In Mandy’s Shoes: From Jess at Fearlessly Free
To round off all of my guest posts, I’m thrilled to introduce one of my bff’s and one of my bridesmaids, Jess! She’s been staying at our house watching the dogs while we’ve been gone and will take up residency with her fiance, Chris in our home while we live in Spain. We’re so grateful to them for watching Wrigley and Zoe for three weeks, and it’s so funny to read this post about her experiences living in our home! We can’t wait to come back home tomorrow!
Hola! I’m Jess, Mandy and Mike’s friend, current dog-sitter extraordinaire, and future tenant. Thanks to a lot of help from Mandy, I’m also the Lazy Gourmet on my food blog: Lazy Kitchenette-and now, also thanks to Mandy, I’m blogging over at Fearlessly Free about life, love, laughs, and trying new things.
As Mandy has mentioned, we’ll be moving in to their house while they’re away for the year. So these last few weeks have been a sort of test-run, where we got a feel for the house and were able to ask questions, meet the neighbors, and explore the area.
I would say that Mandy and I are really close friends, but I didn’t realize how much more there was about her that I could learn from stepping into her shoes for a little while.
For instance, it never occurred to us that Mandy and Mike only have one TV in their home. Well, two if you count the one in the basement, which we don’t because we never go down there. I think that having one TV for the whole house is really applause worthy. It’s a sign of a healthy, active couple who, when they want to relax, make sure that they do it together. I’m not saying that Chris and I are unhealthy, but our relationship is, expectedly, different from Mike and Mandy’s. While I love Chris, I really don’t love watching the Discovery Channel all day long, nor does he enjoy my penchant for awesomely bad TV. Occasionally, we like to do our own thing, and usually it involves Chris playing video games and me watching a musical. This requires two televisions. While having only one TV hasn’t been a problem for us yet, we know that eventually an extra TV will have to be brought in.
Call me when the Discovery Channel looks more like this ^. Is it awful that I would totally watch this show?
Next thing I learned is that Mandy and I are opposite drawer people. Never heard of this rare phenomenon? Let me explain it to you: Have you ever been in someone’s kitchen and you had to guess where things are kept, and so you think, “Well if this were my kitchen, I’d put the water glasses in this cabinet!” and you swing open the door and find….tupperware. That’s how I feel in Mandy’s kitchen. Mandy is a “utensils in the right drawer, cooking tools in the left” while I’m the exact opposite. It’s frustrating, and I’ve found that it has a lot to do with where your mom put stuff. If your mom kept utensils in the left drawer when you were growing up, then that’s where you’ll put them in your kitchen too. So now I’ve also probably learned where Mandy’s mom keeps things in her house. If I ever go there looking for a fork, I’ll probably know which drawer to find it in: the right drawer. Am I right, Mandy?! lol (Note from Mandy: actually, in the house I grew up in, silverware was on the left!! In my mom’s house NOW though, silverware is on the right. I guess my mom and I are just “whatever suits this specific kitchen people” though I never thought about it until now!)
Maybe I just need labels on the outsides of the cabinets
Here’s something we learned about ourselves while we were here: While dog-sitting Wrigley and Zoe, we’ve gotten our first real attempt at having dogs. I have always wanted a dog. Always. Wrigley and Zoe are really high energy dogs, which is a great fit for Mandy and Mike, because they’re super active. But let’s face it. Our fat asses are not active. The change in our lifestyle has been drastic, and almost all of the changes are for the better. We’ve made a real effort to keep the dogs entertained, and it has really helped me get out of the house more and walk them regularly-which gives me a reason to exercise. I also spend a lot of time in the back yard with them, which has definitely helped my vitamin D intake, even if my supply of Cortizone10 is now fearfully low (Jersey in the warm evenings anyone?). I’ve been begging Chris for a dog for-ever, and after a lot of discussion about our experiences with Wrigley and Zoe, we’re realizing that our moms were right: A dog is a LOT of responsibility. It really is like having a child.
After an extremely late night involving Wrigley, a shit-ton of jalapeno peppers, a bath, a thorough cleaning of the entire house, and an hour of blow drying a sick dog….we realized there’s no way we could commit to having a dog at this point in our lives.
