Friday's Resolution: Read a Food Label
Holy crap. Literally, a ton of crap. Like a lot of ridiculous CRAP is in food. Yes we knew this. Yes we have been eating as organically and unprocessed as possible, but I won't lie, our pantry still holds some "crappy" food items. I believe that everything in moderation is okay, but I'm starting to think (after reading a few labels) that not EVERYTHING is okay at all.
I stopped buying items that come in boxes, with the exception of Annie's Honey Graham Bunnies, a bag of pretzels, and Stacey's pita chips. I can't get away from the jars and cans yet, because honestly, I do not have time to make my own applesauce and such... not to mention it doesn't fit in with our grocery budget to buy a million apples to make the sauce from.
I found a recipe for homemade pretzel bites and will try to fit that into my never-ending day sometime :)
Anywho -- Point if this post: Read a label. I have made pancakes and waffles from box mixes for years, and we have recently switched over to a made-from scratch recipe for oatmeal batter. It is wonderful to know that our morning pancakes are made from oats :) However, we were still pouring Aunt Jemima's Syrup all over them! I just happened to grab the syrup and read the label. High fructose corn syrup is the FIRST ingredient. I told John and we went on the hunt. I found an all organic version for $9 (NINE DOLLARS). YAY RIGHT.... not in the budget. So I decided that there has to be a recipe out there somewhere right? Sure enough there are a million syrup recipes! I'm on it. If you have a homemade syrup recipe - please please share it and I'll try it and spread the syrup love!
Saturday: Visit the Flea Market for a DEAL!
Yes I rigged this resolution... hehehe... The Landlubber's Annual Flea Market took place Saturday, and we missed it by 2 months last year (We loved here in May). We have heard talk about the craziness that is this flea market. We laughed it off and assumed it wouldn't be crazy. John was out of town for work Friday-Saturday, and I thought I would pack the kids into the stroller and run the 3 miles to the flea market (at a church) location, walk around, buy a few cheap things, and run home. WHOA. The line opened at 9:00am and we arrived at 8:59am. There were 2,000 people in front of us. I am not making that number up. I actually asked the "line leader" - and then I started getting nervous. They released the line. I was watching this state of craziness ensue before my eyes. People were running, grabbing, stacking, pushing wagon fulls, etc... Before I even made it in, people were leaving with bicycles, lawn mowers, camping tents, strollers, beds, etc... I did have a slight panic attack as I tried making my way through the crowd toward tables of goodies with my double stroller and unprepared storage situation. I found the kid's section and watched in awe as a wagon FULL of games rolled by. I mean every game you can think of was in that wagon. (At $1 a pop, I would have bought them all too!) I suddenly snapped out of my state of shock and said, "Let's freaking DO THIS!" I grabbed 6 puzzles and 5 games, a walker for Emmett, 8 glass mixing bowls, jars, etc (totally rocks for our "Go Green" kitchen process right?!) and a few other random things. Total spent: $23. Trying to make it 3 miles home... PRICELESS! I had to call a friend with her golf cart to help lighten my load.
In the game pile: Scrabble and Guess Who... but my favorite: BUNCO!!!! Who's coming over for a girls' night in?? :)
Scarlett's favorite game:
Sunday (Today)'s Resolution: Yard Work
This one has John's name ALL over it :) He just swept the patio, racked the yard, and is still out there smoking two chickens for this week's menu.
Monday's Resolution: Clean out Scarlett's closet. It's time to switch out the heavy winter gear any way....
side note: I love watching Matilda watch the kids eat..... hahahaha
Processed food is tough to get out of your diet because you have to constantly think about it when you are away from your house. We are in a constant battle of trying to eat healthier, whole foods. Convenience is often our downfall!
ReplyDeleteOne word about the syrup - we buy only the pure maple syrup. Yes, it is freaking expensive, however, we use sooo little of it now because we realize it is truly a treat. So one jug of syrup lasts literally forever for us. And because it's sweeter (to us), we don't use as much when we do eat something with syrup!
It's a journey and just starting is a great place to be! Good luck!