Been a busy week at work, I guess. It was awesome to have Tuesday off (since I worked last Saturday) but it made my to-do list PILE UP a mile long and the week fly by waaaaay to fast to accomplish everything by week end. Luckily, Saturday's the last Gopher football game (wahoooooo!) ... which means more of a work / life balance ahead.
I have next Friday off (for working this Saturday) and Andi's also taken the day off too. I'm feeling SUPER homesick lately so I'm itching to pack up the car and the pooch and drive down to Nebraska for the weekend ... but we shall see what next weekend brings.
Tuesday night, my friend Julie and I went to Archivers and attended a calendar scrapbooking workshop. Super FUN! For $15 (reg. $23...I used a 30% off coupon) I made a complete calendar with all the page layouts and embellishments in 3 hours! Isn't that awesome?! One Christmas present done ... check.
Wednesday night, Andi and I went to our God & Money class. I can't believe we only have 2 more classes left! It's a 10-week study and I feel like we've grown SOOO much in the way of our relationship with our church and God. We're planning to join an ABF (Adult Bible Fellowship) in January following the class to continue growing our faith and meeting new people at church. Good stuff :)
So ... my recent triumph? Vegetarianism.
I've mentioned my recent read - Omnivore's Dilemma - and after nearly completing the book I've decided to avoid meat all together. If you get right down to it, I don't really like meat that much anyway ... except for a sudden craving for a juicy Nook burger on occasion, so it's not THAT difficult of a task. However, after reading the book and learning more details about the process by which food reaches our plate, I've decided I'm not OK with putting processed and antibotic-fed meat into my body. And, in the grand scheme of things, not OK with feeding these foods to my future children someday either. Better to change my lifestyle now than later when I'm busier and life gets all that much harder. Plus, last week I visited a local farm while in Virginia for work which really brought all of this to reality for me. Not that I haven't seen a cow before (hello, I'm from Nebraska!) but actually thinking about what the farmer feeds the cows, who in turn, is feeding us really visualized the food process for me.
It's only been a week....but I'm proud of myself for sticking to my commitment thus far. And, Andi and I have committed to eating more oranically as well to also omit chemicals and pesticides from our bodies. It'll be a change in process over time, but proud of us both for attempting to eat more healthfully and mindfully. Hopefully the end process is us feeling BETTER and HEALTHIER because of the foods we're eating. I'll keep you posted on the progress.
What's troubling about all of this? On Sunday, Andi and I went grocery shopping to stock up on some in-season vegetables and other foods. Keeping in mind the local Minnesota season (can you say root vegetables?) and our new organic diet ... we skipped past all the processed foods and focused more in the meat (for him) and produce sections. Granted, we were at Target but we were ASTONISHED at the little amount of foods for purchase with these ideals in mind. Isn't it sad that mostly what the store was busting with was chips, cereals, pop and crackers? I get that it's Target and not a grocery store. Especially not a specialty grocery store. But still ... nothing? And we wonder why our society is what it is... So, we went to co-ops and Trader Joe's and stocked up a few grocery items. I get that it's about WHERE we shop, but still....
My new sister-in-law Lindsay is the sweetest. We had lunch this afternoon and afterwards she emailed me a list of great vegetarian menu ideas! Here's a few:
- Burritos with refried beans
- Quinoa with black beans (I have an AWESOME recipe)
- Salads with black beans or chickpeas on top
- Whole grain english muffins with almond butter or natural peanut butter
- Morningstar "Chick'n" Patties - great on salads!
- Morningstar Spicy Black Bean burgers
- Lots of pizzas with pine nuts/pesto
- Shrimp ANYTHING
- Yogurt with slivered almonds and some fresh fruit
- Portabello mushrooms with goat cheese and fresh herbs on top
- Fajitas made with portabello mushrooms
- Cajun style red beans and rice
- Vegetarian chili (or with tempeh in it)
Depending on where you are on MN- you could try to find a Lakewinds. I think they are pretty good at that kind of stuff. I am not sure- but you might have to join the co-op to get the good deals.
ReplyDeleteI've taken to shopping at multiple stores for groceries...pain in the ass, but worth it. I go to a co-op (the Linden Hills one, but there's lots of good ones all over) for my meat (organic/free-range/local etc.), some dairy and produce and then SuperTarget for staples (beans, rest of the dairy, CANDY, cereal, etc.). Lunds in my neighborhood fills the gap for whatever I forget during the week.
ReplyDeleteWe eat veg at least half the time and it does mean eating a lot of beans. I was going to do a blog post about our eating habits at some point, myself...
Good for you guys for trying to make some healthy changes!
Good suggestions! We had the Seward co-op that I think will have many of the offerings we're looking for. Isn't it amazing how HARD it is to eat better? And how much more expensive? But, it's a lifestyle change ... and one for the better :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the support!