Live From Arizona

After a brief hiatus, Candice and I are back.  Since the last post I made, I've moved to beautiful Arizona to be closer to my family.

The people I live with are vegetarian and have forbidden meat cooking in the house.  This isn't a big deal to me, I can do just fine without meat.  In fact, I've probably been saving money without meat.

But for the past couple of weeks I've been feeling sick to my stomach.  I haven't quite figured out what's going on and I'll feel bad for a few days and then fine for a day or so.  I started to consider my diet a little bit more.  Questioning what has changed and what's remained the same.  I suspect that I'm dehydrated a lot of the time and I think drinking more water has helped.  I'm not in the pacific northwest anymore, I can't just absorb water from the air, I have to physically drink it.  Also, despite living with vegetarians, I think I'm eating less vegetables and more (gluten free) grains.

Yesterday I decided it was time to add some vegetables to my diet so I went to the nearby corporate health food store and bought some (mostly non local, mostly conventionally grown, overpriced) produce.  The most important thing for me this week, and for the rest of the time I'm doing my student teaching, is convenience.  I eat breakfast in the car, lunch needs to be portable and not require refrigeration or a microwave.
I came up with the following:
Egg, cheese, and potato rolled tacos (okay, so not exactly a good source of vegetables).
Roasted vegetables and quinoa salad (asparagus, red onion, red/orange/yellow sweet peppers, and Mexican Squash with quinoa, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper).

 

Lemons are in season here and my mom's lemon tree has been extremely generous.  If you add a little gin to your lemonade, most of your troubles will go away.
Here you'll see me eating a mango popsicle and some lemonade while I write this.

So here's my list as of today, day one:
1. Lemons!
2. asparagus
3. red onion
4. sweet peppers
5. Mexican Squash
6. mango
7. cucumber
8. parsley

Not too shabby for day one.

Spring in your step

Joe and I had an unexpected trip to MI to be there for the passing of his Nana. It was a powerful and surprisingly positive experience. Good to be surrounded by family.

Since we were all on shifts at the hospital and staying in a hotel we ate out at restaurants WAY more than we ever do when visiting family. So, we ended up eating better (more veg) than when say... my Grandma is cooking.

I also got a little time with some of my family. My Aunt Jan and her husband Darryl put us up our last night in town and even took us to the airport (early!). I really enjoyed talking food with Uncle Darryl. As I'm always telling Earl I loves me a good eater. I genuinely have a hard time relating to people that don't like to eat, whether from being food as fuel types or having body issues that keep them from enjoying meals.

Now that I'm back in Seattle the New Roots delivery is in and I'm making my menu for the week.

M: Salmon, Lacitino Raab, Salad w/fennel

T: Stir Fry, zucchini, carrot, broccoli, bok choy, pork sasauge

W: flat iron steak, asparagus, salad w/roasted beets

Th: Small Chkn, roasted Broccoli, potatoes

Potluck: Collard paneer, curried chickpeas, naan

weekend, eggs! Leeks, zuchinni, etc.

I'm especially excited to try this kale rabe, probably keep it simple with garlic and red pepper flakes.

Also this week I've been rescuing veggie tops and trimmings from the compost bin and freezing for veggie stock. I figure I'll make a side by side pot when i make chicken stock next.

Joe is trying to get in fighting shape for flag football season, and after some conversations with his older brother and cousins... watching his cholesterol.

This is a long post as I'm still all fired up from talking with Uncle Darryl and Cousin Charlie (a former chef who is discovering organic gardening.)

With any luck I'll get Uncle Darryl's fudge sauce recipe, because a life of JUST leafy greens isn't any FUN.

Food Plan - Yes!

PIctured on the left, you'll see a disgusting testament to sodium, fats, and judge-y eyes from my parents.  While this delicious "protein style" In 'N' Out Burger #2 (whoa no pun intended there) totally satisfied at least two vegetable servings (iceberg lettuce and potatoes), it can only be enjoyed in moderation...sadly.  


