Healthy Eating on a Budget

I don’t have many tips but I have done a little research on healthy eating on a lower income. And maybe I’ll come up with some more ideas as I’m writing this. That’s how I roll peeps. I just pull things out of my ass and hope for the best!

So I live on a pretty limited income. Especially after removing money for things like bills and gas money and it is a struggle to eat healthy if you don’t know what you’re doing. Especially if you don’t have time.

I must admit that I got a little lax with my cooking because I have so much going on. I love to cook. It’s a calming thing for me. The cleaning isn’t though. I hate that part. And my mom can attest to that. and I think with everything going on and the lack of space and a dishwasher, I just feel like its more convenient to grab something out.

I will admit, my mom and I eat out too much. It gets too late and we do the whole, “what do you want for dinner?” “I don’t know what do you feel like.” spiel. Then we finally say lets just go grab something.

I’m getting off topic so let me get back to the subject.

So. Buying healthy things can really add up. Trust me I’m still trying to work through it myself. But I thought I’d share the little bit I have learned so far to pass it on because I know there are plenty of us that could use the advise.

Farmers Markets- if you are lucky enough to live near one, anyway. They seam really popular right now so I’m guessing most people do… Being in Sacramento, we live near a LOT of farms so we have quite a selection of farmers markets to choose from.

The great thing about them is you are buying straight from the growers which makes it cheaper and you can get recipes and ideas of how to cook or eat what they’re selling.  Most of them let you try a sample of their produce as well.

You can find foods other than fruits and vegetables too.  The big one we have in downtown Sacramento has florists selling both cut flowers and potted plants, different vendors selling nuts, honey, lavender, cheese, baked goods, and meats and fish too.

The markets I have been to have a wide selection of seasonal fruits and vegetables and I am able to walk around and find the best looking and best prices before choosing who I buy from.

Another great thing about farmers markets is that you can sometimes find less common fruits and vegetables that you can’t find in a regular grocery store. Which would be good if you were adventurous enough. I can go on and on about farmers markets.  Maybe I’ll do a day trip post on one or two of the markets in Sacramento.

Plan, Plan, Plan- I know, I know, easier said than done BUT there are so many benefits to planing meals. Not only are you preparing yourself for what you’ll eat so you aren’t thrown for a loop at any particular time, (and I know, shit happens, but that’s implied.) and in turn it helps you by knowing what you need to get at the store.

Lists- Pretty much goes along with the planning. It helps SO much to write down what you need because it helps to prevent impulse buying. Just keep to your list and get to the check out line.

Don’t go to the store hungry!- it’s one of the worst things you can do both money and health wise. If you do go in hungry everything will look good to you and before you know it you have several bags of chips, a case of cup o soup, and 3 pound-cakes in your cart, and that’s just the start of it!

Coupons, Deals, Etc.- there are less and less coupons out there as grocery stores are opting for club cards or whatever, but take a look at the free adds that come in the mail for your local grocery stores, and you’ll find all of their weekly deals.  You can even plan a meal or two around what’s on sale before going to the store. (don’t forget to write it on the list)

Bulk Buying- A lot of grocery stores (especially specialty stores like Whole Foods, not that that is a good example of saving money despite my love for that store…) have bulk sections where it’s cheaper and you can choose the amount of what you need.  Mainly there are options like different kinds of flours, nuts, seeds, and a few other things.

Costco- I love Costco. And I know sometimes Costco doesn’t actually have the greatest deals, but often times they are great, especially for staple items, especially spices you use a lot.  We always get paper towels and Kleenex there because it’s always the best price and you don’t have to buy all that often (unless you have a huge family…)

Trader Joe’s- I’m giving TJ’s it’s own spot because it is my aboslute favorite grocery store and they have fantastic prices.  Be wary though that not all of their foods are great, but they do have a lot of staples that you can’t get anywhere else.  They have the best price on spices (although not the largest selection, but they are good for basic spices) and other staple items like olive oil, cheese (they have great cheese there), certain fruits and vegetables (I’m wary of where my produce comes from, I try to get it from California as much as I possibly can.) Anyway, I can go on and on and on but I won’t.

