I just wanted to share that last night I had a dream (nightmare?) that I was visiting one of the farms that I buy from at the farmer's market, and all I really remember from the dream were these giant mutant turkeys that were as tall as giraffes but had huge bodies. So apparently the book is having a pretty real affect on me, consciously and subconsciously.
I did ask around at the farmer's market yesterday. I only bought meat at two stands - the poultry stand does NOT grow their own animals, but the stand where I bought the beef does. But Dave and I did find a local meat CSA that we might join. And they let you pick what you want so you don't just get a box of whatever they want to give you, and you can skip weeks. They basically use it like a debit account instead of a true CSA. Pretty cool.
Yesterday I did pretty well. No meat for dinner, and I had leftover ribs for lunch, which were from the market. So the only questionable thing was the bacon in the beans.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Animals I Ate
Since my last post, I just want to take a few minutes to think about the meat I have eaten so far. What would I have given up for 4th of July this weekend if I decided to only eat local meat?
Real Meat (aka it was farm-raised and I am relatively confident about what is in it):
Ribs
Half the chicken in the chicken dip
Crap (aka I don't know where it was raised and there is a 99% chance it was raised and slaughtered by an industry I don't want to support):
Chili at Hoss's
French Onion Soup made with beef broth at Hoss's
Bacon in the baked beans
Bubba burgers
sliders
So far, even though we are buying our meat at the farmer's market, I am eating almost twice as much meat that wasn't from the market. Plus there are things you just don't think about having meat in them, like french onion soup. Being a vegetarian must be hard.
Real Meat (aka it was farm-raised and I am relatively confident about what is in it):
Ribs
Half the chicken in the chicken dip
Crap (aka I don't know where it was raised and there is a 99% chance it was raised and slaughtered by an industry I don't want to support):
Chili at Hoss's
French Onion Soup made with beef broth at Hoss's
Bacon in the baked beans
Bubba burgers
sliders
So far, even though we are buying our meat at the farmer's market, I am eating almost twice as much meat that wasn't from the market. Plus there are things you just don't think about having meat in them, like french onion soup. Being a vegetarian must be hard.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Eating Animals
A few weeks ago, between tongue-mollifying bites of huge steaks Dave artfully, almost magically, prepared on the grill, I bantered with Dave about the possibility of having vegetarian children. We said we would never think twice if our child brought home someone of the same gender or a different race, but we would be highly disappointed if our child decided to associate with vegans. We proceeded to have a very tongue in cheek "Guess Who is Coming to Dinner"-esque exchange. "You don't eat meat? You're not good enough for my daughter!"
I have never thought about not eating meat. Ever. Whenever someone talks about being a vegetarian, I point to my eye teeth and say "That's why I eat meat. My parents paid an orthodontist good money to make sure those teeth were in the right place for me to devour a good steak." To me, it seems like a natural, and therefore necessary part of the diet. If we have evolved to be meat-eaters, than an all veggie diet cannot totally sustain us.
I was never thwarted by the animal cruelty argument, either. Growing up on a farm, practically on a factory farm, even, I understood the place of animals from an early age (theirs and mine). It was not unusual for me to see my Nana mercifully step on a sick or hurt baby chick and scoop it up into a bucket for the pit. I never felt sorry for the thousands of chickens crammed into her houses - sure they didn't have the room to run, but they were going to be food. Why did it matter? Again, when they were scooped up by their feet and crammed into crates on a big truck, they were just off to die anyway. Every fall we harvested our grain and every winter we harvested our animals. I saw pigs being shot, gutted and hanging in my Pop's shop. My cousin and I would grab their feet and dance with the carcasses and laugh. It was a tradition. Even animals not used for food were treated as animals, not humans. Money was not spent to take a dog to the vet to die - with tears in his eyes, my father would take the dog off to the woods with a shot gun and a shovel and come home somewhat forlorn. Very "Of Mice and Men." We loved our animals, but they were just that.
Reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer was really the first time I have ever thought about not eating animals any more. I can't say that there was anything shocking to me in the book - I grew up among it all. He attributes the birth of factory farming to a farm in Sussex County, Delaware, so obviously I have been immersed in this from a young age. What the book did do is put together just the right facts and realities to make me think. And this is the conclusion I came to...
I still do not think that raising animals for meat is inherently cruel. I still think that nature intended us to eat at least some meat as part of our diet. But what is being sold in our grocery stores today is NOT meat. It's really a Frankenstein's monster of genetically modified animal flesh masking a paradoxical cocktail of bacteria and anti-biotics, hormones, and cess-pool water. (Up to 30% of chicken meat you buy can be water weight - and not just any water, but the dirty water used to scald just killed chickens, many which release their bowels into the water.) I am not opposed to breeding animals for their best or most useful traits, but we are talking about animals that are bred to be sickly and not even able to walk.
On top of the disgusting concoction that these farms are passing off as meat, consider that livestock now contributes to global warming more than any other cause, including transportation; the conditions these animals live in make PEOPLE sick and contribute to species-jumping super-flus; and farming like this actually causes, not cures, hunger across the world, because the amount of food produced from an animal is less than the amount of food that could be produced from the grain it eats. In other words, the grain a cow eats before slaughter could feed more people than the cow itself.
