Day 4 - New Frustrations and financial dilemma

Ever since we started buying quality vs. quantity our fridge is empty and looks like a bachelor's fridge. When I get home after work, I'm generally so hungry. After kissing my family "hello" I head to the fridge. We were both pretty hungry last night therefore we decided to go grocery shopping AGAIN! After our workout we headed to Co-op - dropping another $37 there. Tom and I were both sweating when trying to keep the cost low and picking the right items for our dinner and lunch tomorrow.

Here is what we bought:

•  4 organic bananas ($.79/pound)
• 2 sesame bars
• organic crackers 
• organic bread (since my bread is not good enough to be eaten..hahaha)
• organic cookies for Amelie
• local organic cheese
• organic tomato sauce for our pizza
• 2 organic zucchini
• organic bulk granola cereal
• organic bulk tabouli

Again we spent too much money for not enough food. The fridge still looked empty after the trip to the store. But we rewarded ourselves with a yummy home-made organic pizza. (90% organic) Here is the proof:

Onion, spinach, garlic, zucchini pizza all organic except the pizza dough. 

The pizza dough (1 lbs - makes a medium sized pizza) was purchased for approx. $2.40 at a local pizza place (Flying Pie)

Again, Amelie ate her entire dinner, she ate 2 slices. I can report that Amelie is eating much better and it seems to me that she does like the taste of organic food. But, to get back to the original dilemma, we need to come up with a system and can't be buying food every other day for $30-40. This weekend Tom and I will figure out a plan, how to save money and still eat healthy. We are experiencing a crisis-like feeling, we don't want to fail and give up organic eating but can't afford buying solely organic. I don't know what the plan will look like, but we are playing with the thought to purchase eggs, milk, yogurts, any meat and fruits/vegetables organic and find bread, snacks, cheese, and many other things that are qualitatively good at a regular grocery store. We need to fill our fridge and have something on hand that can be snacked on.

I love organic fruits and vegetables, because they are all sooo juicy, apples are sweet (for my taste a little too much - but it might be the type of apple) and vegetables actually taste like vegetables. My all time favorites are onions. The smell of an organic onion is so much better than regular onions. Not that I love onions and eat them raw, but it def. makes a difference when cooking with them. And the tomato sauce on that pizza last night...mmm-mmm-mmm..

Today for lunch I am going to enjoy an organic Tabouli mix from the Co-Op bulk section, with organic zucchini. Lunches and dinners now have to be planned ahead. I am worried about that one day where I am going to run out of ideas, or have nothing at home to fix - I will break and eat a burger! To avoid temptation we cleaned out our fridge and freezer last night and threw away tons of things. Wow, I don't think I have ever seen the bottom of our freezer...and where did this huge bag of frozen organic corn come from? :)

A little update on the weight. Well, I stepped on the scale at my local gym last night, turns out I am still the same. But truly I do feel lighter and somewhat less blah. Going to make an appointment with my doctor for an annual check up to get my stats. Keep reading and don't be shy join my blog and comment.

Happy weekend everyone! We are heading to visit family and are already excited and a little nervous spending couple days away from home and our organic lifestyle.  Luckily Tom's mom is very conscientious about her diet and understands what it means to eat healthy.

EATING OUT - KEEPING IT ORGANIC

Thanks Diana for recommending a local natural/organic restaurant. Boise Fry Company.

 "In an effort to make our entire process green, natural, sustainable, insert other environmental buzzword, we use all natural, local, and whenever feasible, organic products. We produce little to no waste. We use Energy Star appliances and lights. We recycle our peanut oil in cars. We’re just trying our best to make as little impact on your cholesterol and our planet as possible."

Here is their menu. I think I will check them out next week. I am sure I will be blogging about this place once I pay them a visit.

WISDOM OF THE DAY

What does "enriched" mean? Enriched flour is flour in which most of the natural vitamins and minerals have been extracted.

Why is enriched flour bad? When the bran and the germ (the parts of the wheat that contain vitamins and minerals) are removed, your body absorbs wheat differently. Instead of being a slow, steady process through which you get steady bursts of energy, your body breaks down enriched flour too quickly, flooding the blood stream with too much sugar at once. Your body then has to work hard to absorb the excess and stores it as fat. This causes quick highs and lows in your blood-sugar level which can lead to type-two diabetes and obesity. All this and you’re not even getting close to the amount of nutrients that whole grains contain.

Whole grains Whole grains are richer in dietary fiber, antioxidants, protein (and in particular the amino acid lysine), dietary minerals (including magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and selenium), and vitamins (including niacin, vitamin B6, and vitamin E).

Look for products that say 100% whole wheat.