Holy crap April went by fast! Did it for you, too? May just totally snuck up on me and I'm actually kind of disappointed -- there are so many other things I wanted to do for this blog during April! I'll just have to keep it going so I can get to everything. :)
So, I feel like my challenge to cut out processed/industrialized foods and only eat from-scratch food for the month of April was a complete success. True, there were a few instances where I was in a position in which I didn't have many choices and a couple times where I chose to sort of cheat. But overall, I'm very happy and feel like I'm in such a great space mentally and physically.
In order to be 100% honest, here's a list of my cheats:
2-3 Chipotle meals (traveling)
2 In-n-Out meals (also travel)
1 gelato
3 cupcakes
2 meals at weddings
2 meals at LA Farmer's Market
2 meals in Sequoia Nat'l Park
prepared chicken salad and rolls from Whole Foods
What I'm most proud of is making meals ahead of time to take on the road with us. I believe there were about 6 times where I made sandwiches and fruit to bring along to eat while traveling in the car or to eat as a picnic after getting some place. It was fantastic! Cheaper in some instances, and WAY better quality in all instances! We will continue doing this for sure when at all possible.
I learned to make my own tortillas (and can't ever go back to store-bought), have nearly perfected my yogurt making method, discovered an excellent pizza dough recipe, my butter making skillz are killer, we wasted much less food, and I learned to be even more organized in my meal planning and preparation, along with eating with pure enjoyment.
These photos are of yet another Jamie Oliver recipe, that I mentioned once before. This is the Shrimp and Avocado with an Old-School Marie Rose Sauce (his dishes always have these long names. :) I had no idea if we would like it or not, but we all ended up loving it. Very tasty. Can't wait to make it again, in fact!
So anyway, I hope everyone had a successful April and is inspired to continue eating well. I will keep on with my research and I'll share what I learn in case you want to continue on this journey with me! Coming up also are a couple more tutorials and lots more recipes. Thanks for visiting!
I ate very well at your house. We done good on the pizza! Thanks for your hospitality :-)
ReplyDeleteCongrats! I think that would have been hard, but well worth it!
ReplyDeleteYou are awesome! I've been trying out some of the same things regarding my eating and love to see your ideas and success!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see your tortilla recipe...is it hard? I love the uncooked ones from costco, but 1- they are processed, and 2- they are white.
Good job, lady! I am also try to cut out everything processed and re-vamp my pantry. I think the key for me will be to stockpile a bunch of stuff in my freezer - soup, muffins, granola bars, etc. so when things get crazy busy I won't resort to pre-packaged stuff. And you have inspired me to make my own butter! I want to try that out this week. I am glad you are going to keep blogging!!
ReplyDeleteGood job. I think the best thing I liked about it is like you said about the not wasting as much food.
ReplyDeleteExample... I bought a whole chicken at TJs. I roasted it with some of our CSA veggies. Stephen, Bean and I ate the breast meat that we love that night with the roasted veggies. Next day I cut up more CSA veggies and stuck the whole thing in a big pot and made my own stock. I got three quarts from that. Then I sorted through all the leftover chicken/veggies and got the good meat out and shredded it for chicken burritos. I kind of felt a little Depression-Era-nothing-goes-to-waste, but it was really so good because we got so many meals out of that one chicken instead of buying a couple of boneless-skinless breasts that only make 1 meal.
UM...can i just say i just came across your blog and am LOVING it. it is so fun to find someone else who basically feels the same way about food as i do! so i will definitely going to be following you, as i am also doing most of the same things. i may even join you on your challenge to buy very few things (we already do but it's kind of fun to turn it into a challenge). THANKS! i look forward to reading!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, girls!
ReplyDeleteKarlee -- I will be doing a post on the tortillas I made very soon. Mine do use white flour, but since we really make them so rarely, I view them as an occasional "treat". :) Plus, since I'm making them at home I know there isn't any extra junk in them anyway! Be watching for a tutorial soon.
Ruth -- The freezer is my best buddy lately! I love being able to pull a couple pancakes out as a take-along snack.
Lisa -- I LOVE pretending I'm living back in the day and see how far I can stretch things. I did that with a chicken recently, too. We had roasted chicken for dinner one night, chicken sandwiches the next day and then I made stock from the carcass (gross word) and some veggies that we getting a bit limp. It feels SO GOOD to make something out of what might be considered garbage. Using the buttermilk from making butter is another thing I get super excited about. It's like getting something for free!
Kamille: Thanks so much! It's so fun and we all feel fantastic inside and out. Plus, I love spending less money!
Oh, also, on yogurt and your search for the thickest possible stuff. So I have found that when I use this Natren yogurt starter that I found in the dairy section at Lassen's it comes out much, much thicker than just using yogurt as my starter. I use two tsp for 1/2 gallon raw milk + 1 quart raw cream (though sometimes they don't have the cream and I just use milk).
ReplyDeletehttp://store.natren.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=N&Screen=PROD&Product_Code=60175&Category_Code=005&gclid=CO3koLj1tqECFQldagodeUiqAQ
Glad to hear just because the challenge is over, you aren't going to stop this blog. I enjoy reading it! Can't wait for all the receipes yet to come (yogurt, biscuits with buttermilk, etc, etc).
ReplyDeleteRachelle
i would LOVE to hear your pizza and tortilla recipes - did i miss where you shared them?
ReplyDeleteDefinitely there's nothing better than fresh tortilla... mmmm... Walmart (here, i'm guessing there too, if you have one in your posh neighborhood, hehe) sells uncooked tortillas that only have 5 ingredients, wheat flour, water, canola oil, salt, sugar... in that order. Zero preservatives and you get to eat them freshly cooked and hot. A great substitute, although I'm sure they're more expensive than doing it yourself - as the ingredients are so cheap.
ReplyDeleteOh wow homemade tortillas... sounds amazing!! I bought some handmade tortillas from TJ's a few weeks ago and I could NOT believe how much better they were!! They did mold after about 2 days... but that's just what happens with REAL FOOD, huh?? ;) Love your blog!
ReplyDelete