So I bring you my on the cheap meal plan for next week.  Admittedly, with the elementary school kids on mid-winter break, I have a little bit more time on my hands (a little bit - I still have to pack and do a billion senior level projects).  Most of these meals are inspired by Stacy's blog.  You'll notice my plan is nearly entirely vegan, puts me at exactly 28 fruits and vegetables, and I'm expecting to pay about $25.  You'll also notice I have a lot of stuff "on hand", meaning, I have a fantastic selection of dried beans and grains, and frozen fruits/vegetables.  I suggest everyone work on building this up in their kitchen, you can buy things in bulk and go a little cray when they're on sale.  All of the prices are estimates based on what I think I'll pay for organic produce at the co-op (a seething example of Seattle's liberal stereotypes - I'll deny to my grave that I'm one of them).  I'll update this with what I actually paid after I go to the store on Tuesday.  

So here we go, I'm gonna go soak some beans now.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Acorn Squash - $2

Kale - $2

White beans - On hand

Onion - $0.5

Garlic - On hand

Canned Tomatoes - On hand

Grilled Veggie Tacos

Zucchini - $1

Yellow Squash - $1

Pinto beans - On hand

Sweet potato - $1

Peppers - On hand

Corn tortilla - On hand

Spaghetti

Lame, store brand spaghetti sauce that needs to be used before it goes bad - On hand

Black olives - $1

Mushrooms - $1

Rice noodles - On hand

Butternut Squash Mac ‘n’ “cheese”

Butternut squash - On hand

Rice noodles - On hand

Nutritional Yeast - On hand

Garlic - On hand

Kale - On hand

Curried Vegetables

Carrot - $0.5

Arugula - $2

Coconut Milk - $2

Cauliflower - $2

Chickpeas - On hand

Arugula Salad

Arugula - On hand

Roasted beets - $3

Lentils - $1

Rice - On hand

Homemade apple cider vinaigrette - On hand

Snacks

Apple - $2

Orange - $1

Carrots - $1

Homemade french fries - On hand

Dried cranberries - $2

Roasted cauliflower - On hand

Sunflower seed butter on corn tortilla - On hand

Breakfasts

Oatmeal with fruit

Oatmeal - On hand

Blueberries - On hand

Blackberry gem - On hand

Roasted apple - On hand

Egg and cheese on corn tortilla

All ingredients on hand

Drinks

Lemonade

Sugar - $3

Lemons - On hand

Mango and raspberry smoothie

Mangos - On hand

Raspberries - On hand

Yogurt - On hand

Water - On hand, drink copiously

Doing a terrible job at eating vegetables

I've been suffering from an acute case of poverty lately.  With that comes 79 cent cans of beets and green beans, bags of potatoes, and generally lots of junky food that makes you feel icky.  So is it possible to reach the dirty 28 on a budget, a budget worthy of some college level poverty?
(Yeah so I totally feel like this jerk)    I don't have an ipad, but I do have a computer that put me back a little under 3 ipads (graphic design for nourishing food?).

Anyway, I stopped keeping count, it was just too depressing.

