Very Simple, Very Healthy, Very Good

To be brief my life is full. Most of the time, I would say its full in a good way, but full nonetheless it is full.  As a result, in the last few months I have not prioritized healthy eating and healthy cooking in quite the same way I would like too. For those of you who may of followed a long on my infamous 10 dollar day plan know that I took the liberty of eating taco bell more often than was probably sane.  It was "fun" while it lasted but 10 extra pounds have caught up with me.  While some of those pounds I may have considered welcome, others I would like to see discontinue their pleasant stay very shortly.  

I'm not one to go ape-shit on dieting, I love butter and cheese way too much.  Recently though, Liz is taking a one month sabbatical from fast food or should I say drive-thru food, and I thought - wow, I need to do that too.  SO I did.  I had one "cheat" which was related to a really fun but really busy day - and I refuse to feel bad about it since I've otherwise been "good".

That being said - the end result is probably more money saving that 10 dollar day ever got me, more subway (a special little caveat) and cooking simpler meals at home. Not all meals that are simple are healthy, but this one is.

This recipe has no oil, no butter, and salt... but manages to taste good... it's like a conundrum that science will never completely unfold.  

Now here comes the challenging part, you will need to dump all of the items into the same dish.  Should I repeat myself?

 Place into the oven and bake for 60 mins.  While it's baking you can check your e-mail and do your nails, but make sure you don't forget about it.

True story: because I used brown rice, mine was a little al dente or should I say "un-done-tay"  but a little more time in the oven would have fixed that.  

Ingredients:
-2 pieces of Mahi-Mahi (need only be partially thawed)
-1/2 cup rice
-1/2 cup water
-1 cup french green beans (or more)
-1/2 cup Mango Salsa (the brand I used is from Costco)
-sprinkle of seasoned pepper

Place fish in center of baking dish, then rice and vegetables around it.  Sprinkle with a dash of seasoned pepper.  Place heaps of Salsa on top of fish.  Bake for 60 mins at 350 for white rice, and 1 hr 15 mins for brown.

Enjoy!

Half-Marathon Plan

As I mentioned in my goals post, I will be running a half-marathon this year (or at least that's the goal).  I am actually pretty confident that I could probably go (as in run or walk) that far now - it just might take me all day.  So, to avoid that outcome, I thought I would follow a training plan.  It's a major step for me, that probably evokes more fear than the half-marathon itself.  Plans are frightful things.  They want you do all this stuff at specific times and places and that is never fun.  Though even still some people claim to like plans, and it appears they get stuff done.  Now, I get stuff done too... it's just never very systematic, and while I am so proud of running in the TC 10-miler - it wasn't a record time or anything.  So, reluctantly, I will make an attempt to follow this plan. Anyway, this plan seems pretty safe in the realm of plans - It's even called "Novice."

I have modified it some from it's original form.  I won't be doing a 10-K race (none to be found locally on a Sunday - and I work Saturdays).  I will be doing the 5K race, but a week earlier than suggested, and the final half marathon race is on a Saturday and not a Sunday.  These all seemed like pretty safe adjustments.  I also made a handful of other minor adjustments, so you can check out my individualized version here:


If any of you are runners and have time to look at it - I would love your feedback on what I am doing wrong - or right for that matter.

Oh, and here's what it looks like on my wall:

It's hard to see, but I've crossed off the first 4 days.  I am on Day 5 (of 83), and don't you worry I'm getting right on that "Rest" thing.

Winter Lover

During these brutal Minnesota winters, such as the one we are having now, I sometimes catch myself longing for spring.  It's easy to do. 


But honestly,

I
love
winter. 

There are sweaters, flannel and hot cocoa which are all nice of course, but maybe there is something less tangible too- the spirit of winter?

As it turns out I am not the only saint paul-ite who enjoys celebrating the elusive spirit of winter...

The winter carnival has been going on 125 years.  It's Saint Paul's way of getting people out of their houses despite negative degree weather.  Whether it be to hunt for medallions or look at ice sculptures. I tried my hand at both.    (There are countless other activities as well)  Trudging out in less than ideal conditions always makes me feel like I earned something.  I take an unusual pride in the belief that "Us Minnesotans" are tough... and not just nice. 