I am not disgusted by eating meat in a traditional sense, but I am disgusted by what the meat industry has been able to get away with, especially because I have a farming background myself. I am disgusted by what they are actually allowed to sell us and what we all eat every day. Although I am not disgusted by killing animals for meat per se, I am disgusted by the real cruelty that has been allowed to run rampant on many of these farms. Like most of the processed foods I am trying to get away from eating, the meats we eat are contributing to a host of health problems. But I guess the question now is what am I going to do about it?
So now I am asking myself what affect this book really had on me. Is this something I am going to be on a soapbox about for a week and then forget the impact it had on me? I hope not. But following through with this ideal requires some changes on my part. We are already buying most of our meat from the Farmer's Market, but truthfully I have no idea how the meat is produced, so I might need to ask some questions of the sellers before I really feel comfortable with what I am buying. Outside of our home and what I can verify is local and family farmed, though, I would have to eat a vegetarian diet. Let me think about what that means - no Thanksgiving turkey at my Grandma's, no more of my mom's meat loaf, and no more of Nana's chicken salad. I wouldn't eat any meat at anyone else's house, unless I knew they bought their meat like I do - and I don't know of anyone who does that now. Also, it would mean no more meat at the grocery store, so if we ran out of something from Tuesday farmer's market, we would have to eat vegetarian until the next farmer's market. Probably the hardest part would be no meat eating out. (except maybe Homegrown and a couple other organic restaurants up here.) And we love to eat out. That means no Big Al's Roast Beef or corn dogs at the fair in a couple of weeks. No true Nicoboli at the beach (without the ground beef isn't the real thing).
So I guess in the next week I am going to really look at the meat I eat. I am going to talk to some people at the farmer's market about what they are raising and selling. I will be getting back to you all about what I really decide to do. Because not eating meat outside of my home is a huge commitment that I would not take lightly.
If anyone wants to get on board with me or at least wants to know what I am talking about, I highly recommend reading "Eating Animals." I love reading non-fiction, but if you don't, Foer will definitely make it easy for you. (On a side note, his "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" is a fictional novel and probably one of my favorite books.)
I will keep you posted. Please post your words of encouragement or discouragement, questions or opinions about this!
I have never thought about not eating meat. Ever. Whenever someone talks about being a vegetarian, I point to my eye teeth and say "That's why I eat meat. My parents paid an orthodontist good money to make sure those teeth were in the right place for me to devour a good steak." To me, it seems like a natural, and therefore necessary part of the diet. If we have evolved to be meat-eaters, than an all veggie diet cannot totally sustain us.
I was never thwarted by the animal cruelty argument, either. Growing up on a farm, practically on a factory farm, even, I understood the place of animals from an early age (theirs and mine). It was not unusual for me to see my Nana mercifully step on a sick or hurt baby chick and scoop it up into a bucket for the pit. I never felt sorry for the thousands of chickens crammed into her houses - sure they didn't have the room to run, but they were going to be food. Why did it matter? Again, when they were scooped up by their feet and crammed into crates on a big truck, they were just off to die anyway. Every fall we harvested our grain and every winter we harvested our animals. I saw pigs being shot, gutted and hanging in my Pop's shop. My cousin and I would grab their feet and dance with the carcasses and laugh. It was a tradition. Even animals not used for food were treated as animals, not humans. Money was not spent to take a dog to the vet to die - with tears in his eyes, my father would take the dog off to the woods with a shot gun and a shovel and come home somewhat forlorn. Very "Of Mice and Men." We loved our animals, but they were just that.
Reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer was really the first time I have ever thought about not eating animals any more. I can't say that there was anything shocking to me in the book - I grew up among it all. He attributes the birth of factory farming to a farm in Sussex County, Delaware, so obviously I have been immersed in this from a young age. What the book did do is put together just the right facts and realities to make me think. And this is the conclusion I came to...
I still do not think that raising animals for meat is inherently cruel. I still think that nature intended us to eat at least some meat as part of our diet. But what is being sold in our grocery stores today is NOT meat. It's really a Frankenstein's monster of genetically modified animal flesh masking a paradoxical cocktail of bacteria and anti-biotics, hormones, and cess-pool water. (Up to 30% of chicken meat you buy can be water weight - and not just any water, but the dirty water used to scald just killed chickens, many which release their bowels into the water.) I am not opposed to breeding animals for their best or most useful traits, but we are talking about animals that are bred to be sickly and not even able to walk.
On top of the disgusting concoction that these farms are passing off as meat, consider that livestock now contributes to global warming more than any other cause, including transportation; the conditions these animals live in make PEOPLE sick and contribute to species-jumping super-flus; and farming like this actually causes, not cures, hunger across the world, because the amount of food produced from an animal is less than the amount of food that could be produced from the grain it eats. In other words, the grain a cow eats before slaughter could feed more people than the cow itself.
I am not disgusted by eating meat in a traditional sense, but I am disgusted by what the meat industry has been able to get away with, especially because I have a farming background myself. I am disgusted by what they are actually allowed to sell us and what we all eat every day. Although I am not disgusted by killing animals for meat per se, I am disgusted by the real cruelty that has been allowed to run rampant on many of these farms. Like most of the processed foods I am trying to get away from eating, the meats we eat are contributing to a host of health problems. But I guess the question now is what am I going to do about it?