I want to make it clear that Wrigley and Zoe are wonderful dogs, and they’ve been fantastic, and it’s nothing that they did. It’s a combination of two things: The first is that I just finished an intensive training for a promotion to a new position at work that will have me traveling 60% of the time. As much as we love the companionship, hilarity, and health benefits that Wrigley and Zoe offer, it just wouldn’t be fair to a dog to have me gone so much of the time, and it wouldn’t be fair to leave Chris as a single dad (puppy-dad anyway) for more than half the time. The second thing is that possibly for the first time ever, I’ve realized that having a dog isn’t all about belly rubs, cuddle buddies, and doing tricks. It’s a lot of work, and no matter how hard you try, things will happen. Dogs get sick just like people do, and it’s your responsibility as the puppy parents to take care of them. Ooooh, but the belly rubbing and cuddling and playing is sooooo fun! *Le Sigh* Someday. Just not for us right now.
I’m going to miss the pups like whoa when they’re off to Spain though, which is why I’ll keep this video around for a long time:
Zoe whips her hair back and forth
I love how Wrigley just sits in the forefront staring at us. What you miss is that at the end of this video is that Zoe drops the ball and Wrigley decides he’s had enough of us laughing at Zoe, so he takes the ball away from her and they play tug of war with it for a solid 7 minutes. We’ve nicknamed them Pebbles and Bam-Bam. They’re such a tag team. They’re completely different dogs when they’re together as compared to when they’re apart.
So I guess in this instance, the thing I learned about Mandy is that she is a phenomenal puppy mommy. You can tell the dogs really miss their parents, and for good reason: Their parents happen to be two awesome people, and together, the four are an adorable family.
Don’t you agree?
Too Cute!
We can’t wait for Mandy and Mike to get back so we can share our experiences and see all the pictures of their incredible vacation in Spain…hopefully over a bottle of wine they’ve brought back with them (oh, don’t even try to hide it guys. We know you don’t go anywhere without bringing back some wine).
Break out the cava, people! Let’s wish Mike and Mandy a warm and safe homecoming!
Have you ever house-sat, babysat, or dogsat? Was it as much of an eye opening experience for you as it was for me?
Keep following us at my blog: Fearlessly Free
Tomato & Fennel Soup: from Amy at Parker Haus Roles
I’m so glad to have Amy from Parker Haus Roles on today to guest blog! I had never heard of volumetrics before she introduced everyone to it on her blog, but it definitely makes sense and Mike and I have actually been doing that ourselves for a long time! We’re big soup eaters in our household and we’ll definitely be giving this recipe a try!
Mandy and Mike prefer wine, Matt and I prefer beer but we all share a love of good food and healthy living. Over at Parker Haus Roles my husband Matt and I are making our first townhouse a home and cooking up good eats in the kitchen… well we haven’t been cooking much lately. 2011 started out extremely busy and we found ourselves eating out a lot. We also found ourselves with a few extra pounds as a result. In April we took the plunge and started a diet plan. Matt and I recently lost a collective 55 lbs. We’re coming off of our diet and starting to integrate cooking back into our routine, but now we are much more conscious of what we are cooking.
I recently introduced our readers to volumetrics concepts. Because of their high water content, non-creamy soups are wonderfully volumized food. The ratio of calories to grams of soup is low, meaning you can eat more soup for 200 calories than most other foods. Because you are eating more of the soup you are full and satisfied on fewer calories than if you ate 200 calories of crackers.
A couple weeks ago we found ourselves with fennel in our CSA box and some fresh dungeness crabmeat. As we typically do when we find ourselves with ingredients with no predetermined purpose we searched Epicurious for recipes which used both. The resulting meal Tomato, Crab, and Fennel Soup from Bon Appetit January 2011 was amazing, totally a 4 fork rated meal instead of the 3 fork rating that the recipe had on Epicurious. Ever curious Matt read all of the reviews to see why some people gave this soup a poor rating. We frequently find that people who do not have access to the right ingredients or the right quality of ingredients rate the recipe poorly. In this case many folks didn’t have access to fresh crab meat and supplemented canned crab meat. When the dish wasn’t spectacular and didn’t showcase the crab these folks resented buying expensive crab meat and rated the recipe lower.
We agreed that the recipe would be great without crab meat and with some other modifications to make it more healthy. For example, the original recipe calls for 1/4 cup of olive oil to saute the onions, fennel slices and garlic. If you are cooking with non-stick cookware there is no reason to use this much oil.
