Accomplishing Lifestyle Goals 101

As I mentioned in The #1 Key to Eating Healthy on a Budget, the best way to save money is to eat what you have! I know, I know....even though it saves money, it is not always convenient. I realize it can be challenging to find time to meal prep, plan ahead, or figure out ways to eat your own food on the go. That being said, it is not impossible; it merely comes down to priorities. How important is it for you and your family to eat healthy? How important is it to meet your financial goals, steward your money well, and accomplish your life goals and dreams? How important is your time?  The answers to these questions are essential for determining the focus of your time and priorities.  I realize there are seasons of life where our time is more valuable to us than our money; we would rather pay for food to be prepared and cooked for us. However, if eating healthy and meeting financial goals are important to you, it might help to take a look at the use of your time.  How much time do you spend watching TV? Playing on your phone or interacting on social media?  Basically, our time, money, and priorities need to align in order for us to see the results we wish to achieve in our lives.

Here is some food for thought: If you were able to spend a concentrated amount of time making food for your week (or even a few days at a time), would the initial time spent help you save time later on?  For example, I spent the day in Traverse City yesterday, which is about an hour-and-a-half from my house. I had to meet with a prospective student, but I decided to go shopping afterwards.  Instead of eating fast food or having to wait in line at a healthier restaurant, I was able to grab my salad and homemade granola bar from my cooler and eat on the go! I didn't have to wait for a second! As soon as I decided it was time to eat, I could do so. Not to mention, it was also healthier and cheaper.  Likewise, if I make my food earlier in the week, I have more time when I come home from work at 6:30 pm or 7:00 pm.  I can go for a walk or exercise, blog, read, or do any number of things I want to accomplish because my food is already prepared for me. I don't have to drive anywhere at lunch time and spend money to eat out, as my food is prepared and ready to go in the work fridge. I can pop it in the microwave - and voila! It's ready.  Yes, it does require an investment of my time and energy to plan and prepare meals; however, I usually receive a huge return on my investment later on.

While you are chewing on that concept for a bit, I will share one of my favorite breakfast recipes. I love having breakfast pre-made and ready to go during the week. I don’t know about you, but mornings are not my thing.  I do not wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with time to get things accomplished in the morning. I tend to get up at the last minute - with just enough time to shower, get ready, grab a cup of coffee, and head out the door.  So, having some food ready to grab as I’m heading to work is essential for starting my day on the right foot.  

One of my most recent favorite breakfast foods is Overnight Slow Cooker Apple Pie Steel Cut Oatmeal posted by Samantha on her blog, FiveHeartHome.  Back when I had my intense bout with food allergies (read The Challenge is On….), I ate a lot of oatmeal. So much so, I was ready to take a break from regular oatmeal for a while.  I purchased a bag of steel cut oats – and they sat in my pantry for months. I wasn’t really sure what to do with them. I knew they took longer to cook, but I just hadn’t spent the time to figure out how to make them.  Enter stage right: Pinterest. I finally got out the ‘ole Pinterest app and began to do a little research. I found the recipe for Apple Pie Steel Cut Oats, and I was sold! It was made from “clean” ingredients (meaning there was no processed ingredients), and all of the ingredients were things I could consume! Score!  Even better, I had bags of frozen sliced apples in the freezer; they had been there for nearly a year, and I was on a mission to use them.  This was the perfect opportunity! If you have pre-sliced apples, this recipe is so incredibly easy! The hardest part is only being able to sleep 8 hours while it is cooking! No sleeping in allowed! But what a way to wake up!

Ingredients: 

1 cup steel cut oats (no substitutes)

2 medium apples, peeled and diced

2 cups apple juice (I use water, as I don’t typically have apple juice on hand - and I don’t need the extra sugar)

2 cups milk (I use coconut milk)

¼ to ½ cup maple syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 Tbls ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp salt

Optional garnishes: cream, maple syrup, chopped nuts, cinnamon, etc.

If you would like more detailed instructions on how to make this, please visit the link above. However, I can give you the quick version. I used a Corningware dish that fit into the base of my crockpot. I added all of the ingredients, gave it a quick stir, and poured water into the crockpot so the Corningware dish was surrounded with water except for the top inch or so.