Then I read the blog of an old friend and felt a little bit more encouraged.  Perhaps my problem is that I rely too heavily on the flavors of (expensive) meat and foods that require more time (and thyme) then I have.  The meat debate seats itself deeply in my psyche.  My mom and her husband step-dad(?) have been vegetarians for a long time, I was vegetarian for 8 years until I had a ton of health problems that limited what I could and could not eat.  I still feel a tinge of guilt for every tasty morsel of meat that I eat.  I am probably the most self-loathingest of all meat eaters.  I cannot justify meat consumption, I don't condone it, but I blindly do it because my diet is too complicated.  
So maybe I'll try something different as we begin the new week on Monday.  Maybe instead of going to the farmer's market and buying the fruit of the bourgeois (that supports local community agriculture instead of awful carcinogenic fields of crops) I'm going to try conventionally grown produce from dumb old big box chain grocery store.  So I think about this, I think about giving up my entitled moral high ground for reaching 28 different varieties.  I think about how hard it is to eat healthy when you're poor.  I distinctly remember living in Cleveland and being forced to go to Giant Eagle (hilarious name aside) to get generic macaroni and cheese, 99 cent bread, and peanut butter.  On off days, I'd go to the corner store and visit "Mama", buying 25 cent snacky-cakes and off-brand soda for breakfast.  I also distinctly remember going to bed hungry frequently enough to worry my grandma.  This was how I sustained myself, and it's terrible...and incredibly common.
I don't want to go back to that awful diet, in fact, I'd end up in the hospital if I went back to that diet.  So what do I do?  I think back to a friend (same friend mentioned above) who wrote zines about vegan on the cheap.  I think that's the direction I need to turn.  Not vegan, just putting less emphasis on variety and more emphasis on a vegetable rich diet.  Also, planning.  With school coming to a close and a cross-country move nearly days away, I feel like I don't have time for anything but if I plan a little bit, there's no reason I can't hit my 28.  If I plan a little bit, I bet I could nail all of those fruits and vegetables without spending much.  I need a plan.  I'll let you know how I do.
Also, here's my friend's blog:  http://nourishmenttothepeople.blogspot.com/ which has an "under $2" section and a fantastic article about why you should eat your veggies here:  http://nourishmenttothepeople.blogspot.com/2011/03/china-studys-compelling-arguments-for.html

Tips for getting your 28 on.

I'm a huge fan or Apartment Therapy, and they posted this good advice over at their cooking site The Kitchn.

I also want to share a new dressing Sarah came up with to pair with winter braising greens. They are one of the reliable winter offerings at our farmers markets and in our CSA boxes here in the PNW. They are also tough, and as advertised normally used in braising or other preparations. They make an excellent salad however when chopped and served with blue cheese, dried cranberries and a strong dressing.

One egg yolk
olive oil
apple cider vinegar
garlic clove, finely minced
salt & pepper to taste

This is so fantastic, everyone is doing it now. The egg yolk does a good job of replacing prepared mustard in my standard dressing (often not GF). I also made this once last week with ginger instead of garlic, still fantastic. The heavier dressing stands up to the texture of the greens and makes a fantastic salad.

The shame of 26

I fell short this week. Mostly because I let my tracking get disorganized.
Last night Sarah texted me that she was deadly short (she'd spent the weekend with some in-land relatives and hadn't seen a single vegetable in days).

She hustled off to the store for smoothie ingredients.

I still hadn't erased my chalk board from the week before, and wasn't super accurate with my paper tracking last week.

Also last week another friend said she was planning to try The 28, but only after she put a chalkboard in her own kitchen. I mostly thought that was funny, but tracking your 28 in a highly visible way is actually pretty important in realizing your goal each week.

Snowy Morning Breakfast

I woke up to beautiful snow falling, a rare occurrence here in Seattle.  Snowy days make me want to sit near a window drinking coffee and eating toast with jam on it.  I must have remembered this yesterday as Candice and I braved slushy precipitation at the farmer's market because I bought a little jar of Blackberry Gem from Growing Things.
Almost every morning for breakfast I make breakfast tacos.  While I generally try to add any vegetables that are laying around the house into my tacos, I've been slipping lately.  I've found myself in a totally not boring rut of cheese, bacon, hash browns, and eggs, wrapped in a corn tortilla.  Delicious, but certainly a waste of a meal if I'm trying to maximize fruit and veggie consumption.  This morning I ate 4 fruits/vegetables, not in taco form though.  Full servings of sweet potatoes, blackberries, mangos, and raspberries all found their way into my breakfast.  One of the tricks that both Candice and I have learned is the magical smoothie.  If you find yourself at 24/28 on the last day of your week (ours is today - Sunday), you can easily throw down a smoothie for your final 28.  Having a freezer full of fruits and vegetables is pretty helpful, especially in the winter when the farmer's market consists of 10 different varieties of kale and root vegetables.  Another trick is bacon.  Frying new vegetables that you are unsure of in bacon fat, or with bacon, almost always makes them delicious, butter works this way too - usually.