Getting The Most Out of Your Food

June 27, 2014 / ktbuchs87

I don’t have a new recipe for you this Friday. I am in the middle of recipe testing a few new ideas as well as learning how to take better food pictures. No more iPhone pictures on this website! I do, however, have some food related advice for you today. How to get the most out of the food you buy, healthwise and moneywise.

I have talked before about eating well on a tight budget, but it is a subject that should be talked about again. One of the biggest misconceptions that people have about eating healthy is that it is way too expensive. This will keep some people from even trying to eat better because they think that they don’t have the funds to sustain a healthy lifestyle. But have no fear, I am here to squash those misconceptions and show you that it is fairly easy and inexpensive to eat well on a budget.

Real talk: Adam and I have not had a paycheck come in for over a month. We knew that this would happen, and we made sure to save and budget well in the months before this happened, but we still have had to be very conservative with our budget these past few weeks. I take care of all the purchasing of food in our house and I have made some tweaks to make sure that we are still eating well along with not shelling out too much money. It does take some planning but it isn’t impossible, so here are the ways that I have been keeping our grocery bill to a minimum.

Cook more meals. Yup. You need to get in the kitchen and get out of the restaurants when you are trying to save some money. Adam and I rarely go out to eat and when we do, it’s usually to a place that we have a gift card or a coupon for. It is much cheaper to plan your meals and cook them at home than to eat the same meals out at a restaurant for twice the cost. Look around online, might I recommend this very blog, and find some recipes that you can handle and look tasty. Learn to make a few healthy meals really well, then branch out from there and soon you will have a handful of meals that you can whip up in no time!

Keep it simple. When looking for recipes to make, keep it simple! Don’t pick a meal that will require you to purchase a bunch of ingredients that you will only use once or that cost a ton of money. What I like to do when I am thinking of meal ideas is to take stock of my fridge and pantry and see what I can make from the ingredients that I already have. That way I don’t have to go out and buy a bunch of extra things, just one or two that I might not have in my stock. Plus by keeping your meals simple, you can really learn your way around the kitchen as well as keep your plate healthy!

Follow the sales. Pretty much every grocery store will have sale items each week. If a product you normally buy goes on sale, stock up. I like to do this with canned foods, like diced tomatoes, but I also do it with fresh food. A lot of fresh produce can be frozen so it doesn’t spoil before you use it. Last week our grocery store had a sale on avocadoes (large Hass avocados for 99 cents!), so I stocked up. When the avocadoes ripened, I cut them in half, removed the pit, wrapped each half in saran wrap, and then placed them all in a large freezer bag and stuck them in the freezer. You can do that with a lot of fruits and vegetables, here is a great website that shows you how you can store a lot of fresh produce. So keep an eye on sales, and when you can, stock up on those items. Note, DON’T buy things just because they are on sale. That will be a waste of money because you’ll end up buying products you don’t normally use, so you will have no idea how to use them and they will go to waste. That isn’t very budget savvy now is it?

Check out your freezer aisle. Speaking of frozen foods, check out your freezer section and see what they have to offer in terms of fruits and vegetables. Frozen foods are just as healthy as their fresh counterparts and will cost less money. Just make sure to read the labels on the fruits and vegetables to make sure that there is ONLY fruit and vegetable in the package. The one time last week that I didn’t read labels on two bags of frozen vegetables, I got home to find out that one had added salt to their peas and another had add a preservative. It was a doh! moment on my part and a great reminder to always read the ingredient list even on things as harmless as a bag of peas. Also don’t even think about wasting money on frozen dinners. Even if they say they are healthy and all natural, they are usually loaded with chemicals and preservatives. Spend your hard earned cash on better food.

Use all of your food. What I mean by this is don’t be so quick to toss out what you think isn’t edible. This mostly goes for fresh vegetables. Many people will throw away the stalks of vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower without even realizing that those are perfectly edible! Cut up the broccoli stalks into bite size pieces and steam them along with the rest of the vegetable. Or shred or grate the stalks into a salad. Don’t throw away the tops of beets or other root vegetables. Wash and cut up the leaves and use in a salad or saute them with some pepper and lemon juice. You can even save scraps of onions, carrots, and garlic and make a homemade vegetable stock. The point is, make sure you are using your food to it’s full potential. You get more bang for your buck this way!

A few other quick tips:

Check to see if your grocery store offers discount days or refunds for using reusable bags
If a store near you has a bulk section, use it! Stock up on beans, grains, pasta, and even spices. Bulk items are much cheaper in the long run
Check online for coupons for products that you normally buy
Try to cut down on processed food products. These may seem cheaper but they take a toll on your health and your wallet
Make a meal plan and list before you head to the store, that way you only buy the items you need and not whatever looks appealing

By taking just a little extra time and thought with your food as well as using some of these ideas, you should be able to minimize your grocery bill all while still maximizing your health. Two pretty good things in my opinion!

