Weird how it’s on a Tuesday this year, but Monday isn’t a holiday… maybe if we all sign a petition, the government will declare a 5 day weekend?
Hey… a girl can dream.
Speaking of dream, these little treats are a dream come true! They are tiny (a favorite for kids), chilly (great on a hot summer day), and healthy (a win for everyone!). They take some prep time, just because you need to freeze the berries ahead. But you can also buy frozen blueberries, and have these babies ready to go way faster! Try different yogurt flavors, or different berries.
Step 1: Freeze your berries a few hours to overnight. This is so the yogurt sticks better and freezes faster. I’m not sure if this would work with fresh berries, I haven’t tried it. Or just use frozen berries.
Step 2: In a bowl, mix the yogurt and honey. Or use an already flavored and sweetened yogurt. Mix the berries around so they are coated on all sides, then use a fork to put them on a plate lined with wax paper. Freeze for at least 2 hours.
After they are frozen, you can put them in a bag or container. Then you can pull them out for any party, picnic, get-together, or afternoon snack attack. You can definitely feel at ease feeding these to little ones, and not at all guilty sneaking a few yourself. Go ahead and have 2 handfuls, these are super healthy for you!
Sometimes, the world gets you down. Every day we hear of new shootings, stabbings, bombings, hate crimes. It seems everywhere we turn, there is political dissent, unrest, dissatisfaction, and anger. People cut you off in traffic, break into a parked car, or lie in their online dating profiles.
But then, there are other days that give me hope.
Let me start by saying, if you pay for a parking pass, probably don’t ever remove it. Even if you think you’ll remember to put it back. Because you won’t. (or is that just me?)
So I went somewhere and cannot recall why at the moment but I took down my hanging parking pass. Just for the day. I swear I will put it back up on Monday.
Nope, totally forgot it at home.
I do pay for it, and am allowed to park in my lot. So I just followed my normal pattern and parked. I got lucky, and nothing happened. Ok, I’ll put it in my work bag, and remember to put it in the car on Tuesday.
Nope. Still forgot.
On the bus back to the lot, it’s in my bag, in the front pocket. Surely I will remember, because I have to go into that pocket to get my keys out. Well, that is also where my phone lives, and naturally I had to check my phone and play games on the bus.
Almost to the lot, the guy a row of seats behind me is talking. I’m reading my kindle, not paying attention. But the end of the conversation finally drills through my laser-like reading focus “…parking pass, guess I’ll turn it in if no one claims it…”
Uh oh
Check my bag, yup, sure enough the pass is gone. Must have fallen out when I checked my phone.
Everyone is filing off the now stopped bus, and in a panic, I whip around and raise my hand, like a kid in school. THAT’s MINE! I wave my hand around too, for good measure. He looks a bit startled, and then smiles and hands it over. I thanked him about a dozen times. As we walked down the steps he made some comment about “good thing, those are expensive to replace if you lose them!”
I put that bad boy up on the mirror the second I sat down.
It didn’t hit me until later, how sweet of this stranger to not just ignore it. Pretend he didn’t see it, say “it’s not my problem”. Or worse, take it and keep it, or throw it away.
The simple act of seeing it, knowing the significance, and pointing it out loudly hoping to find the owner, saved me a huge hassle and probably a large fee. I also had a warning ticket on my car, for “improper display of permit”. So I surely would have also had to pay a ticket in addition to a replacement fee if I hadn’t put the permit back up the next day. This stranger’s minute of time saved me potentially a hundred dollars.
I will likely not see that guy ever again, but I want to send out a THANK YOU to the universe. For every small, quiet, kind act. For every door held open for someone with their hands full. For every toll or cup of coffee you pay for a stranger behind you. For every smile, friendly hello, lending a quarter for the Aldi’s shopping cart.
We need more of these little moments of humanity, to restore the faith that we are a planet of kind people, who care about others, even if we don’t know them and never will. They are people just like us.
What can you do today, to make someone else’s day a little better?
Hey y’all! Welcome to the first edition of the new series Weekly Eating. Here is where I’ll talk about the week’s meal plan versus reality, what we ate for the week, and how we did budget-wise.
