BAAAM. 10K: achievement unlocked.
June 13, 2015
BAAAM. 10K: achievement unlocked.
June 12, 2015
Made a card for one of my fellow NF Rebels.
Spring Greens & Meatballs
Picture it: Brooklyn, 2015. Obama is in the White House, Congress is ineffectual, the whole Northeast is tottering between Spring and Summer, and I forgot how to change gears rapidly when the grocery store is out of the ingredients I want for dinner.
This dinner was basically me playing Chopped the home game one night, when a Thursday hit and I realized I had only about half of the required items for the dinner I had planned on making, but had not really come up with a solid B plan. So I played. And it worked! Go, hours of watching cooking shows on television!
Gluten-free, paleo
Spring Greens & Meatballs
1 lb. grass fed ground beef
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme
1.5 tsp. fresh rosemary
1 clove garlic
Kosher salt & black pepper
1 wedge preserved lemon
2 tsp. aged balsamic vinegar
1.5 tsp. curry powder
1.5 tsp. baking soda mixed with 1 tsp. warm water
2 ounces double smoked bacon
1 leek
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. thyme
2 tsp. rosemary
1 c. frozen peas
1 Tbsp. unsalted grass fed butter
6 ounces baby spinach
First, make your meatballs. Add the ground beef to a large bowl. Pick and chop 1/2 tsp. thyme and 1/5 tsp. rosemary. Add to the meat. Grate 1 clove garlic and add. Add 1 big pinch of Kosher salt and a few grinds black pepper. Dice the preserved lemon and add 2 tsp., reserving the rest. Add the balsamic vinegar, curry powder and baking soda slurry. Mix and form into ping pong ball sized meatballs. Add to a large pan over medium heat and brown on all sides.
While your meatballs are cooking, cook your greens. First, chop your bacon and add to a pan over medium heat. While the bacon is working, wash and halve the leek and cut into thin half moons. Slice the second clove of garlic and chop the last 1 tsp. thyme and 2 tsp. rosemary. Add to the pan when the bacon is half rendered. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the leek is getting soft and browned in spots. Add the peas and stir, letting cook for a few minutes. Add the butter and stir, letting melt. Add the rest of the preserved lemon (about 1 tsp.) and half the spinach and stir until wilted. Add the rest of the spinach and wilt.
Serves 2 for a light dinner, with meatballs leftover for lunch
June 11, 2015
Reflections
June 10, 2015
Shadow.
June 9, 2015
They say when you’re with someone a long time, you start to look alike – 10 years in and at least our hair is working on it.
June 8, 2015
Week 1 Day 1 of a program aimed at upping my yoga game.
Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking – Week of June 1 – 7
This Week’s Menu
Monday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftover slaw mix with the last of last week’s cherry tomatoes + a leftover pork chop
Dinner: I had intended on making the Indian rice paper wrapped beef samosas I wanted to make last week, but where I shopped for groceries this week also did not have rice paper wrappers, so I scrapped the idea and made something up again.
Tuesday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftovers – the last of the coleslaw mix with some pulled pork
Dinner: Cauliflower crust stromboli with ham and pepperoni
Wednesday
Breakfast: Boo – life got away from the hubbs this morning, so no smoothie. I made eggs with some leftover pepperoni and tomato sauce
Lunch: Half an apple, half a mango and leftover flank steak
Dinner: Tonight we attended a cookout. I brought two varieties of vegan/allergy-free salad – stone fruit and spring pea and radish (recipes coming soon).
Thursday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: I had the last of the leftover flank steak with some of last night’s stone fruit salad
Dinner: I bought chicken and green beans and had intended on making a simple dinner, but decided to use up some leftovers instead. I served some leftover pulled pork over the spring pea and radish salad I made yesterday. Simple, took like 3 minutes, and delicious.
Friday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftover spring pea & radish salad with leftover polled pork (again)
Dinner: Ate out
Sunday
Breakfast: Out
Lunch: Out
Dinner: Ended up having a bunch of snacks for lunch and dinner – some I bought at the grocery that day, and some I had on hand from previous trips.
This Week’s Grocery List
Just BARE no antibiotic chicken breast tenders, 14oz. ($5.49 @Amazon Fresh)
Green beans, 1 lb. ($1.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Organic broccoli slaw, 9 oz. ($2.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Radishes ($0.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Crimini mushrooms, 8 oz. ($2.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Lemon ($0.69 @ Amazon Fresh)
Cauliflower ($3.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Snow peas, 1 lb. ($3.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
BelGioioso fresh perline mozzarella, 8 oz. ($3.19 @ Amazon Fresh)
Green seedless grapes, 2 lb. ($6.98 @ Amazon Fresh)
Fuji apple ($1.49 @ Amazon Fresh)
Applegate Naturals mini pork pepperoni, 4 oz. ($4.59 @ Amazon Fresh)
Applegate Naturals Virginia ham, 0.50 lb. ($5.49 @ Amazon Fresh)
Scallions ($0.79 @ Amazon Fresh)
Eden Organic pizza sauce, 15 oz. ($3.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Dole pineapple chunks, 20 oz. ($1.59 @ Amazon Fresh)
Red mango ($1.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Smoothie Supplies
Ginger, 8 oz. ($1.92 @ Amazon Fresh)
Zico Natural coconut water, 1 liter ($3.98 @ Amazon Fresh)
5 Apples ($3.75 @ Amazon Fresh)
1.5 lbs. limes ($2.49 @ Amazon Fresh)
2 Avocados ($4.00 @ Amazon Fresh)
Bagged kale, 16 oz. ($5.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Bagged spinach, 9 oz. ($1.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Budget Breakout
This week, I spent $87.34; $12.66 under budget. I am seriously thankful delivery groceries was an option for me this week. Saturday was a big race, and when Sunday rolled around I was too sore to want to walk to the store, let alone carry groceries back home. Delivery groceries, you are a lifesaver – even if you don’t have everything I wanted.
I tacked on $10 to this week’s grocery total to account for the last-minute fruit run I sent my DH on the day of the cookout to pick up plums, nectarines and a red pepper. I don’t know how much those items *actually* cost, but he went to the expensive fancy store, so I’m guessing it was a bunch.
Leftovers From This Week
At the end of the week, I have burgers, chicken breasts, green beans, some herbs, some carrots, and a few serrano peppers left over. I need to incorporate these items into my menu for next week. I also have more than enough meat to get myself through the week for lunch, so all I have to worry about while grocery shopping is vegetables – score!
—
Think eating healthfully is too expensive for you? Think again. According to the USDA, to ensure a nutritious diet as of December 2014, a family of two aged 19-59 years should spend between $388.90 and $776.10 on food per month, or $89.80 – $179.30 per week. Source
For my family of two adults, I spend roughly $400 a month on groceries or $100 a week – and we eat well. Not caviar and lobster well, but I do manage to serve a predominately paleo diet with little to no processed foods, and I get to throw in a few luxuries here and there (like expensive snacks for the hubbs and the occasional ridiculously expensive bag of coffee). We even manage to buy “good” meat (grass fed beef and free-range chicken) most of the time – and I make this budget work even on the weeks we pay for convenience by getting delivery groceries. I make: 10 breakfasts, 5 lunches, and 10 dinners a week – plus enough snacks to satisfy and fuel two active adults.
I’m hoping that this series will help shed a little light on the day-to-day things a “paleo” person really eats — and how that way of eating can work on a budget. I want to nudge anyone sitting on the fence right over the edge by showing that it *can* be done and that you don’t just eat meat, meat, meat and more meat.
June 7, 2015
Now open.
June 6, 2015
Madison Square Park