So now I am asking myself what affect this book really had on me. Is this something I am going to be on a soapbox about for a week and then forget the impact it had on me? I hope not. But following through with this ideal requires some changes on my part. We are already buying most of our meat from the Farmer's Market, but truthfully I have no idea how the meat is produced, so I might need to ask some questions of the sellers before I really feel comfortable with what I am buying. Outside of our home and what I can verify is local and family farmed, though, I would have to eat a vegetarian diet. Let me think about what that means - no Thanksgiving turkey at my Grandma's, no more of my mom's meat loaf, and no more of Nana's chicken salad. I wouldn't eat any meat at anyone else's house, unless I knew they bought their meat like I do - and I don't know of anyone who does that now. Also, it would mean no more meat at the grocery store, so if we ran out of something from Tuesday farmer's market, we would have to eat vegetarian until the next farmer's market. Probably the hardest part would be no meat eating out. (except maybe Homegrown and a couple other organic restaurants up here.) And we love to eat out. That means no Big Al's Roast Beef or corn dogs at the fair in a couple of weeks. No true Nicoboli at the beach (without the ground beef isn't the real thing).
So I guess in the next week I am going to really look at the meat I eat. I am going to talk to some people at the farmer's market about what they are raising and selling. I will be getting back to you all about what I really decide to do. Because not eating meat outside of my home is a huge commitment that I would not take lightly.
If anyone wants to get on board with me or at least wants to know what I am talking about, I highly recommend reading "Eating Animals." I love reading non-fiction, but if you don't, Foer will definitely make it easy for you. (On a side note, his "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" is a fictional novel and probably one of my favorite books.)
I will keep you posted. Please post your words of encouragement or discouragement, questions or opinions about this!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Daily Food - 6/14
Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs and an apple.
Lunch: Leftovers from my mom's - what could be better? Creamed carrots and peas and dumplings, and a class of water. I also threw in some yogurt for protein.
With lunch I had a little pineapple upside down cake, also left over from my birthday.
Snack: I had some bolthouse farms protein mocha cappuccino flavor, and a black bean and cheese quesadilla on w whole grain tortilla.
Dinner: We made spaghetti squash on the grill, and then shredded it with some butter. With the smoky from the grill, I can't even tell you how good that tastes. Then we made some turkey legs. This was a first but they were on sale so we gave it a go. The Renn Faire has nothing on Dave, I have to say. These were smoky and delicious.
The Good: I walked twice today! Morning and evening! Most of what I ate was pretty solid. I have been reading labels a lot more.
The Bad: Probably the food I brought home from my parents, particularly the cake because I know it was made with cake mix, and I am not sure about the dumplings because I know they were the frozen kind (shh, don't tell.)
I'm Back!
Shew! I needed that break. I am not proud of what I ate, but sometimes when you have several hundred papers to grade and two graduations in one week, not to mention the rare freedom to actually go out to eat, you just need to let loose a little. Let's just say there were at least 3 stops at Hardee's that I am not proud of. And for the record, I didn't go on hiatus to "hide" the junk I was eating, I was just too busy to keep up with the blog.
But sweet summer has arrived.
Here is a little bit of what you missed...
Fortunately or unfortunately, my birthday is right before the end of the school year. Since it was a big one this year, I was determined to get away, which might be why I was so behind at school for the end of the year. But it was worth it. We went to Williamsburg, VA for the weekend and had a blast.
We stopped for Five Guys burgers on the way down. This looked like most of my meals this week.
And fries, of course...
This was my actual birthday lunch: A delicious veggie quiche with fruit and fruit bread. This was very tasty. It was full of nice crunchy veggies. It was kind of unexpected, and pretty light considering it was BOILING outside.
We also had a very nice dinner that night. It got destroyed before I could take a picture, but we had an appetizer of fried oysters and rockfish pizza, and then I had crabcakes on a bed of ham and cheese grits. I have eaten my share of crabcakes, but I never imagines how well they would go with the grits. Really delicious.
And this was my birthday dessert - a creme brulee sampler - there was a classic vanilla, honey ginger, and a chocolate raspberry. You can also see my Mint Julep in the background. When in the south...
Before we left Williamsburg the next day, we had lunch at one of the old-time taverns. This is a chicken pie and it was amazing. I also had the best pecan pie I have ever had in my life.
On the way home, we stopped at Jesse Wong's Chinese Kitchen (hey - it was there...) and I had singapore noodles. Not bad.
Skip ahead a week - this was my birthday part two. We went to my parents for my birthday celebration there, and stopped at Homegrown Cafe in Newark, my old stomping grounds. This was one of my favorite restaurants when I lived there, and still is. It doesn't hurt that most of their menu, if not all, is organic, local, and can be made vegetarian or vegan. These are veggie summer rolls. Very light, crispy, with some mint in them and a nice spicy sauce. I also had the falafels and their signature side salad. But there is no picture of the falafels. I once devised a plan to get my sister a job there so she could sneak me free falafels, so you should know that they do not stay on the plate long enough for a picture.
We were NOT planning on doing this, but the cupcake store is right next door to Homegrown. We were doing a great job of avoiding it, but then we saw the sign. It said "Margarita cupcakes" and there was no avoiding. And I am glad we didn't. I think this may be my new favorite flavor there. And at least we stayed healthy with some milk.
There were definitely some ups and downs this week. But that's behind me! So - moving ahead...
But sweet summer has arrived.
Here is a little bit of what you missed...
