy though.  I think I have a tendency to psych myself out sometimes with challenges.

Day 65 - The Plan of Attack

So we are out of nights out - gone! vamoosh!

What will we do now? Will this become the ultimate fail blog?

Well hopefuly not, because I have some ideas.

One) We have a lot of food in the house... whoo hoo! Many of the meals listed here are still available to us.  As long as we continue to do as much eating from the pantry as possible, we won't need to spend much more money.

Two) It has become incredibly obvious on this blog, that we like to eat out.  We have found many ways to eat out cheap.  One of them is coupons.  We will probably be unable to go without eating out completely, but it we can try to make it as cheap as possible, so it doesn't count towards the total too much.  We will just have to limit our eating out to the places where we have great coupons.  

So there you have it.... It's not exactly a genius plan, but doable? I sort of think so.  

Thoughts of your own?

Day 64 - Valleyfair

Lemme just say that sometimes I am like a big kid.

I figure I'm just making up for the times that I was a "little adult"

So don't judge too much when I say that Huzbun and I bought a season pass to Valleyfair.

Why am I telling you this, well because it's surprising how much energy it takes to ride on rides. The extra energy spent on rides was taken from cooking and the end result of the last two days was that we are 12 for 12 on meals out.

So what's are plan - stay tuned to find out.

Day 63 - And we're cooking again.

The Pioneer Woman just posted a great looking recipe, that I was excited to try.  Not just because it looked delicious, but because I had most of the ingredients for once.  Of course, I made a number of modifications, but it was less so than the usual.

Ok, but first things first - Would you eat this onion?  

Notice the big bloch of mold?

mmmmm..... tasty. 

Haha, but I did do some chopping on this.... and then it looked like this.  

After peeling and hacking on it... I came to a part that was crispy and bright white.

Here's the mixture cooking.

  ... and the final product.

Summary of Modifications:

-I used Kalamata Olives instead of Green... not exactly cheaper, but on hand... and great flavor. 

-Boneless Chicken instead of Bone-in Chicken (at request of Huzbun)

-More Olive Oil, and less butter. 

-Organic Soy Milk, instead of Heavy Cream, which is part of why the sauce turned out less thick looking. 

-Minced Garlic from jar instead of fresh. 

-I used canned tomatoes that were pre-chopped

Despite all the modifications, the taste was great. Huzbun liked it but though it was a little bland... but our cousin seemed to think it was fine.  I definitely would see myself repeating this meal, however I would like to work on thickening the sauce, without reducing the health value too much.  

Day 62 - Venti

I seemed to have forgotten what 20 ounces looks like. 

Apparently - Gargantuan!

Lately, Huzbun has had a lot of work going on and while on the plus side he has been getting a lot of free meals.  The down side is I am low on good reasons to make good food.  

For instance today I had microwave popcorn for dinner.

Okay so back to the Venti "Thai" drink. I ordered this for $3.95 at a little coffee shop called Blue Moon.  It sounded like the most interesting drink on the menu, however 20 ounces is way too much coffee after 7pm.  My original thought was that I was getting a better deal per ounce, but I think the logic in that failed at some point.  While the photo above is using camera angles to make it look larger, it was still seriously HUGE!  I'm sure buttery popcorn, followed by calorie laden coffee was not the exact recipe for the elixir of long life either.   

The reason I was at Blue Moon Cafe was because this is where the "Blue Moonies" group always meets for knitting night.  Normally, I have been dutifully bringing my tea, but I made excuses, since Huzbun has been getting lots of free meals, that I could have a "treat" for myself.  Overall, I am sort of annoyed though, because I enjoy cooking and I have some good ideas right now lying dormant, since cooking for one is .... well I don't like it. Obviously.

Day 61 - End of Leftovers and Coffee Creamer

So I think I've finally cleaned out the fridge of the leftovers, which means I should be cooking again tomorrow... I have a couple ideas in mind, and I can't wait to not eat leftovers anymore.

Today's EATS
___________________________________________
Coffee

Free Luna Bar

3 Cheesaritos 
These are not exactly leftovers, but a very easy meal to prepare with all food that needs to be eaten.  This time they went : refried beans, shredded colby jack, tomatos, velveeta, and rotel on a tortilla.  


Last round of Lasagna (and broccoli) - it was good, but I'm glad to be done eating it.

____________________________________________


So not only are we reaching the end of the leftovers, we are also reaching the end of the coffee creamer.  The liquid kind was gone at least a week ago, and the now it's just the powder kind - which is almost gone as well... tough times.