Tomato & Fennel Soup
adapted from Bon Appetit January 2011
2 tablespoons olive oil
3.5 cups chopped yellow onion
2 medium fennel bulbs with fronds; bulbs cored, thinly sliced fronds chopped and reserved
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 14.5 ounce cans diced Italian tomatoes in juice
2 cups (or more) vegetable broth
chopped fresh basil for garnish
Optional 2 Anaheim or Banana peppers chopped
A quick note on tomatoes. Matt and I recently traveled to Italy where we had the most amazing tomatoes. Italian tomatoes taste so different from the ones we grow here in the US that we feared we would be ruined on tomatoes for life. On our return we sought out Italian canned tomatoes in the grocery to see if they were as good as the ones we had in Rome. There are two brands that we like and suggest using: San Marzano and Carmelina. While the packaging leads you to believe both of these are products of Italy the small print on the back tells a different story. San Marzanos are grown in the US (the name itself refers to the type of plum tomato which is rumored to be the best for sauces). We prefer the Italian grown Carmelina tomatoes but the San Marzanos are a close second.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in heavy non-stick pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, fennel slices and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until onions and fennel are tender (about 15 minutes). Adjust heat accordingly if the onions and fennel start to brown.
Add tomatoes with juice and 2 cups of broth and peppers (optional). Bring to a boil then reduce the heat, cover and simmer about 15 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Divide soup among bowls. Sprinkle chopped fronds and basil as garnish.
Total Prep Time: 35-40 minutes
Yields: 4 large servings
Suggested side: Whole grain bread
Only 190 calories for a large bowl and just 8 grams of fat! Its also good to note that this recipe provides a quarter of your dietary fiber needs, 60% of your vitamin C, and 15% Vitamin A, Calcium, and Folate. The sodium could be reduced by using low sodium vegetable broth.
As much as I am in denial that summer is ending, fall is a great time to try soup recipes and volumize your meals!
Guest Post: Elizabeth from Clementine and Clover
I’m loving this post from Elizabeth from Clementine and Clover! Since Mike and I have been on a healthier lifestyle track for awhile now, I’m always looking for tips on how to improve our routines in a manageable way. Elizabeth definitely makes it seem manageable with these three tips!
I think of the word diet and almost shudder. The word, to me, has such negative connotations: Visions of tasteless shakes, overly-skinny models, and endless baggies of zero-calorie celery dance in my head.
But I think I may have to cozy up to the word, since I find myself in desperate need of one. Years of reaching for chocolate brownie bites from Trader Joe’s and an aging metabolism have caught up to me. Besides, it would be friendlier on my wallet to always stay the same size – fewer clothes to buy! Not that I’m opposed to the extra shopping required of bouncing back and forth between two sizes.
I say bouncing because a year ago, for my wedding, I successfully dropped 12 pounds in one month. Without a diet. I kept up my same old shameful ice-cream spooning, soda-guzzling habits – the key was I added Jillian Michaels’ 30-day shred to my daily routine (albeit staying on level one the entire time).
So, this time around, I know I can get even better results with an overall lifestyle change, not just a workout DVD for 20 minutes a day.
My plan? It’s simple and three-fold:
1. I’m reducing my sugar intake. After reading this interesting article from the New York Times on how fructose is actually toxic to our bodies, I decided to nix it. The article was sparked by a lecture given by UCSF Professor Robert Lustig, MD, “Sugar: The Bitter Truth.” Give it a listen – it’s fascinating to learn how many “low-fat” products actually contain fructose, which your body turns into fat. And it’s shocking how many products on grocery store shelves are loaded with fructose. I now read the ingredients in bread and other products to be sure to choose a healthy one free of high fructose corn syrup.
2. Stick to a metabolism-boosting diet with limited calories: 200-300 calories every three hours during the day (yay for snacking!). I was inspired by this article from Lifescript.com (where I work) on how eating 5-6 small meals per day will speed up your metabolism.
3. A cardio, abs and weights workout for 20-30 minutes per day. Most likely I’ll do Jillian’s videos again or try the Tracy Anderson Method, which a good friend of mine raves about.
I’m happy to report I’ve been on this new lifestyle track for seven days and have so far lost four pounds!
Are you on a similar track trying to achieve a healthier lifestyle? Or running interference against the holiday extravagances we all face at the table this time of year? What’s your plan to stay healthy this fall?