Fortunately or unfortunately, my birthday is right before the end of the school year. Since it was a big one this year, I was determined to get away, which might be why I was so behind at school for the end of the year. But it was worth it. We went to Williamsburg, VA for the weekend and had a blast.
We stopped for Five Guys burgers on the way down. This looked like most of my meals this week.
And fries, of course...
This was my actual birthday lunch: A delicious veggie quiche with fruit and fruit bread. This was very tasty. It was full of nice crunchy veggies. It was kind of unexpected, and pretty light considering it was BOILING outside.
We also had a very nice dinner that night. It got destroyed before I could take a picture, but we had an appetizer of fried oysters and rockfish pizza, and then I had crabcakes on a bed of ham and cheese grits. I have eaten my share of crabcakes, but I never imagines how well they would go with the grits. Really delicious.And this was my birthday dessert - a creme brulee sampler - there was a classic vanilla, honey ginger, and a chocolate raspberry. You can also see my Mint Julep in the background. When in the south...
Before we left Williamsburg the next day, we had lunch at one of the old-time taverns. This is a chicken pie and it was amazing. I also had the best pecan pie I have ever had in my life.
On the way home, we stopped at Jesse Wong's Chinese Kitchen (hey - it was there...) and I had singapore noodles. Not bad. 
Skip ahead a week - this was my birthday part two. We went to my parents for my birthday celebration there, and stopped at Homegrown Cafe in Newark, my old stomping grounds. This was one of my favorite restaurants when I lived there, and still is. It doesn't hurt that most of their menu, if not all, is organic, local, and can be made vegetarian or vegan. These are veggie summer rolls. Very light, crispy, with some mint in them and a nice spicy sauce. I also had the falafels and their signature side salad. But there is no picture of the falafels. I once devised a plan to get my sister a job there so she could sneak me free falafels, so you should know that they do not stay on the plate long enough for a picture.
We were NOT planning on doing this, but the cupcake store is right next door to Homegrown. We were doing a great job of avoiding it, but then we saw the sign. It said "Margarita cupcakes" and there was no avoiding. And I am glad we didn't. I think this may be my new favorite flavor there. And at least we stayed healthy with some milk. 
There were definitely some ups and downs this week. But that's behind me! So - moving ahead...
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Hiatus
Sorry if I have disappointed any of my loyal followers, but this week has been absolutely insane! It is the last week of school so for any of you teacher, you know what it is like. I am going to take a break from this week, although I DO have pictures from my birthday weekend that I will put up when I get a chance to do anything other than eat, sleep, and grade! I will pick up again next week! Also, once school is out, I want to start doing more than just posting daily food, so let me know what questions you have and I will be happy to research them. And let me know what types of things you would like to see - info about bad ingredients, new recipes, etc.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
New Recipe! - Coconut Shrimp Curry!
1-2 T olive oil
1 T curry
1/2 T garlic powder
1/2 T red pepper
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
any fresh or frozen veggies
1 can coconut milk
1 lb frozen shrimp
Add all the spices to the oil in a big pan. Let the spices kind of roast in the oil - it makes it so much better and it smells really great. Do NOT skimp on salt or this will taste gross. Toss in the veggies - I like a stir fry mix for frozen, or broccoli or snap peas fresh are good. Once those get started a bit, pour in the coconut milk and shrimp. Cook until the veggies are done and the shrimp is pink. Serve over rice.
1 T curry
1/2 T garlic powder
1/2 T red pepper
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
any fresh or frozen veggies
1 can coconut milk
1 lb frozen shrimp
Add all the spices to the oil in a big pan. Let the spices kind of roast in the oil - it makes it so much better and it smells really great. Do NOT skimp on salt or this will taste gross. Toss in the veggies - I like a stir fry mix for frozen, or broccoli or snap peas fresh are good. Once those get started a bit, pour in the coconut milk and shrimp. Cook until the veggies are done and the shrimp is pink. Serve over rice.
Daily Food - 6/3
Breakfast: Ok, I am both ashamed and proud of myself here. There wasn't anything really appetizing to me in the house, and since we are in the middle of exams and I have most of the day free to work, I wanted to stop off and get a snack anyway. So yes, I grabbed junk for breakfast - this thing, a hostess cherry pie, and a big Turkey Hill iced coffee, which I think is mostly sugar. The proud part comes in when I took a big bite of this Oatmeal pie, which I have been craving ever since i bought it for my students, and it was disgusting. It left a gross film in my mouth. I think I am going to look for an oatmeal pie recipe, because they should not taste like THAT. After I ate that thing, I did NOT want the cherry pie. I think I am going to pass that along to the trash can tomorrow, or at least give it to one of my students.
Lunch: So, when you teach and you can make it out to lunch, it's super exciting! We love exam time just because we can get out of the building and have a semi-leisurely lunch. I went to my fave, Tropical Smoothie. This is a cup of lobster bisque, which is very good. I also had a Hawaiian Breeze smoothie and a Sesame Chicken salad which was also very tasty. Snack: Also munched on some Chex Mix while grading.
Dinner: This was fantastic! I am going to post a recipe. This is a Coconut Shrimp curry that I make, and it was particularly good tonight for some reason.
The good: dinner was good. I am proud of my afterthought with breakfast even if I wasn't happy with my forethought. For take out, lunch was a good choice. Tropical smoothie does a good job with natural stuff.
