Harris Teeter Trip 8/14

I just got back from Harris Teeter and I did pretty well. I bought a few things that weren't on sale because we are cooking for a couple who just had a baby and we let them pick their menu. Too bad they didn't say chicken leg quarters! Also I bought a few luxury items. My household is trying to move to eating organic without breaking the bank completely. I know that I will have to spend more but I think I can continue to save a lot which I proved today.

Not on Sale
Foil
Yellow Bananas (1.96lbs)
Beef Roast (2.65lbs)

On Sale
Chicken Leq Quarters(5.64lbs)
Shrimp (2.06lbs)
Red Seedless Grapes(1.99lbs)
Personal Watermelon (2)
Half Gallon Horizon Lowfat Lactose Free Milk

Coupons Only
8 0z. Organic Valley Cream Cheese (2)
8 0z. Organic Valley Mozzarella (2)
1 Qt Organic Valley Half and Half
Mission Tortillas

Sales combined with Coupons
Apple and Eve Fruitables
7th Generation Dish Liquid
Organic Wings and Legs (2.68lbs)
Morning Star Veggie Patties
Morning Star Crumbles
Activia 4pk

Total: 110.71 (including tax and resusable bag discount)
Cost: $57.98 after sales and double coupons
Savings: 48%

I like to save 60-70% but this works. There are very few processed foods on this list. My normal trips do contain a good amount of processed food. On a normal trip I would not have purchased the beef roast, milk, foil or watermelon. My savings would have been about 65%. I also could have gotten cheaper milk but if I am going to start consuming cow's milk again I thought I should get the less processed version I could. So this was a trip about balance. I'll explain in another posting why I am drinking cow's milk again.

I've read a lot online that most people should aim for spending $25 a week per person on groceries. Without the foil I'm pretty much on the mark if we ate at home everyday for every meal. Our freezer and pantry is packed so I am not shopping for at least two weeks. Scratch that I have a $10 catalina for Giant!

Organic Food Coupons

I'm finding more coupons and coupon blogs that feature all the deals on organic stuff.

This week use the Organic Valley coupons to clean up on the Harris Teeter Super Doubles! Faithful Provisions had a nice round up.

Part 1: Getting Started with Coupons

Hello Friends!

Are your feeling overwhelmed by all my coupon posting? Let me show you how to get started. There are many ways to do this but I found this to be the easiest way to get the best deals.

Materials

1. Subscribe to the local Sunday Paper. You will now have at least one paper delivered to your door. You will never have to worry about forgetting your paper. At some point you may want more than one coupon insert but for beginners and people with small families this maybe enough.

2. You will need an 13 pocket accordion file, a sharpie and a small pair of scissors.

Building Your Coupon File

1) Label the tabs of your accordion file by month.
2) Using your Sharpie or other permanent marker. Write the date of the paper on the front of the coupon insert(s) making it easy to read from far away.
3) Place coupon insert(s) in the correct month.
4) Store your Sharpie and scissors in the last pocket so they are always handy.
Note: If you are using a lot of inserts you may want to use a file box.

Weekly Clipping

1) Visit Bicycle Girl or any other coupon website to find the deals you want.
2) Pull the inserts you need for the week.
3) Clip the coupons you need.
4) Replace the inserts into your accordion file.
5) Visit Slick Deals to see if any of the inserts can be discarded.

Stay tuned for Part 2: Making the List (Saving Twice).

Great Harris Teeter Deals 8/11-17

It's Super Doubles week at Harris Teeter. That means coupons $1.98 or less will double. You must use your VIC card. All the prices below assume doubled coupons and/or having multiple coupons for the same item.

Philosophy: I'm hoping to show the deals for the healthiest and least process foods. I do not have a strict policy but I show you what I plan on buying and that you can eat healthier for less money!There are lots of free things this week.

E-Vic Deal: Harris Teeter had a weekly specials that you must add to your card online.
Mix and Match Peter Pan Peanut Butter or Welch's Grape Jelly $.97 wyb 3 (you must buy 3)
-.60/1 Peter Pan Peanut Butter, SS 8/01
-$1/2 Peter Pan Peanut Butter, June All You Magazine (exp 8/15)
-$1/2 Welch’s Jelly, SS 6/06
-.55/1 Welch’s SS 8/01
Final Price: Free for all 3 (a combination of 2-3 coupons, i'm only buying peanut butter)

Del Monte Fruit Smoothies BOGO at $2.99
-$1 off Del Monte Smoothie Kit RP 8/15
Final Price: Free for one

Naked Juice $3
-$1 off Naked Juice, SS 6/27
Final Price: $1 for one

Dannon Activia Yogurt, 4 ct, $1.99
-$1 off Activia product, 4-12 pk or 24 oz, SS 8/08
Final Price: Free
Mission Tortillas $1.89
-$1 off Mission Tortillas, SS 8/01
Final Price: Free

Apple and Eve Fruitables 8 pk, $2.99-$3.79
-$1 off Apple and Eve product SS 6/06
Final Price: .99-1.79

7th Gen Dish Liquid, 25 oz., $1.99
-$1 off Seventh Generation Product, RP 8/08
Final Price: Free


7th Gen Baby Wipes, 70 ct., $2.99
-$1 off Seventh Generation Baby Care, RP 8/08
Final Price: .99

7th Gen All Purpose Cleaner, 32 oz., $2.50
-$1 off Seventh Generation Product, RP 8/08
Final Price: .50

7th Gen Dish Liquid, 25 oz., $1.99
-$1 off Seventh Generation Product, RP 8/08
Final Price: Free

Produce

Green Seedless Grapes 99¢ lb
Barlett Pears $1.49 lb
Red or Black Plums $1.69 lb
Broccoli, bunch, $2 ea
Seedless Watermelon $3.50 ea

Other

Chicken Leg Quarters $.49/lb (time to stock up)
EZ Peel Shrimp 51-60 ct, $3.99 lb


For more deals go to harristeeter.com or southernsavers.com

Great CVS Deal Week of 8/15/10

Gillette ProGlide Razor $9.99 get $5 ECB
-$4 Gillette Fusion ProGlide 08/01/10 PG

Blink Tears $7,99 get $7.99 ECB
-$1 Blink Tears 08/15/10 RP

Crest Clinical Gum Protection Toothpaste $3.49 get $2.50 EB
-$1 Crest Tooth Paste 08/01/10 PG

Plenty of other deals can be found at www.iheartcvs.com

CVS Trip 8/8 - Money Makers

Dulcolax $9.99
-$4 (5/16 SS)
Out of pocket: $5.99
Recieve: $9.99 ECB
Total: $4 Money Maker

Schick Hydro $8.97
-$5 (8/1 SS)
Out of pocket: 3.97
Recieve: $4
Total: $.03 Money Maker

You make $4.03 on these two transactions.

Visit iheartcvs.com for more information. If you don't need these items please donate them.

CVS Trip 8/7

Visit iheartcvs.com or southersavers.com for all the details for the 8/1-7 sales ending tonight.

6.99-Playtex Tampon 36ct
5.89- Playtex Tampon 18ct
3.99-Scope Outlast
3.99-Crest Mouthwash
2.99- Oral B Manual Toothbrush
-$5.99 buy one 36ct Playtex tampons get an 18ct free (8/1 SS)
-$2 Crest Mouth Wash (8/1 PG Saver)
-$1 Oral B toothbrush (8/1 PG Saver)
-$1 Scope Mouth Wash (8/1 PG Saver)
-$1 Playtex CVS Coupon from the kiosk (no longer available)
-$7.99 ECB

=$4.96 out of pocket plus tax

Have you heard of Mambo Sprouts?

I just found out Mambo Sprouts from Frugal and Having Fun. I rarely find coupons for natural food brands and they can be expensive. This is a great find for my healthy budget shoppers. There might be a day when there will be coupon match-ups for Whole Foods!

Do you have high cholesterol?

If you you should be eating oatmeal everyday. I know you already are but how are you eating it? Are you using the sugar laden instant kind? Just Say No! I'm in the business of saving money while eating relatively healthy. So let me help you out.

1. A can (30 servings) of quick oats will cost you $4.79 (and cheaper with coupons) while a box of plain instant will cost you 3.99 for 10 servings. That's .16 and .39 per serving respectively.