Elizabeth Nixon is a writer and lover of design, event planning and letterpress printing, which she writes about on her blog Clementine and Clover. Nixon works as an editor at Lifescript.com, a site devoted to healthy living for women.
Sharing is Caring: from Jenny at Geek in Heels
I’m so happy to have Jenny from Geek in Heels guest posting for me today! Her blog is a wonderful mix of insight into her life, as well as wonderful/thought-provoking/funny things found around the net. She’s also a commenting force to be reckoned with–I’m always blown away by her ability to leave thoughtful and kind comments on so many of the blogs I follow. I definitely aspire to be as kind of an internet friend as she is!
Hi readers! My name is Jenny — the old Mrs. Peony on Weddingbee — and I blog over at Geek in Heels. I’m so excited to be contributing a guest post for Mandy while she is on her trip! I hope you will indulge me as I write about my 11-month-old daughter Claire and her recent interactions with Comang, our shih-tzu.
For the first few months of Claire’s life, our daughter and our dog mostly ignored each other. As Claire became more aware of her surroundings, she began to take an interest in him…but he wanted nothing to do with her as she had been the strange mini-human that had been monopolizing mommy and daddy’s attention.
All that changed when Claire began solids, and — as most babies do — started dropping her food on the floor.
Now, Comang has never really taken an interest in human food before Claire came along. You could even place a big plate of ribs directly in front of him and all he would do is sniff at it! (You can see the proof here.)
We’re not exactly sure why Comang began to eat the baby’s food. Perhaps it’s because she was about the same size as him? Or maybe it’s due to the fact that a good portion of it ends up on the floor, where we often throw him his treats?
Whatever the reason, it soon became commonplace for him to follow Claire as she buzzed around in her walker, dropping puffs, Cheerios, and Mum-Mums in her path, or to find him lurking under her high chair waiting for food to rain down from the sky.
(Sometimes, we will even call to him after Claire has finished eating to “vacuum” the mess on the floor. 
)
Just last month, as Claire sat on the couch playing with her toys, she got ahold of a nearby container of puffs and pried it open.
Since a bunch of the puffs spilled onto the couch before I could get to her, I decided that she might as well eat what she had spilled before I attempt to clean the mess.
And as soon as Claire began to eat the puffs, Comang walked on over and sat next to her, giving her his “please feed me” look.
To my amazement, Claire picked up a puff and handed it over to him!
Claire and Comang continued this routine — one puff for her, one puff for him — until all the puffs on the couch were gone.
Then can you guess what happened?
Comang, who was clearly not satisfied, gave Claire a “I want more” look.
Claire then grabbed her pacifier and tried to give that to him!
I could not stop laughing. At Comang’s reaction (which was an expression that clearly stated, “What the heck is that? I don’t want that crap!”) or at Claire’s obvious confusion at his refusal of the pacifier.
I wish that I could have captured this moment on video. But as I wasn’t quick enough, here’s one of Claire sharing her Cheerios with Comang. Enjoy!
Guest Post: Catherine from Forty 20 Four
I am absolutely loving this post by Catherine of Forty 20 Four! I always swoon over her travel posts since she and her husband make travel a priority–something Mike and I hope to do as well. I’m definitely going to have to check some of these books out once we get settled in Spain and I have some time to get back to reading!
When Mandy asked me if I would be interested in guest blogging while she was in Spain, I jumped at the chance. I so ENVIOUS that she’s moving to Spain – what an amazing experience it will be for her and her family.
I love traveling and have loved living abroad but like most people, my husband and I don’t quite have the resources (money and time off) to go all the places we want to go. Luckily for us, there are ways to have worldly adventures without ever leaving the couch – all it takes is a good book and here are my top 5 picks.
Tip Five Travel Books:
1. Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay
This is one of my FAVORITE books period. I’m a sucker for a history of (insert random topic here) book. I really enjoy reading how a particular item, be it Cod or Color, affected the world. This book is half travel memoir, half history of color. The writing is superb. It makes your favorite color really come to life and allow you understand its role in history.
2. West With the Night by Beryl Markham
When I started to travelling to Africa regularly, my Mother-in-law suggested I read this book. She said she knew I would really love it. As usual, she was right. Beryl moved to Africa in 1906 and was in love with the continent. She was a remarkable women who ran her own small airline and had adventures which were the envy of any man at the time – or person now. I could not put this book down. The imagery and language take you away to another place and time, and you go willingly.