Other news, Huzbun and I are planning a get together with some close friends in a couples weeks.  We are doing this to A) have fun with people we don't see often enough  B)hopefully "prove" that social food occasions can be frugal.

Day 60 - Free Food Blog

Lately, this blog has been about me eating for free and not for five dollars, perhaps I should have called this free food blog. 

First we had some free Lasanga

Then there was a Dinner out on the company dime.   (I just like the phrase "company dime" it feels very old money to me)


and I didn't mention it, but last week there was free goldfish crackers in the cafeteria

What was I doing in the work cafeteria you ask?  Well... I was hungry... really hungry! and I had forgot to bring food to work. So I was about give in and get something from the cafeteria.  While I was looking for the cheapest thing with any redeeming healthy attribute - I saw a big bowl of these marked free.  In awe, I double checked with the cashier, and she verified that the sign was true.  Whoo hoo!  Now I don't know why they were in the free bin, but they tasted fine, and I never checked the expiration date.... so hmm.

Also, Jen @ Prior Fat Girl - bought me coffee... or to be more specific Chai Tea Latte at Caribou.  Nice! Thanks Jen! (I did do some photo taking... but it was extra nice of her anyway)

AAND... - there was free luna bars at yoga yesterday.  which I ate today (err Day 61)

I haven't had two many of these Luna bars, but I couldn't really distinguish it taste wise from a candy bar.  I wondered how Luna gets away with being called healthy, and Snickers still gets a bad wrap.  That being said, I haven't actually had a Snickers bar in a long long time either, so I may not be the best judge.   Sorry Snickers it's not you - it's me. I prefer my candy in the fake fruity form.

Not going to lie - free food is pretty GREAT... so was free YOGA on Sunday (Day 60).  Generally, I like free... guess that's not too surprising for someone who writes a blog with a frugality bent to it.  It is perhaps making this - too easy?  Guess I'm not going to worry about it to terribly much as we are currently at a rate of  $5.54/day, nice to be able to catch up!

Day 59 - Running and Such

Today I woke up early in the morning to take some photos of some of my new found blogger friends run in a 5K.  Jen@PriorFatGirl offered to buy me coffee in return.  I may have done it anyway, but the coffee was certainly an added bonus. 

From L to R - Cindy @HealthyHeartJourney, Alexa @TaleOfTwoCities, Megan, Mary @FitThisGirl and Jen@PriorFatGirl

They all blog about eating healthy food, and I blog about eating cheesaritos... lol. 

Speaking of Food - They had some free food after.  The photographer has to eat too. 

Anyway, Jen@PriorFatGirl had an interesting thought today.  She thinks that I should be running 5Ks instead of just taking photos at them. Apparently there is one in two weeks. 

Two Weeks! That's crazy. 

Anyway, I had a thought too, if I could come home and go 3 miles (run or walk for basically a 5K) in under 45 mins... about where the last of the running pack was coming in today, I would sign up.  It's a free 5K, so I don't have to worry too much about doing super well, but I also don't want to be the last one.   And... I did! I was just barely under, but I know I wasn't pushing myself so I know I can do better.

I was so excited about how well this went that I also signed up for another 5K in August! It's called the Milk Run at the MN State Fair, and you get a free milkshake when with registration - yipee!  

So there you go - Coffee and Milkshakes... now you know my major motivations in life.  Try not to abuse them.  

Disclaimer: If you don't exercise somewhat regularly "training" to run a 5K in two weeks may not be recommended. However, if you are still interested - you should still consider this program.

UPDATE: The Julia Jones 5K training program (click here) also looks like a great way to start. 

Other notes: we are now at 10/12 for meals out - hard to break that Friday night routine.  Also, I have the urge to cook, but am trying to do roommates (and myself) a favor, by clearing the fridge of leftovers first. 

Day 58 - The quintessential weekly link post #4

The links post this week is both short and late.

Basically a blog fail.

Forgive me?

Yes?

Thanks, I thought you would.

Bar La Grassa Review TC Area Dining.  At the end of this post you will find a great list of Twin Cities area dining places on the cheap.  Doesn't really fit $5 / day, but chances are I will still like good deals when this is done, and will have to try some of these out.

Food Finance and Judging Others This post asks the question of "When is it okay to judge people?" My answer would be it's almost never okay - we rarely know the full story.  Unfortunately that isn't really what happens (I am at fault here too) and the anonymity of the internet sometimes makes it easier to do.

Day 57 - Tom Kha

Last night, my husband's company took us out to dinner.  We went to Amazing Thailand.  It feels a little like cheating, but since we technically didn't pay for it, it falls under the "free" clause, and is therefore not cheating.  