2. You can control the amount of sugar by using honey, agave or raw sugar as a sweetener. Try using cinnamon or nutmeg as well. I find cinnamon to add sweetness by itself.

3. Make it powerful. Use skim, soy or almond milk to get some Vitamin D and a smidge of protein. You could also add a few nuts or ground flax seed for more healthy fats.

4. Get a serving of fruit and other vitamins by adding bananas, strawberry, peaches or applesauce.

It takes me about a three minutes t0 put this together in the morning. I mix all my ingredients Glad BPA free twist and lock containers and go out the door.

Giant 8/6-8/12

Inexpensive & Healthy

I see an easy smoothie recipe from this list. I also see burgers and grilled or roasted corn.

.99/lb Peaches or Nectarines
1.99 for 12 Sweet Ears of Corn
1.99/lb Ground Turkey
$5 for 10 Stoneyfield Organic Yogurt (.50 each)
$3 for 2 Nature's Promise Soy Milk

Visit Whole Foods for the Peach Recipe Roundup!

Sweet!

Note: I forgot one coupon so I missed saving $1. Who cares? *shrug*

More Giant

If you haven't made it to Giant yet try the Kellogg Deal. You have until tonight only!!! Here is my Scenario. Sorry for posting this so late but I'm just now going to the store.

4 Raisin Bran= $8
2 Frosted Mini Wheats= $5
4 Eggos= $8
2 Skippy Peanut Butter= $2
Total: $23

Coupons
-Use Two $1/2 Raisin Bran (7/11 and 6/6 RP)
-$1/2 Frosted Mini Wheat (7/11 RP)
-Use Two $1/2 Eggo Waffles ( 6/20 and 7/25 RP)
-$1 off Two Skippy Peanut Butter (8/1 RP)
-Use Four $1 Doublers

New Total: $13 upfront
Get $10 coupon to use later

Sweet!




Thanks Frugal Living and Having Fun ! The Giant ad is little different from what is posted but it's a good start.

Feeding your Soul

I'm currently suffering from some unknown ailment that is keeping me at home more than I would like. It's given me time to spend time making meals completely from scratch. There was a time when I would just sit in the kitchen with my mother and watch her cook. I really miss those days. Today was one of those days where I spent all day cooking. I continued making food from Vegan Soul Kitchen. Today I made Seitan with Mixed Mushroom Gravy, Coconut Rice and Peach Pie. The peach pie just came out of the oven so I have not tasted it yet.

After about a week of Vegan cook the Seitan was the first time I had to buy something that I didn't already have on hand. I did also get some whole wheat flours and other grains from Glut Food Co-op. I has been fairly easy to cook less meat and still eat delicious food. I probably will not start cooking with Seitan or Tempeh right away because they are expensive but I may be realizing saving elsewhere that makes it a possibility. Also I think there are plenty of protein sources such as nuts and beans. The reason I started on this journey was just to try out some other recipes. I'm not adventurous in the kitchen so this helped me strecth just a bit.

Free Butter at Safeway

Hey DC Folks! All of the Safeway stores in our area double coupons so here is this week's freebie.

Land O' Lakes Spreadable butter .99 (with in-ad coupon)
-.50 7/18 SS
-.50 doubled
Price: Free

Giant Deals

I hear there were $1 doublers in Wednesday's paper.

Freebies

Free Wacky Mac pasta when you buy Carapelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 free ears of corn when you sign up for giant online


Good Deals

$1 Skippy Peanut Butter
.99/lb seedless green grapes
1.88/lb sweet red peppers
6/1.88 sweet corn
1.29/lb peaches
$2.88 Kashi Golean Cereal
$2 Eggos -$1/2 Eggos 7/25RP
$2 Raisin Bran -$1/2 Raisin Bran 7/25RP

Scenario
Buy 2 Eggos or 2 Raisin Bran
-$1/2 coupon
- $1 doubler
Price: $1 Each

Spinach Wontons

Someone has asked B to cater a rehearsal dinner and requested collard green egg rolls. For two months he's had the egg roll wrappers in the fridge, but he hasn't tested it out. Since I still had deep frying oil from the fritters I wanted to use it again. So I got the idea to make a spinach wonton. If I had of thought ahead I would have added lentils or quinoa for some protein.

Spinach Wontons

8 Egg Roll Wrappers
1/2 onion diced
2 cloves of garlic
1 thinly sliced large carrot
5 cups of baby spinach (one bag)
1TBSP fish sauce
1TBSP hoisin sauce
1TSP soy sauce or braggs liquid aminos
2TBSP plus Oil for deep frying

Dipping Sauce
2TSP Spicy garlic sauce
2TBSP honey

In a medium skillet add the oil and heat. Add the onion, garlic and carrots and cook until soft. Add spinach in 3 batches until completely wilted. Add the fish sauce, hoisin sauce, and soy sauce and cook for 3 minutes. Following the directions on the egg roll wrapper package use the vegetable filling to make the egg rolls. Deep fry for one minute on each side. For the sauce mix the spicy garlic sauce and the honey together. Enjoy.

More Vegan Food

I spent this weekend stuck in the house so I spent some time cooking. I made two things, Vegan Maple Banana Muffins and Curry Black Eyed Pea Fritters. I don't think I want to be vegan but I want to try going all organic but I am on a budget so that means finding protein sources that are cheaper.

Maple Banana Muffins were exactly the same recipe as found in Vegan Soul Kitchen but the Black Eyed Pea Fritters took a significant departure. I started with the recipe from the book but it seemed runny and bland. I think it's because I used a blender and not a food processor and I had to work around a nut allergy. So here is what I came up with.

Aisha's Black Eyed Pea Fritters

2 cups blacked eyed peas (soaked overnight will yield 4 cups soaked)
1/2 cup of water
1/4 cup of almond butter
1 small onion chopped
3 garlic cloves
3 TBSP of curry powder
1 TBSP red pepper flakes
salt to taste
4 TBSP corn meal
1 bell pepper minced
1 cup of oil for deep frying

Blend 1 cup of black eyed peas, water, almond butter, onion, garlic, curry powder, red pepper flakes in a upright blender. Once blended add each remaining cup of peas one at a time until the batter is the consistency of waffle batter. Mix with a spoon between to make sure all the peas are blended and no hard pieces remain. Put the batter in the refrigerator for one hour.

After the batter comes out heat oil in a large frying pan. Oil should be hot but not smoking. Add the corn meal and bell pepper to the batter and mix with a spoon. Use a small scoop or a tbsp to put the batter into the hot oil. Fry as many as will fit in your pan. Each fritter should fry for 5 minutes. Once golden brown remove to a paper towel lined backing sheet or plate. Serve with a sweet and spicy sauce such as the Pastor's Sauce.

Disclosure: The Pastor is a friend of friend but I really did eat the fritters with the sauce.

Inferno

Heat index of 105. I have nothing else to say. Knowing that I would probably spend my entire Saturday in the house running up my electricity bill, I got up early to run some errands (including going to urgent care because I have pink eye). As I waited for my eye appointment, I decided that I needed to start cooking from Vegan Soul Kitchen before I need to return it to the library. Too bad I didn't have the book on me but I figured if I just grabbed a few beans and veggies that I surely would be able to make something. We had our last head of broccoli in the fridge so I started with that. I made Broccoli with Citrus Dressing which is inspired by a recipe in the book. I didn't really have enough broccoli so there was a lot of extra dressing. Using items on hand I created a spinach salad but it is not vegan because I used honey but if you have agave or maple syrup use that.

Spinach and Citrus Salad

Dressing: Combine all of these ingredients in a blender
1Tbsp Honey
2Tbsp pink grapefruit juice
2 Tbsp lime
9 Tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp salt

Salad

Spinach
Red Onion
Avocado
Almonds
Cherry tomato
Red pepper flakes (optional)
Grape fruit slices

Using everything

So the broccoli is ready and we took the machete to the stalk today. Well, a serrated knife. You can't use scissors for this one. What didn't occur to me is that we could cook the leaves of the broccoli plant in addition to using the broccoli head itself. The greens are quite tender so I cut them into a chiffonade and just sauteed them quickly with olive oil, salt, pepper flakes. Yes I actually cooked today.