3. The Places in Between by Rory Stewart
I don’t know why I picked up this book but I’m so glad I did. I learned so much about a country I knew little about, Afghanistan. After spending significant time in Asia, Rory Stewart decides to walk across Afghanistan shortly after 9/11 and the departure of the Taliban. He’s honest, the book is gritty, and it holds your attention throughout. I may never go to Afghanistan but I feel like I understand it better after reading this book.
4. Note From a Small Island and In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
Maybe I should just say books by Bill Bryson? I read Notes From a Small Island a few weeks before I moved to England to go to graduate school. I felt like I didn’t need a travel guide but just something that interesting and gave me a real perspective of what it would be like to live in England as an America. Bryson’s observations are spot on (in my option) and his adventures are hilarious no matter where he is.
I read In a Sunburned Country right before my husband and I headed to Australia for our honeymoon. Thank goodness I read it after I booked our tickets because that book, despite being REALLY funny, scared me to death. Bryson spends most of the book humorously describing all the life threatening and poisonous dangers in Australia. Then again, Bryson also convinced me I HAD to go to Australia and pray that I would be on a train and see a kangaroo hopping alongside it. You know what, I totally saw a kangaroo (two actually) hop, ok bound, alongside our train and it was amazing and my favorite memory
from Australia.
5. Ciao, America! By Beppe Severgnini
There are so many books about Americans living, traveling and learning the ropes in Italy but this is not that – it’s the complete opposite. This book is about an Italian man living in Washington DC. It’s SO funny and many of Severgnini’s observations and frustrations with Washington DC are exclusive to him being Italian. I read this book almost 10 years ago and realized that I had the same feelings as he did about many of the same things. I also remember that this book was funny. Did I say that? Like laugh
out loud on the metro and have people stare at you funny.
There are SO many more travel memoirs and histories I’ve read and loved. What books have taken you away on foreign adventures without ever leaving the house?
Guest Post: Allie from Allie’s Everyday Adventures
I was so pleasantly surprised to see that I had inspired this post from Allie of Allie’s Everyday Adventures! I love that Top Chef has prompted them to create fancy plated dinners for themselves! We often find that making food LOOK good makes it taste all that much better 
I loved Mandy’s post from a few weeks ago on TV inspiring conversation between yourself and your spouse. Like her and her husband, my husband and I often spend our evenings watching TV together.
Growing up, I never watched much TV. My parents watched The Tonight Show With Jay Leno almost every night, and that was about the extent of our boob tube time. When I went off to college, I got cable for the first time and went a little nuts. I got crazy addicted to trashy dating shows. (Yeah, I watched all three seasons of Rock of Love, what upppp.)
Matt’s family on the other hand, watched TV more often, but were picky about what they watched. They had been big fans of Top Chef for years. I never thought I’d be interested in watching it. I mean, why watch other people cook food when I’m not going to be making it myself? Boooooring.
Oh how I’m eating my words now. Matt continued to watch Top Chef, and I slowly got sucked in. It doesn’t even matter that we’re not going to create the recipes we see on there. We get to drool over supremely fancy food — and desserts! Top Chef Just
Desserts is dangerous! — while laughing about the contestants’ ridiculous complaints and backstabbery. (Also, did you know that Padma Lakshmi was once in an episode of Star Trek? True story. So Matt can’t watch a single episode without laughing about that.)
Not only does watching this show give us time to bond, but it has helped us create our own little dinner traditions. If we’re cooking something nice (or yummy-looking), we try to plate our food Top Chef-style so it looks pretty. Because pretty = better tasting.
Barbecued burgers with sweet potato fries and three kinds of salad
Beef crostini with balsamic drizzle and parmesan chips — probably the fanciest meal I’ve ever made.
Clearly we’re experts at this.
A little friendly competition never hurts either. That’s why, for every reality competition we watch, we have to individually predict who is going to win within the first five minutes. (Orlando is going to win this season of Just Desserts. Not Chris. Definitely not Chris. Just sayin’. 
But in all seriousness, our TV habits have allowed us to discuss things like how we would address tasks as a team, how we would handle tough situations and just generally learn more about each other. Because no matter how long you’ve been with your partner, there are always new things to discover.
Has a TV show created any new traditions or bonding ideas for you and your significant other?
