My, what a week it has been! I have to tell you, I have been so incredibly excited about this $5/week food challenge. I spent quite a bit of time planning menu ideas and possibilities; I can hardly wait for these next few months to take place! I know, I know...I need to enjoy each day and week in the moment. I sometimes have a hard time with that concept. Needless to say, I can tell my inner drive has stepped up to the challenge.
At the same time, I have found myself noticing a few changes this week. Without intentionally planning it, this challenge has become a bit of a "fast" for food spending - and my eating habits! Have you ever completed a non-medical related fast? Although I don't always choose to refrain from eating totally, I love doing fasts every so often. In fact, I tend to complete some sort of cleanse or food-related fast at least once a year. I love the discipline and self-control that come from doing fasts; even though it is difficult in the moment, I am reminded that I am in control of my body and the choices I make. I can make good choices and reap the benefits of choosing well. I typically feel awesome at the end of those fasts. Unfortunately, it is easy to fall back into the routine of a busy lifestyle and slip away from making those good choices.
Although I realized this would be a fast from spending money on food, I had not considered the effect it would have on my eating habits. There were multiple times this week when I realized if I were not participating in this food challenge, I would have stopped to grab something quick while I was traveling (which is typically not very healthy), or I would have purchased a coconut milk latte to help keep me going when I got tired. After merely one week of completing my challenge, I realize this might have some very great health benefits - along with monetary and pantry-clearing benefits! Who would have thought a spur-of-the-moment idea would be so effective at helping me achieve some of my other goals!
Despite the temptations, I am proud to say I have done well with my first week of the challenge - aside from not having time to blog during the week. It was a busy week with work, and I am trying to get back in the groove of being active. Unfortunately, that meant my food prep wasn't finished until after 11:00 pm a couple of nights. Such is life. My goal is not to show myself as some Wonder Woman of the kitchen. I want this to be a real blog by a real person - who happens to work 40+ hours a week, travels a great deal during the week, and has a lot going on outside of making food. Even so, making REAL food is incredibly important to me! About 3 or 4 years ago, I had an intense issue with food allergies. The types of foods I could eat were very limited. I couldn't have anything that contained sugar - or anything that turned into sugar once consumed. That included most grains, dairy, root vegetables, fruit, onions and garlic, and even beans (among other things). I have improved dramatically from that initial bout with allergies. I am able to eat more of those items now without having such adverse reactions; however, some of the items I can only eat occasionally. I try to stay away from them as much as possibly in my "normal" routine, but I can eat wheat or dairy from time-to-time. If I eat them regularly, I tend to get sick.
Having gone through this experience, I grew tremendously in my ability to make healthy foods and find alternative ways of eating "normal" foods. This was incredibly important to me - important enough that I choose to dedicate time to making food every week. I have found the outcome of my week is directly dependent on the food I prepare (or don't prepare) to eat. Yes, part of my motivation is not getting sick from eating processed or junk food. But, to be honest, part of my motivation is because I am a foodie. I need to enjoy what I'm eating - or why bother eating it? I cannot "maintenance eat" for very long; I get bored. And then I don't eat. Or I choose to grab quick food - which, in turn, effects my immune system, energy levels, and outlook on life. It's a vicious cycle. So, I choose to make food.
Now that we covered the motivations behind my food-making habits, let's get on to the good stuff! I just wanted to share a bit of the work that went on in my kitchen this week. I hope my story inspires you to try new things or be creative with the foods in your pantry! Many of the recipes I use I don't create on my own; however, I am happy to share some of my favorite go-to recipes - or new ones as I try them!
For my main food prep this week, I made
Spiced Vegan Lentil Soup, except I used chicken broth. (I have often made this soup with a veggie broth, but I did not have any available at the time.) This is one of my favorite ways to eat lentils! I love this soup! My friend texted my recently to share about her first experience eating lentils. That text inspired my meal choice this week. Now, she can try one of my favorite ways to eat lentils! This soup was made with onions, garlic, carrots, and swiss chard from my CSA shares. In fact, I chopped and froze the swiss chard last summer. To be honest, this was my first time eating greens that had been frozen like that. Initially, I can't say I was super excited about it. The greens looked, smelled, and tasted like canned spinach. (blech!) By the next day, however, I never would have guessed; the soup tasted amazing! I completed my food prep after 11:00 that night, as I got home from work late and went for a walk. I boxed it all up and was ready for lunches this week!
I didn't have a ton of time to make other food this week. Typically, I like to make my breakfast, lunch, and dinner all in one fell swoop. That way, I have food for the week and I am free to do other things in the evenings. This week, I had no such luck. I ate oat-flour morning glory muffins (from the freezer) for breakfast, soup for lunch, and (I hate to admit it) a leftover box of cheese-its for dinner a couple of times. I was able to make some food again on Thursday evening, though. I was off from work on Friday because of Good Friday. It was the first sunshiny day all week, so I was motivated to go for a hike. Since I am not eating out, I also needed to prepare a picnic for my venture. What is a good way to use up the following items (belgian endives and pita chips, in case you were wondering...)?
Chicken Salad!!! One of my all-time favorite picnic foods, thanks to the inspiration of a couple of different friends. My friends, Ben and Deanne, taught me how to make the most flavorful chicken while we all doing a food-cleanse at the same time. They use salt, pepper, a dash of cayenne, and rosemary. It's fabulous. My good friend, Lacy, taught me how to use greek yogurt in my chicken salad, instead of mayonnaise. It was a new idea for me, at first, but I could never go back now!
This chicken salad is so easy! I typically use a package of two chicken breasts. I wash and dry both sides. While the coconut oil is heating in the pan, I dash salt, pepper, cayenne, and rosemary to the first side of chicken breasts. I put that in the pan (spiced side down), set the timer for 7 minutes, and let it do it's magic. While that side is cooking, I use the same spices on the uncooked side of chicken. After the timer goes off, I flip the chicken and set the timer for another 7 minutes. Typically, the chicken is ready to go after the 2nd 7 minutes. However, I do suggest using a knife to check and make sure the chicken is done. Occasionally, I have to slice the breasts in half and let it cook longer. This process of frying the chicken gives it a crisp outer coating. It's delicious! (And happens to be the way I cook chicken most often these days. I'm sure you'll see this recipe come up again!)
Once the chicken is cooked and cooled a little, throw it in the food processor with a couple of spoonfuls of greek yogurt (You can add as much or as little as you want. It might be best to start with a little and add to your desired consistency), 2-3 stalks of celery roughly chopped, 2 green onions roughly chopped, and about 1/2 a cup (give or take) of dried cranberries. Give it a twirl, and voila! I know it doesn't look like much, but it tastes great!
Along with the chicken salad, I made a Mexican bean salad and cut up a cucumber.
For the bean salad, I used a recipe from an old Mexican cookbook from my college days,
Mexican Cooking Made Easy, by Diane Soliz-Martese. Again, super easy:
Use 1 can each: drained canned garbanzo beans, red kidney beans, whole kernel corn.
1/2 cup each: diced green and red bell peppers
2 T olive oil
3 T red wine vinegar
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
I don't typically eat corn these days, so I didn't have any on hand. I substituted a can of black beans for the corn, and it was still good!
Again, I didn't finish up with my food prep until around 11:30 pm, but I
was all set to go on a hike and picnic in Petoskey on Friday! I had the perfect weather, view, and food for a hiking and picnic adventure! Next time, I'll take pictures of my view while I'm eating. :)
What is your favorite picnic food? Please share in the comments below!