Eating thai food always makes me a tad reminiscent of my college trip to Germany.  I know, kind of an odd mind jump.  You see, there was this very above average Thai restaurant only a few block from where we going to school and some of the students were living.  It also was one of the few places where you could get a whole meal for less than 5 Euros.  We always got the pad thai, and there was also something with peanuts that I really enjoyed.  They also had Mango Juice, which was also a favorite. 


Anyway, we had a thai food that I have not had before.  It was called Tom Kha, our dining companions were rather familiar with it and ordered two kinds.  A chicken and a shrimp version.  It's safe to say that out of all the dishes we ordered this was the favorite (of everyone's).  Zingy, Creamy and perfect over rice.  I didn't care for the mushroom aspect, but they were easy to pick out. Sorry people who like mushrooms, I just can't do it - the texture is all wrong for me.  From browsing on the internet, I think it would be a fun dish to experiment with in the future.  I am wondering how a shrimp, cabbage and cucumber version would work?

Day 56 - Leftovers Shmeftovers or what we eat.

Since today I made the Same thing as Day 54, I thought I would talk about how much we eat repeats.  If you have not caught on already, I don't talk about every single food item that goes through my mouth.  For instance, I eat a lot of cheesaritos (a somewhat varied, but always similar dish) and Huzbun eats a lot of Egg Salad sandwiches.  Of course we eat leftovers too, as most of our prepared dishes offer at least one additional meal.  To update this blog with repeating statements about our food would get laborious on my part, and uninteresting on yours.  However, I mention it because it does bring up the valid point that eating extra cheap consistency doesn't necessarily require, but is easier when you have favorites you can continuously comeback to.  It allows you to buy in bulk and essentially save time on learning curve. 

I think we all have our favorites we return to - My mom consistently eats oatmeal in the morning, Huzbun has his fiber rich cereal, Roommate seems to eat a lot of spinach salad and nachos, I eat cheesaritos (and lately the meatless variety) and coffee and our old roommate ate at the same restaurants all the time.  Everyone probably has a dish the eat all the time, or at least could eat.  

So saving money while a good motivation, doesn't appear to be the only crux of the matter in repetitive eating- as not only the financially restricted are participating. 

There must be reasons beyond affordability that we do this. Comfort:?  Delight?  Simplicity?  All three?  Something Else?

Also, I wonder when do we get tired of a particular food item?  I ate a lot of Ramen in college (like everyone else), but then I got sick of it (like everyone else).  Is Ramen the anomaly, or will I eventually get sick of other foods too - such as cheesaritos? 

Do you have a food that you ate too much of and then got sick of?  or do you have a favorite food that you think you could eat always?

Day 55 - Buy One Set of Pans, Get One free Meal

A couple years ago, I purchased a set of pans.  I use and abuse these pans all the time, but had forgotten that when I purchased them, that I got a free meal included with.  Well thankfully the people at Simplicity Gourmet (pan company) remember, and while they were a little delayed on getting around to it ( I guess I could have called them) - we did get our meal.  Can't complain though, because it's perfect timing with the $5/day plan.

So what did we eat?  Lasagna.  Have you ever heard of making Lasanga in a Pan? I have not. 

Here's what we used:

An Electric Skillet

You just pile everything in

Note: these are uncooked lasagna noodles, and not the "oven ready" variety - no worries about them tasting spongey

Then you pile some more in 

Note: cheese!!

Throw the cover on and let her go, then simmer for about 30 mins.  

Note: quick!

Voila!

Note: Delicious!

We also had broccoli 

Note: Something healthy and awesome

We also had garlic bread

Note: Something unhealthy, but awesome

I loved how easy this was, and I was completely unaware that Lasanga could be made in our skillet.  I am not entirely sure how much this would cost, but I would guess it could be made for less than $5 too.  

Day 54 - Finally - something with soybeans.

After looking over many of the great recipes that were sent in, I decided to make something "all my own" with the other available ingredients on hand.  Basically it's soy bean stir fry.

Update: Thanks for all the great recipes, by the way, it certainly helped me get a handle on what I could do and what I couldn't.  Frankly, I did my own thing, because I need to avoid the store and this is the easiest way.

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup - Soy Sauce
1/2 Cup - Wasabi Mustard 
(Dijon would be an perfectly good substitute - we just happened to have this on hand)

1 tsp - Cumin
Cumin is a excellent spice for making meatless dishes have a richer flavor
1 tsp - Onion Salt
1 tbs - Olive Oil
1 tbs - Rice Vinegar

3/4 - 1 Cup cooked Soy Beans
1 Cup Rice
1 Pepper Chopped
2 Roma Tomatoes Chopped
Handful Spinach Leaves

Throw sauce and spice ingredients into the pan first.  