In time the ice will melt and winter will be a distant memory.  With that these sculptures will return to the drains and rivers.  So if you are not a natural winter lover... remember it's temporary and try to enjoy the beauty while it lasts

Oh my Meatballs

Do you ever shop at IKEA?  By now I think it's taken over enough of this country that we can safely assume most of us have had a chance navigate this maze of a furniture store (or whatever it is).  As you wander through the store, you initially feel a surge of energy - you are filled with wonder excitement.  This closet is so organized! This chair is so modern!  I never knew so many things could be made from bamboo!  I don't remember needing star shaped ice, but for only 99 cents - I certainly do.   The discoveries are endless. 

But after awhile the spark wears off... and questions arise.  Do I need more pans or more products to organize my pans? or more of both?  How many kinds of ice shapes are there?  How come IKEA offices are larger than IKEA homes?  Exhaustion and frailty begin to set in.  But IKEA answers your call...

A well crafted sign appears advertising something called swedish meatballs for only $3.99!!!     

Meat in a ball - ahhh.... is there anything more right? 

So for those of you who don't care to brave the interior of IKEA - you can try my recipe!

 
The meaty mixture
-99% lean turkey 20 oz
-1 Can chickpeas (blend in blender - I use the magic bullet)
-1 tsp cumin
-1 drizzle Worcester sauce
-other seasonings (as desired)

Just mix this all together using your hands (it's ok - you washed them right?).  Then form in to 1-1.5 inch diameter balls.   The set in the freezer for a minimum half hour (just enough to firm up).  I actually had mine in the freezer (ahem - the outside) for much longer, so that's okay too. 

Frozen Balls (o come-on I couldn't resist!)

Heat about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch of oil in the bottom of a frying pan.  And you can just plop the the frozen meatballs in directly - no need to thaw.  (They will cook all the way through because they are so small.)

Cover and cook for a while (10-15 mins). 

When they are finished they should look like this.  If you want to be sure - cut one open and make sure there is no pink. 

Meatballs wouldn't be complete without gravy.... mmm.... gravy. 

Gravy is super easy to make - I just learned so you can too.

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup vegatable broth (I used a low sodium version)

1/2 cup milk 

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon seasoned pepper

1.  Melt butter in pan over medium heat.
2. Add milk and flour, whisking consistently for 2 minutes
3. Add broth, salt and pepper and continue to stir for 3 minutes, sauce should be getting thicker.

The visual

No no, it's not for drinking.

The final meal

Any meal that includes gravy is probably not going to be included in next month's issue of healthy living.  However, I say look there's vegetables and we used 99% lean meat so let's call this a win anyway.

No more 10 dollar days

Well, after keeping a tally for several months - I've decided I'm done with 10 dollar days.  I will still manage my food budget at about $300/month but I think the daily recording has resulted in more frenzy that frugality.  I glanced over my mint.com budgeting tools and I am sure that I am spending less than $10/day on average and have been trending better than some days. 

Well that, and I just plain don't want to record it every day.  I know - the truth. 

So - onward and upward from there.

UPDATE: I guess I should add here that I montitor all my spending (not just food) very consistently.   I keep tabs via mint.com - it works great for me.  However, this micromanagement of food spending is beginning to have more downs than ups.  I believe it is the "per day" aspect, it's a very short term approach to thinking about food - where as a long term approach is best in terms of frugality.  (meal planning, food storage).  I'm not truly trying to change how much I spend.  $300/month is consistent with $10/day.  Also, to be fair, sharing my food consumption with everyone feels a little burdonsome.

Seven for 2011

This is my first year having a blog where I semi-consistently post items and thought I would decide to give in to peer pressure of making public resolutions (albeit over a week late).  Well actually there not really resolutions, but goals.  However, calling them resolutions makes them sound rather fancy and more befitting of the season.

These are of course goals that I have had in mind for some time now - and for many have made some progress towards already.  No surprises here, but they didn't all just dawn on me when the clock struck 12:01.  However, the changing of calendars and the start of a new year is a nice to reflect and think about what we hope to accomplish and things we would like to see change. 