So that’s all I can think of right now but I’m sure there’s a lot more so I may have a part 2 coming up in the not too distant future, but for now, I’m past my bed time!

Self Esteem or Lack Thereof

I don’t think this will come as a surprise to anyone reading this wether you’ve read my blog once or twice, or if you know me in real life, but I have a serious problem with my self esteem. I mean it is non existent. I am so totally uncomfortable if someone compliments me in anyway. I don’t believe them. I think they are just being nice. When it comes to my family, I feel they are obligated to say nice things about me.

It’s something that I’ve dealt with all my life. It basically started in school. I was not popular. I was picked on quite a bit. At the very least l, the kids would give me a hard time for things. I went to a private Catholic School in the Bay Area and I was basically the short, fat, poor kid in class. Now I’m not going to say it was everyone because it wasn’t. I had a handful of kids there I felt truly were my friends. One in particular was one of my best friends and will always be dear to me.

The worst was actually the principle of our school, Sr. Delores or as my mom called her, Big D. She was always giving me a hard time for things. Called me a liar to my face because I was a confused young child and though my brother might need a heart transplant instead if a heart valve transplant, and there were plenty of other situations.

So the whole thing helped lead me to having negative feelings about not only my weight and what I looked like but myself as a person.

To this day I am terrified to say or even think anything positive about myself because if I did, someone will surely laugh and contradict my opinion then make fun of me for even thinking someone positively about myself.

Am I making sense? I feel like I’m just rambling but I just need to get this out.
I don’t know how to change the way I feel. I think a part of me wants to stay this way because it is familiar. But I d any continue this way. I’ll surely end up alone and regretting a lot in my life if I do.

Later…

Detox Fail

I know this was a couple of weeks back but I thought I’d let you know how it went.

I made it to half of my lunch drink and I couldn’t stomach it anymore. It wasn’t the taste although it wasn’t good to me either, it was the texture. I couldn’t get over it. So I ate as many of the fruits and vegetables as I could before they went bad.

I’m not the only one in our group that didn’t get through it and we all decided that the lunch one was the worst. But don’t not do it because I didn’t like it. And, I am still planning on having a smoothie for breakfast at least once or twice a week, depending on the recipes I find.

I started out today by having one with 2 cups of frozen raspberries, 1 cup of 1% milk, 1/2 cup coconut milk (needed more liquid, and I should have put even more in than that as it was hard to fully blend it up), 2 packets of splenda, and 1 scoop’s worth of this Vanilla flavored protein powder they sell at Whole Foods.

I didn’t want to buy a whole container because it was $30! There has to be some cheaper protein power out there! The smoothie was good. It lasted me long enough. I had a morning snack around 10:30 but that’s not a bad thing. I am going to look at Trader Joe’s because i know they have several choices there and see how much theirs costs. Maybe I’ll do some research online too and see what people tend to like. I was using Weight Watchers smoothie mix before which probably had protein in it but I can’t remember and I’m sure it had 1,000 more ingredients in it as well…

Other than that, I’ve lost 2 pounds since starting the weight loss challenge at work. Not wonderful but it’s something at least. I need to get out and move more. I ran out of my allergy medication so my allergies over the last two days have wiped me out and my nose is officially raw from all of the itching and blowing my nose. And there’s been no relief, it’s just all freeking day…

Better Life started an 8-week weight loss challenge as well so I’m being kept in check on all sides which is good. I need someone to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Anyway, my dad’s birthday was last Saturday so we went down to St. Helena to go visit his grave and walked around for a bit before having dinner. It was a really nice day. I wish we could spend more time in Napa. I love it there so much. It’s like going home for me because there’s so much family history there.

We did take a detour to San Jose to pick something up for my mom and we stopped into Barnes and Noble while we were down there and I had a total geek fest by finding the following while I was there.

Yes, that is Doctor Who Yatzee, and yes I got it!  I was so excitied that I found it and my brother looks at me and says, “God, you’re a nerd.” And this is something I already know!  He didn’t mean anything bad by it, I thought it was funny! He’s a nerd to in his own right and it’s cool to be a nerd now-a-days! Oh by the way, I totally love Doctor Who now. I know I haven’t mentioned it before but now ya know!