The bad: Picking up the breakfast stuff even though I was yelling at myself in my head the whole time to put it back. Need a better snack than chex mix.
Daily Food - 6/2
Breakfast: More leftover crepes. This was it. I threw out the rest.
Lunch: Leftover pasta from last night. It was so hot I didn't even heat it up. Blech...
Snack: Hardees again. Like I said yesterday, the bad part of being late on the blogs is that when you write about something you did one day that wasn't great, it's only worse when you did the same thing the next day. I got a big lemonade and a small chicken finger.
Dinner: Dave wanted some wings, which used to be our weekly Wednesday routine, so we went out. Started with nachos, which is my favorite app! 
Had two of these, and trust me, I needed them. They were as good as they look, too. 
By the time the main course was served, it was dark outside, and since we were sitting outside, this is as good as the picture gets. But it was a reuben and curly fries, and I didn't really eat many of the fries.
The good: I didn't kill anyone today.
The bad: Everything else?
Daily Food - 6/1
Happy June!
Breakfast: more leftover crepes.
Lunch: I made a big salad with tuna, lettuce, and radishes. It was basically grabbing whatever I could find in the morning because I did NOT want PBJ.
Snack/Lunch 2: Hardee's. Got a giant tea and a grilled chicken sandwich.
Dinner: I have GOT to get Dave to stop taking pics for me when I am sitting across from the food. Blech. Anyway, we made some italian sausages from the farmer's market that were AMAZING. Half was hot and the other was garlic. Both were good but I really liked the hot. Then we mixed with some peppers, onions, garlic, sauce, and homemade tomato basil pasta from the farmer's market.
The good: hmm. Lunch was good. I think the salad was probably a better choice than the PBJ I usually have when there are no leftovers.
The bad: Breakfast, again. Too many carbs, especially sugar. Fast food - shame shame shame! (I wish I had done my blogs on time, because now I know what is going to happen tomorrow.) Dinner was ok, as far as being homemade and a god balance of lots of veggies, meat and carbs, but I always feel guilty when I eat a big bowl of pasta.
Breakfast: more leftover crepes. Lunch: I made a big salad with tuna, lettuce, and radishes. It was basically grabbing whatever I could find in the morning because I did NOT want PBJ.
Snack/Lunch 2: Hardee's. Got a giant tea and a grilled chicken sandwich.
Dinner: I have GOT to get Dave to stop taking pics for me when I am sitting across from the food. Blech. Anyway, we made some italian sausages from the farmer's market that were AMAZING. Half was hot and the other was garlic. Both were good but I really liked the hot. Then we mixed with some peppers, onions, garlic, sauce, and homemade tomato basil pasta from the farmer's market. The good: hmm. Lunch was good. I think the salad was probably a better choice than the PBJ I usually have when there are no leftovers.
The bad: Breakfast, again. Too many carbs, especially sugar. Fast food - shame shame shame! (I wish I had done my blogs on time, because now I know what is going to happen tomorrow.) Dinner was ok, as far as being homemade and a god balance of lots of veggies, meat and carbs, but I always feel guilty when I eat a big bowl of pasta.
Daily Food - 5/31
Happy Memorial Day! This week has been a little insane, as you can see by me putting up my blog 3 days late. But teachers in June don't have lives. Well, until mid-June anyway...
I don't really have an excuse for today though. I didn't even leave the house, let alone the couch.
Breakfast was leftover crepes. Well, the batter, then I whipped these up.
Lunch - I had a leftover burger from last night with some leftover mushrooms.
Snack: I just had a little salad that was leftover from the other night. Are we seeing a theme?
Dinner - something new! Steak! This was a delicious, classic holiday meal. Sauteed spinach with garlic, and a roll, too.
Dessert: This stuff is the BEST. I love Haagen-Dazs Five brand - each flavor is only made with 5 ingredients - milk, sugar, cream, eggs, and whatever flavor it is. Might not be healthy but it definitely has a decent ingredients list! Anyway, we just tried the new lemon flavor and it is to die for. Mint is my other favorite in this brand.
The good: well, everything is homemade except the ice cream, which is at least all natural. Salad for a snack was a great idea, especially with the farmer's market lettuce. Love the peppery leaf lettuce.
The bad: Crepes for breakfast. Too much carbs and sugar and no protein.
I don't really have an excuse for today though. I didn't even leave the house, let alone the couch.
Breakfast was leftover crepes. Well, the batter, then I whipped these up.
Lunch - I had a leftover burger from last night with some leftover mushrooms.
Snack: I just had a little salad that was leftover from the other night. Are we seeing a theme?
Dinner - something new! Steak! This was a delicious, classic holiday meal. Sauteed spinach with garlic, and a roll, too.
Dessert: This stuff is the BEST. I love Haagen-Dazs Five brand - each flavor is only made with 5 ingredients - milk, sugar, cream, eggs, and whatever flavor it is. Might not be healthy but it definitely has a decent ingredients list! Anyway, we just tried the new lemon flavor and it is to die for. Mint is my other favorite in this brand.
The good: well, everything is homemade except the ice cream, which is at least all natural. Salad for a snack was a great idea, especially with the farmer's market lettuce. Love the peppery leaf lettuce.