Put the lid on, set the crockpot on low, and it’ll be ready to go 8 hours later! And smell heavenly, to boot!

Stir it up, then serve it up! Add your favorite toppings, and enjoy! (And just for the record, this makes a decent amount of food. I can usually eat 5 healthy servings throughout the week. You can also double the recipe without using the Corningware dish. The oats tend to stick on the side of the crockpot, but clean-up isn't too horrible.  Also, I know steel cut oats can be expensive. Try finding a place that sells them in bulk. They are much cheaper that way. I bought them in bulk at a local natural food store until I visited an Amish bulk food store recently! I bought a 5 lb bag for $4.95. That's a lot of food!)

Last summer, I had the privilege of hosting some relatives two nights in a row – before and after they attended a wedding not far from my house.  The first night was my cousin, her husband, and their four kids. The second night was my aunt and uncle, a different cousin, his wife, and their daughter. I wanted to be a good host and make them something special for breakfast. I had a couple of options and I was debating what to do and which option would work best for the respective families.  I really wanted to make pancakes or something for the first family; however, I was so incredibly exhausted, I knew I would not want to wake up super early the next morning to make anything. I kept coming back to this recipe. I had some frozen apples still, so it took all of about 5-10 minutes to throw everything in the crockpot, get it cooking, and head to bed.  I cannot tell you how thankful I was the next morning! First of all, breakfast was ready to go. Secondly, it won over all of the kids before they ate it, as it smelled amazing when they walked in the door (they stayed in their camper overnight).  Finally, I learned they all have gluten and dairy issues, too! My go-to breakfast recipe saved the day!

Until next time!

Reflections of a Recovering Food Hoarder

Little did I know what I was getting myself into with this spontaneous and seemingly insignificant food challenge.  Granted, I know myself well enough to know I enjoy a good challenge of any kind.  I enjoy putting myself in situations where I have to be creative and resourceful.  I also thought it would be a fun reason to resurrect my blog.  All of these things have definitely proven true in the past three weeks.  However, there are other things I did not consider going into this $5/week food challenge.  (If you are new to my latest adventure, you can learn more about the food challenge by reading my post: Resurrection Week: Resurrecting the Blog for a Food Challenge).

Soon after starting this challenge, I realized this was becoming more of a "fast" than I initially realized. I wrote a bit about my experience in my post The Challenge is On...  Within that first week, I noticed I was having to check my typical tendencies - grabbing a quick coffee to keep me going throughout the day, grabbing a bite to eat while traveling for work, grabbing a little snack to help me make it until dinner.  While all of these things are considered normal in the average American lifestyle, I suddenly realized how often I was spending money.  Yes, I do budget my money, so I am aware of how much money I spend.  I guess what was eye-opening for me was the number of times I did not eat my own food. Or, I relied on quick fixes (which are not typically healthy).  No wonder my food was accumulating in my pantry, fridge, and freezers! I wasn't being intentional about eating it! (Which is a lot to say for someone who is pretty decent at meal prepping and cooking from scratch....)  

By the second week, I found myself trying to figure out how I could get the most food for my $5 weekly food allowance.  I wrote about this experience in Week 2: The Reveal.  I had to identify the thought patterns (hoarding and saving) taking place in my brain, and adjust them to focus on making a quality, intentional purchase that would help me in accomplishing my mission to use my food.  Interestingly enough, most of my first two weeks was also consumed with meal planning and budgeting.  Maybe it was due to the novelty of my mission, but most of my thoughts and free time were spent trying to figure out what I could make, how I could use my ingredients most effectively, and how to find the best deals to make the best, most useful purchase with my $5.