What did we cook last week?

I'm a lazy blogger and didn't post each of the delicious meals you see below as we cooked them. I wanted to show you all what we cooked last week. Well actually I only made the pizza and he made everything else. So that means there were no recipes involved. He just put all of this together from his creative mind. I'm one lucky lady.

We made sure to try and use everything from the box. We still have the avocados but I will just eat those raw with salt and lime. The corn and sweet potato will be roasted just to have on hand. We took a different route this week and made sure to use the thing that were the most fragile first. That means leafy vegetables need to be cooked first. then the squash family, and then root vegetables.

Red Beans and Corn: Goya canned beans with corn fresh off the cob.

Sauteed Cabbage and Red Chard with Onion and Garlic

Zucchini, Yellow Squash and Red Pepper with Roasted Pork Loin

Whole Wheat Pizza with Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella

Healthy Solutions Box -July 3, 2010

This week I went for the little box from Healthy Solutions for $15. Last time it was a stretch for us to use all of the stuff in the small box. If I followed the nutritional guidelines from CDC I should eat 1.5 cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of vegetables. I don't always do that so this week I shall try. Let's see what's in the all organic Freggie(fruit and veggie) box this week.

1 head butter lettuce
1 head cabbage
3 nectarines
1 peach
3 Avocados
1 red onion
1 tomato
1 large bunch chard
3 Zucchini
2 Spaghetti Squash
2 ears of corn
5 medium sweet potatoes

It would cost $36 from the local chain grocery with only half of the items being organic vegetables. So you would save more than $20 and get all organic produce. For more information visit www.producecoop.com or www.healthysolutionsgroup.org

Giant Dollar Doublers 7/2-7/8

Earlier this week you should have received a Giant flyer in the mail. On this flyer are four $1 Doubler Coupons. I am very excited...I think. Generally most stores in my area double coupons up to 99cents. Meaning if you a 99cent coupon it's really worth $1.98. If you have $1 it's worth just that dollar. With the addition of a $1 doubler you can combine it with a $1 coupon so you get $2 off. If you use all four that's $8 instant savings. I'm going to sniff the interwebs to see if I can come up with some good deals this week.

The Best of Giant

It's officially summer so it's time to load up on fruits and vegetables. Giant has some nice deals this week for things to add to a healthy summer meal.

1. Pints of Blueberries 4/$5
Eat some now! Take the rest and flash freeze them and you will have them for baking and smoothies all summer long.

2. Corn 12/$1.99
Soak them in water and put them on the grill during your 4th of July BBQ.

3. Whole Seedless Watermelon $3.88
Make some basil salt* and sprinkle it on. Grind sea or kosher salt with some finely chopped basil. I learned this trick from Vegan Soul Kitchen.

4. Tropical Mangos $1
Put into a salad. If you have an ice cream maker you can make mango sorbet.

Trader Joe's

In order to decrease the temptation of eating out at work I am taking a weekly stroll to TJ's and the library. Both are about a mile walk from my office. Using the TJ Fearless Flyer andthe Grocery IQ app I am able to get what I need and get out. TJ's is a very tempting place as you pass by all of the different imported meals, cookies and wines. My goal was to spend $25 on things I would actually use.

1. 1/2 pint of organic raspberries (for my Raspberry Frangipane Cake)
2. 1lb of organic strawberries
3. 2lb. bag of clementines
4. sea salt (for my basil salt and cooking in general)
5. Almond milk
6. Wild Arugula
7. Pizza Dough
8. Mozzarella Cheese
9. Frozen Pizza Dough (i know i can make it myself)
10. Nonfat Plain European Style Yogurt (to use in smoothies)
11. Ezekiel Raisin Bread (healthy and yummy)

$25.35 @ Trader Joes
$37 @ Local Grocery Chain

Vegan Soul Kitchen

I checked Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry out from the library. A cookbook with 6 recipes for watermelon is my kind of cookbook. For many people vegan food seems really inaccessible with it's rampant use of tofu and nutritional yeast. Those are weird foods to many people. Vegan Soul Kitchen takes the food our southern grandmothers made and makes it vegan. Some of the most interesting recipes are Creole Hoppin' John, roasted plantain pieces, seitan medallions with mushroom gravy. He does have a section on vegetable proteins but it's not the main focus of the book. I'm going to use the food I get from the Healthy Solutions Produce box this week and select recipes from the book to make some delicious vegan food.

Saving Cards Coupons

Well since I can't print I can load!

I suspect if I go across town to a Safeway in NW DC I would be able to use the printables but for now it's newspapers and loading coupons to my saving card. The deals won't be as great but let me show you how this will work. There are four places where you can load coupons onto your card.

1. Safeway.com

On the homepage for Safeway click the coupon link image. To the far right is a rectangle titled Print and Digital Coupon. Click 'Get Coupons Now'.

You are now at the Safeway Coupon Center powered by Coupons.com. You can print coupons or load them to your card. To load them to your card you will have to sign up for an account and provide your Safeway card number (not your phone number).

Once you are signed in to your account you browse through the listings and click add on the coupons and they will be loaded on to your card.

When you scan your card at checkout the coupons will be automatically deducted.

2. Cellfire.com , P&G Saver, Shortcuts.com

There are other places that will load more coupons. To take advantage of these you will have to sign up with each service. Once you do it's very easy. There is even a Cellfire and Shortcuts app for the IPhone/IPod Touch. To use them:

1. Register your Safeway card
2. Load the eCoupons onto your card
3. Use the card and the cooupons are automatically deducted

You will find that some of the coupons will be the same at each site but this is to your advantage!
According Frugal Living Chick

"Often times, Cellfire and Shortcuts will put out eCoupons that are valid on the same product. You can stack these two and add a Manufacture's paper coupon. "

For example, at Safeway, Betty Crocker Brownies were $1.00 :

Betty Crocker Brownies, $2.00 for two boxes
-.75 off 2 Betty Crocker Brownies Cellfire Coupon
-.75 off 2 Betty Crocker Brownies
-.25 off 2 Betty Crocker Brownies from newspaper (then it's doubled)
=Free for 2 boxes

That's pretty good ain't it? This method is called stacking and this only works at Safeway and it's partner stores.

There are however limitations!

1. These coupons cannot be doubled.
2. You can only use one at a time. In the scenario above you can't buy 4 boxes and and still get the deal.
   

More on Dishonesty

So I have been reading The Power to Prosper by Michelle Singletary. Now I haven't been to church in a long time and I'm not too keen on church. I rather take the lessons on being a caring helpful person from wherever I can do that. Be it Jesus, Allah, Buddha or Oprah. There is wisdom all around.

This book is based on the Bible and Christian prinicples and the goal of the book is to bring you financial freedom. This is not a pray to God for money book. This is God gave you some good sense and has blessed you so do his will with his money.

One thing Mrs. Singletary covers in Chapter3 is honesty. If you are breaking rules to save a buck that's stealing. Yes it is stealing! Yes you coupon photocopiers are stealing. If you believe God has got your back you don't need to steal. If you believe God will make a way you don't need to steal. I save 70% off my grocery bill every week without stealing and you can too.

I loathe corporations and have no sympathy for them just like the next person. You can make a good situation great by being resourceful but stop trying to "get over."

Stop Photocopying Printable Coupons

One of my top savings tips is to use coupons. I use all kinds of coupons anywhere I can get them. Last week I went to Safeway to take advantage of their Buy 8 Save $4 program. I planned to save about $30 by using a lot of printable coupons. One of the ways I was going to do this was by using printable coupons. Printable coupons are found on websites such as coupons.com, redplum.com or at a manufacture's website. They use special coupon printers you must install and you usually can print two copies of a coupon from the site.

Well some people out there are dishonest and not playing by the rules and they ruin it for everyone by trying to "get over." They are photocopying the coupons. Each coupon has a unique code. The problem is that the bar codes on the coupons are the same and it's only known after a store redeems them at a manufacture that it's fraudulent. A well trained store clerk will look for the unique code and can spot them. I usually get frustrated with the cashiers who are suspicious of my coupons but I totally understand now. They don't want to get in trouble because of those of you who are ruining it for the rest of us. I know times are hard but be honest.

