Dinner!

My parents took me to Cracker Barrel tonight as kind of a goodbye dinner as I'm flying to Nevada in the morning, and I think this is the first time I've ever ordered off the "Healthy/Low Cal" section of the menu. I got Buttermilk Oven-Baked Chicken, steamed Broccoli, and mixed fruit, which consisted of pineapple, blackberries, and blueberries. It was about 350 calories, and the chicken was so. good. Ah-may-zing. I'm a happy and very full camper now. 

I'm a poor college student and I have no food. So for lunch today, I had toast, MorningStar Farms vegetarian sausage, Yoplait strawberry whipped Greek yogurt, and Silk vanilla almond milk. I'm so poor *cries* But hey, at least I can still eat healthy even when I have no food. 

~ Michelle 

New shoes!

I wanted new shoes, since the only ones I have are regular Nike running shoes, and they're rather big. Not size wise, they're just-- big. And since I intend to use them for trail running, which has lots of lovely obstacles for me to trip over and land on my face (been there, done that), I need shoes that I don't catch the toes on just walking down the hallway. So, Sports Authority it is. I found this pair of slim Nike trainers for $70. They're super comfy and I don't feel like I'm clomping around in them. FTW

Commissary

One of the biggest benefits of being a military brat is having a dependent ID, so now that I'm living in Utah, I can still go onto a base to shop at the Commissary, (the base's grocery store)

My boyfriend and I went to check out Hill AFB the other day. Neither of us had been there before and we got really lost, but we finally found the Commissary, and it was the best deal on healthy food I've gotten so far. 

Pro #1: everything there is sold at a discounted price, lower than what you'd find in your everyday grocery store. 

Pro #2: no sales tax.

Therefore, my list consisted of;

- a bottle of lemonade

- 2 bags of chocolate chips to make cookies with my roommates

- Dole peach cups

- bag of celery

- two boxes of strawberries

- three kiwis

- loaf of bread

For $16. The most expensive thing was the chocolate chips and nothing individually cost more than $3. #MilitaryLyfe 

Shopping!

I woke up early today so I went in to Sprouts. I ended up with:

- 2 lemons
- A cucumber
- 2 cartons of organic strawberries
- 2 1/2 lbs of red seedless grapes
- 2 3/4 lbs of sweet cherries
- 2 nectarines
- A bottle of blood orange Italian soda

The grand total? $18.12. Whoever says that you can't eat healthy for cheap is a liar.

Some days, I think I should just suck it up and go for a run. Then I look outside and think "Hm, better not".

Foods

Like I said, I'm ridiculously picky when it comes to healthy eating. Here's what I will and won't eat.

Nope nope nope:

• Tofu-- Yecchh. No other explanation needed.
• Avocados-- Yes, I refuse to eat guacamole. Seriously, when I go to Chipotle, watching them glop it on stuff makes me gag.
• Mushrooms-- For some reason, my dad likes frying these. I made him stop doing it when I was home because the smell made me nauseous.
• Sweet potatoes-- I liked them when I was little, but I don't like the taste anymore.
• Soybeans-- Just.. no.
• Chickpeas-- Yes, I also think hummus is gross.
• Squash/Zucchini-- Spaghetti Squash? No. The only time I'll make an exception for Zucchini is in Chocolate Zucchini Bread. For some weird reason, I love the stuff.
• Cauliflower
• Green beans-- I like the canned ones, but not fresh ones. They're too stringy and rubbery.
• Brussels Sprouts-- Every kid hates them. I haven't outgrown that yet, apparently.
• Spinach-- This is big in our church. They love making spinach salad. I think it's bitter and chemically tasting. It's okay if it's mixed with lettuce, but not on its own.
• Eggplant
• Cabbage
• Beets
• Radishes
• Green peppers
• Fish
• Weird Seafood-- By this, I mean things like squid and octopus and all that.
• Basically any shellfish other than shrimp. I'll eat shrimp.
• Bananas-- I'm allergic.
• Cantaloupe
• Figs
• Grapefruit-- I adore the smell, but I don't like the taste.
• Honeydew
• Raspberries, Blueberries, and Blackberries-- I like them in things, but I don't eat them raw. 
• Coconut Water
• Coffee
• Rice Milk
• Cottage Cheese/Ricotta Cheese-- It's a texture thing.
• Cashew Milk
• Regular Milk-- I get sick if I drink it plain, but I'll use it in baking. 
• Almonds/Almond Butter-- I really hate almonds. But I love almond extract. Which is weird.
• Cashew Butter-- I'll eat raw cashews, but cashew butter is weird.
• Lentils
• Maple Syrup-- I feel like this is a crime, having grown up practically in Canada.
• Whole Grain Bread/Pasta/Pizza Crust/Tortillas
• Quinoa
• Couscous

And any number more.