This past week, there was another major shift. This was my third week of my food challenge, and I noticed some interesting changes. First of all, I had a conference in Southern Michigan for two days.  All of the meals were covered for the conference, so I simply had to provide breakfast the first day and snacks for the remainder of the time.  The day after I returned, I worked in Traverse City (1.5 hours from my house) all day.  With my odd schedule, I found I didn't even  have time to make food this week until Thursday and Friday evenings - which means I have had an abundance of food this weekend. In fact, I have most of my food already prepped for next week!  I ended up making so much usable food last week, I had more food than I anticipated! (I will share more about that in a minute.)  I am also leaving for vacation in about a week and a half (to Alaska!!). I have a couple of items I need to use before I leave so my food doesn't go to waste.  After looking at all of my options, I am not sure I can eat everything! I have soooo much food on hand! Who would have thought that was even possible three weeks into not buying groceries.  To top it off, I have zero desire or need to go purchase something this week.  The need to buy food has greatly decreased.  Granted, that desire might return once I am back from my trip, but I found it to be an interesting shift this week!

There are a few other things I have noticed throughout this food challenge. I have been drinking a lot more water! Intentional water intake has been somewhat of a challenge for me for the past 6 months or so.  I kept finding other things to drink instead (including LaCroix, my favorite non-sweetened beverage). However, without really thinking about it, I have found myself carrying a water bottle with me wherever I go! I stop to fill it at gas stations while I'm driving, I carried it with me at the convention, and I have it with me throughout my day.  I'm sure my body is happier with me now that I am drinking more water.  I have also started losing some weight! Even though I have made some food items I don't typically eat (pie dough, empanadas, waffles, etc), and even though I have devoured every form of "snack food" I could find in my house that first week, I have been losing weight! Another bonus!  Finally, I have realized how much planning it takes to be out and about for a day.  Thankfully, I purchased a little cooler and an ice pack a few months ago.

      
This has been a lifesaver! Now, I just have to make sure I have travel friendly food prepared, and I am ready to go! Next to my water bottle, this has probably been the biggest addition to life these past three weeks.  Depending on where I go, I can easily take food that needs to be microwaved. However, I do have to think ahead if I will need to eat picnic food or other non-heated items.  With a dwindling fresh food supply, making and eating non-heated items can be a bit trickier.  It is not impossible, though! It just takes planning and adjusting.

One last thing I wanted to discuss about my experience these past few weeks: the need for fresh food.  Last Sunday, as I was prepping some food for my week, I had my first moment of panic since I started my food challenge. I suddenly realized I was nearing the end of my fresh food supply.  One of the major lifestyle shifts I have made over the years (see The Challenge is On... for more details) has been using fresh food (specifically, fresh veggies) in my cooking.  As I was hoping, my fridge is looking more and more bare the longer I do this challenge. However, that also means my fresh food supply is also decreasing. I seriously had one of those "what was I thinking?" moments, where I decided I couldn't actually carry this out; I couldn't go on without fresh veggies.  After that initial moment of panic, however, I realized I do have veggies and healthy food on hand! I have loads of beets and radishes in my fridge (along with some carrots, a little lettuce, a few peppers, lemons and limes).  I also have brussel sprouts, cauliflower, tomatoes, and greens in the freezer - and three butternut squashes in my CSA bin. Again, I might have to make some adjustments to my typical lifestyle, but it doesn't mean I can't eat healthy until my CSA veggies start arriving in mid-June.

In fact, to help myself feel better, I made some fresh beets and a veggie soup for the week!  Let me tell you, I love fresh beets! I have always loved beets - especially pickled beets. I was the odd child growing up that adored beets and lima beans. You heard that right. I loved lima beans! Mind you, I wasn't fond of every vegetable; I still remember my brother and I taking one green bean and cutting it in half when my mom told us we had to eat at least two of them.  As I grew up, my appetite for vegetables changed drastically. I'm sure part of that comes with maturity.  However, I am convinced the other reason I grew to love vegetables was due to one thing: learning to eat fresh veggies rather than eating canned ones.  Seriously. Home-canned vegetables were probably better. But there is nothing worse than eating mushy, grey vegetables from a can. Even if you reheat them. No, thank you.  Learning how to cook and eat either raw, steamed, or roasted vegetables (that still have color to them) has made a world of difference for me.