I got to Safeway and they did not accept about $30 I had in coupons. So what was to be a $50 trip turned into a $90 trip. I called Safeway customer service and they explained that it is at the regional managers discretion to accept printable coupons. When a store receives fraudulent coupons they don't get reimbursed by manufactures so they lose money. They are in it for the profit so they will stop taking them.

Don't boo hoo for me too much I had some newspaper coupons and I only bought things on sale so I save $80. Don't cheer for me either because what I bought should not have cost $169 retail. It's really a crime. My goal is to spend about $50 a week per person so I was within my guidelines because I spent like $20 on glad containers but I really could have saved much more. Also if I get things for free that I don't need I donate them to shelters.

So what do you think stores can do make it easier for us legitimate coupon users to get our saving?

Healthy Solutions Coop Site is Open for Orders

Every first and third Saturday of the month the Healthy Solutions Coop delivers boxes of fresh all organic fruits and vegetables to two sites East of the River. You can pre order what is known as a Freggie box. The box will contain a variety of fruits and vegetables but you do not get to choose the produce. A list of the planned contents of the Freggie boxes is on the site and the boxes come in different sizes to accomodate your family. If this is your first time I would suggest getting a little or small box to get an idea. You can also see what was in the small size box for $25 from my last order.



In addition they have all fruit and all veggie boxes. If you know you want specific vegetables or fruits you can order selected produce as well. This is especially good if you have a church or community event and you want to prepare healthy nutritious food.



Please visit http://www.producecoop.com/ to see what they have to offer.



Healthy solutions accepts paypal and credit cards. SNAP (food stamps) are accepted at the Riverside location Orders are due by thursday at 9pm. Any other questions contact Tanikka tcunningham@healthysolutionsgroup.org



Pick up sites:

Please indicate your pick up location in the comments section at check out. Jerusalem Church Of God In Christ 3128 Martin Luther King Jr Ave Washington, DC 2003212 noon - 1:30 pmPre Orders Only
MARKET Day - and Pre OrdersRiverside Center 5200 Foote Street, NE Washington, DC 20019EVERY Saturday 11am - 2pmCo-op Market Day with Washington Parks and People



I will won't be able to get a box this week. Instead I will venture to the Ward 8 farmer's market on Tuesday at United Medical Center.

Bounty from His Garden

We don't have a big backyard but it's big enough to grow a few herbs and vegetables. We have a lot of things growing but the basil, strawberries and green peppers are in full swing. Now don't ask questions about gardening because I have someone helping me so I enjoy the fruits of someone's labor. Enjoy!

Bell Peppers

Strawberries

Cabbage

Garlic

Bell Peppers

Full Plot!

Lazy Sunday

This week I have been dog sitting so I woke up early this morning to let the dog out. I decided that I should pick some basil from the garden. We have a square foot garden in the backyard but I must admit that I have spent very little time tending to the garden. We have three basil plants growing wildly. Each plant was $2.49 so if you include the soil we spent about $9.00 to grow basil. Do you know how much basil costs in the store? It's between $2-$3 dollars a pack.

But Bicycle Girl I don't have a back yard? If you have a sunny window or a balcony that gets at least 6 hours of sun then you are in business. Starting a herb garden is a way to take some of this cheapo food and make it quite tasty. You don't have to grow every herb but if you are like me and love Italian and Mexican food then a a basil and cilantro plant in a small pot will save you plenty money.

Here is a good link to get you started.

Almost There

We still have quite few things left and that Chard and Spinach are going to go bad soon. I guess a spinach salad is in order. Let me find some Chard recipes.

Avocados (4)
Broccoli (2 crowns)
Carrots (5 tops on)
Chard (Red, 1 bunch)
Cherries
Corn (4 w ears)
Green Leaf Lettuce (1 bunch)
Kale (1 bunch)
Mushroom (1)
Onion (1)
Peaches (3)
Purple Kale (1 bunch)
Red Bell Pepper ) (1)
Spinach (1 1/2 bunch)
Sweet Potatoes (2-3lbs)
Tomato (1)
Yellow Squash (2)
Zucchini (2)

Almond Milk

What happens when you have two lactose intolerant people in your home and one is allergic soy milk. You try out Almond milk. Almond is very sweet and rich so it's hard to eat it with your cereal. It works great in oatmeal as it sweetens it naturally and you get a good amount of protein. It also works great in baking. How about using up the last of the sweet potatoes in some sweet potato pie made with Almond Milk?

Earlier in the week we made this impromptu dinner.

Chicken Tacos with Tomato and Corn Salsa

One grilled chicken breast sliced into pieces (we did it on the foreman)
Corn kernels from tow ears of corn
one tomato diced
1/2 onion diced
1 glove of garlic
salt
pepper
onion powder
garlic powder
corn tortillas
olive oil

Saute onion and garlic in a large skillet on med-high. Add the corn and tomatoes and heat through. Add the spices and your sliced chicken and stir until everything is coated. To heat your tortillas quickly place your tortillas between two damp paper towels and microwave 30 seconds at a time until heated.

Fill each taco shell with the mixture. Use any condiments you have on had such as onion, cheese, sour cream or cilantro.

Stir-Fry (Skip the Carryout)

Yet another easy technique you can use for a quick meal. Stir-frys are pretty popular but I won't assume that everyone has actually made one.

Step 1
Chop your meats and vegetables into small pieces that can cook very quickly. Only use vegetables that can be cooked in 5 minutes or less.

Step 2 Heat a pan over medium high heat.

Step 3 Place your ingredients into the plan and stir them constantly until cooked no more than 5 minutes or they may burn.

Note: With this technique fresh garlic should only be used in the final minute as it may burn and turn bitter.

Shrimp and Red Pepper Stir fry

1/2 pound shrimp, peeled (you can use chicken)
2 tablespoons soy sauce (use those packets from the carryout)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 medium red bell peppers, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon garlic powder

What's left in the box?

Avocados (4)
Broccoli (2 crowns)
Carrots (5 tops on)
Chard (Red, 1 bunch)
Cherries
Corn (4 2 ears)
Green Leaf Lettuce (1 bunch)
Kale (1 bunch)
Mushroom (1)
Onion (1)
Peaches (3)
Purple Kale (1 bunch)
Red Bell Pepper ) (1)
Spinach (1 bunch)
Sweet Potatoes (2-3lbs)
Tomato (1)
Yellow Squash (2)
Zucchini (2)

Roasting Vegetables

Roasting is a simple way to deal with vegetables when you don't have the time to really think of any thing elaborate to cook. The Healthy Solutions box always contains vegetables that are great for roasting. WebMD has a great article on roasting vegetables. I wanted to share this with you as I often roast the vegetables that I get from the box. Roasting doesn't add a lot of fat or calories. Use this technique on Sunday and knock out all of the veggies and use them in pastas, sandwiches, salads and pizzas all week.

From the Box: Easy Dinner

Baked Sweet Potato
Roasted Corn
Grilled Chicken? Fish? Pork?

What's left in the box?

Avocados (4)
Broccoli (2 crowns)
Carrots (5 tops on)
Chard (Red, 1 bunch)
Cherries
Corn (4 ears)
Green Leaf Lettuce (1 bunch)
Kale (1 bunch)
Mushroom (1)
Onion (1)
Peaches (3)
Purple Kale (1 bunch)
Red Bell Pepper ) (1)
Spinach (1 bunch)
Sweet Potatoes (2-3lbs)
Tomato (1)
Yellow Squash (2)
Zucchini (2)

Snack Time From the Box

How am I going to eat all of these fruits and vegetables? I have to plan ahead. Waiting until after work to figure out what I am going to eat is a sure recipe for eating out. The same goes for children. They need something to eat when they get home.


This recipe is really good for kids. My mom used to get these for us from Carl's Jr. This oven fried version will have your kids eating zucchini in no time. It takes about 10 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to bake. Use ranch dressing as a dip. Alternatively mixed some fat free sour cream with a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing mix.