Monday:
Breakfast – 1 egg + egg whites omelet with the last 2 mini bell peppers, diced onion leftover from quesadillas & spinach
Lunch – leftover noodle stir fry with tofu & a soy sauce packet I found in my desk drawer
So simple, so delicious, and like 5 second clean up!
Snack: Popcorn! It’s no secret I’m a huge popcorn addict, but the homemade stove-top-popped stuff is WAY cheaper and (mostly) healthier so I don’t feel bad about eating a giant bowl full. I make a big batch, and pack it up in Zip-locks for days of happy snacking.
Tuesday:
Breakfast – drive thru breakfast wrap. Sometimes, you just cannot morning.
Snack – coconut almond Greek yogurt flip (I know, packaged brands are WAY too expensive but guys, seriously, this is SO GOOD! My mother-in-law got me hooked. I promise, I’m gonna try to find a way to make it myself cheaper, but for now, forgive me my guilty indulgence.) UPDATE: I did it! And so can you!
Lunch – leftover slow cooker black beans & rice & salsa from a weekend party. This was basically free because it was all bits of leftovers that ended up being amazing all together
Dinner – pasta with vodka pink sauce, leftover bread sticks, salad. The sauce was a little pizza sauce leftover from Saturday’s pizza night plus a 1/3 jar of alfredo rattling around the fridge with a tbsp of pasta cooking water to thin. I love using up all the bits of things to make something new and delicious! Plus not throwing away food makes my heart sing.
(Although, my heart later broke because I threw out a 1/2 pan of homemade tiramisu :,( We just didn’t eat it fast enough, and it got stale and dried out and gross. Mreow. Also tossed 1/2 a shortcake a friend had gotten me because strawberries aren’t green. And fuzzy.)
Wednesday:
Breakfast – everything Bagel Thin with 1 tbsp cream cheese
Lunch – miso soup. Honestly, I just had a couple chunks of tofu left from last week’s stir-Friday that I didn’t want to go to waste. And I keep a tub of miso in the fridge (it lasts basically forever) so I just stirred a tbsp into some water, added the tofu and the last few sheets from a seaweed snack pack (yes I’m a weirdo but that stuff is addictive!) and called it lunch.
On a whim, I sliced a couple super thin pieces of onion to add (red, since I didn’t have green) and that was a great decision! It was warm and tasty at my desk on a rainy day.
Dinner – One Pan Buffalo Chicken Potato Bake using leftover chicken I had cooked in the crockpot on Sunday. I did half sweet potatoes and half white potatoes with a bag of frozen “California mix” veggies (cauliflower, broccoli & carrots), Ranch dressing, hot sauce, and cheddar cheese.
Guys, this stuff is so freaking good, I had to have seconds!
Sorry not sorry.
Oh, and the hospital where I work has a Farmers Market every Wednesday! How cool is that?! I got a pint of a mixture of delicious heirloom cherry tomatoes, an itty bitty adorable cauliflower, and a big ol zucchini.
Lunch – leftover One Pan Buffalo Chicken Potato Bake. I can’t believe we demolished a 9×13 pan in 2 days… oh wait, yes I can. There’s a reason that’s my #1 post!
Snack – other half of the KIND bar (I brought hard boiled eggs, but turns out they were so old they became mushy by noon, and smelled awful. Whoops! It made me sad but I threw them out rather than risk food poisoning.)
Dinner – Chicken enchiladas! I had some roasted cauliflower from the market yesterday, and literally microwaved a cup of spinach to have on the side. Delicious and quite filling.
Friday:
Breakfast – cherry berry smoothie: frozen cherries + strawberries, 2 bananas (about to go bad), 1 cup orange juice, 1 scoop unflavored protein powder, 1 cup spinach. Blend for a long time until smooth.
Hubby loves waking up to a smoothie beside the bed! And I love sneaking in a serving of veggies before 9am 😉
Lunch – Panzanella with leftover homemade bread from last week, cucumber & cherry tomatoes from the farmer’s market.
