Thursday, January 16, 2014

Real Food on a Budget Week 2

I have to admit, I haven't been perfect. I'd really like to do 10 days of only real food, but ya know, life happens. And fee chocolate at work. I have stuck to my budget though! I thought I might go over today because I wasn't keeping track, but it was right on!

Unsweetened almond milk - 2.49
Monterey jack cheese - 2.12
Garbanzo beans - 1.59
Whole wheat pastry flour - 1.46
Greens - 2.00
Canned tomatoes - .75
Whole wheat pasta - 1.09
Organic baby carrots - 1.50
Orange bell pepper - 2.00
Green bell pepper - .69
5 Red potatoes - .88
2 Sweet potatoes - 1.79
3 Minneola oranges - 1.44
2 Grapefruit (Texas of course) - .79
Total: 20.59
Not bad!


Tuesday, January 7, 2014

2013 in Pictures

Here's what's happened since 2012:

Finished my au pair year in Hannover, Germany with some great friends and 5 crazy kids



Trips to: Copenhagen, Malmรถ, Amsterdam, Italy, Portugal








Hannover Half marathon

Tough Mudder

Getting and losing an Americorps job

moving to Seattle anyways with one of my best friends, Kate

coaching gymnastics and working at a Boys and Girls Club.

Things didn't always work out how I wanted and I've still struggled this year, but I had a whole lot to be thankful for. The chance to travel, live in Germany with 5 great kids, delicious strawberries, and a friend who made my life much easier and less isolated. The fact that I have a job even though it's not what I imagined I'd be doing, and the resources to pick up and move across the country. I have no idea what 2014 will bring. It could go in lots of directions which is both exciting and terrifying!


Resolutions

Revisiting last year's resolutions:
Improve my German – check! It took a while but I took a course, learned a lot of grammar I was never taught, and became much more comfortable in my second language. After a few months, speaking came much more naturally and I didn't have to think of ways to rephrase what I wanted to say. I really noticed it when I visited Heidelberg and old friends and had no problem having conversations with them.

I also rode my bike to school quite a bit – or at least the first 10km. That way I still had 10 min on the tram to do my homework from the night before...

I ran the Hannover half marathon in less than 2 hours, which was my goal. I started running with a couple people from the English speaking group in Hannover, and we had a pretty good group going every week. I even convinced a couple of them to run it too! I considered them all friends by the end.

Eat less sugar: well, the kids were not eating sugar for 2 months, which helped a lot (them and me). But then we went right back. The summer was filled with lots of birthdays and desserts and ice cream. But YOLO, right?

2014 Resolutions:

Just like the last couple of years, I'm going into 2014 uncertain of what the year will hold. Which makes it hard to make resolutions!

I am going to do a different challenge every month, depending on where I am. I'm starting out by committing to only eat real food for 10 days. This is the definition I'm using


I am going to stick to a grocery budget of $20-$25 a week. I plan on documenting that on this blog to help me keep track of what I'm spending and eating.

Save some money every month. I had a certain amount in mind, but recent unexpected expenses have thrown me off a bit. I'm going to do what I can, because I'm hoping to take a trip to Southeast Asia in the not so distant future.

Make my emotional health a priority. This could change over the course of the year, so part of this is decided what exactly it is I need and making sure it happens. I've started journaling again, and I would like to keep it up as close to every day as I can.


Here's to 2014, the year I enter my mid twenties (yikes)!

10 Day Real Food Challenge - Day 1

Since I had pretty much no food, I had to do double shopping at three stores this week. But I'll still meet my budget for January. I'm just surprised I made it out of Trader Joe's having only spent $20! Only buying Real Food limited me though.

This is what I got:
Honey – 2.99
Honeycrisp apples – 2.99
Peanut butter – 2.79
Coffee – 6.99
Mini pita pockets – 1.99
Hummus – 1.99
Frozen berries – 2.99
Frozen kale – 1.79

Total: 24.52

From Grocery Outlet:

Frozen veggies – 2.99
Mixed greens – 2.50
3lb bag Bananas – 1.99
Black beans - .99
Pumpkin - .99
Organic coconut oil – 5.99

Total: 15.45

And lastly,
Unsweetened almond/coconut milk – 2.50
from Fred Meyer, which isn't technically real food but I don't drink regular milk and I'm not really equipped to make my own. Almonds are expensive.

Altogether I spent $42.27.