I keep this blog ‘o mine up and running for a number of reasons:
1. Around Thanksgiving every year the Yes, You Can Make Pumpkin Pie Without Evaporated Milk post gets a lot of web traffic, and frankly, that just cracks me up. (The traffic to that post basically pays for the annual web hosting fees to keep this whole thing going, so why the heck not.)
2. The Intermittent Fasting post continues to be visited regularly as well, and I still love IF and want to keep that post up too.
I get a kick out of eating Brussels sprouts. In my mind, they are famous for being the most disgusting vegetable someone might ever threaten a child (or picky adult) with having to eat.
When I discovered that Brussels sprouts are not disgusting or gross, there was only one logical conclusion that I could make about myself:
I like Brussels sprouts, therefore, I am a bad ass.
Before I continue to congratulate myself on my vegetable badassery, allow me to whisper the secret to enjoying Brussels sprouts if you don’t already know it.
**
Perhaps you’re a regular smoothie drinker, or perhaps you’re on a smoothie hiatus for the winter. Either way, I was recently amazed at the way the right combo of spices can turn an otherwise ordinary banana and milk smoothie into a Chai masterpiece.
If you like chai and you like smoothies, this is your drink.
Actually, this was my drink. You are going to have to make your own.
I recently happened upon this chai latte coconut almond smoothie through my Internet (err, Pinterest) travels. My version is definitely “inspired by” that recipe, but the beauty of this chai smoothie concept is that you can take cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and black pepper to chai-ify (new word!) any smoothie you might already make.
I’ve been on a muesli kick for the last two weeks or so.
And just in time, because pumpkin seeds are on the list of healthy, affordable foods – and pumpkin seeds go great in muesli!
If you aren’t in the know, muesli is a cereal combo (usually) made with oats, nuts, seeds and dried or fresh fruit. Bananas have been my fresh fruit of choice lately, but frozen, thawed strawberries have been known to make an appearance in my bowl too.
(It’s Friday night and I’m writing about oatmeal. See –> “this post is random.”)
With all the reading and blogging I’ve done about eating less grains and cutting down on carbs, I have a confession to make.
I still love oatmeal.
I know, I know, who cares! It’s just oatmeal. The world has much bigger problems than this. But it sort of feels like a dirty carb secret. I READ GRAIN BRAIN! I’VE READ THE PALEO BOOKS! I’m not supposed to like oatmeal anymore!
But I do. I admit it. Sometime I eat oatmeal. Love me.
This is the container of spinach I typically buy from Wegmans.
For $3.99 you get 3.5 (2 cup) servings. $3.99 divided by 7 cups of spinach works out to be $0.53 cents per cup. This is in line with the spinach price listed in the 44 Healthy Food Items Under $1.
Spinach and kale are among the dirty dozen – I rarely make an exception when it comes to buying leafy greens, I feel strongly about sticking with organic when it comes to spinach, lettuce, kale and the like. Conventional greens are said to be highly sprayed, spinach alone is covered with 48 different pesticides and chemicals. (ACK!)
Broccoli shows up at #37 in the list of 44 Healthy Foods Under a $1 and this is at least true for conventional broccoli – organic tends to be more expensive.
Broccoli is at low risk for pest invasion so it’s supposedly sprayed less than other vegetables, but the Environmental Working Group puts broccoli right in the middle list of their list of Fruits and Vegetables with Pesticide Residue (ordered from worst to best) – what’s a semi-paranoid produce penny pincher to do?
Yogurt is on the list of affordable healthy foods, but I have a good feeling that you’re not sitting there thinking “Oh Alison, please tell us more about this curious food item that I’ve never heard of before!”
Yes, yogurt is good for us – this is not news. But it’s also worth saying that not all yogurt is created equal. There are plenty of yogurt items in the dairy section that are not what I would call “healthy” by any stretch of the word. I recommend taking a close look at the label if you’re eating yogurt for the health benefits and put back anything that has an especially long list of ingredients or additives like coloring or flavors.
I eat eggs just about every day. They are easy to prepare, crazy good for you and there are approximately one gagillion different ways to use them. I completely agree that eggs are one of the healthiest foods on this planet and in my opinion, represent the pinnacle of affordable nutrition.
I try to buy pastured eggs from my local co-op or farmers at the markets because free range chickens produce eggs that are nutritionally superior to conventional eggs. When I don’t have time to get to the markets or the co-op, I do sometimes buy organic supermarket eggs, but it’s important to say that organic supermarket eggs are not the same as eggs you would get from a local farm or your own backyard.
I recently saw a quote that said:
The greatest prison people live in is the fear of what other people think.
Somehow, that resonates much deeper than the standard “don’t worry about what other people think” one liner. That just makes me think “don’t boss me.”
I mean, it’s probably not a bad idea to care a little bit about what other people think… especially if it motivates you to do things like brush your hair and to change out of your food splattered yoga pants before leaving the house. But maybe not caring so much that it paralyzes you from trying new things or being an authentic version of yourself. In that case, forget everybody. Do what you want! (Whoops, I think I’m bossing you.)
More Mama’s Weeds