A whole freaking wall of Doctor who stuff!  It’s for their 50th Anniversary I’m sure.  I’m still catching up and I’m in the middle of the 4th Season I’m sad to say because I don’t want to see the 10th Doctor go. (NERD!)

Oh lookie, Beatles stuff!  That would be for my best friend who LOVES the Beatles!  I showed her the pictures and she was very excited about it and wished they sold the Beatles Monopoly game in Bristol where she lives.  I’m sure they have to be selling it SOMEWHERE in England or in the UK.  But as she said, she’s kind of out in the boonies.

After our stop in San Jose, we traveled back up to St. Helena.

I absolutely love the Wine Country.

This is the old Oakville Grocery store that my grandmother used to shop at when she lived in St. Helena with her family.

We stopped by a grocery store in St. Helena when we got thereand got some daffodils to put on my dad’s grave.

When we were done, we parked off Main Street and went into Baksheesh, a neat little Fair Trade store, before going to dinner.

Caesar Salad

Hanger Steak with potatoes au gratin and asparagus.  My mom and i both had this but the steak had quite a few of those white tendons (is that what it is?) going through the steak which made it kind of tough, but they were awesome and took both of our meals off of the tab.  Their food is amazing so don’t let this hinder your choice if you’re in the area.  And as you can see, they want you to be happy.

Of course something that never fails to make me drool.  Their homemade butterscotch pudding has a texture unlike anything I can describe.  It is one of the most incredible desserts I have ever eaten and I normally go straight to chocolate desserts at restaurants. It is completely amazing!

After dinner we started to head back home but we did have to make a stop at Dean & Deluca just to take a quick walk through.

I should have gotten this chocolate bar!

Then we were really on our way home.

Had to take a picture of the Wine Train as we drove by it.  I want to try it sometime.

I took tomorrow off so I could go to the Bay Area with my mom. I haven’t been to the Peninsula in a long time so I am looking forward to it. We’re spending the night at a hotel in Foster City and meeting my aunt (coming up from Fresno) and my uncle (lives in a home in South SF) for lunch, then probably head back home.

Not much else is going on so I think I’ll just quit while I’m ahead. I’ll keep posting more as my progress with the Weight Loss Challenge goes along.

Thanksgiving Trip 2012- Part 1- Thanksgiving Day

I’m aware of the fact that I’m about 5 months late with this, but you aren’t surprised are you?

We started off driving down Thanksgiving Day morning, and stopped off at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  It’s been our tradition for a long time, and I absolutely love being there.

Highway 92 heading west towards Highway 1 to drive along the coast.

Highway 1 driving along the Pacific Coast.  The thing I miss most about living in the Bay Area.

We got to the Aquarium around noon, and the weather was unusually warm.  We’re used to 40 degree weather during this time of year which I missed but I’m not complaining!

We started off as usual in The Open Sea area, which is my favorite.

You first come upon the jelly fish exhibit.  They are so beautiful and graceful looking.

Up next in the Open Sea is this gigantic fish tank with a lot of different kinds of fish, as well as small sharks, and pictured here, a couple of Sea Turtles.

There was a much smaller tank nearby with some tropical looking fish.

Up next in the Open Sea area is the Seahorses Exhibit.  It’s amazing how many different types of seahorses there are.

This is, in fact, a seahorse you are looking at.

 This teeny tiny seahorse was about the size of my pinky nail…

Then we went outside to take a look at the bay.

Up next was a temporary Jelly Fish exhibit with other kinds of jelly fish not normally shown at the aquarium.  The music in this area had a 60s acid trip Jimmy Hendrix sort of vibe to it.

Nick attempting to have his picture taken…  Didn’t work out…

 Once we were done in the Open Sea area, we headed across the bridge to the other side of the aquarium where the rest of the exhibits are.

You can see into the main gift shop while  you’re on the bridge.

This is their largest tank I believe and it’s called the Kelp Forest.

Nearby are the penguins.

Then we went to the Coral Reef area which is always filled with children.  This is after all, where you can find Nemo and Dory.

Nearby is the aviary exhibit, which is sort of an indoor/outdoor area.  There are open windows for fresh air for the birds.