Guest Post: Nodakademic
Nodakademic is a late-20s woman living, working, and writing a dissertation in North Dakota (which is kind of like a foreign country to most people, if you think about it). She’s also Mrs. Mary Jane on Weddingbee. She takes one heck of a daily multivitamin.
I’m a person who really wants to care about her health and her appearance. Therefore, like many other men and women in the U.S., I have often been heard making proclamations such as “We need to eat healthier!” and “We are going to cook at home more and eat out less!” And in fact, my husband (online, I call him Mr. Nodakademic) and I have actually made some good strides in that direction, from time to time. But as far as a long term, permanent change? Hasn’t happened, and it’s mostly my fault.
Via Now obviously, a husband and wife should each be invested in healthy eating. But wouldn’t a lot of ladies agree with me that it’s often the wife who needs to ‘gently coax’ (or drag, kicking and screaming) the husband in to a slightly healthier way of eating? This has been my experience, made a little bit more difficult by the issue that my
husband is very, very picky about food. [LINK:http://www.nodakademic.com/2010/02/on-having-husband-who-doesnt-like-food.html] (To be general, but mostly accurate: he doesn’t like cooked vegetables, things that are mixed with other things, most breads, pastas, rice, types of potatoes, casseroles, soups… I could go on for a while, but I’ll spare you.) But throughout our 3.5 years of living together, I have found a pretty decent variety of things we do both enjoy eating. I believe almost all of them are–at the very least–healthier than take-out.
Lately though, I’ve been having this little issue with my time and stress levels. Anyone who follows my blog knows that there are two main things sucking up my waking hours at the moment. I work a ‘normal,’ 40-hours-a-week job–that’s thing #1. Thing #2 is my dissertation. I’ve been chasing my doctorate for about 3 years now, and am trying to nail down a December graduation. And I uh…well…I might have slacked off just a little bit too much this summer. So I’m now on a serious crunch. I’ve given up pretty much everything I actually enjoy doing. This makes for a sad, boring me, but it forces me to tackle my writing. (Cooking is one of those things I enjoy doing, by the way.)
Though not in quite the crunch I am at the moment, Mr. Nodakademic is also in hot pursuit of a Ph.D. and cooking is *not* one of those things he enjoys doing. Asking him to cook is equivalent to asking him to order the pizza. I’m not saying he can’t cook–he can. But he would rather someone else do it. In particular, someone at a place ending in ‘Hut’ or ‘Wok’ or ‘& Grill.’ That’s how Mr. N was finding his sustenance when I first met him; he’d been doing it that way for years. So, we’ve established that neither of us has time to cook, and Mr. N doesn’t really want to. What does that leave us?
A mashup of takeout boxes, leftover pizza and junk food. It’s easy. It’s satisfying. It’s available. Tons of well-meaning people would surely respond to me by saying that healthy food is more satisfying, just as available, and easy too. That I should cast off the shackles of MSG and high-fructose corn syrup and trans-fat. And those people are right…except for the parts about healthy food being satisfying, available, and fast/easy for me.
I’ll start with ‘satisfying,’ since it’s the most biased thing I said. I can tell myself 10,000 times that I’d be more satisfied if I skipped the candy bar and got a manicure. But at the end of the day I’ll have nice nails AND chocolate in my teeth because my ‘self’ doesn’t appreciate being lied to. Ditto with healthy meals. Today I tried to have yogurt and carrots for lunch. Which is… Meh. But it’s healthy! So eating that *and then* Doritos dipped in microwaved cheese-product–because I totally felt ripped off after finishing that boring-ass carrots+yogurt cup lunch–is still healthy, right?
Availability. I live in the smack dab middle of the US, waaaaay up north. They say Chicago is a northern, midwestern city. And it certainly is. But travel about 750 miles northwest, and you’ll find us in North Dakota. My friends in Chicago lament about their poor produce selection in the winter, and that’s a major metropolitan area. I can’t say I shed a tear for them while I’m trying to find a peach that doesn’t have too many soft-brownish-black areas, or an apple without visible freezer burn. I don’t like most vegetables served raw. Mr. N doesn’t like most vegetables served cooked. And he also doesn’t like things mixed together (so if you were going to say “salad!”…). Let’s not even talk about preserves, the thought of which make either of us ready to hurl. Fun times with availability, taste and preference.