Throw in the chopped peppers 

Then Soy Beans 

I let this simmer for about a few minutes.  Nothing really needed to be cooked, but I though this would let the flavors absorb into the soybeans and soften the peppers as I don't like mine super crispy.  Later I added the rice, and let that simmer for a bit too.  

Lastly, I threw in the tomatoes and spinach. 

Doesn't that look colorful?

I thought this was super easy to throw together, it was also really delicious and satisfying.  I couldn't believe it was both healthy and vegetarian.  Perhaps I ate three bowls of it - completely guiltless though.  FYI - this goes well with a Zinfandel too - I tested that out for you.  

One final note - the soybeans were good, but I think I could probably make this same thing with a number of different bean varieties.  The soybeans were also a little crunchy, I couldn't be sure if this was just how they are or if I didn't make them quite right.

Day 53 - Age, Eating and Friendship

It's not a secret that eating is a social activity.  It's seems like every time people get together it's around food.  During this challenge it's been both a blessing and a curse.  Getting together with friends at a BBQ tends to be a cost savings as everyone brings a dish, and you usually get more than you contributed individually.  On the other hand, because not everyone wants to make the effort to coordinate a sharing event, and many people just want to meet up at a restaurant (ie not cheap).  So while effort has been made to suggest coming over for dinner, as opposed to going out - it's not always feasible.  Also, I have had the opportunity to meet people via this blog and it's fun making new potential friends, but sucks having to turn down certain activities.

Of course some frugal rhetoric would suggest I should only make friends with people who want to eat economically, but I think this is easier said than done.  I also think my age here is a factor - I'm in my mid-twenties and going out to eat is a major social convention for this age group.  Also, Friends are a difficult thing to be choosy about.  I mean you can only be so choosy, before you are out of people to be friends with.  It's seems like there are plenty of things to make friendships challenging without additional challenges - for instance: availability of time, geographic location, amount of similar interests and so forth. 

Don't worry, I know I won't be friendless if I choose not to go out to eat.  Also, I don't think frantically going out to eat will make me the world's finest socialite.  However, I'm different sort of person, and while I take pride that, I still need friends.  (Oh and by the way - I think we all do).  So like in any relational pursuit, sometimes compromise is necessary. 

Anyway, today we compromised on the challenged.  We spent our "entertainment money" on going to Grand Old Day, a 1 day once a year event.  Granted this is glorified cheating, but we skipped the booze so that was at least a $20 savings alone (can you believe?).  We also saw many of our friends and one family member (who is also a friend - Hi M!).  Another win was Huzbun ended up trying Falafel and liking it, so that could be an excellent option for future vegetarian dinners - which are sometimes difficult to coax Huzbun into.  Perhaps it will pay dividends elsewhere.  

Day 52 - Meeting Cat Cora

I was invited to a fun event at Macy's where I could meet Cat Cora.  I knew about Cat Cora from Iron Chef Amercia, and thought her works was really impressive.  I also learned more about what she is doing in Washington to help raise awareness for healthy eating with youth (very cool).  You can learn more about her organization Chefs for Humanity here, herself here, and follow her on twitter @CatCora.

Here are all of us bloggers - Cat Cora is in white. Can you guess which one is me?

oh look - who's that one on the left? 

Then Cat Cora made us some food... 

Steak Tacos, with a pineapple salsa. 

Grapefruit Ambrosia 

Both of these recipes are in her new book - Cat's Cora Classics with a Twist.  It was fun meeting all the bloggers, but especially hanging out with Cindy @ Healthy Heart Journey later today.  

 

Later today we had salmon burger's (these are great), and I made this salad.  

It was really colorful and fun - almost made me think I like salad.  Well... maybe I liked this salad. 

Ruby Leigh's Salad

Spinach Leaves

Eggs (Hard-Boiled)

Roma Tomato (chopped)

Yellow Pepper

Kalamata Olives

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

Other more shameful blog updates:  $4.24 - for cup of soup, we are now 9/12 on night outs. 

Day 51 - The quintessential weekly link post #3

Some of the links this week are a tad on the dated side.  I didn't really do a link posts last week. 

Coffee And Raindrops - Love the the simplicity plug in this post. 

