Project: Food Budget - Week Four

Goal: $50

Actual: $20.59 (Giant)
Actual: $37.13 (Weis)

Bonus Card Savings: $3.36

After taking some time to browse through the weekly flyers I saw significant savings just by buying some of my produce from Weis versus Giant.  Luckily, Weis isn’t too far out of my way, so after picking up a few things from Giant I made my way to Weis.  Though when it comes to other items Weis is not the place to go, but as I review the prices of the products I buy on a regular basis I will begin narrowing the stores I shop at and get to know more of the stores set up so I can be more efficient when I’m shopping.  Though I should have grabbed the blueberries from Giant.   The paper said Weis had them for 2.99 a pint, however, when I went to the resister I had to void 2 items.  1) Blueberries, which turned out to be 4.99 a pint and 2) My Naturally More Almond Butter.  I thought that both the Almond butter and Peanut butter were 2/$5, however it was just the pb.  I felt bad having to void it, but I wasn’t paying 5.99 for that.  By returning the pb and the 2 pints of blueberries I saved $15.97 from my grocery bill.

Produce Savings by buying at Weis verus Giant:
Eggs: $.99 vs. $1.49
Greep Peppers: $10/$10 vs $1.99/lb
4lb bag of Oranges: $3.99 vs. 4.99

I did spend more money on the Avocado at $1.89 each and the Large Seeded Grapes totally 6.25 for the bag.  They are so good though I couldn’t help but splurge on them.

(will add later)

Meal Plan:
* Breakfast

* Post-Workout

* 10am Post-Workout Meal

* 1pm Snack
 
* 4pm Snack

* 7pm Dinner

Staples Purchased:
#1 Naturally More PB $2.50 (saved $.49)
#1 Ziploc Round Storage  Containere $2.89
#1 Ziploc Take Along Rectangle Food Storage $3.39

I’m not sure if I saved anything by buying the storage continners at Weis, but they came in pretty handy this week.

Overall Week:
I did better with my budget, but clean eating I did stray a bit from my original meal plan due to being stressed out about a few things.   

Project: Food Budget
Read about Project: Food Budget challenge.

Please check out these wonderful blogs, and give them support as they take on this challenge.
Participating blogs:
    * Emily Levenson
    * Veggie Converter
    * Dairy-Free Cooking
    * Veggie Burgher
    * The Happy Cactus
    * Test Kitchen Tuesday
    * Newly Vegan
    * Veggie on the Cheap
    * MeloMeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day
    * The Veggie Life
    * Caroline Cain Holistic Health
    * Going Veggie
    * Under The Apple Tree
    * Be the Change

smells like a healthy choice

I had an itch to go running today, especially with it being such a beautiful day that I couldn't help even at the evening hour of 7:30 driving to city island so I could run along riverfront Park.  I couldn't help but smile when I came across the entry sign that greeted me with "Free Parking Today! Have a Great Day!."  There were so many people there, so I hoped that this was a good sign that the weather would hold up.

I didn't want to go to far, especially since I had already gone to the gym this morning, so I set my run keeper and decided that I would only do 2 miles as I made my way toward the bridge. 

I surprisingly followed my plan in which turned out to be a great way to see some of my friends as on my way back to the park I was surprised to see a friend of mine walking toward me.  He and his roomie were just heading out for a nice evening walk. We chatted for a few and then went on our way.

image source

I ran for most of the trail, but did take some time to just walk and catch my breath.  I'm really trying to get myself outside to run so I can work up my endurance, because it's just not the same when your running on the treadmill.  I would love to work up to my 10 mile goal this year and know I've really worked for it, but challenging myself with running outside.

I was glad to see the bridge and knew that I was almost to my 2 mile mark.  I stopped at the bottom of the stairs to stretch my calves, especially since they were feeling a little tight and then headed toward my car where I finished my stretches.  Halfway through my stretches a runner passes by and it was someone I knew.  I love the fact that I decided to go out running late and still managed to see my friends also making the decision to make healthy choices.  It really does make my heart happy.  Once my friend stopped at his car to grab his post-workout drink he made his way over where we chatted for a good while about running and our other social actives.