This is a great example of a frugal use of leftovers, because who enjoys stale bread? But this way, the juices from the tomatoes and cucumber and olive oil (or Italian dressing) soaks in and mixes together with some fresh basil and spices it becomes a whole new delicious meal. I tossed in half an avocado too, because, duh.
Dinner – Stir Friday! This week we had garlic shrimp. AND I made my own Yum Yum Sauce! Sure did. If you haven’t had it, it totally lives up to its name.
I could probably eat half my weight in stir fried rice. For reals.
Saturday:
Breakfast – microwaved some spinach & egg whites, and put it on an everything Bagel Thin for a light, healthy breakfast before I went to a really cool rooftop yoga class downtown
Brunch – after yoga I met up with some friends to wander the Durham Farmers Market, and then we got a delicious brunch at Scratch. Oh, and the bacon jam, is totally my jam!
The Duck Egg Sandwich was outta this world, and the rosemary lemonade was so tasty it inspired me to go home and create some more fruity & refreshing beverages.
Blackberry mint lemonade (with berries from the market) and rosemary lemonade (with rosemary from my front yard!)
Dinner – Tacos at a friends house! Good food, good people, wine from Unique Pairings (which, if you’re ever in Myrtle Beach, definitely stop by!), and games combine for a splendid way to spend a summer evening. And all the food was provided, I just brought 2 bottles of vino!
Sunday:
To be determined, but I definitely plan to use up some of the goodies I got at the farmer’s market. Maybe a quiche or strata.
I’m also going to spend some time today making next week’s meal plan, using all the delicious fresh produce and trying to clear some space in our freezer. I’m aiming to not buy anything else food-wise this week except maybe some bananas (for the hubby’s addiction).
ALL THE PRODUCE!!! Nomnomnom
Total: ~$98
This is a rough estimate, because at markets where I use mostly cash it gets hard to keep track. Plus I buy things on sale or clearance and freeze or otherwise store for later use, so ‘weekly’ cost averaging can be tough.
For grocery stores, I only bought yogurt and milk and bananas this week, which is great. And I’m okay with spending a little more on fresh produce to support my local farmers! <3
My goal is to keep this number under $100 all the time, and eventually get down to $75/week for food.
Lessons Learned
So it seems this week was great in that we used up a lot of little bits and ends of leftovers, but we were also pretty wasteful with food. There were several things left over from parties that ended up in the trash. We aren’t big on sweets anyways, so we rarely buy or make them, and this just reinforces that knowledge.
When I make a big batch of something (like hard boiled eggs) I need to make sure I actually use it all up before it goes bad. I wouldn’t throw a $5 bill in the trash, but that’s exactly what I’m doing when I toss out old food.
How about you guys, did you have a great week or a learning week? Off to make a meal plan for next week!
We are always looking for ways to find balance. A healthy happy life should not be one of sacrifice and want. I cannot ever see myself being satisfied and happy on a diet of broiled chicken, raw vegetables, and salads alone. You need delicious things and things you love to keep life worth living.
But, you also know that if you enjoy 7-layer lasagna and gelato every day, this will lead to bad things. Sure, it’s tasty now, and totally fine once in a while. But when occasional indulgences become the everyday norm, it leads to weight gain, high cholesterol, hypertension, fatty liver disease, and diabetes.
What’s a health-conscious-delicious-food-lover to do?
Make this amazing, high protein, low fat treat to satisfy your cravings! A whole bowl has under 500 calories, yet more than 30 grams of protein. It has almost no fat, especially if you omit the walnuts (nuts are amazing protein sources, but they do pack a significant fat and caloric punch, so go easy on them). Yet it tastes just as thick and creamy as a decadent soft serve.
Whip up a double or triple batch to keep on hand for when the sugar monster hits hard!
Ingredients:
1 banana, frozen
1 banana, fresh
1 scoop protein powder
1 tbsp dark chocolate pieces
1 tbsp walnuts
2-3 tbsp milk
Step 1: In a strong blender, mix the frozen banana, fresh banana, and milk. You can also use water if you’re really watching calories, and use just one banana.