Outside you can see a small cove where, in certain seasons, you can go snorkeling and look at different fish.

After the aquarium, we headed off to the inn and got ready for Thanksgiving dinner at Fandango in Pacific Grove.

 

Forgot to take pictures of the food but it was a typical Thanksgiving dinner, so use your imagination. Okay that’s it for Thanksgiving day in Carmel, I will try my best to get the rest of the trip out as soon as I can.

Weight Loss Challenges

I found out today some people in our office decided to do another Weight Loss Challenge. It’s starting on Monday and will go for 8 weeks. Everyone participating puts $20 into the pot. The person with the largest percentage of wig gloss is winning all of the money.

The first time they did this I decided not to participate for reasons unbeknown to me. This time I am biting the bullet and going for it. I’m kicking it off with another challenge that a few fellow Better Life members are doing as well.

He Better Life group is going to do Dr. Oz’s 3-Day Detox “diet”. It’s a liquid diet but you are getting in a ton of fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats. You can find more info and a checklist of what you’ll need here.

I think this will be a good kick off for me and if I like it, I may decide to have a juice drink one meal a day. I’m definitely going to have to do some planning but I really want to do this.

So with that being said, other things are going okay. I’m loving my fitbit. I still haven’t gotten to 10,000 steps yet but I’ll get there. My mom and I have taken a couple of walks at the park nearby. It has a really nice trail and it’s really close.

See? Pretty!

I’m going down to Fresno for Easter and I’m really looking forward to it. And, right now I’m sitting with foil in my hair at the salon.

See? Not so pretty…

Anyway she’s about ready to take them out so I’m going to shut off for today. Later!

Gallbladder Fun

So, 1/2 of this weekend was fun.  The other 1/2 not so much.  I had another gallbladder attack, and since it was in the early evening before urgent care closed I decided I better go.  Long story short, they shipped me off to the ER and I had some ultrasounds and blood work done and they told me I have gall stones but for now I’m okay.  I may need to get it removed in the future but for now I have to stick to a low-fat diet.

I got home at 1 am and I’m up posting this right now before I go to sleep.  I am taking tomorrow off to give myself a rest and I’m going to have to make a serious plan for eating lower fat foods.  They gave me some information that I’m going to share with you below on what I should eat and what I should stay away from.  Also, what the gallbladder’s purpose is and why I’m getting gall stones.  Well, I don’t know WHY I have them per-say but I know why I get the attacks.

So, first what the gallbladder does.  It stores bile created in the liver and the bile breaks down fat, and there is the reason I need to be on a low-fat diet.  The stones begin as small crystals and slowly grow into stones.  The pain occurs when the gallbladder spasms and the gallstones block the port of the gallbladder.  That’s basically it.  There’s not much more to it. And they told me to take Advil if I have another attack, but if it gets really bad I can always come back.

I also have to give some paperwork to my doctor when I see her and follow a low-fat diet. I have to stay away from fried foods and fast food. And lower my intake of cheese, fatty and processed meats, etc. that is high in fat, saturated-fat, and cholesterol.

They gave me a list of what I should stick with and how much.

So that’s the gist of my Sunday, I’ll try to get something out tomorrow on something I just got that I’m excited to talk about and a few other things.

Good night!

Mardi Gras

Well I’m down another 1.2 pounds! I’m so excited! I’m down a total of 8.8 pounds!

I didn’t stay for the meeting as I had an emergency situation and I had to leave early. I do know they were going totally about weighing and measuring and I have all of those tools so it was okay to miss.

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. I didn’t give anything up last year, to be honest I haven’t been much of a practicing Catholic for a while now. I’m kind of struggling with it all. Not in my faith in God. But I should start going to mass again.

Anyway, I have decided to at least give something up. I am giving up sweets as I normally did and I’m giving up soda. I don’t drink regular soda but I do like my diet and it isn’t good for you either so I want to give my body a break from that. I’m also putting fast food on the list even though I stopped that. I want to make sure I stick with not eating it.

I went to my second Better Life meeting and we talked about different sugars and had a blind taste test of a couple of products one of each containing sugar and high fructose corn syrup. It was interesting.

Well it’s now 11 pm so I should get to bed. Later!