How to Pack a Healthy Lunch

June 25, 2014 / ktbuchs87

It seems like such an easy thing to do. Who really needs a tutorial on how to pack a lunch? I mean, most of us have been packing a lunch since grade school. That’s where I see the problem. Most of us still pack a lunch like we’re in grade school. PB&J, package of chips, package of cookies, can of soda, and maybe an apple that won’t get eaten. Or maybe you haven’t packed a lunch since grade school and choose to eat out and spend a lot of money on food that might not be all that healthy. I thought it would be good to show you how easy, health, and budget friendly it is to pack your own lunch for work, school, or wherever you’re headed for the day.

Pick a main course. There is such a variety of food out there that you can pack as the main bulk of your lunch. You should step outside your realm of quickly thrown together sandwiches. The easiest and cheapest thing to do is to use leftovers as the bulk of your meal. I like to make more food than Adam and I can eat for dinner, and then use the leftovers for lunch the rest of the week. You could also spend some time on the weekend and make a big batch of a few different meals and use that. Salads are a really great and easy way to make a bunch of food that won’t spoil quickly throughout the week. Try my Simple Vegetable Millet or Curried Quinoa Salad. Get creative too. Use the grilled chicken you made over the weekend in a whole wheat pita pocket, add some lettuce, tomato, and mustard and you have a yummy pita pocket. Or buy a bunch of collard greens and scoop quinoa salad into the middle and make a lettuce wrap. The possibilities are endless and you never have to have a boring main meal for lunch.

Slice up some sides. Rather than grabbing a bag of chips or crackers, slice up your own sides. Fresh fruit and vegetables are a lot healthier than most of the fair you will find in the snack aisle of your grocery store. Yes, it’s really easy to buy a big case of chips and then just grab a bag each day. It’s really simple to just walk to the vending machine in your office and get some pretzels or crackers too. But it isn’t helping your health or wallet either. Buy a big bag of carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, radishes, or any other vegetable that strikes your fancy. Then cut it all up and portion it out at home, then voila! You now have an easy to grab and healthy side for your lunch. Bring along hummus or homemade BBQ sauce to dip your vegetables in and you won’t have to be crunching on boring celery (although I don’t think any vegetable is boring… is that just me?). Fruit is also a great thing to have in your lunch and apple, pear, or orange slices are delicious and portable. The other good thing about eating fruit and vegetables for your sides is that they will fill you up with healthy fiber and help keep you fuller longer. That’s a win-win!

Hydrate up. This isn’t just a tip for lunch, you should be drinking water all day long. Invest in a really good water bottle that you can fill up and just keep sipping throughout your day. If you’re not into plain water, jazz it up with some lemon or lime slices, berries, cucumber, mint, or even watermelon. Just keep yourself hydrated. Often when we think that we are hungry, we’re really thirsty. Instead of reaching for food, try a glass of water first and see if your body just needed some water instead.

Plan for a snack. 3:00 pm rolls around and you find yourself wandering to the vending machine looking for a candy bar to tide you over until dinner. Or maybe you start downing cups of coffee to help you push through the last few hours of work. Instead of doing that, plan to bring a snack with your lunch. Adam likes hard-boiled eggs as his afternoon snack, and those are really easy to make a bunch at the beginning of the week. Plus they are portable. Eggs aren’t your thing? Try making a mix of dry-roasted almonds, pistachios, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds to keep you going. Need a little sweet? Add some raisins or other dried fruit to the mix. Just make sure to read your labels and check to see that there isn’t any added sugar. If you’re looking for salty and crunchy, try some roasted chickpeas. Also, don’t go overboard with your afternoon snack, just enough to keep you going until it’s time for dinner!

See? Packing a lunch doesn’t have to be hard or boring. Take a little time to plan what you are going to have for the week and then just throw it all in your lunch box and head out the door. Packing your own lunch is a great way to save money and support your healthy lifestyle. And if every once in a while a cookie finds it’s way into your lunch, that’s ok too!

Picture Perfect

June 23, 2014 / ktbuchs87

One slip up and everything I’ve worked for is ruined.

How many of us have that mentality, especially when it comes to health? I know for a lot of people that it is all or nothing when it comes to eating better or exercising more. If you fall off the wagon just one time, the whole cart tips over. Ate a candy bar when you meant to eat an apple? Oh well, the whole day is ruined and you might as well continue with your downward, junk-eating spiral. You’ll have to start all over again next week. Missed one workout? Now you’ll have to sit on the couch and binge watch Netflix all weekend and start fresh on Monday.

Or maybe you’re like me and you’re so terrified of failing with your health and not being absolutely perfect that you essentially stop living life.