Step 2: Add the protein powder and a few of the chocolate pieces, to break them up. Pulse until well blended. Sprinkle nuts and chocolate on top, and enjoy!
If it’s too watery, pop it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. If the frozen banana won’t blend, add a tbsp water or milk at a time until it does blend.
You know how some days you are very excited about cooking, buy two dozen different ingredients, and spend hours in the kitchen creating the perfect culinary masterpiece? This recipe is not for that day. This recipe is for a day when you have no idea what to make, no energy to make something fancy, but still want a hot, healthy, filling dinner that also tastes great.
Oh, that’s every night? Good news, this is great for every night!
This recipe can work with fresh or frozen chicken; if using frozen just microwave for 3-4 minutes before putting it in the oven, and add about 15 minutes to the cooking time. You can also use thighs, or chicken leg quarters, but again add about 10 minutes to account for the bone. Cutting the breasts thinly into cutlets as I did means the cook time is the shortest, but you can also leave the breasts whole.
This recipe is super easy, requiring really only 3 ingredients. You can add on and be creative from there, especially with the flavorings. It is also very versatile in terms of a complete meal. It would go well with pasta, potatoes, a nice salad, steamed veggies, rice, quinoa, or couscous.
Whatever you have in the fridge to go along, they will probably be friends. I also use these easy and versatile recipes to stock up on sales on the good stuff when I see it, because I know I can always pull this recipe out when needed.
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
3-5 garlic cloves, diced
Juice of 2 lemons (about 4 tbsp)
Optional: fresh or dried herbs, I used parsley and rosemary
Step 1: Using a sharp knife, filet the breasts into thin pieces, about 1/2 – 1 inch thick. Layer in an oven-safe pan, and sprinkle on the garlic, lemon juice, and herbs, if using. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until there is no pink inside the chicken.
I used the same pan, and baked a pound of asparagus and quartered cabbage at the same time. Couscous takes just boiled water (in the microwave) and 5 minutes, so this whole meal was done and on the table in under 30 minutes!
You guys want to know a little secret about the Budget Epicurean?
I can’t believe I lived over 2 decades in Ohio, and never tried venison. It’s true.
I’ve had elk, and bison, and goat, and pheasant, and a whole bunch of other more exotic meats. But still no venison.
Until now.
I’m lucky enough to have a friend who knows a guy who hunts regularly. Turns out, excess deer population is a problem shared in North Carolina too. This seems to be a problem just about everywhere, as they now have almost no native predators to worry about. Their only concern is a too-fast passing car.
Deer will eat just about anything when they are hungry, and a rough winter or over-population means more infiltration into neighborhoods. We live between two big patches of forest, and they are well known to stroll through around dusk. They have decimated my pansies more than once, and I’ve already seen evidence of browsing on my brand new ivy and hostas as well.
So really, I’m doing us all, and myself a favor by eating deer meat!
Do us all a favor too, and make this recipe soon. If you or someone in the household doesn’t think they’ll like deer because it is “gamey”, you need to find a new supplier. Deer, when ground and spiced right, is totally delicious and almost indistinguishable from ground beef. If your store doesn’t carry venison, try a specialty meat market, or ask around. You never know who you know that might know a guy…
Ingredients:
1 pound venison (you could use any ground meat though)
1 cup mixed frozen vegetables
1/2 cup milk
2-3 tbsp flour
1 container biscuits (you could use mashed potatoes instead)
Garlic salt to taste
Step 1: Microwave the milk for 1 minute, whisk in the flour and let sit. Meanwhile brown the venison in a skillet. Add the frozen vegetables and let cook until just thawed.
Step 2: Spray the bottom of a round pie plate or 8×8 casserole dish. Pour in the meat mixture, and cover with the milk and flour mixture. Pop open the biscuits, and line the top with the dough.
Step 3: Bake at 350 on the bottom rack of the oven for 8-10 minutes, until the biscuits are nice and browned on top. Let cool for a minute, and enjoy.
[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:71]
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The fusion of food, fun, frugality, and curiosity.