How about the speed and ease? Pretty sure spooning some Nutella out of the jar and in to my mouth is easier than having to cut up that dumb old carrot. Yeah… I know that’s a weak argument. I also rarely read labels on anything. I just throw it in my cart and get out of the store as quickly as I can (after paying, of course). Along these same lines, it’s much easier to keep non-perishables (which are usually not-so-good-for-you things) fresh. I don’t go to the store very often. I don’t have time. I use my lunch hours from work working my my dissertation, usually. After work, I come home and–guess what!–more
dissertation. And the weekends… I don’t go to the store on the weekends. I work on my dissertation. Meanwhile, the head of cauliflower (which I could swear I just) bought has turned a funny shade of greenish tan and started to stink to high heaven. Whoops. You have no idea how much food I throw out. It’s terribly sad. Note: you never have to throw out a twinkie. They don’t expire.
Have I mentioned that I’m almost 30 years old and I still lack any sort of “I need to eat something healthy” physical-sickness-funk-type of feeling? I don’t know what that’d be like, but I guess a lot of people I know tend to gravitate toward healthier dishes after a few days of heavy junk-food consumption. Not me. Mexican yesterday? Chinese buffet tonight? Drive-thru burgers tomorrow? Bring it. With a side (or main course?) of ice cream and a couple of shots of whiskey. I know this kind of eating can do me (us) nothing but harm. So this whole “We need to eat healthier” thing is most definitely true, and the reasons I’ve given for avoiding it are transparent and nothing but excuses. But I haven’t the time, the energy, or the brain power to deal with it right now. I’ve made the choice to back off on this self-improvement and let it slide (along with house chores, home improvements, social obligations and pretty much everything else) because I know I only have a limited amount of dissertating left. I watch my portion sizes, but that’s where the dissertation diet rules end.
Guest Post: Lauren from Oh Lordy!
Hey everyone! My name is Lauren (also known as Mrs. Elephant over on Weddingbee) and I’m so excited to be guest posting for Mandy while she is enjoying a fabulous trip over seas! After the wedding I started blogging over at Oh Lordy! about our newlywed adventures in cooking, house hunting, traveling and random life celebrations.
Along with our goal to work out 3-4 days a week, Chris and I have been trying to incorporate more veggies into our diet. This is pretty hard because he is not a fan of vegetables. Back in the day I had no problems adding broccoli, beans and carrots into my weekly meals, but when I began cooking for him I started to slack. He wouldn’t eat them, so why bother to cook them? I am getting better though. I started to buy the veggies for myself and will just cook them on the side.
Chris will eat salad (normally just Caesar) but when tasting for our wedding menu he found a love for spinach. After reading online about green monsters, a way to add another serving of veggies into your day, I decided to try it out. There are several recipes online at Green Movement , but I normally just wing it with what can be found in our kitchen.
Do you have to find interesting ways to get your spouse to eat veggies? Or is your spouse a veggie lover?
Guest Post: Ali from His Birdie’s Nest
Today, I’m excited to introduce Ali from His Birdie’s Nest! One of the things I love about her blog is that she does a post every Friday listing 5 reasons why she loves her husband. It’s so sweet and so fun to read! Today, she has a post to share about something else she does on Fridays–crack open a bottle of wine!
Every Friday at my house we have what we like to call “Wine Fridays”. Hubs and I get a bottle of wine, sit on the couch, listen to music, and talk about our week etc. Sometimes it’s just a bottle of Two Buck Chuck and sometimes, it’s something a little nicer.
Recently my go to wines have been from Cupcake Vineyards. I discovered them at a little liquor store near my house, on our way to a friend’s place for Memorial Day. At first I was embarrassed to buy a bottle of wine with a cupcake on it, thinking surely it was marketed toward women and a crappy bottle of wine. It may be marketed toward women, but it is a great bottle of wine and now one of my favorites! Their red wine, named Red Velvet, is also delicious!
Which got me thinking about what other wine lovers’ go to wines were? I went to Twitter and here’s what I found out…
Wine Image Sources: Charles Shaw, Red Diamond, Valreas, Guigal, Nobilo, Red Truck, Ménage a Trois, La Crema, Bogle, Green Fin, Apothic Red, Pancake
A couple of these I’ve tried, but a lot of them I haven’t. I can’t wait to try them on our next Wine Friday! What is YOUR go to wine?