It was a very fantastic night and I'm super dupper glad that I decided to run tonight and I even ran into two more friends when I stopped at the gym to clean up.

linen fresh

I was pleasantly surprised to see the sun out this morning and gladly took advantage by hanging my laundry on the line. I began my first load around 8am and an hour later headed outside with my basket of towels and cloth pins looking forward to the smell of fresh linens.

I remember fighting with my mom about hanging the cloths on the line and today I was happy as a lark to be able to. Maybe it's because I'm more appreciative of these things now that I'm older, but I also know that God has been making little changes in my heart to match up with His plans. Just the thought of it makes me giggle as I know that these will take me to the next step.

 IMAGE SOURCE

While my linens were washing I started to prep a few meals that I had on hand one being preparing my wheat berries for my Creamy Wheat Berry Cereal----super excited for. Though time went by pretty quick and the next thing I knew the clock stroke 10 and I hadn't even washed my face yet or gotten out of my jammies and so I began to freshen up to prepare for my walk with a friend.   I was disappointed that I didn't get everything done, but I only needed to finish baking my muffins and mix together a black bean salad so I figured I could take care of that later.  I was a little later, but it was necessary so I could help out my roomie.  She needed some things moved from the yard so she could finish mowing.  I met my friend at our rescheduled time of 11:30am and we made our way toward front street to walk along the river.

It was a beautiful day and I'm glad we were able to enjoy it and take the time to catch up, because it's been awhile since we last saw each other.  Our first mile was a brisk run, but then feathered out to a walk for the last 3. 

I heart thee (birts bees) chapstick

Ever since spring came along I've not been taking my jacket and since I typically workout in the morning I don't have a standard place to put my chapstick.  This has really been a dilemma, especially since I keep misplacing it and without a designated home I am afraid this is going to be an ongoing problem.  Uggg.

Today I found my chapstick in a running jacket that I keep at work.  Haha, still in the pocket, go figure! 

The sad thing is that it;s costing me money since I've had to buy 2 new ones, because I keep forgetting where I put it. 

I remember in High School and many years later I was a chapstick brand user, but about 5 years ago moved to soft lips, which I have recently traded in for Berts Bees Replenishing Lip Balm.  I love it and don't know how I used the other brands for so long.

 

 IMAGE SOURCE

Project: Food Budget - Week three

Goal: $50

Actual: $62.02 (Giant) 

Bonus Card Savings: $13.68

This was another challenging meal prep with trying to balance everything out (45P/45C/10HF).  I need to find an easier way to do this and save money so I can begin to buy supplements.  Then things escalated when I got to the grocer and realized I wasn't going to have enough time to cook any of my meals, so I had to think of some alternatives.  Luckily, I still have a ton of leftovers from last week that I was able to use.

Original Plan: * Breakfast:      Overnight Oat Berries+Cereal     * Post-Workout     Protein Cookie * 10am Post-Workout Meal     Black Bean Oat Burger * 1pm Snack     Yogurt Bowl * 4pm Snack     banana + pb * 7pm Dinner    Teriyaki Tempeh + Brown Rice

Adjusted Plan * Breakfast:      Overnight Oat Berries + Cereal * Post-Workout     Protein Shake * 10am Post-Workout Meal      Cottage Cheese      Cherry tomatoes (leftovers) * 1pm Snack     Yogurt Bowl * 4pm Snack     Power Toast (leftovers) * 7pm Dinner      Tuna + Cucumber + ww WASA      + Red Wine Vinegar + Carrots

Staples Purchased:

#1 Sugar in the Raw $2.89
#1 Giant Vinegar $0.85
#2 Strawberries (32oz for 3.89) Going to freeze one package
#1 Burt's Bees Lip Gloss $2.69
#1 Sports Creme $6.49
#1 Antibiotic Creme $3.66
#1 large Quaker Oats 1-min oats $3.69
#1 Bobs Red Mills Wheat Berries $2.99

Total Staples: $23.26 (not including the strawberries)

Project: Food Budget

Read about Project: Food Budget challenge.

Please check out these wonderful blogs, and give them support as they take on this challenge.