Real Food Boot Camp - I have to admit that I have not spent a lot of time here, but it comes recommended by others.  Looks like an excellent way to start cooking "good" and "healthy" food, if you are unfamiliar in the kitchen.

Pancake Truffles - these are apparently healthy, but look tasty.  I think I may try a modified version (as I do not have the exact ingredients) of them in the not too distant future.

Favorite Processed Food - #1 - Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and #2 - CoffeeMate are totally on my list others would be mm.... Can I say Taco Bell ?  Does anyone have else have a favorite processed food?

In other news, 1) I am participating in a garage sale this weekend for Relay For Life, an organization that raises awareness and money for cancer research. 2) I did cook and eat soybeans - just plain, good enough tasting.  I will post something when it gets interesting. 

Day 50 - How long do leftover's last?

The other day Huzbun says I am keeping the leftovers too long, and that and this got me thinking about how to know when food is no longer good.  After some googling, I found this.  So we may or may not have been eating food that was a bit on the "old" side. 

After a more intense review, I am definitely freezing more of the leftovers from now on (yikes!).  Well I guess it's true what my mom says "You and your dad have stomach's made of cast iron!"  The good news here is that I don't recall getting sick, despite my lack of fridge cleaning skills - and hey I guess I saved some money?!  Anyway, before anyone points to many fingers - I don't think too many items saw an over 10% increase in "time kept".

Anyone have any good stories on food they ate - a little past the "deadline"? 

Day 49 - Steak Soup or Stew I suppose.

Today I used the steak bits that I had in the freezer to make an uber easy, and uber tasty Steak Soup.

I thawed the meat and then cooked it in the crockpot, I had to make it before I left for work at 7:30 am (I think I'm still adjusting to this early schedule I have.) Anyway, it was quick recipe.

Steak Soup
Steak meat - cut in to 1" squares
Sprinkled with Onion Salt, Cumin and Paprika
A few splashes of Worchestire sauce
1 can tomatoes sauce
1 can diced tomatoes.
Some cabbage

Cook on low all day (8-10 hours) for best results.  Could also be cooked on high for approx 4 - 6 hours.

Voila!

This will make for leftovers tomorrow too, as Huzbun had yet another "Company Meal" and couldn't enjoy it today.  It's crunch time with his business.  Very exciting stuff.

Also, I swung buy Costco today - by mistake perhaps, but limited myself to only the "neccessary stuff"

Here's the damage:
Spinach Leaves - 3.99
6 Peppers - 6.79
Cereal -  7.99
Tomatoes - 3.99
Total - $22.79

Not too bad, and a good amount of fresh foods.

Day 48 - Huzbun is back!

My Huzbun is back in town, which means I probably will start eating on a somewhat normal schedule again.  lol.  I haven't been discussing what I eat on here as much, as it simply has not been interesting or notable.  Kind of hopeless when you realize a part of how you pace your life is hinged to another person, but I supposed that is how marriage works. 

So here is my mini-tribute to Huzbun's food successes over the course of this 90 day experiment, and as you might of guessed this wasn't his idea - so he's been a great sport.

Day 1 - He grills chicken 

Day 6 - He helps me make Pizza

Day 9 - He mixes up hamburgers 

Day 28 - He does good stuff with Mayo

Day 36 - He trys new food (umm... and he doesn't even like soup)

Oh, and he did agree to do this - so that's pretty big too.

Okay, I hope that I didn't make anyone gag yet.

Day 47 - A short garden update

I spent Memorial day with friends learning all sorts of wonderful things about gardening.  The friend's neighbors have a modern day secret garden and have learned a lot from them and passed a long what they knew.  Sorry no pictures.  Anyway, I came home with two baby maple trees, and a full stomach.  I am not sure which I liked more. 

In other news - my garden is doing a little better, since the last time I updated.  It required a repurchase of tomato plants, but this time the salesman threw in a bonus plant.  So I have Romas, Beefsteak, and two varieties of Brandywine (Yellow and Red).  Very excited to see the end results this year.   

Day 46 - Just the past the half-way point

I meant to write this post on Day 45 - the actual half-way point, but I got inspired to write something else. 

I wanted to assess whether or not we have learned anything or not.  Here's the list of things we may or may not have learned:

Thing one - We like fresh foods.

Thing two - Coffee brewed at home is actually better than McDonald's

Thing three - Cheese isn't going anywhere soon (if I can help it)

Thing four - Eating at home actually saves time

Thing five - Making bread need not be a mystery. 

and many more things, but those jump out at me first. 

I asked Huzbun if he learned anything and he said "that I'll stay alive without restaurants!"  haha

Cheers!