The bad: Crepes for breakfast. Too much carbs and sugar and no protein.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Daily Food - 5/30
Breakfast: I always make crepes when my little sister comes to visit. I even have a handy dandy crepe maker. It doesn't look very appetizing here, but fill it with some cream cheese and strawberry jelly and it's delicious. Or nutella! I had three of these.
Lunch: Went to Chili's after a fun afternoon at the science center. This looks unhealthier than it is. There was broccoli on the plate, and I had a side salad before that, too. And I didn't eat any of the fries because we decided they smelled like cows. Don't ask. But the meat here is chipotle-honey chicken fingers.
Snack: Had a little bit of sub that my mom left in the fridge, but I threw a good chunk out. I just can't eat that much lunch meat at a time anymore. It makes me feel sick.
Dinner: Dave made some burgers, with bacon, onions, mushrooms all on the grill, and then I added mayo, ketchup, and pickles. It was falling all over the place but it was really juicy and delicious.
The Good: no dessert! Burgers were homemade. hmm...
The Bad: Not a particularly great day. Got sucked into girls' weekend. Breakfast was a treat, so was lunch, and really so was dinner. Too many treats in one day.
Daily Food - 5/29
Breakfast: Steak and Egg Bagel, hash browns, and a coffee, from the evil place. I don't even know what prompted that decision.
Lunch: Skipped it. Started cleaning up the house and by the time I finished my family was here and they had already eaten and it was later so we just decided to go for dinner.
Dinner: Started with a salad - that's my mommy's hand there. Everything tastes better when you mom makes it. It was fun making dinner together in my new house. Anyway, salad had fresh leaf lettuce - my favorite, with grated carrots and radishes. I had a little French dressing.
Then we had some stir fry. All kinds of stuff in here - broccoli, squash, 4 colors of peppers, onion, and chicken. We just threw in some seasoning and a little soy sauce. And I purposely overcooked the veg because my teeth still hurt and my mom likes them that way.
Dessert: We bought some cake at the grocery store but it was only ok, so we decided to go to Twin Kiss for ice cream. I had a Cherry Coke float with vanilla ice cream.
The Good: I was so excited that we made the stir fry and salad, because usually when my family comes to visit, it's an excuse to go out to eat a lot. But cooking in was fun.
The Bad: Breakfast, period. And the ice cream. Skipping lunch was bad, but I really didn't feel it. I rarely skip meals, so I will let that go.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Daily Food - 5/28
Breakfast: Made an ambrosial smoothie from yogurt, milk, frozen strawberries, pineapple, and peaches, and a little stevia. Also had some toast with a little farmer's market butter and jam that was divine.
Lunch: Had leftovers from last night - chicken and zucchini from the grill. Very palatable.
Snack: Had a few pretzels at school. Grabbed a grilled chicken sandwich and an iced coffee on the way home. (I am reading a new book that says you should eat every four hours - carbs and protein. So I am going to try it out. That means "snack" is really just a second lunch.)
Dinner: We had some veggie pizza with Dave's mom.
Dessert: A succulent Rita's orange water ice. I think it is my new favorite.
The Good: Lunch and the smoothie for breakfast. The grilled chicken was ok, veggie only on the pizza was a good choice, although that was Dave's choice.
The Bad: I didn't really need the toast for breakfast. I bread with the grilled chicken probably wasn't the best choice and I didn't need the iced coffee. I told Dave as we were going to his mom's that I should have grabbed the salad stuff we have here to go with the pizza. I could have made a homemade smoothie instead of the water ice when we got home.
Another note: Dave says I use the word "yummy" too much on here and I agree. It makes me sound like an idiot but usually by the time I write this in the evening my brain is fried. So I am trying out some new words. Personally, I like ambrosial the best so far. :-)
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Daily Food 5/27
Breakfast: Another turkey and cheese wrap. So yummy, and portable for the car!
Lunch: PBJ and yogurt. I also had 2 cokes before and after lunch. It was hot! They were cold!
Snack: Should look a lot like breakfast, except I added some asparagus. Also had a couple squares of white chocolate.
Dinner: Grilled chicken and zucchini, and a couple of margaritas. mmmm
The Good: Chicken and veg for dinner was good. Breakfast and snack are getting me some protein.
The Bad: Again, the white flour wraps aren't the best. Could probably do better with a homemade margarita instead of the mix. Jelly on the PB and the cokes. Ahhh, the cokes. But really, it is 90 degrees in my classroom. I was dying!
Daily Food - 5/26
I totally suck at blogging this week. It could be the 90 degree weather or the end of the school year frying my brain. Anyway, I didn't forget about Wednesday's blog, I just went upstairs to lay down in the AC for awhile and never came down. Anyway, it broke down like this...
Breakfast: Took some turkey and cheese in a wrap and nuked it for a few seconds. mmm
Lunch: I had leftover fajitas without the wrap - just the meat and peppers and onions and a little guac and sour cream. Also some yummy cherries from the farmer's market.
Snack: Strawberries with homemade whipped cream.
Dinner: We went to Hibachi and I was all excited to take pictures and then Dave and I realized we forgot when we finished our food. Bummer. I shared a sushi roll, and then had the standard soup and salad, mushrooms and veg, the steak, chicken, and shrimp combo with fried rice. mmm.
The Good: Hibachi was so fun and mostly healthy. We have been pounding the fruit this week. I am NOT a fruit eater, but I can't lay off the strawberries and cherries. Leftovers were good, and breakfast wasn't bad.