Fitness Goals



1. Run a 5K in less than 30 mins. 
-So far I've enjoyed running a lot, but haven't had a ton of success going fast.  My best 5K time is 33 minutes.  Running a 5K in less than 30mins means shaving more than a minute per mile off my best time.  It's an aggressive goal, but still doable. (I did not accomplish this - I did run two 5Ks, but both were on the slowish end.  The one I intended to be a 30 minute 5K was forfeited due to recovery from injury) 

2. Run a Half-Marathon
-Not only do I want to run faster, I would like to run longer.  A pretty natural next step after running the TC 10 mile.  (umm.. no, but I did run a whole marathon and there is a Half on the books for 2012)

Food Goal

3.Eat lunch out less often
-Last semester, with my intense work schedule I ate lunch out - 9 out of 10 times. Seriously.... SO for someone who writes about frugality and food... I really need to see this change.  I liked to see this go the opposite way.  As in I bring lunch 9 out of 10 times.  ( I didn't really track this particularly well, but I certainly improved and perhaps came close to bring lunch 9 out of 10 times) 

Financial Goals 

4. Pay off half of my Credit Card debt.
-As someone who has always prided themselves on good financial know how - this one is a bit painful to even admit is an issue. ( errr.. umm... no, not really) 

5. Save one-month's worth of living expenses saving.
-For this particular goal I am very very close, but it is something I hope to not only achieve but maintain.   (Long story, but basically, yes)

Other Goals

6. Read Literature.
- I read lots of memoirs, lots of non-fiction and lots of blogs...but precious little fictional literature.  I'm committed to reading at least two novel length pieces.  I realize there are big time readers out there who polish off books in the double and triple digits every year, but I'm just looking for an improvement from last year (yerr - and this would be one).  (Yes, "The Help" and  "Friday Knight Knitting Club"... I also got half-way through Freedom- A novel, before I really started hating all of the characters) 

7. Improve my German
-This goal needs an appropriate benchmark, but I guess I'll shove it out there anyway.  I took 4 years of German and have visited Germany 3 times, but my German is still pretty weak considering.  Love to see where I could go with this.    (While the bf and I have been given to discussing German, not so much discussing in German, but that's still better than the year before... so Yes - I think)

The toughest part of coming up with goals/resolutions for 2011 (or any other time) for me was keeping this list to "only seven".  I had to subtract a few things.  I wanted to keep this list sort of short though, so I wouldn't get too overwhelmed and I would actually have a chance at accomplishing them. 
 

Stocking Up

I recently made a trip to Costco.  Overall, it was a pretty conservative trip in terms of purchases... most of the items were items I use all the time in baking or cooking.  However, due to the types of purchases made at Costco - the volume (and cost) was pretty high.  It has sort of thrown the "10 dollar day" plan for a loop.  I've decided to keep tracking things as I have been - just to see what happens.  It would be neat if it starts to level off.  I suspect it might.

Buying in bulk is the oft promoted way for saving money on food costs.  Judging by my costco membership and my referencing of stuffed cabinetry.  I obviously subscribed to this method as well.

It's a good method.  Many things have a shelf life of much more than two weeks... "the usual shopping cycle", so if I find them on sale, or can buy them at costco (lower per unit price), then I can really stretch my dollar.

Obvious things I buy in bulk are:
noodles, crackers, cereal bars, flour, sugar, canned tomatoes, olives, canned beans, dried beans evaporated milk and sweeted condensed milk - most of these items have a shelf life of a minimum of 2 years - some of them a lot more.

Some not so obvious things I buy in bulk are:
mayo, ranch, ketchup and other condiments - these items are refrigerate after opening... you can store them on the shelf until then and they often have a shelf life of a year or more. 

Some items I buy in bulk - because of the invention of the freezer:
meat, vegetables, other frozen foods (duh!), bread (yes - you can freeze this - but I do keep my quantities on this smaller than other things) and tortillas (same as bread)

This the list of things I buy in bulk or for storage, but other people make other choices.  I'd be curious if there is anything you depend on from your storage. 

Saving money this way suits my personality.  I have half a dozen dishes I could whoop out of food storage at any moment, and to be honest I get a perhaps weird sense of security out of this.

There are risks with this method however, as food does expire.  Also, many fresh foods are healthier as well (though not always the case).  If I were to stock more than I could use by the expiration date - this would not be a practice in saving, but in losing.    Loss of foods that have expired.  It's important that I mention this is just not a loss to my budget, but a loss in terms of environmental resources as well.  Resources were used to create the food, package the food, move the food to wherever you bought it from.  If these are wasted; I waste those resources too. 


Do you "stock up"?  Are you careful to avoid over stocking?  Do you freeze anything interesting (such as bread)?