Zucchini Fries

4 spray(s) olive oil cooking spray
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp table salt
3/4 cup(s) dried bread crumbs, panko-variety suggested
2 medium zucchini, about 7-inches each, cut into 4 chunks, then each chunk halved
2 large egg white(s), whipped until frothy (almost soft peaks)

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside. In a small bowl, mix together Italian seasoning, flour and salt. Put bread crumbs in another small bowl. Whip, using a whisk or fork, egg whites until frothy

Dip a zucchini stick in flour mixture and then dip into egg whites; dip in bread crumbs. Place coated zucchini on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining ingredients until you have run out of zucchini. Once all of the prepared zucchini fries are on the pan spray them with cooking spray.

Put in the oven for about 5 minutes. Flip them over and then bake for another 5-7 minutes until they are crispy.

Carrot Sticks, Broccoli and Cherries

Well why buy baby carrots in the bag when you can just chop these up in about 5 minutes and put them in your child's lunch or have them in the fridge for after school? Have that same dipping sauce from the zucchini on hand. Or if your child can eat peanut butter use a little of that. For the cherries they are very easy, just eat them.

What's the deal with all this From the Box stuff?

For full disclosure I am a trained health educator. The problem with health education is that it's only one part of the solution to better health. What's the point of telling people about eating 5 servings of vegetables if they aren't available in their neighborhood? What if a person lives on someone's couch and can't cook? What if a person has two jobs? You want me to buy organic vegetables that are three times as expensive as my regular vegetables? There are so many barriers to a healthy lifestyle.

These posts deal with issue #1 food access. I discovered the Healthy Solutions coop about a year ago and I have been blessed. In a sea of carryouts and wack grocery stores I have the ability to have inexpensive organic vegetables and fruit. I actually don't advocate that everyone needs only eat fresh or organic vegetables and fruits. I think that people should just eat more fruits and vegetables whether it's from a can (and rinsed) or frozen.

So now that I have access I need to know what to do with all this and not fall back on my old habits. I had not heard of Kale until a year ago nor had I ever used Red Chard. So this is to help people like myself who want to eat better but need to know what to do with our new found access to fresh vegetables. This series is for people who have time to cook at least 2-3 times a week.

I hope this will be helpful for others. I will explain how to order from the coop during the 3rd week of June the next time the coop is open for orders.

From the Box

What I used today from the Healthy Solutions box: Peaches, Spinach, Onion, Avocados, Kale, Tomato and Chard.

Breakfast

I added some peaches to my morning oatmeal. I also sauteed some spinach to have on hand for egg white omelets. This works well for a low weight watchers point breakfast. It also helps to have the spinach on hand to make a 5 minute breakfast that is more than cold cereal.

Snack

Fresh Guacamole w/ Tortilla Chips

Well growing up in California, where avocados are abundant, I am a real fan of the buttery good stuff. I eat avocados with a spoon straight from the shell. Guacamole is a really quick thing to whip up and has good fat!

4 Avocados mashed
1 Tomato diced
1 Red or White Onion small dice
Jalapeno (optional) minced
Salt and Pepper to taste

Now for the chips...

Purchase a package of corn tortillas from the store. Cut the tortillas into triangle and spread them into a thin layer onto a baking sheet. Brush them will oil or spray them with cooking spray. Bake for 5-10 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees.



Dinner

Chicken, Kale and Mushroom Penne

I did a little Google searching to discover what I could do with the kale other than have it as a side dish. I found this pasta recipe linked above which I adapted a bit. Try the original and try mine as well.

Chicken, kale, and mushroom penne

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts chopped into cubes
2 bunches kale, without stemms and chopped coarsley
1 Portobello mushroom
1 16oz of whole wheat barilla brand past
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large white onion, diced
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Dash of red pepper flakes
1 tsp nutmeg

1. Cook pasta in boiling water according to directions on package

2. While the pasta water is coming to a boil heat a large skillet over medium flame. Add approx. 1 tbsp olive oil and cook chicken until cooked almost through. Remove chicken and set aside.

3. Add other 1 tbsp of oil to the pan when heated, add onions and mushrooms cook until soft. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, then add kale and nutmeg. Cook until kale begins to soften, stirring often. Place a top or plate over the skillet to allow the kale to cook down.

4. Once the kale has wilted add in the cooked chicken, red pepper and Parmesan.

What's in the Box?

I bought vegetables from Healthy Solutions Produce Coop today. What's in the organic freggie small box this week($25)?

Avocados (4)
Broccoli (2 crowns)
Carrots (5 tops on)
Chard (Red, 1 bunch)
Cherries
Corn (4 ears)
Green Leaf Lettuce (1 bunch)
Kale (1 bunch)
Mushroom (1)
Onion (1)
Peaches (3)
Purple Kale (1 bunch)
Red Bell Pepper ) (1)
Spinach (1 bunch)
Sweet Potatoes (2-3lbs)
Tomato (1)
Yellow Squash (2)
Zucchini (2)

Just for laughs I went to peapod.com to see what this would cost. They didn't have everything in the organic section but for $22 I was only able to get about 1/3 of the organic list.

Avocados
Broccoli
Carrots
Kale
Green Leaf Lettuce
Tomato

This is why the produce coop is so important to me. I live in a food desert we only have one grocery store in our Ward. The fresh produce is pretty poor. Organic produce? Forget it! I can go to Maryland or Virginia for more choices but why should I have to?

Check back for the rest of the week to see what I make. Well the first thing will be guacamole!

When You Face Setbacks

Over the last two weeks I was sick and then ObamaFest began. No exercise or portion control happened. I haven't got on the scale yet but I know it won't be positive.

What do you do to get back on track? 

When I fall off I get up and get back on as soon as possible. So for this week I will get really strict with myself so that I can quickly undo the gains if any. It also allows me to get back on without thinking. Often I try to find the most interesting and healthy food because I'm a foodie at heart. In these times I go instead to the tried, true, and easy.  This next week will be interesting because I gave all my pots to goodwill so all I'm left with is a small sauce pan and a non-stick skillet. I guess that's a challenge all of it's own. So this is what it will look like:

Breakfast:

Oatmeal with Fruit

Yogurt with Fruit and Nuts

Lunch:

Au Bon Pain Soups

Sushi

Subway Sandwiches

Dinner:

Shrimp and Vegetable Stir-Fry w/ Brown Rice

Mini Pizzas with Spinach Salad

Chinese Chicken Salad

What not to eat?

That's the first thing people tell me when we talk about weight loss. They always want to tell me what they are going to stop eating. For me, I didn't give up anything I loved. I still eat french fries and drink Stella Artois. What I had to do was keep eating the things I loved but if something wasn't my favorite then why eat all those calories? I also realized that I couldn't "ball out" on every meal. I had to choose my indulgences wisely. Last, I did love some healthy foods so why not eat more of them?



(In this photo: Sip to Live Tea, Thomas' Light Multi-Grain English Muffins, Dole Frozen Mango, Stonyfield Fat Free Yogurt, All Whites,  Giant Frozen Asparagus)

So what do I eat?

Let's start with breakfast.  I used to freaking hate egg whites because folks always wanted to scramble them. However in an omelette they are decent. In my fridge I have a carton of All Whites, canadian bacon, frozen asparagus, frozen spinach and shredded Cabot 75% light cheese. Along with my non stick pan I can whip up and omelet in no time.  Doesn't a bacon, spinach and cheese omelet  sound great? It has protein and vegetables so you start your day right. It's very low in calories and fat. So then you can add a light english muffin with jelly and a fruit smoothie and still come out low in calories and fat. That's a lot of food and we are only at 300 calories or 5 Weight Watchers Points.

To make this work you need to chop the canadian bacon and asparagus. If you use spinach, keep it in the fridge to thaw. The cheese should be shredded in advance. So then when you wake up all you have to do it pour and sprinkle all your ingredients in.  For the smoothies just make a large batch and drink it for the next couple of days. For my smoothie I use frozen fruit, low fat yogurt, light vanilla soy milk and honey.  Eating this meal helps me get my fruits and vegetables in early.

The other thing I eat often is oatmeal. I recently switched to quick oats and just doing them in the microwave and adding my own flavorings. It's cheaper than using the instant packs and I can change up the flavor everyday. You know adding your own maple and brown sugar is pretty easy.  Adding some craisins and sliced almonds is also very good. The trick to this is to microwave your oatmeal for 1 minute of Medium or 50% power so it doesn't bowl over. 