The Bad: Need to get some whole wheat wraps, I think I already said that. Could have skipped the sushi roll and laid off the sour cream for lunch.
Breakfast: Took some turkey and cheese in a wrap and nuked it for a few seconds. mmm
Lunch: I had leftover fajitas without the wrap - just the meat and peppers and onions and a little guac and sour cream. Also some yummy cherries from the farmer's market.
Snack: Strawberries with homemade whipped cream.
Dinner: We went to Hibachi and I was all excited to take pictures and then Dave and I realized we forgot when we finished our food. Bummer. I shared a sushi roll, and then had the standard soup and salad, mushrooms and veg, the steak, chicken, and shrimp combo with fried rice. mmm.
The Good: Hibachi was so fun and mostly healthy. We have been pounding the fruit this week. I am NOT a fruit eater, but I can't lay off the strawberries and cherries. Leftovers were good, and breakfast wasn't bad.
The Bad: Need to get some whole wheat wraps, I think I already said that. Could have skipped the sushi roll and laid off the sour cream for lunch.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Tuesday - Farmer's Market Loot!
Love this! At a stand selling plants. Those are definitely the kind of plants I need.
Was going to get a whoopie pie, but I decided on these instead. So pretty. Much better choice to treat myself.
Farmer's Market Loot! We have, from top to bottom...
1. Peach Jam
2. Strawberries
3. Cherries
4. Tomato Basil homemade pasta
5. Artichokes
6. Tomatoes
7. Mushrooms
8. Steak - Tbone for me and Strip for Dave
9. Ground beef
10. Italian sausage
11. Turkey and cheese
12. Spinach
13. Red and Green Leaf Lettuce
14. Zucchini
15. Onions
16. Red peppers.
Should be a good week! We also picked up some shrimp and catfish this week.
Daily Food 5/25
I sucked at taking pictures today. Just a warning.
Breakfast: I ate in the car. I made a turkey and cheese wrap and nuked it for a couple seconds and it got nice and warm and melty. It was really good.
Lunch: Had a half of a leftover porkchop with the zucchini and cauliflower.
Snack: Had a garlic pretzel dog at the farmer's market, with a coke.
Dinner: We cooked a sirloin steak on the grill with some peppers and onions...
And made it into fajitas. This was very tasty.
Dessert: I will probably be having some strawberries or cherries later.
The good: The fajita filling was great. Same with breakfast. Lunch was a good meal.
The bad: Should probably look for whole wheat fajitas. Didn't really need the hot dog or coke this afternoon.
Breakfast: I ate in the car. I made a turkey and cheese wrap and nuked it for a couple seconds and it got nice and warm and melty. It was really good.
Lunch: Had a half of a leftover porkchop with the zucchini and cauliflower.
Snack: Had a garlic pretzel dog at the farmer's market, with a coke.
Dinner: We cooked a sirloin steak on the grill with some peppers and onions...
And made it into fajitas. This was very tasty. Dessert: I will probably be having some strawberries or cherries later.
The good: The fajita filling was great. Same with breakfast. Lunch was a good meal.
The bad: Should probably look for whole wheat fajitas. Didn't really need the hot dog or coke this afternoon.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Daily Food - 5/24
Breakfast: Horrible picture, but I had a small juice, yogurt, and toast with butter and jelly. I also made a really good coffee drink with almond milk, stevia, and a little chocolate syrup, but I didn't really drink most of it. Just not in the mood for coffee today.
Lunch: Had leftovers from last night. Porkchops, cauli, and zukes.
Snack: Had an appt after school, so I stopped for a cup of soup and a smoothie. I asked for half sugar this time so I thought that was good.
Dinner: We went to Hoss's, which is all you can eat salad bar. I had the brilliant idea to dump vegetarian chili on top of the salad with a little cheese and sour cream. It was yummy.
So yummy I had it again, this time with less cheese. lol.
Also had a cup of soup and some bread, and then I got a little dessert - just a few bites of bread pudding, and some chocolate thing that was to die for. The Good: My coffee drink would have been a good creation. I just didn't want it today. Lunch was good. My smoothie was good, esp with less sugar. My salad with the veg chili and no dressing was good.
The Bad: Could have skipped dessert. Probably didn't need the soup after work. Breakfast was kind of a mismatch of whatever I found - probably could have found a better alternative than jelly and butter.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Daily Food - 5/23
Breakfast: No pic because my phone was dead and I went out. I was a racecar widow today and I love going to Gringo's and listening to the old people talk about God knows what. Anyway, without the picture, I thought about lying and saying I had a nice fruit cup with an egg white omelet. But that's not the point here. I had some delicious sausage gravy on biscuits and potatoes, with orange juice and coffee. I am sure it was homemade - that's about the only redeeming factor.
Lunch: I knew this was a mistake when I did it. I ordered a pizza and some breadsticks from Pizza Hut out of pure laziness and I feel like CRAP. I really regret this. Every time I eat pizza hut I feel like I have to drink a gallon of water to get all the salt out of me.
Dinner: Porkchops, cauliflower, and zucchini on the grill. This was delicious, especially the veggies.
The good: Dinner was pretty solid.