When I made the decision to start eating better, I knew that I would have to be super strict at first. I love food and I have the habit of eating even when I’m not hungry. I’m a bored eater and will put food in my mouth if it’s in front of me. Because of this, I had to relearn what real hunger felt like. I also had to retrain my tastebuds to eat real food instead of the processed food-like products I normally ate. This was all good and fine at first. By switching to a whole foods diet and tuning into the signals my body was giving me, I was able to finally see a lasting change in my health. But one vice got switched for another and soon I was striving for a food perfection that is nearly impossible to maintain.

I was so worried that if I slipped up with good eating habits, even just a little bit, all my hard work and progress would come crashing down. So I tried to keep myself in this tiny box where I could only eat the best foods possible. This inevitably cut me off from normal life because NO ONE eats like that day in and day out. Life is not perfect and you are not expected to be perfect. You are expected to live as healthfully as possible for you. You need to define what that means, because your healthy is different from everyone else’s. That’s a good thing and a balance you should strive for.

Deciding to be healthier is a major step. It’s important to actually take charge and make that commitment. It’s hard too, so don’t make it even harder on yourself by chasing perfection and closing yourself off from others. I’m learning each day to live as healthfully as possible, but to not be bogged down by worries of spiraling out of control. I’ve been eating well and exercising regularly for the past five years, and I haven’t suddenly gained all my weight back. Be conscious of your decisions, but don’t let one little slip-up determine the rest of your day, week, or month. Don’t let it totally derail your efforts. Use that slip up as a learning moment and move onto the next thing.

By taking your health one day at a time and not focusing on absolute perfection, you have a much better chance of sustaining your healthy journey.

Coming to You Live From Chicago!

June 2, 2014 / ktbuchs87

Hello from Chicago! My husband, Adam, and I are finally living in the Windy City. We moved into our apartment a little over a week ago and have settled in these past few days. We have really enjoyed getting to explore our new neighborhood and learn where everything is. Every morning we head out to the Chicago Lakefront Trail and ride up and down enjoying the beaches and parks all along the way. The city has so much to offer us and we are very excited to take full advantage.

This move was the most stressful move for me that we’ve ever done. All our other moves were of a smaller scale, as in we would just move down the street or at least within the same town. We didn’t have to rent a truck, figure out a new city, leave our job, or worry about where to run outside (ok, that last one is just me!). I admitted to Adam yesterday as we were walking around outside, that while I was ok with moving for his new job, I had been absolutely terrified to move to Chicago. I was afraid that I would hate everything about city living. All the people, cramped spaces, a smaller apartment, a grocery store I didn’t know, unfamiliar streets, higher cost on everything, and no concrete job position for me. I was truly worried that I was not made to live in a more urban area and that I would quickly isolate myself with my cat in my apartment. I knew in my head that moving here was the best decision for us, but I just couldn’t convince my heart that was true.

This wasn’t even totally full yet. Thank goodness Adam is a Tetris champ!

One of my biggest problems is that I tend to internalize my stress and worries instead of sharing them. I bottle up my feelings and soldier on because I feel like that is what I should do. No one needs to carry the burden of my problems other than me. Of course that is ridiculous. No one can keep all of their problems to themselves without breaking under the pressure at some point. By keeping all my worries to myself, I negatively impacted my health. I developed a cold a few days before our move and I am still getting over it. A few weeks before the move, my knee started to hurt so bad that I could no longer run on it. I still have not been able to run, and I am trying my hardest to rest and let it heal. During the actual move, I lost my appetite and didn’t eat the same healthy meals that I normally make and I also didn’t drink as much water as I normally do. All of these things added up to me feeling crummy and that is not how you want to feel when you have to move. I felt weak and could barely help Adam move and load our boxes. I felt exhausted during the day and wanted nothing more than to take long naps all day. Even my face started to break out. Health wise, I was pretty much a wreck.

Bedroom. Haven’t done much to this room other than put our stuff in it. We’ll get to it soon….

If you go back and read my other posts about moving, you’ll probably notice a similar theme. I start to stress, keep it to myself, and my health turns into a mess. Why can’t I seem to get my act together and why do I keep telling you about it? I am not perfect, far from it, in fact. Even though I enjoy being healthy and do my best to do all the things I know make me feel and look my best, I still fail from time to time. I know that many of you feel that becoming healthier is really hard and you get frustrated when you fail. I am the same way. I am slowly learning though that being healthy isn’t about being perfect 100% of the time.