I also love a good egg McMuffin but making my own is healthier and saves on calories and fat.  I use one one egg or egg whites, light english muffin, Canadian bacon and Cabot 75% light cheese. 

None of these meals takes more than 5 minutes to make as long as you have your ingredients are prepped in advanced. 

Wii Fit

For Christmas of 2007 my nephew got a Wii. He needed someone to challenge. So we played tennis, boxing and bowling. Given that the Wii is for "casual gamers", it was very easy for me to play and spank him in most of the games. On the third day of Christmas he needed Icy Hot. By the end of it he didn't even say goodbye to me after I won yet another tennis match. After that I wanted a Wii of my own and it took me 6 months to find one at regular price. It was on from there. I noticed in the boxing you can work up quite a sweat. You can do the same in tennis you play with full force. I knew then that the Wii Sports could give me some cardio alternatives. Then I heard about the Wii Fit and looked it up on the Nintendo website and it seemed kind of silly. Why would anyone need a balance board and video game to help them do lunges and sun salutations? I kept hearing more about it and two friends of mine got one and they both loved it. One is a former gym rat so I was convinced I wanted one but I wasn't quite ready to spend lots of time tracking one down. Well this guy just happened to return one when I was buying Dance Dance Revolution for my nephew. There I was standing there with both video games that are supposed to be ultimate in fitness workouts. 

When you start the Wii Fit it let's you select your Mii, weighs you, and checks your balance. You get on the balance board with shoes and socks off. It will tell you if you are obese, overweight, normal or below according to your BMI. In fact it will tell you this everyday if you let it. It will also tell you your Wii Fit age which is based on the balance test. I think it's reallly silly to give you an age based on a balance test. You can then set a weight loss target and pick the gender of your personal trainer. It saves the data so you can track overtime. It's clear that this is very Eastern oriented as balance and rhythm seems to be more important than anything else in this game. 

Tip: When you weigh yourself, do it on a hard surface as the carpet may cause inaccuracies in your measurements. After that you can move it back to the carpet and ignore the "your weight is different messages."

The game consist of four sections: yoga, aerobics, strength and balance games. There are about 12 different activities or mini games to do in each. In each section only 3-4 things are available when you start so it will feel limited. However, each time you play a game you earn Fit Credits equal to the time spent playing. As you accumulate more fit credits you will unlock more games. For the existing games you may unlock increased time limits or advanced levels.

Yoga:

I really enjoy the yoga mostly because I used to do yoga all the time and I have fallen out of practice. You follow along with your personal trainer as s/he does the poses with you. Some of the poses are modified so you can get feedback from the balance board. I think this is the most unique feature. It let's you know if your are keeping your center of balance and/or how much weight you are putting on each side of your body. It's great to have the instant feedback. I also do it in front of the mirror so I can correct poses. After each pose is over you get feedback, get a score and get your ranking. You then go back to the menu and select a new activity. 

Strength:

Ditto everything for the yoga. You are doing everything from pushes, lunges, squats to the plank. After each activity is over you get feedback, get a score and get your ranking. You then go back to the menu and select a new activity. 

Aerobics:

I know I know. I should just get on my bike. However, I'm still afraid of theft. So for now it's in home exercises. On the Wii Fit my favorite thing to do is Hula Hoop and Super Hula Hoop. I remember doing this as a kid. I also remember this European chick kicking my ass in hula hoop at the bowling alley. When I saw this I knew it was a chance to redeem myself. You stand on the balance board and sway your hips in "large neat circles". You also catch hoops that are thrown at you by the other Wii characters. I think it's funny that my mate and his brother are always throwing at me. Hula Hoop is free for all. Super Hula Hoop has you go in each direction separately starting with 3 minutes and advancing to 6 minutes. If you take the game seriously you can work up a sweat. After each round is over you get feedback, get a score and get your ranking. You then go back to the menu and select a new activity. 

Then there is Step, Advanced Step and Free Step. I was never any good a real step aerobics but I excel at Wii Step. If you have ever played Dance Dance Revultions this is the "For Dummies" version. Basic step is pretty slow and I didn't work up a real sweat as the moves are just really up and down. In Advanced step you learn even more moves and at the end they speed it up. This is a rhtyhm game as you are scored on stepping in sync. In Free Step the Wiimote taps the beat and you can change you TV to another chanell and just step your heart out at whatever pace works for you. After each round is over you get feedback, get a score and get your ranking. You then go back to the menu and select a new activity. 

Today I finally worked out enough to unlock the Rhythm  Boxing. Well at first I thought this was a dud. You watch someone give you a pattern then you take your turn at the punching bag. I thought I was doing great until the bag spoke and told me better luck next time. I did it a couple times and still felt it was too easy and if I was going to with the actual rhythm it was much too slow. I was also able to unlock 6 minute rounds in no time. Well little did I know, the combinations became more difficult. I couldn't keep up. Punching when I should be dodging; dodging when I should be blocking. I think I started to finally work up a sweat. I have a lot more practice to do before I get good at this. After each round is over you get feedback, get a score and get your ranking. You then go back to the menu and select a new activity. 

Last is the running game. This game doesn't use the balance board. Instead you put he Wiimote in your pocket or your hand. You are following a trainer on a scenic run. Other folks are running including your other Mii family members. You get higher scores for running at at steady pace. This isn't a game of speed. I like that it wants you to jog slow. However, I have bad knees and running in place hurts. Running hurts period for me. I really think I would rather go for a walk than play this game. However, I think it's a great warm up for me. Today instead of running in place I took a brisk walk in circles around the apartment. This is my least favorite of the aerobic games. After each round is over you get feedback, get a score and get your ranking. You then go back to the menu and select a new activity. 

The intensity of most of the aerobics is low to moderate even when I put my all into them. If you are new to exercise then I think these would be more challenging. The Dance Dance Revolution game is the ultimate cardio workout and I will probably use that for cardio instead of the Wii Fit. 

Balance:

Well this is my weakest section. It's a selection of 1 minute mini games from balancing on the tight rope to head butting soccer balls I really suck at this. The balance board in most cases is looking for subtle movements when playing it's balance games. I seem to only be able to move big. It took me about 20 tries to get across the tight rope. These games are really fun and addicting. This part reminds you the most of playing a video game. After each round is over you get feedback, get a score and get your ranking. You then go back to the menu and select a new activity. 

All in all I enjoy the Wii fit and I will probably stick with it. For me it will be used mostly to improve my flexibility, strength and balance. I don't think it will suffice for a good cardio workout. It does ,however, have one major flaw. After each activity you "you get feedback, get a score and get your ranking. You then go back to the menu and select a new activity. " There is no way to string a set of exercises together. It even recommends a few combinations but there is no easy way to do it. So even if you spent 30 minutes playing games tack on another 15 minutes to scroll through the menus each time. In spite of that now that I have unlocked some of the longer sessions but it will cut down on using the menu. During the strength segment the rest between sets makes a lot sense. So I have had to make up some routines to get the 30 minute mark. 

Because sharing is caring...

Well I also decided to share my measurements.  I look at them and I feel like they aren't that different from when I started. Maybe I just don't remember what they were then.  I do know that I can't even attempt to wear my previous clothing size of 14. They fall off.  A Twelve is needs a belt, a 10 is about right and an 8 sometimes. 

Measurements:

Weight: 149lbs 

Natural Waist: 30"

Low Waist (where my pants actually sit): 33"

Hips:

Thigh: 26"

Bicep: 12"

Tomorrow: Wii Fit

Happy Healthy New Year

I am happy to report that I lost 24 pounds in 2008. Here's to a few more and toning in 2009. As I said a couple of posts back I'd like to focus this blog on how I got there. First I joined Weight Watchers in January 2008. It was the end of January because I don't make resolutions. It was a fateful weekend in late January where I consumed nothing but cupcakes and realized that is just not acceptable.  As a person who tried to be healthy and spent tons of money on organic groceries I was still overweight. I realized that I had been at a steady weight for about 4 years but I felt fat and didn't like taking pictures anymore. I knew a few people who were Weight Watchers members and they were having success but I still shunned the idea of joining a weight loss program. I always thought I would accomplish my weight loss goals with just plain common sense and the fact that I have a Masters Degree in Health Behavior and Health Education.  Well I would have been out of job by now if people changed their health behaviors that easily. 

