Food habits challenge update #1: So far, so good
Monday, June 02, 2008
My worms in their new home!
I started off the food challenge a little more than a week ago with 3 goals:
1. Get some veggies planted
2. Start composting
3. Don’t eat out (unless it’s an event with friends)
I’m happy to say that I got the first two done (more on those below) and have been successful with the last as well. I ate out only once last week—when I had friends over Friday night to drink beers and celebrate the gorgeous spring weather, we ordered from the Chip Shop in my neighborhood and it definitely was worth the wait.
Besides having amazing grub, the Chip Shop also uses packaging that’s really easy to get rid of: newspaper (which will biodegrade, like, tomorrow), foil containers (recyclable), or hardy plastic containers with lids (which I save and use for food storage). No styrofoam or flimsy non-recyclable containers here. And the chips are to die for, even when a bit soggy from being delivered. Definitely check them out when you are in the neighborhood.
The veggies are going like gangbusters. We planted them a week ago today and there are already seedlings poking their little heads up in every pot. The lettuce and the beets have been the fastest out of the gate, but there are also baby tomato, cucumber, and cilantro plants. Today I woke up to a bunch of brand new onion shoots, too.
One thing I hadn’t anticipated is how exciting it is to plant things and watch them grow. Can you believe that, at age 35, I’ve never grown anything from seed before? I feel like a little kid, squealing over every new eensy plant. When I get up in the morning, the first thing I do is check the pots to see what’s going on, and I whisper to them, “Grow, grow, keep growing!” So far, they seem to be happy to grant my request. :)
After calling the Lower East Side Ecology Center last week to arrange the date, I picked up my worms and bin last Friday at the Union Square Greenmarket (I also got some purple basil plants, my favorite). Friday afternoon I tore up some newspaper and cardboard, dampened it, put in some scraps I’d been saving for the last week, and let the worms wriggle into their new home. Since they are mine, they are of course the cutest worms that ever lived. I have been checking in with them every day, too, and they seem pretty happy. I can’t wait till it’s time to harvest the compost and enrich the garden with it!
From preparing food at home and composting, I’ve noticed a big reduction in my trash—since this time last week, I’ve produced only about half a grocery-size plastic bag of garbage.
I’m really glad I took this challenge on. Knowing that I need to report back on The Sunny Way is keeping me honest, and seeing the results (in my garden, trash production, and even the way my clothes fit) is making it easy to keep going.
How are you doing with your goals?
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I have been doing well at the stuff I usually do well, but I need to step it up this week. I have succesfully avoided eating out on my own dime (dad took Bella and me out for lunch on Sunday) for two weeks, which I am happy about.
Zach got home early tonight so I am going to take some time to make some homemade convenience foods like cooked frozen beans, frozen pizza dough and bran muffin mix.
I’m super excited about my garden stuff too! I can’t wait to have all that wonderful fresh produce.
Because of the chilly weather (Cheyenne asked me today, “Mommy when is it going to stop raining and colding?”) I haven’t been good about going to the farmemrs market. My dad lives by the lovely downtown St Paul farmer’s market so we’ve made plans with him to meet there next Saturday. The next weekend I think we’ll check out the all organic Mill City farmer’s market in Minneapolis. It’s a short bus ride away, so we may even take public transportation to get there.
Great to hear that you set up your worm bin, Yeah for You and the red wrigglers!!
This past week I did o.k., a few slips in packing my lunch, which I normally do, 1 day I ate out for lunch, the other I brought a hastily made lunch which was low on veggies. Since part of the reason why I want to pack lunch is to ensure its healthy and keep my weight down I will have to reevaluate how I managed my time and renew my efforts.
Also important for me to keep in mind is WHEN I eat, When I put off eating, I become revenous and overeat whatever is closeby to compensate for a missed meal. Cut up veggies and fruit usually take care of this as they make for fast eating. Last Friday I ate way too many cookies that I made with my cooking class which was a step backwards for me.
On the upside, I took care of my frozen soup: composted 1 container because it tasted off, ate another and the third I am defrosting for this week. Frozen strawberries are defrosting for jam tomorrow morning.
I read some good tips on Wastedfood.com about pantry inventory which was right up my alley. One solution for buying bulk spices was to form a “spice circle” with others to split the order with. It made me think of a pantry swap, where a group of people can bring their unwanted bulk dry goods to 1 person’s house to trade with eachother. Perhaps only dry beans and spices would show up, but the time could be spent finding specific recipes for using them and comitting to make a meal with the swapped item. Could be a good party theme.
For this week:
soak a small amount of black beans to see if they’re still good, if so make black bean soup.
thaw broken tortilla wraps and make cinnamon sugar baked chips with them.
refocus on packing cut veges and fruit for lunch
plant seedlings into garden
I’ve done well so far. I’ve been buying smaller amounts of produce, more frequently. Haven’t had to throw anything away, and it’s actually making me be a bit more inventive when putting meals together. I’m eating more fruit and vegetables, and trying out some new recipes as I end up buying the produce that looks the best or most interesting that day instead of working from a pre-prepared shopping list. (Made a grated carrot and beet salad with crumbled blue cheese last night that was just incredible.)
I have bought a few items in bulk from Costco, but those were things that I knew I was going to use within a week. Got a week’s worth of fruit and spinach for smoothies: bananas - peeled and froze them immediately - mangoes, a pineapple, a box of plums… It’s all being used up, and none of it will have to be tossed.
Harvested and froze a couple of pounds of rhubarb from the garden, composting the leaves of course. Still have a fridge full of the rhubarb rosemary jelly I made last month, but I’ll definitely be making another batch of it later in the year and I want to make sure I have enough rhubarb on hand to do that. There’s no chance that the rhubarb will languish in the freezer for too long. I have a bumper crop of gooseberries almost ready to pick, and redcurrants too. I’m late planting vegetables this year, but this week I managed to get some chard, beans, parsley, beets, zukes, peas and tomatoes in the ground. My vegetable plot is about half full now, my goal is to get the rest of it planted this week.
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