The bad: I KNEW I shouldn't have ordered from Pizza Hut and I seriously feel like crap. Breakfast wasn't much better. Honestly, I ate like crap all weekend and I can FEEL it. I just feel tired and sluggish and miserable and bloaty. Plus I need to get rid of that spray butter.
Lunch: I knew this was a mistake when I did it. I ordered a pizza and some breadsticks from Pizza Hut out of pure laziness and I feel like CRAP. I really regret this. Every time I eat pizza hut I feel like I have to drink a gallon of water to get all the salt out of me.
Dinner: Porkchops, cauliflower, and zucchini on the grill. This was delicious, especially the veggies.
The good: Dinner was pretty solid.
The bad: I KNEW I shouldn't have ordered from Pizza Hut and I seriously feel like crap. Breakfast wasn't much better. Honestly, I ate like crap all weekend and I can FEEL it. I just feel tired and sluggish and miserable and bloaty. Plus I need to get rid of that spray butter.
Why my mind was blown this morning
I told you I was going to read this Jillian Michael's book and have more interesting things to share. I went to the Mexican place this morning for breakfast, and took it along to do a little reading.
She basically totally blew my mind with three little facts that I think are the opposite of what most people think.
1. Don't eat soy! I actually have learned this recently in my research about the thyroid. I think this is crazy because I think most people think soy is so good for you. But it is really not good for your thyroid. Fermented soy like miso is good, but other forms block the absorption of selenium which is vital to thyroid function. And because soy is so cheap, many processed foods are using soy as fillers now, which might point to why the increase in thyroid problems has been so drastic lately.
2. Don't eat flax seed! This really blew my mind. I thought flax was a miracle food. I LOVE my flax and fiber bread and also Trader Joe's flax seed tortilla chips. But flax seed contains exogenous estrogen, which in kind of dumbed down terms is "outside" estrogen. The imbalance of estrogen throws off your blood sugar and insulin levels. From what I am reading now, flax is recommended only in extreme moderation.
3. Don't eat your broccoli raw! Or any other cruciferous veggies like Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, spinach, kale, bok choy, etc. This one really blew my mind because they always tell you that the best way to get the maximum nutrients from veggies is to eat them raw! But these veggies contain a chemical group that disrupts cell function in the thyroid. BUT this chemical group is also a cancer fighting antioxidant. If you cook the veggies, you lose most of the chemical group, but keep enough that it is beneficial without damaging the thyroid. Who knew? Fortunately, I prefer my veggies cooked! They also say if you already have thyroid problems, you should eat these types of veggies in moderation. Good to know because when I lived alone, I could easily eat broccoli every night for a week.
She basically totally blew my mind with three little facts that I think are the opposite of what most people think.
1. Don't eat soy! I actually have learned this recently in my research about the thyroid. I think this is crazy because I think most people think soy is so good for you. But it is really not good for your thyroid. Fermented soy like miso is good, but other forms block the absorption of selenium which is vital to thyroid function. And because soy is so cheap, many processed foods are using soy as fillers now, which might point to why the increase in thyroid problems has been so drastic lately.
2. Don't eat flax seed! This really blew my mind. I thought flax was a miracle food. I LOVE my flax and fiber bread and also Trader Joe's flax seed tortilla chips. But flax seed contains exogenous estrogen, which in kind of dumbed down terms is "outside" estrogen. The imbalance of estrogen throws off your blood sugar and insulin levels. From what I am reading now, flax is recommended only in extreme moderation.
3. Don't eat your broccoli raw! Or any other cruciferous veggies like Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, spinach, kale, bok choy, etc. This one really blew my mind because they always tell you that the best way to get the maximum nutrients from veggies is to eat them raw! But these veggies contain a chemical group that disrupts cell function in the thyroid. BUT this chemical group is also a cancer fighting antioxidant. If you cook the veggies, you lose most of the chemical group, but keep enough that it is beneficial without damaging the thyroid. Who knew? Fortunately, I prefer my veggies cooked! They also say if you already have thyroid problems, you should eat these types of veggies in moderation. Good to know because when I lived alone, I could easily eat broccoli every night for a week.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Daily Food - 5/22
Breakfast: Raisin bread with some homemade butter. Also had some cheese and crackers. lol. It was a weird breakfast - I wasn't really in the mood for anything.
Lunch: Went to Houlihan's with my friend Katelyn. I was excited that there was one up here because this was one of my favorites in Newark, too. We started with the spinach dip because you MUST have that when you go there.
Then I had a chopped salad. This had corn, bleu cheese, bacon, and croutons, with honey mustard dressing. mmmm.
And I ordered the meatloaf with mashed potatoes and string beans. I figured I should get a bigger meal since Dave had to work tonight and I wasn't sure when dinner would be happening.
Snack: Had a headache on the way home and realized that I didn't have any coffee today, so I hit up Folklore and had got some organic homemade red velvet cake, and their special drink of the month - a spicy frozen mocha. It was definitely interesting.The night went downhill from there. Ended up with a migraine, which I am still fighting, and it is 9pm and Dave is still at work when he was supposed to be off at 6. So good call on the big lunch. I figured I would do the blog now and if I feel like eating anything else, I will edit this later.
The good: ummm... I had a salad?
The bad: Houlihans is big on making everything from scratch, but lunch was a bit indulgent. I could have done without the cake. Basically I could have done better with pretty much everything I ate today.
ETA: Had dinner at 11:30 when Dave got home. It was a BLT. mmm
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