So I joined and it worked. What I learned was awareness. Who knew that my Chipotle Burritos had a days worth of calories in them?!?! I knew that I needed to follow some sort of plan. However, I had a difficult time following other plans because I can't just eat what's prescribed. At the time Weight Watchers had the Flex Plan and that worked for me. I could still eat what ever I wanted but I had to plan for it and make sure it fit into my POINTS (calorie-like) budget. The budget forced me to make some decisions because I could eat whatever I wanted but that didn't mean I could eat the not so healthy things as often and in the same quantities (Hello Hamburger Happy Meal).  I had my ups and downs through the year but I made a lot of progress.  So this year I decided I would share my health and fitness goals for 2009. 

1. Drink 48 fl. ounces of water or decaf tea day

2. Become a Weight Watchers Lifetime member.

3. Maintain the blog weekly

That's it. Well number two has a couple of components. I have to reach my goal weight and maintain it for 6 weeks.  Number 3 is very exciting to me. I already have the first couple of installments waiting on deck.  Look forward to hearing about my Wii fitness challenge and "On Hand Foods" in January. 

Shirataki Noodles

There is this new product everyone is raving about. Shirataki Noodles are noodles made from tofu and they are low in calories in fat. One cup of shirtaki is 20 kcal where as most other noodles are about 200 kcal/cup. However that is only fabulous if they taste good. I decided to try out a recipe. 

The noodles come in a package surrounded by water and they smelled fishy. I drained them and patted them dry. To a pan I added a teaspoon of olive oil and sautéed some onion. I added broccoli, shrimp and the Shirataki noodles.  I my stir fried it all together with black bean sauce. I did not like the texture of the noodles and the fishy smelled lingered. Maybe  I needed to boil the noodles for a different texture.  I was not impressed by these fake me out noodles. Anyone who knows me knows I don't like fake foods. I had hope for Shirtaki because tofu in noodle form does not qualify as fake in my book. 

Rating: D

Up Next: I lucked up on a Wii Fit during my holiday shopping so look forward to many more posts about that subject. I'm thinking about doing a Wii Fit weight loss and tone challenge for the first three months of the new year. 

So I've decided this is going to be a food and fitness blog. In 2008 I lost 22 pounds. I have more weight to lose to get to my goal but,  I know I should share with others how I got there without really going to the gym. Well obviously part of it involved a bike.  I think I will start posting up my favorite things so others might have some ideas. 

So this week I discovered Skinny Cow Ice cream. I'm not a big fan of "fake" foods. However I've been craving real sweets.  So I leave you with a review of Skinny Cow and  a dessert recipe. 

Skinny Cow makes ice cream sandwiches and bars that are low in fat and taste good enough for me. My friend used to eat them all the time but I preferred the real thing in smaller portions. However, there are times when I just want to grab and go. A good part of weight loss is portion control and Skinny cow comes all ready portioned so there is no temptation for me to try to fudge the measurements. At only 140 calories and 97% fat free,  it's a big win in my book. However it does contain high fructose corn syrup which I prefer not to eat. 

When I'm ready to bake but don't want to spend a lot of time I have put together a basic cobbler recipe based on lots of recipes I've tried. This one involves peaches but you can use any fruit you like. It doesn't have thick crust but you get that crust flavor which is the important part. 

Skinny Peach Cobbler

6 Medium Peaches Cored and Sliced

1/3 cup of sugar plus 1 TBSP

1 TBSP Cornstarch

1 TSP Cinnamon

1 C Flour

1.5 TSP baking powder

3TBSP Margarine

1/2 C 2% Milk

1/2 TSP salt

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

 

In a large saucepan, combine peaches, 1/3 cup of sugar (5 1/3 tablespoons), cornstarch, lemon juice and cinnamon; toss to coat peaches. Set pan over medium heat and bring to a boil; cook until mixture thickens, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat; transfer mixture to an 8-inch square baking pan.

 

To make topping, combine flour, remaining tablespoon of sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Work in margarine with a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk; stir until flour mixture is evenly moistened.

 

Drop 8 tablespoons of topping mixture over peach mixture. Bake until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces and serve.

about 150 calories 2gm fat

What's Bicycle Girl been up to?

Well she hasn't been riding her bike.  Her office went business casual and she hates changing her clothes. I'm' not one of those girls who will ride her bike in suit pants and heels. I also hate changing my clothing no the bathroom stalls. 

Second,  I have been helping B with is new Bar and Lounge. So I've been waitress, stock girl, dish girl and confidant. It's been fun and so tiring. I've also consumed an inordinate amount of fried chicken, fish, fries and beer. Thank goodness I have to walk and up down the stair everyday. So I don't think I gained any weight. Well I won't know until I get on a scale. 

I've even tried to eat healthy  before getting to the place but the smell of fried foods are too tempting. I can't stay away. I guess I should try and go there uncomfortably full. I have to do something before I reverse all my progress. I have about 16 weeks to lose 17 lbs. I can do it but this is a real challenge.  

Nate

Well again I'm home on a Friday night. Well not for long. So I was just instant messaging with a friend of mine I hadn't seen in a long time. So I asked him how his girl was doing. Well about 3 years ago his girlfriend was in an accident and was in a coma for quite sometime. When she came out of it she had to re-learn everything. How to eat, walk, talk. He told me he had just come back from visiting her and he showed me some short videos he took while he was there. She's still not able to really talk but she is able to express herself. He's making a lot of jokes and she's laughing at him. He warned me that I would cry and I didn't.

Whenever I'm having a rough day I think of Nate's strength. I might run into him twice a year these days but I always remember it. I don't know very many people who would stick around through a coma and her rehabilitation. She's moved back home to another state but he continues to be there for her. When I think of his strength that's what makes me cry. I've never met someone so selfless. I'm crying now because Nate is awesome person. I'm sad that when he had huge crush on me I ignored him, lol. I did tell him he could date me on a date to Wendy's dollar menu.

In a lot of religions we are asked to believe in the unseen. When I think of Nate I don't think I have to. I see God in him and the way he lives his life. I just didn't know I would see it in a skinny kid who wore trucker hats and knee high socks.

Yes You is Loud

So I ran into my landlord outside. I hate the fact that she's my age or even younger. Well she ask me how's it going. I say it's okay. I tell her that I'm not used to living under people. I didn't want to go too hard and say how bad it was. It's a basement and it's my fault for not properly investigating. So she asks a few questions to which I answer in the affirmative.

Is it the walking?
Is it the talking?
Is it the TV?

So she looks at me awkwardly and I say "Well I now know you have a Nintendo Wii." We made some small talk about the Wii. I think that was a good way to put it in perspective for her that I can hear things that clearly. She said that she has asked all the previous tenants and none of them ever admitted to that it was a problem. She smiled awkwardly to signal that she appreciated my honesty. I went inside and she continued to garden.

As soon as she came inside it was like the biggest ruckus ever. I giggled because I have feeling that it's just a crappy home and that they aren't really that loud but it's that there isn't a sound barrier. She mentioned that there might be some construction and I guess I should suggest to her that they maybe put in a layer of insulation.

I had no idea the people upstairs had a Wii too.

So someone just asked me why I was home on a Friday night. I stated my reason now I wish I was out on the town. My landlords have a Wii. I have one too so I know all that's involved. Well now they are upstairs making their character called a Mii. I know how fun and exciting that can be. I remember the cackling that happened when we set up one for B. Short, skinny, freckles, big noses, chinese eyes and a kung fu beard. You can make all kinds of crazy looking characters. Unfortunately there is no sound barrier between my space and theirs. They have a friend over I think he stomps his foot every time he laughs. They haven't even played any games yet. It's bound to be worse when they start moving around. It's sad that in 30 minutes the voice of Sarah Palin will sound great to me.

I have no idea why I thought living in a basement was the move. Seriously no one warned me about it. I've known a couple of people in basements but none of them mentioned the noise factor. Everyone talked about bugs and floods. I was enticed by the price. I thought I was giving up closet space. No peace and quiet is gone. An inconvenient truth. What's the point of living solo if you have voices in your living room? Luckily I only have 5 months to go. Maybe I should look more forward to work travel.

