I Walk In This World

I’ve got nothing pithy or wise to share tonight.  We’re dealing with some things over this way, and I am choosing to keep today’s blogging short.  So instead of insight and wit, I shall give you a tour of the IWITW fridge!

But first you must suffer my meals. 

Dinner was great, and cheater.  My favorite kind. 

• Trader Joes picatta sauce
• free range organic chicken tenders + white beans + mushrooms
• served over whole wheat spaghetti
• side salad made by my HUBZ!

If you like picatta, this is very good.  That being said, it is VERY picatta-y, so beware if you’re only an on-the-fence kinda picatta eater.  I like it, so I was a happy little duck.

Rounded out the meal with a pinch of sweet.  Salt water taffy my sis and future bro-in-law brought back for me from their recent jaunt to OC, MD.

Lunch!

• homemade chef salad with…
• spinach + green leaf
• maters
• carrot
• cuke
• corn from the cob
• hard boiled egg
• 3 teeny slices of ham (from happy piggies)
• tossed in homemade honey dijon + camera shy croutons
• side dish of beautiful cherries

Breks!  The smoothie du jour was a banana, strawberry, blueberry blend, I like to call Pink.

Last night, while bored, I decided to snap pics of the innards of the IWITW fridge.  I didn’t straighten it up or clean junk out.  This is what she looks like in her unadulterated state…

• butter up there in the butter dish
• eggs and carob doggy treats in the egg dish
• assorted jams and nut butters hiding in the top tier
• your usual suspects of mustards, dark chocolate sauce, lemon juice, creamer
• the third tier is kinda the third wheel…chit gets put here that we don’t much use (lime juice, soy sauce, bbq sauce)
• bottom tier is salad dressing haven plus some Perrier

Here we have the top shelf.  Let’s list what we can see…

• chocolate Silk
• Organic Valley skim milk
• cherries
• my lunch salad in a tupperware
• assorted beers
• chunky medium spicy salsa

Middle shelf…

• half a banana in a ziploc (for smoothies)
• overripe Jersey tomato
• ziploc of white beans
• in the back there are 2 containers of garlic hummus
• moving over to the right we’ve got a pile of Stonyfields
• some MORE salsa tucked in the back
• that’s a canola mayo container laying on it’s side
• baking soda
• lite sour cream
• yogurt butter
• a small container of homemade curry dressing that I don’t know what to use it on
• Meat drawer = American cheese, brick of sharp provolone, goat cheese, happy ham

Bottoms shelf…

• BIG container of Stonyfield with blueberries atop it
• 3 ripe NJ peaches
• Applegate Farms chicken sausage
• in the back there is unsweetened applesauce
• another container of cherries atop a bunch of quinoa I made Sunday
• that big tupperware is full of veggie lentil Korma curry I made
• atop that is our leftover crockpot carrot ginger chicken bean stew
• olives
• pickles
• and in the back is our precious container of REAL VT maple syrup

I forgot to photograph the veg drawers.  They’re stuffed with spinach, zukes, carrot, mushroom, and cukes.

So that’s the dog and pony show kids.  Judge away. 

Ciao,

Er

Good Thursday morning Blog peeps!

In my IWITW efforts to continue to spread true and verifiable information about Ethical Eating, I wanted to quickly share some tips with y’all about which seafood you should be eating, assuming you’re not a vegetarian, if you are pursuing an ethical and sustainable eating lifestyle.

Tara Parker-Pope has a quickie blog post over at the NY Times about Choosing Safer, Sustainable Seafood.  For more in depth info, please please PLEASE go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch website where you can read more of the science AND print a super cute wallet-sized card that says which fish to eat and which to avoid.  I carry mine in my wallet and pull it out when dining at seafood restaurants or when shopping for fresh fish!

So, on to Wednesday food stuff…

Din last night was a ginorm salad with bread.  I have to be honest.  In thinking up dinner, I was totally crafting my plans around how to have those 2 giant slices of whole grain toast on the side.  I am such a bread lovah, it’s ridic.

• spinach + green leaf lettuce salad with…
• 1 small free range chicken breast tender (about 2.5 oz)
• maters
• cukes
• carrot
• peanuts
• goat cheese
• 4 hummus flava’d Dr. Krackers
• honey dijon dressing
• I also had those 2 fabulous pieces of toast with buttah
• and a generous pour of a New Zealand Sauv Blanc

I thought up this meal while sitting in Court last night!  Ugh.  Evening court.  Can you imagine?  Eleven billionty people with traffic tickets all trying to get their points reduced.  Luckily, since I was there to testify in a case for the State, they bumped me up.  I was only there a little over an hour.  The case didn’t go to trial b/c the defendant decided to plead guilty (yay), accept the points against his license, and pay his fine. 

So when I got home a sprinted to the gym and did a 20 minute run plus some leg & ab work.

• leg press at 55lbs xs 3 reps
• leg extensions at 25lbs x 3 reps
• innner/outer thigh extensions at 40 & 50lbs x 3 reps
• 100 various ab exercises

Lunch at work was hurried, eaten in my cube, b/c I’m buried with work.

• Applegate Farms ham + cheddar + green lettuce + dijon on whole grain panini
• carrot with garlic hummus
• no sugar added applesauce
• cantalope
• water
• a camera shy handful of peanuts

WORK Here!

Breks was normal, a berry smoothie in a cute pint glass.

• handful frozen mango
• handful frozen black raspberries
• half a banana
• half cup lf vanilla almond milk
• 2 T ff vanilla yogurt
• 4 ice cubes    

Question.  Do you eat seafood?  Do you pay attention to the sustainable nature of the fish you choose?

