Friday's Grumblings

• I know this is like a sacrilege to even say...But I hate the ice bucket challenge.  I just think its dumb.  Maybe cuz I would never do it....maybe cuz I am sick of seeing people's video...maybe cuz I am just plain old crabby today.
• Clean eating is hard.  And I don't understand why it so hard.  It just seems like we should have lots of fresh food available and then just grab it and eat it.  But somehow as Americans we have opted to work hard to process all of our food so we can have the convenience and ease of then just grabbing it and go.  This whole concept is making less sense to me.
• Freshman college food plans confuse me.  You must purchase a minimum of 14 meals a week...even if you don't eat in the dining commons.  Explanation from SVSU food service - its for the freshman students' own good to ensure that they eat healthy.  However, they serve fried, processed food made with very little organic ingredients.  I can however, opt out if I have a note from a doctor saying my student has special dietary needs.  Really...? is eating whole organic foods a special dietary need?  And really...? I need a doctor to tell them this is a good idea! 
• I am having a big garage sale for my mom next weekend.  After I read an article on facebook about garage sale tricks I have decided not to price many of the items.  The idea is that people like to bargain and you may actually get more than you thought for an item.  But secretly I really just don't want my mom to see I price stuff way less than she does.
• So a friend comes in today and said her husband said the library called to tell her that her Banana Bitch book is in.....ahhh close...how about Evanovich....you know?... the author Janet Evanovich!
• I need to clean my gutters.  What an absolute horrible job.  I saw a thing on facebook about life hacks. One of them was adding a long curved tube to your leaf blower so you can stand on the ground and blow out your gutters....is it just me or does this seem like a really bad idea to anyone else?

Thursday Thoughts

 

It appears I don't have thoughts on Thursday....they randomly come to me much later in the week.  So here are some thoughts on this Friday.

 

• Awhile I posted that I couldn't remember my son's age.  He is the fourth kid ya know...give me a break...I did come up with it after a little thinking.  But it appears the problem has gotten worse...and we will never tell him this story.  But apparently his school sports physical was lost because someone had checked the female box on the physical form.  OOPS!  But also shame on the doctor who didn't notice that they were actually examining a male and shame on the person who put him on the girls' list and actually typed "Gavin" on that list.  It appears that everyone around here is a bit foggy...not just me.
•  If you don't eat food with preservatives, you live in a rural area and you have issues with organization...you could starve to death...just saying! 
• I am on the look out for Crispin Natural Hard Pear Cider.  A handy internet tool told me that it was available just a mere 225 miles away on tap at a bar.  Ok ... I was kinda thinkin' I would like to drive to a store and buy a 6 pack.
• This is bad for a librarian to say....but ok kids... quit reading the book before the movie and chatting about the all the differences....shut up and watch the movie!
• I have never been to PF Changs....never ever.  I am going this weekend.  You better live up to my expectations!
• Two kids will be off to college next week and two will be left home.  My oldest at home can't drive yet.  This can't be possible... I am back to square one.  No driver in the house again. The horrors that used to plague me are returning. I should be allowed some sort of emergency dispensation waiver so she can get her license and transportation issues can proceed as usual!

Clean eating - Our Adventure

My original plan was to post what we are eating each day.  Haha... That is just not gonna happen.  So below is an overview of some of the stuff I have made. We have also made some basic changes:

• We use olive oil...and only in small amounts
• We use coconut oil and also make popcorn only on the stove top in coconut oil
• We only eat wheat, rye or whole grain bread...bakery fresh when possible
• We limit sugar, but when we do bake a treat we use organic cane sugar
• We try to use whole grain or veggie pasta whenever possible but if we use white noodles we buy organic.  and we use lots of quinoa.
• We eat lots of fresh veggies and fruit
• We eat pretzels and all natural crackers and bagel chips.
• We eat only all natural cheese, cottage cheese and sour cream.
• We use real honey and real maple syrup.
• We use white unbleached flour and substitute in as much whole wheat flour as possible.

I am still trying to figure out how to make good whole grain bread in my bread machine.  I have not had good luck.  everything comes out like a brick!

1) You gotta have a little fun...pear beer.  The only ingredient is pear juice, that has fermented  2) chocolate chip cookies made with whole wheat flour dark choc. chips and organic cane sugar. 3) Veggie sandwich with fresh mozzarella, avacado, garden veggies on marble rye

1) All natural alfredo sauce from a jar, with shrimp on brown rice and sauteed onions, mushrooms and squash  2) hamburger patty with mushrooms and onions on marble rye and fresh beans from the garden 3) a hotdog with natural casing on a whole wheat bun with cucumber salad and homemade baked olive oil and sea salt fries.

1) grilled chicked breast with romaine lettuce and parmesan cheese,  grill corn on the cob and red skin potatoes with olive oil and seasonings cooked in foil on the grill.

We live in a very rural area and finding fresh ingredients that aren't processed has been hard.  I tend to shop almost every day after work.  Not a big trip ...just a quick stop at the local grocery store to grab fresh ingredients.  Bread has been a real challenge... everything is processed, even the "fresh bread" made in the bakery at the grocery store.  It is really made from packaged dough with preservative ingredients.  We have a small restaurant that makes bakery bread but it is too soft and we don't like it. Hopefully I can figure out the bread machine and get a good healthy recipe.  If you have any whole wheat or multi-grain bread machine recipes please share them with me. I also am constantly stalking Pinterest for clean recipes.  Our other issue has been fresh juice with out added sugar or preservatives.  We have found some but for any type of selection we have to drive to the next larger city which is about 35 minutes away.  We usually make a weekly or bi-weekly trip out of town, but with fresh ingredients and no preservatives there is no stocking up unless you can freeze it. We try to eat organic, food that hasn't been genetically modified, and food without chemical preservatives added.  This is basically a complete change from the way we have been eating and the way most of america eats.  It is really sad, all the junk we used to eat.  We have learned that real food fills you up better, you can eat surprisingly more than you think and still loose weight and that we just feel much better.