How to Make an Aloo Paratha

This is one of my favorite indian dishes but it's not found on many menus around here so I am going to attempt to make it myself. 

Hains Point Conquered

Well Hains Point is flat so I did the loop three times so I put in about 10 miles. I went pretty slow compared to other cyclist but I don't care. I just needed to do something. I may have big legs but they aren't that muscular.  The whole point of riding is to get them muscular. 

Well to that end, I'm brining on a new addition to my workout routine. I'm going to start Exotic Aerobics at a studio 3 blocks from my house.  On the surface it seems really sketchy to go to the basement of someone's home to pole dance. However, I went to the website and the woman who runs it is simply a personal trainer and decided to get on this pole dancing fitness craze.  She's also Black so that's a plus. You know how I love Black businesses. Well I'm going to start with her Body-licous which is a strength training class. I know what a squat and some crunches can do for me.  January 27th will be one year since I went on this weight loss journey so I'm hoping I can make it to my goal by then. At that rate it's one 1lb a week. I think I can make it. 

That Negro Tried to Kill Me

If you are reading this, I'm still alive. Well this morning I woke up to a slight discomfort. It was my overweight lover with his arm around me. Usually that isn't a problem but today his elbow was poking into my side. Well it was starting to hurt so I wanted him to move it. I tried to say his name and I tried to move. Well I was suffering from sleep paralysis yet again. As the pressure became too much to handle I yelled and screamed. However, he couldn't hear me as nothing was actually coming out of mouth. Nor was I moving around. Finally I snapped out of it as I was beginning to panic and think "This Negro is going to rupture my damn appendix."

I'm going for that confidence ride now.

Battle of the Arboretum

So yesterday I got off my rotunda and bought a new bike wheel. In the process I discovered that you could buy wheel locks. They aren't bolted on but you have a key that releases them fairly quickly. I'm excited by the prospect of my wheels being difficult to steel but in my heart it still doesn't seem that secure.

So this morning we decided we would take a ride around the National Arboretum. Well I thought rolling among the flowers would be a leisurely thing to do. Boy was I wrong. It's quite hilly and after not riding or doing any type of exercise for 3 months that thing nearly killed me. After 20 minutes I was done with those hills and I wanted to go some place else that was  flat. What a confidence killer. In the process I realized that my brakes were rubbing which greatly contributed to how challenging the arboretum trails felt. Well at least that's the story I'm sticking to.

We were near B's friend's house and this guy rides a lot. So we went to his house for some light bike repair. We loosened up the pad on my breaks. Well B went riding around a bit and I see him walking back up the hill. His chain was broken. So much for going out for another ride. Instead I decided I was hungry. I said "let's find some brunch guys". B says "woman why don't you cook?" Well I don't think he expected me to go upstairs to his friends kitchen and whip up a meal. No his friend is a bachelor but he has enough food for a family of 4. So I made potato and onions, scrambled eggs and Eggo waffles with a banana caramel sauce. Mighty good if I do say so myself.

So tomorrow I'm going to sneak out the Mall early and ride by myself. I can't be embarrassed the way I was this morning. I need to get my bike mojo back. So the first step is education. I decided to look over this tutorial on how to shift gears to make sure I'm doing it right.

I let a white coworker try to tell me that Diana's famous song is "I'm coming UP". Here is your answer JM.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdKeGAoWEg8

I love the Internet

I woke up in the middle of night and I realized that missed Obama's speech. What the hell? Such a historic moment and I missed it. Well thank god MSNBC has the whole thing.

In other news I woke up at 6 am and it's pitch fucking black outside. The crickets are still chirping. I'm not sure I will make it in this basement apartment. From bay windows to only one window that lets light in. I curse B every time. However, I'm going to probably be cursing everyday when he leaves his clothing in the middle of the floor everyday.

The End of an Era

So Cheryl aka Shurrryl moved to Arizona last week. I'm not sad as it was probably time for us to seperate. She wanted to leave DC and I'm beginning am in transition in my life. So no more spontenous barbeques, drunken walks to Ben's and not stopping each other from eating Taco Bell.

So this week I am moving into my last apartment as a single woman. It's for 6 months. Don't ask me why because I'm kind of sick of answering that particular question. I am that's it. I'm moving to a part of town that is very different from every other place I've lived in DC. While I am not that far from the metro I'm much further than I've ever been. It's also an area that doesn't have many small businesses. Therefore I won't really be walking for late night runs to anything. While I could get along as many people do without my car. It will be much easier to just get in the car and ride to Popeyes. That's one thing that I will hate. My options for convient healthy eating have gone down. Well I am only moving a mile away but things get sparse on this side. It's pretty sad. 

Dear Barack Obama Supporters,

I would like to inform you of why I am voting for your candidate. I'm voting for him because he is a Democrat and he's Black. When it came to the primary I voted (well i was going to vote) for Obama because Hillary and Bill were playing dirty. If you go to the the various websites that track voting history Obama and Hillary are barely indistinguishable. I also would have voted for Obama because he's been in politics for less time than Hillary. It means that he hasn't made as many back door deals. He hasn't been out there playing the politics game for that long. It was obvious that Hillary had "bought" many of the black Dems along the way and now they are mad they put their money on the establishment. Obama has made deals, he just doesn't owe as many people as she does. Also I'm voting for him because he's Black. I cast a vote for Jesse in the Girl Scout mock election in 1988 because he was Black. Well times haven't changed that much and I am going to ahead cast my vote for Black again Why not ? People vote based on race everyday. I think anyone voting for change hasn't thought about it really hard. We have a government that is slow and has three branches. Although in the Bush presidency he's wielded the power of the executive very heavily, I doubt Obama will be doing the same.

Signed,

Aisha

P.S. Of course Edwards cheated I knew that from the first day I saw him. He's a young, politician, rich, good looking with a $400 haircut and a great smile. Uh Duh.

It's been a long time...

Yesterday I attended yet another bachelorette party. I'm really warming up to them. Obviously I can't talk about what happened but there is one story I must tell. When I arrived at the hotel, I was in the elevator with two guys. We made small talk and they made jokes about coming to the bachelorette party. They exited on the 6th floor...6th Floor Boys. Later on the bachelorette party attendees were banished to the lobby so that when the stripper arrived. I guess word got to the 6th floor that there were 20 fine ass ladies in the lobby. There was not a single ugg mugg among us. Next thing I know there are lots of men in the lobby including the guys I was previously on the elevator with. I made small chat and they said they were at the liquor store with me earlier as well.

When the ladies are asked to returned to the suite, somehow 4 of us are on the elevator with the 6th Floor Boys. So apparently I had been to the liquor store and now to the in the elevator twice. So they start making jokes about being our pre-entertainment. One lifts up his shirt and I had a couple of ones in my hand so I decided to stick it in the waist of his pants. Well what I didn't count on is that he didn't have on underwear. I didn't really look as I reached in and there it was, pubic hair. Here I am essentially grabbing the pubic hairs of a strange. An accident but typical Aisha.

It's here....

I found a Wii in Providence, RI. So for the last 6 months I've been casually looking for a Wii. I'm so glad I found it. 

Bummer

So some asshole stole my bike wheel again. I'm so pissed. This time they used bolt cutters to take it in broad daylight from one of the busiest intersections of the city. So that's another $80 plus I need to buy a heavy duty lock.

Then I was walking from the Metro and this guy said "girl i'm glad your pants are too tight." So he implied that he was happy that I decided to squeeze myself into this pair of pants for his viewing pleasure. Like I was one of those tacky DC girls who sports a constant muffin top an booty about to split the pants. The thing was that my pants weren't tight. In fact when I put them on I thought about how they were finally the perfect fit and were no longer too snug. But the hell with him I lost another 2.6 lbs for a total of 16.4. I'm only .4 lbs away from being able to say. I've lost 10% of myself. Awesome. I'm going to celebrate next week with sushi.

So this week someone stole my front while. What a downer. But my boo is taking care of it for me. He rocks.

In other news my weight loss is still continuing. Yesterday I was wearing this dress and I swear there was a little midget following me. That's because since my waist is getting smaller it's making my lower body that much more prominent. Also in a dress the hind parts are able to run around freely. It's such a catch 22.