Guest Post: Kayti from Folly Life
I’m so excited to introduce Kayti from Folly Life today! Her posts always crack me up and I’m so enjoying her posts about her pregnancy journey! The thing I love best about her blog is that she’s an unflinchingly honest writer, which I so respect in the blog world. Be sure to check out Folly Life!
Have you seen that movie Food Inc? Yeah, me either. My friends, Bob and Taylor, have though which is how I accidentally ended up on this local food path. You see it’s not that I don’t care about where my food comes from it’s just that going to Stop & Shop is just so easy. Also, Skinny Bitch ruined me just a little bit to all tough love about your food exposes. I was vegetarian for a hot minute until I realized that perhaps allowing my only cheat meat to be Burger King Whoppers wasn’t all that healthy. I’m Irish, I was raised on meat and potatoes and you can imagine my need for iron directed me straight to Burger King each week.
Oh, you were waiting for a point weren’t you? Right. Anyway, my friends saw Food Inc. and were absolutely disgusted with what we are being offered at the big business supermarket. Taylor began researching local beef sources which lead her right to Duggan Farms. She did the bulk of the research and correspondence so I was pretty excited when she asked Zeb and I to purchase the cow with them. Hey, if all I have to do is give the money and get the cow, well then that’s just as easy as the supermarket!
Now comes the tough part though, the price. The cost of our cow, affectionately named Bessie, depended on her hanging weight. Last year the price per pound of hanging weight was $3.95, that’s bones and meat, no blood. Bessie was quite a fatty at 1100lbs. Taylor and I quickly realized that there is no way we’d be able to eat 1100lbs of Bessie between the four of us, and that $4400 is a wee bit expensive for meat to rot in your freezer for five years. Luckily Duggan Farms offers a fraction cow option and we were able to scrounge up two more couples to split our half of the cow.
Last November, after months of anticipation, we took a pilgrimage down to Little Compton, RI to pick up Bessie. We were able to meet some of Bessie’s friends, see where she lied down when it rained, and peek at what she ate to make her so delectably fat. I felt a little like a murderer. I was expecting PETA to come throw red paint on me. Then I remembered Skinny Bitch and felt pretty satisfied that no one stuck a laser up our cow’s bum before slaughter. Bessie’s hooves didn’t freeze to the bottom of a caboose in cow excrement. Bessie had a good life, that is until I, the cow murder, came along.
Bessie’s Playground, via Duggan Farm
We roamed the farm for a little bit and then went inside to to pay our $550 for 78lb (just meat at this point) each of Bessie. Duggan Farms had helped Taylor with the cut sheet. A cut sheet is a form for the butcher for you to specify what cuts of beef you’d life. The butcher that Duggan Farms uses is legit. The facility is completely cleaned after each animal. We were even given the option to witness the butcher cutting Bessie. That was a little too much for all of us to stomach so we didn’t take them up on the offer. We were impressed by the packaging they used. Everything was vacuum packed and frozen. It made for some chilly fingers when we were dividing the meat, but nearly a year later the meat looks the same as it did in November.
Bessie is delicious! If you want a reason to go local with your meat its that nothing quite compares to grass fed, respected, local meat. Even restaurants pale in comparison to the quality taste Bessie has to offer. It makes me a little sad to know that we’re nearly running out of her. I don’t think I can return to Stop & Shop to pay $8.00 for a crap pound of ground beef. That’s the other thing with local meat, the upfront cost is difficult to manage but in the long run you save money.
Now I’m no math wizz but lets say we’ve had Bessie for 40 weeks. That’s about $14.00 per week in beef. How much money do you spend at the market each week lining the pockets of big business? Also, I’m not running back and forth to the market each week to buy fresh meat. You know how those little trips always turn into while-I’m-here-I-need-this-this-and-that. Before you know it you’ve spent $100 on essentially nothing. Bessie was worth her hanging weight in gold considering the decrease in trips to the hell I know as the supermarket.
We started talking about Bessie 2 in the Spring. This year we have 7 couples and a whole cow. That’s right, no 1/8 of a cow this year for us! We’re getting… well, like I said I’m no math wizz but there’s a fraction to be had somewhere between 1/8 and whatever we’re getting this year. Taylor recently told me that Bessie 2 is a New Hampshire cow. Live free and eat Bessie!
Welcome!
I'm Mandy!
I'm also Mrs. Socks on Weddingbee!