Things I will eat:

• Chicken
• Beef (sometimes)
• Shrimp (also sometimes)
• Turkey-- Only the sandwich meat kind. Not the whole, Thanksgiving kind. Yes, I think there is a huge difference.
• Ham
• Gold or Red Potatoes
• Carrots
• Celery
• Mangoes
• Watermelon
• Peaches
• Kiwi
• Cherries
• Guava-- I had this for the first time mixed with lemonade at a restaurant, and a friend and I drank so much we were sick for a few days. It's wonderful and it reminds me of Hawai'i.
• Lemons/Limes
• Pineapple (sometimes)
• Grapes
• Apples-- I really only like Pink Lady apples. They're fizzy and really sweet.
• Pomegranate Seeds-- Only if I don't have to seed a whole pomegranate myself, because it's really hard.
• Oranges-- Cara Cara oranges are delicious, but I'll eat regular Navel oranges too.
• Strawberries
• Almond Milk
• Peanut Butter
• Cashews
• Walnuts
• Pecans
• Greek Yoghurt-- I've started using it as a healthier alternative to Sour Cream.
• Cheese-- Shredded or block. I like Colby Jack.
• Feta Cheese
• Cream Cheese
• Honey
• Date- My mom bakes with these a lot. They're not bad.
• Oats
• Pinto Beans
• Brown Rice
• Red Peppers
• Eggs
• Salad/ Regular Lettuce
• Sausage—I'll eat pork and chicken sausage, but I actually love the MorningStar Farms vegetarian sausage.
• Pasta-- any kind, really. No ravioli, though.
• Unsweetened Cranberry Juice-- Yes, I mean this. The no-sugar-added, so-bitter-it-hurts cranberry juice.
• Cucumbers
• Onions
• Olives-- Both black and Kalamata. Not the green ones. 
• Flour and Corn Tortillas- Living in Arizona, we love our Mexican food.
• Salsa-- both Picante and Pico De Gallo.
• Green Chiles 
• Jalapeños-- In all kinds of stuff. Salsa, bagels, chili, anything. Except chocolate. Because for some reason, that's a thing. 

~Michelle

Food Stuffs

I've been experimenting with several different types of diets, because the whole "eat like a college student" thing isn't working out too great. With my busy class schedule and being in another theatre production, I need to be eating better. Add to that, it's Lent right now.
For our Eastern Orthodox Lent, the fasting rules consist of not eating meat, fish, alcohol, eggs, dairy, or olive oil. That's especially hard for me and not exactly practical, since no one else in my house is Orthodox, and I don't buy the groceries. So I'm just going to stick to the Level I fasting, which means not eating meat on Wednesdays or Fridays. (This practice continues year-round, not limited to only the Lenten period.)
I've scoured the internet and spent hours on Pinterest (no surprise there), looking for different healthier diets to try out. I've found recipes for Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Paleo, and Mediterranean, and variations and combinations of any of these.

Gluten Free- This may be one of the easiest, for me, at least, since my mom is Gluten Free, and our kitchen is filled with an abundance of alternate flours and whatnot. Quite a few of her recipes are good, and I've started replacing the wheat flour in my regular baking recipes with brown rice flour or oat flour. The only thing I hate is Gluten Free bread. Yeeechh. No matter what kind, what recipe, I cannot find one that doesn't taste like Xanthan Gum and cardboard. Really gross. I'm keeping brown rice flour and oat flour from this diet, but I love my carbs (especially bread..) too much to go 100% Gluten Free.

Vegetarian- Nothing really out of the ordinary here. I'm going to be Vegetarian on Wednesdays and Fridays from now on, but that's not really too hard.

Vegan- I tried this. For one week. And dang was it hard. I had to make literally everything I wanted to eat from scratch. I found some good recipes this way, like Bean and Veggie Meatless Chili, Vegan Skillet Cornbread, Vegan GF Chocolate Cake, and Roasted Potatoes. And I learned some things about substituting in recipes, mainly replacing eggs, olive oil, and milk.

Paleo- Another "meh" diet. Like I said, I'm big on carbs, so it's not really the diet for me.

Mediterranean- This one is the winner, big time. Being Greek Orthodox, this encompasses a lot of the Lenten recipes I've found, and Greek food is amazing. The Mediterranean Diet consists of eating mainly white meats, beans, rice, and lots and lots of fruits and veggies. It also uses more natural sweeteners, like honey, instead of a lot of sugar. With this diet, I can still eat lighter meats like chicken and fish, along with bread and rice, mixed with lots of grilled vegetables.


Eating healthy is kind of difficult for me, given I'm actually ridiculously picky when it comes to fruits and vegetables. I think the list of stuff I won't eat is longer than the list of stuff that I will. It's really hard to be vegan when you refuse to touch tofu, avocados, squash, chickpeas, and edemame. Oh, and I'm allergic to bananas. So that eliminates almost all of the bases for vegan food.


Substitutions:
Eggs-- I've used both applesauce, and flax eggs, which consist of mixing a tablespoon of ground flaxseed with three tablespoons of water, per egg being replaced. It gels when you let it sit, and has the same consistency of an egg. It works perfectly well. I used applesauce mainly in baking, I used it in the Vegan GF chocolate cake.
Olive Oil-- I replaced it with coconut oil.
Milk-- Unsweetened almond milk. My mom accidentally bought vanilla flavoured almond milk and I used that to make tea. Best. Stuff. Ever. It tastes just like a milkshake.
I've also experimented with replacing sugar with Honey or Agave Syrup. I personally like honey better, and it's a bit cheaper, but they have basically the same consistency, so either will work.


~Michelle

Joseph!!

FINALLY FINALLY I'm in another theatre production. I've been having withdrawal symptoms not having been in a show for over a year, but I'm finally back, in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. My favouritest show ever.
AND, Lainee and I got tickets to go see the actual show for my birthday tomorrow in Phoenix! I was in this show years ago in the kid's chorus, but this time, I'm a wife. Dan's wife.
As this is my last production with our theatre group before I head off to Utah for college, it seemed like a good last show.



May I return, to the beginning, the light is dimming, and the dream is too. The world and I, we are still waiting, still hesitating, any dream will do

Give me my coloured coat, my amazing coloured coat, give me my coloured coat, my amazing, coloured, coat!

(ends on high note that leaves me screeching like a pterodactyl given I still have a cold..)