I have run into the great big wall of illness. I'm pretty impressed with myself though. I've managed to teach in not one, but three public schools without getting sick yet. I'm doing the best I can to kick what has already started though. Emergen-C and sleep!
So far I've been doing okay with trying to eat more healthfully. I bought a meat pack from New Seasons. It's all meat that's been raised in ethical and sustainable ways and the best part is that the big packs end up being rather affordable if you can buy all your meat for the month at once. I think it worked out to around $3 a pound for 20 pounds of different meats. Monday I made beef and pork sausage meatballs with pasta and then I used the extra meatballs tonight to make my Oma's recipe for meatball soup. The meatballs were really good in the soup.
In terms of the ethical eating I feel like I've been doing just okay. I'm not doing as well as I could be though. Obviously if I'm buying meat packs the whole vegan thing is off. I was thinking though that the majority of my meals should still be vegetarian at the very least and that my dairy should be much more limited than it has been. Grass-fed hormone and antibiotic free dairy is good and all, but that doesn't mean I can eat an unlimited supply of it. It also doesn't mean I can eat this instead of fruits and vegetables. These have taken a nosedive lately.
This weekend poses a meal problem. Probably starting tomorrow until Sunday most of my meals will have to be eaten on the go. I just need to stay focused on what it is that I'm doing and opt for vegetarian options and then to vote with my dollars. I've found that for fast food, I like to vote for Burgerville and Chipotle. They both have great vegetarian options and if I do decide to have meat they both have really good quality. I'm sure I'll get some argument from someone as to why I'm wrong. But only have two quick food options that are fewer and further between than say, oh, McDonalds is a little challenging when most of my day is in the city. So I'll just have to do the best I can and prepare myself with some healthy options.
Another thing that I've realized about my daily routine lately is that I consume an exorbitant amount of sugar and salt. In the morning I either have coffee with flavored creamer (organic and hormone free of course, but still sugared) or I have tea with a whole bunch of honey and cream added. I might have oatmeal with chia seeds and flax seed with a whole bunch of honey on it too. Lunch is usually leftovers although salty snacks tend to be involved. Dinner is probably the least sugary meal of the day but it's not lacking in sodium. Although, my frozen Trader Joe's chicken staples (okay, perhaps these are a little less ethical) consists either of orange chicken (mm orange sugar) or general tso's (only 8 grams per cup, surprising!). I usually don't go a day without a treat. Chocolate, cookies, muffins, pastries, I crave sweets on a daily basis and over-indulge usually more than once a day. Tonight was leftover soft-serve from Mike's. I was full after eating my bacon cheeseburger and fries you see, so I only had room for the cookie and had to save my soft serve. Sad right?
Okay so things in food land are not so good as I'd like to believe. But that doesn't mean I can't get back on track. In fact I fully intend to. Typically when things are unusually difficult (i.e. teaching choir in a school that has a track record of killing choir programs) is when I like to rise to the occasion. No one should ever accuse me of not liking a challenge! Perhaps this is a character flaw? So starting tomorrow and going for one whole week I am going on a sugar detox. No flavored creamer. No late-night sweet treats. Sugars naturally found in things like fruit or agave are alright within reason (in other words, no spoonfuls of agave to help my medicine go down). I am also going to try to lower my sodium intake. I've done low-sodium before and it's just a sad way to live. So instead I'm going to try to cut back on tortilla chips, fast food fries, and the salt I add to my food. I've got a long few weeks ahead of me and I think this is something that will help me be closer to my best. If anyone wants to join me, I would love some partners in sugarless crime!
PS I found a website that shows pictures of how much sugar is in things using sugar cubes. It's pretty interesting! sugarstacks.com
So far I've been doing okay with trying to eat more healthfully. I bought a meat pack from New Seasons. It's all meat that's been raised in ethical and sustainable ways and the best part is that the big packs end up being rather affordable if you can buy all your meat for the month at once. I think it worked out to around $3 a pound for 20 pounds of different meats. Monday I made beef and pork sausage meatballs with pasta and then I used the extra meatballs tonight to make my Oma's recipe for meatball soup. The meatballs were really good in the soup.
In terms of the ethical eating I feel like I've been doing just okay. I'm not doing as well as I could be though. Obviously if I'm buying meat packs the whole vegan thing is off. I was thinking though that the majority of my meals should still be vegetarian at the very least and that my dairy should be much more limited than it has been. Grass-fed hormone and antibiotic free dairy is good and all, but that doesn't mean I can eat an unlimited supply of it. It also doesn't mean I can eat this instead of fruits and vegetables. These have taken a nosedive lately.
This weekend poses a meal problem. Probably starting tomorrow until Sunday most of my meals will have to be eaten on the go. I just need to stay focused on what it is that I'm doing and opt for vegetarian options and then to vote with my dollars. I've found that for fast food, I like to vote for Burgerville and Chipotle. They both have great vegetarian options and if I do decide to have meat they both have really good quality. I'm sure I'll get some argument from someone as to why I'm wrong. But only have two quick food options that are fewer and further between than say, oh, McDonalds is a little challenging when most of my day is in the city. So I'll just have to do the best I can and prepare myself with some healthy options.
Another thing that I've realized about my daily routine lately is that I consume an exorbitant amount of sugar and salt. In the morning I either have coffee with flavored creamer (organic and hormone free of course, but still sugared) or I have tea with a whole bunch of honey and cream added. I might have oatmeal with chia seeds and flax seed with a whole bunch of honey on it too. Lunch is usually leftovers although salty snacks tend to be involved. Dinner is probably the least sugary meal of the day but it's not lacking in sodium. Although, my frozen Trader Joe's chicken staples (okay, perhaps these are a little less ethical) consists either of orange chicken (mm orange sugar) or general tso's (only 8 grams per cup, surprising!). I usually don't go a day without a treat. Chocolate, cookies, muffins, pastries, I crave sweets on a daily basis and over-indulge usually more than once a day. Tonight was leftover soft-serve from Mike's. I was full after eating my bacon cheeseburger and fries you see, so I only had room for the cookie and had to save my soft serve. Sad right?Okay so things in food land are not so good as I'd like to believe. But that doesn't mean I can't get back on track. In fact I fully intend to. Typically when things are unusually difficult (i.e. teaching choir in a school that has a track record of killing choir programs) is when I like to rise to the occasion. No one should ever accuse me of not liking a challenge! Perhaps this is a character flaw? So starting tomorrow and going for one whole week I am going on a sugar detox. No flavored creamer. No late-night sweet treats. Sugars naturally found in things like fruit or agave are alright within reason (in other words, no spoonfuls of agave to help my medicine go down). I am also going to try to lower my sodium intake. I've done low-sodium before and it's just a sad way to live. So instead I'm going to try to cut back on tortilla chips, fast food fries, and the salt I add to my food. I've got a long few weeks ahead of me and I think this is something that will help me be closer to my best. If anyone wants to join me, I would love some partners in sugarless crime!
PS I found a website that shows pictures of how much sugar is in things using sugar cubes. It's pretty interesting! sugarstacks.com
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