Blog friends.  Lately, there’s been buzz in the blogosphere and the real world about the movie Food, Inc.  I am so happy and proud of all you peeps taking the time to see it, listen to its message, and then spread the word here!

I’ve been in contact with some people involved in the production of the film and have gotten mixed reaction from these folks as to the extent to which the film expands on some issues and maybe skimps on other issues.  But hey, that’s to be expected when trying to squeeze years worth of research into a 90 minute documentary.

Now.  For those of you who have been touched by the film and are serious about making lifestyle changes when it comes to meat, local, and organic, I wanted to share with you the top books, in my opinion, that are worth reading in order to *really* educate yourselves.

For years I’ve been doing research on the issues covered by Food, Inc and am sharing with you, what I consider to be, the most relevant and thought provoking books on these subjects.

I’ve been, what I call, an ethical eater since 2005.  At first I was a veggie and then I morphed into and ethical omni after actually learning a LOT about the subject of food, where it comes from, what it means, and how we can make a difference in the choices we makes.

A few of the things we do here in the IWITW household…

• all meat comes from local, organic, free range farms OR if bought in the store, meets all those criteria except being local
• all eggs, milk, and butter are Organic Valley brand that ensures free range, cage free hens and happy cows that are humanely cared for   
• most dairy is organic, including yogurts and milk
• most cheese is purchased from small farmers that specialize in goats milk cheese, etc
• we shop at local farmers markets for produce and meat
• we also shop at the grocery store, and focus our produce purchases on local fruits and vegs, or organic ones if not local
• We do not shop at Costco, Sam’s Club, or BJs
• I haven’t eaten at a fast food chain like McDonalds, Burger King, etc since 2004 

And I should point out that I have a FT real job, a FT blogging job (self imposed), a husband, a dog, and an hour commute to work.  And I still find time and energy to make the effort to follow thru with these choices.  Oh yeah, and I’m 30. 

So.  If you’re so inspired and are looking for information and further reading on these subjects, I suggest my book collection up there.  You CAN do it.  It’s just about making some shifts in the way you look at what you eat and grasp where it comes from. 

Din was excellent and I owe it all to the addition of the lovely array of veggies down below.  Well, that’s not totally true.  We used my Dad’s homemade marinara (rocks) and added in 1/3 lb of humanely raised, hormone free ground bison.  Yum.  All atop whole wheat noodlies.

• zucchini, green peppers, onion, mushrooms sauteed in olive oil and garlic
• Dad’s marinara with ground bison
• whole wheat spaghetti

As to the amount that I eat,  pasta is one of the few things I do measure for portion control.  I ate a little less than 2 oz and Hubz ate about 2.5-3 oz.  Perfect amount!

For exercise today, I got my booty on the treadmill and ran for 30 minutes with 3 mins warm up and cool down pre and post.  And lots o stretching afta.

Lunch ala cube farm.

• Applegate Farms uncured ham + American cheese + lettuce + dijon on whole grain panini
• naked carrot
• blueberries aplenty
• unsweetened applesauce

HUGE giant work stuff happening.  And stay tuned for Tuesday’s work surprise which MAY include a helicopter ride…

Breks was a frothy little number.

•  half a banana
• handful of mango chunks
• about 10 black raspberries
• almond milk
• a few T of ff vanilla yogurt
• ice

Thanks for listening to my reading recommendations.  For anyone serious about making eating lifestyle changes after watching Food, Inc., these books changed my entire eating life.  They helped me forge the path I am on as an ethical eater.

 Happy Friday blog friends.

It’s a really pretty here in the Soprano State.  I kinda wish I had taken a sick (cough) day so I could lay by the pool and soak up some UV and Vitamin D. 

Hey, good news for me, my appetito is backo!

Last night’s Din was really good.

• cauliflower + white bean soup in a poblano corn chowda base
• toasted whole grain bredz with buttah
• tossed spinach + green leaf salad with homemade honey mustard dressing
• a glass of Smoking Loon sauvignon blanc (not very good)

I tossed a piece of turkey bacon into the soup, just for good measure.  Cuz bacon makes Everything Better.  And a little Texas Pete’s hot sauce.  Wowza did that really make it delicious!  Hot sauce is the KEY to this dish!  You can see I’m set up on the TV tray.  That’s cuz we eat late, like 8pm late.  And it was time to watch SYTYCD results. 

Question.  Do you love hot sauce?

B/c my ankle is rotten, I decided yesterday was a light day for exercise.  I spent 30 mins getting my power yoga on with Rodney.

And then some crunches to round out my Namaste.  120 or so.  

Lunch at work yesterday. 

• Applegate Farms uncured ham + 1 slice melty American chz + smashed avocado in a TJs whole wheat tortilla
• carrot plus the best garlic hummus on earth
• CHERRIES! 

The smashed avocado was the key to making this wrap wowza!

At some point during the work day I did a little Nature walk.    We shared some secrets and she was a little camera shy, so no pics to share. 

Breks.  Blend it up berries!

• mango
• blueberries
• black raspberries
• half a banana 
• BLEND in the blender
• add in 2 T yogurt
• add in 4 ice cubs
• BLEND

And there you have it.  Blendy berry bliss.

Happy Fridays All!

P.S.  There’s a fabulous mini cheesecake giveaway being hosted by one of my fellow NJ bloggers.  You don’t have to be a local to win tho, this place ships nationwide!