It’s ok to fail or not do something as well as you had hoped. It isn’t how you fail that defines your health, it’s how you deal with the fallout. Rather than wallow in your shortcomings and quit, pick yourself up and get right back in the game. Use that experience to help shape your healthy journey in a positive way. Learn from your mistakes and when the same obstacle arises next time you will be able to overcome it. I am getting better at being ok with my imperfections and knowing that my overall health is more important that the tiny little things I do everyday. As long as you are working towards being healthy and the majority of your choices and decisions are good ones, I promise you that your health will be just fine. One setback every now and then is not going to totally derail all the hard work you have done.

Tiny kitchen, but I make it work!

While I am hoping that I won’t have to move for a long time (I would love to live in an apartment for more than one leasing period!), I know that this move has taught me so much for the next one. I am also happy to say that I absolutely LOVE living in Chicago. All my fears and doubts are gone and I am relishing living in a new area. It is exactly what Adam and I needed to continue to grow in our lives and in our relationship. We had gotten all that we could from our previous area and it was time to move on. Now big things are in store for the next chapter of our life and I can not wait to get started!

Shot of the living room/office and the dining room. This is where most of our attention has been focused for the time being!

Health Reminders

May 5, 2014 / ktbuchs87

I think that we can all agree and say that no one is perfect, especially when it comes to health. Even celebrities and fitness trainers and those in the health world have their imperfect moments no matter how healthy they seem. As we move from winter into spring, I thought it would be a good idea to give a few tips and reminders about your health. You can call it spring cleaning if you’d like, but take just a few moments and assess your lifestyle and make sure you’re getting the most out of your healthy journey.

1. Water, water, WATER!!! This was the biggest reminder for me lately. I had been really good about drinking a lot of water heading into the winter months, but as it got colder and colder, water seemed less appealing to me. I pretty much stopped drinking any extra water January through February and boy could my body tell! I was tired, sluggish, and just had an overall lack of energy. I attributed it to the long, cold winter months but in all honesty, part of it was my lack of water consumption. Now I have a 1 liter water bottle that I keep with me and try to drink one if not more of those per day. I’m not going to tell you some specific amount of water that you have to drink in order to be healthy, just make sure to drink enough where you don’t feel water-logged or too thirsty. It really helps to keep a refillable bottle with you at all times and just sip throughout the day. Don’t like the taste of just plain water? Try adding lemon or lime for a little flavor!

2. Eat Seasonally. Many of us can get any fruit or vegetable that we want at any time of the year, whether it is in season or not. This isn’t a bad thing, believe me, I have my fair share of out of season food all the time (hello sweet potatoes!). I’m not saying you have to eat only foods that are in season, but it does make a difference. For example, I had been roasting up a whole butternut squash over the fall/winter months and using that in meals throughout the week. I started to notice though that around the end of January and into February, the butternut squash didn’t taste as good as it had before, the selection was getting smaller, and the price was getting higher. Take a look at the food you regularly prepare and see if there are any seasonal changes that you can make. Check out your local grocery store and see what produce they have on sale or look at a list of seasonal foods and pick something new to work with. Eating seasonally is a great way to keep your diet varied, eat the most nutrient dense food possible, and spend your money smartly.

3. Get Some Sun. Most of us stay squirreled away in our homes during the winter months, trying to stay as warm and cozy as possible. This past winter was a doozy, and if I could avoid it I stayed away from the great outdoors as much as possible. When I did have to venture out into the tundra, I was so bundled up that only a slit for my eyes was all that was exposed to the air. With the warmer weather, it’s time to get some outside time in! You don’t have to spend a ton of time outside, but even 10 minutes in the fresh air will do you wonders. Take a bike ride, go for a walk, read a book on a park bench, do your workout outside if you can, or play with your dog. It’s time to soak up some vitamin D, breath in the fresh air, and rejoice in the fact that you no longer have to wear 50 layers to walk the ten feet to your car!

4. Clear the Clutter. I’m a weirdo who actually loves cleaning. I am very type A when it comes to my apartment and how clean it is. I hate clutter and junk lying around and I hate when something doesn’t have a place. With our impending move, I have gone into hyperdrive with clearing out the clutter. I already dislike packing, so there is no way that I am packing AND moving junk that I don’t even need or use. It has been shocking to me just how much “stuff” Adam and I have lying around that we don’t even actually use. It has been great to go through and get rid of all the superfluous stuff and pare down to the essentials. I’m going to bet that some of you might have a few things lying around that you could get rid of too. Take a few minutes and just go through one room and see if there is anything that you don’t need that you could donate/sell/toss. Trust me, you will feel a lot better when you’ve “cleared the air” and gotten rid of the extra stuff.

These are just a few of the things that I have reminded myself about lately. Hopefully one or two of them helped you out. Take a few moments and look at your life and see what little tweaks or changes you can make to get the most out of your healthy lifestyle. It’s always a good idea to reassess how things are going and make sure that everything is still making a positive impact on you. Have a great Monday and a fabulous week!