So, if you have decided you are not a fan of beets because you have only had canned beets, try cooking them fresh!  Maybe you are like me, and you never knew how to cook them fresh. I first learned how to cook beets about 10 years ago. It was the year I lived with my vegetarian friend, actually (see The #1 Key to Eating Healthy on a Budget).  Her now mother-in-law brought us some beets from her garden, and she taught us how to cook them. Since then, I have come to love roasted and raw beets, as well.  For the sake of memory lane, though, I chose to boil beets this week.  They are super simple! You can't fail.  First, you will want to chop the ends off of the beets and peel them. There are easier (and less die-your-fingers-purple) ways to take the skins off from the beets, but this is the best way to peel them for boiling. Next, you'll want to dice them (about 1 in cubes). That's a lot of beets for someone who nearly panicked from a lack of veggies a few moments earlier!

Once you have them diced, place them in a pot and cover them with water.  Aren't they beautiful?!

Bring the water to a boil and boil them for 30 mins, or until you can easily push a fork through them. They should be slightly al dente (or firm...not mushy!). Take the pot of beets off of the heat and let them sit for 30 mins (this allows the beets to regain some of the color that boils out).  Strain the beets (you can save this water to drink, add to smoothies, or use for other purposes). Cover and refrigerate them.  I love to add boiled beets to my salads, eat them in a bowl with a little apple cider vinegar, or be creative! (Also, don't be alarmed if you have colorful bowel movements after eating them! It's simply a result of the beets working their magic.)

The first salad I made was with chopped hazelnuts, a bit of feta, a touch of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and a bit of salt and pepper.

The second salad I made was using chopped walnuts, feta, salt, pepper, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

They were super yummy!

In addition to beets, I also made a soup using the leftover bean broth from my garbanzo beans (Week 2: The Reveal).  I have never used bean broth for anything before, but I am learning how to be extra-resourceful with my food these days! In case you missed the last post, here is a picture of the bean broth:

Honestly, I was not very excited about this soup going into it. I knew I had a few veggies to use up, but I just couldn't quite picture the end result in my mind. I guess it involved a few too many unknown factors - even for my adventurous spirit.  I knew I had some onions, garlic, carrots, and celery I could use. I really wanted to add something with a little more "umph" to it, though.  I wanted to use potatoes, but I didn't have any. But wait! I remembered some friends telling me I could cook radishes like potatoes - and when they are cooked or roasted, they lose their spiciness. I had LOADS of radishes in the fridge.  So...I used what I had: purple radishes!

While I was making the soup, I realized it would also be a great opportunity to use some of my bok choy in the freezer! I added some salt, pepper, and a spice combo - and it was great! Superb, actually! It even looked pretty!

I cannot tell you exactly how I made this soup, as I added as I went. However, I can give you the basic outline - and grant you permission to experiment or make it better!

Ingredients:
1 small onion, diced
2-3 cloves minced garlic
3 medium carrots, diced/quartered
3 medium to large radishes, diced/quartered
1 bundle of bok choy, chopped (stems and leaves)
5-6 cups bean broth
1 Tbls of coconut oil
1 Tbls of 10-Spice Blend

10-Spice Blend (from Angela Liddon's Oh She Glows Cookbook - one of my favs!!!)

2 Tbls smoked paprika (can be purchased inexpensively at Trader Joes, if you have a hard time finding it)
1 Tbls garlic powder
1 Tbls dried oregano
1 Tbls onion powder
1 Tbls dried basil
1 Tbls dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp fine-grain sea salt
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
**This makes about a 1/2 cup of spice blend. I use it quite often for soups and such, and it probably took me about a year to use it all. It's fabulous!

Instructions:

To begin, heat the coconut oil in a soup pot.  Once it has melted, add the diced onion and garlic. Saute until onion is translucent. Add diced vegetables and saute for about 10-12 minutes. Add bean broth, season with salt, pepper, and spice-blend. Bring to a boil. Boil for about 20-30 minutes. You want to be able to easily pierce the veggies with a fork, but you don't want them to be mushy. No one should ever be forced to eat mushy vegetables. Serve and enjoy!

Until next time!