Participating blogs:

• Emily Levenson
• Veggie Converter
• Dairy-Free Cooking
• Motor City Girl In the Steel City
• Veggie Burgher
• The Happy Cactus
• Test Kitchen Tuesday
• Newly Vegan
• Veggie on the Cheap
• MeloMeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day
• A Guy, A Girl, And a Dinner Plate
• The Veggie Life
• Caroline Cain Holistic Health
• Going Veggie
• Be the Change

it's become second nature

Do I sleep in, or workout, sleep in or workout............ahhhhh..................
I kept going over these two options last night for a good 20 minutes.  Sleep I definitely lost trying to determine what to do for my rest day.  It's kind of funny considering over a year ago I would have easily chosen to sleep in.  However, now a days it's a challenge, because I love working out so it's become second nature to set my alarm early for a workout.  It's an addicting drug I don't ever want a cure for, but I do need to learn to take a break so I did finally decide to sleep in. Plus, I knew if I'd gone it wouldn't have been a rest day.


I  need to keep repeating over and over again until it finally sinks in:
Rest Day = a day for my muscles to recover from all the abuse I put them through at the gym.


So far this challenge has been helpful in other areas that I'm weak in; like consuming enough protein.  I'm pretty sure that's why I've had D.O.M.S. so often, because those are the days I forgot my protean shakes and wasn't able to eat anything until 4-5 hours after my workout.    Consuming enough protein is a huge struggle for me, mainly because it's harder to have amount of protein you can get in a small amount of meat.  I  know that if I was more educated in Vegan-Vegetarian Protein this wouldn't be an issue., but I'm not there yet.  So this week, I've made sure to incorporate a lot of meat; Chicken Breast and tTlapia  Do you have any suggestions for ways to consume more protein without throwing off my carbs and not having to eat so much meat?


My goal is to be between 1550-1650 calories on days that I'm working out with a 40/40/20 ration (152g of Carbs and Protein + 32g of fat).  I also have come to realize that I need to lower that number on my rest days since I wont be as active.  Though I find it frustrating, because it seems like the only way to achieve this balance is with meat and veggies and it doesn't leave much room for incorporating recipe meal, which tend to jump my carbs far more than my protein killing the balance.


I was looking forward to 4:30pm when I would meet my hairdresser.  ahhh, now I feel better and my hair is manageable again.  I've been blessed with super thick hair, but it makes it hard to keep styled so I purposely  have it thinned out and styled very similar to the picture below.   However, I really have been liking how my hair looks with the help of the flatiron that I'm curious to see what it would look like longer, so today I just opted to just go with a basic trim and a major thin out. 

I really did accomplish a lot today, even a trip to ashcomb farms so I can get an idea of the financial impact to start a garden.  Now that I have a yard I really want to take advantage of being able to grow some of my favorite fruits and veggies.  I want to keep it simple,  so I'll be planting cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, blueberries and strawberries.  Though I may be tempted to add heirloom peppers if they're available.  At only 1.99 a plant it's not going to be a huge impact on my budget.

cauliflower plants at Ashcomb.  I really wanted to pick up a few.

I even made it home before dark and managed to get some cooking done.
* Cooked pasta and brown rice
* Marinated and baked my tempeh
* Grilled Chicken breast and tilapia seasoned with Caribbean Citrus& from
  Mrs. Dash on my George foreman

Goals this week:
* Adjust meal plan-calorie intake on rest days.
* Actually REST on my rest day
* Buy 4 more sets of the divided Tupperware (pictured above) for my meals as
  they are super handy.

The beginning of a new challenge

It's day 2 of my 12-week transformation and I'm feeling pretty good and keeping focused. I did sway from my meal plan for Dinner last night as my roommate made dinner and it was just so yummy. Plus, it meant I didn't have to cook, but I really do need to prepare my Tempeh, but I think I will do that Wednesday night.

I've been logging my food at FitClick and finalizing my workout log.  Today I put together most of it, but I still need to add in my measurements: before + the picture and then transfer my Monday and Tuesday Workout to the notebook.  I simply used a comp book and then hand wrote some key notes from the plan for review and then printed out my daily logs and glued each day to a page in the comp book.  I tried gluing it, but the glue soaked through so tapping it was the cleaner method. 

Here are some sneak pics to show what I did and really how simple I kept it, which is a challenge for me to do.

Tomorrow is my rest day,so that's either planning a meal, cooking or doing yoga/stretching before the day ends.  I do have some light cooking I need to do with my Tempeh and I need to grill more chicken and Tilipia for the rest of the week, but other than that it will be an easy day.  I am thinking about talking an easy walk either on the Treadmill or if it's not raining during lunch and maybe spending some time in the sauna.