I GIVE IN

Something about trying to eat healthy makes pizza, white rice, and cookies look so much better than they have ever looked before. I have turned into a shaking, greedy little junk food hoard. Maybe I will do better with some moderation. Seriously have a lot of respect for those health food people out there. Too many bad habits that are too hard to shake. Now I've tasted chocolate...and I'm never going back....

MIDAS AND SALSA

Once upon a time...well in the books I read, there was a king who had the golden touch. Midas was his name. Literally, everything he touched turned to gold. This appeared to be the greatest talent...until his stomach started growling. Yep..that's going to be a problem. Because as he reached for his food...that too turned to gold. And he couldn't eat.

This is the best comparison to how I feel today. There are these beautiful ingredients in my kitchen. Bright green, juicy limes, perfectly shaped tomatoes, and crisp sprigs of cilantro. All appetizing until I touch them. Unfortunately, the things I touch don't turn into gold. If that were the case at least I could sell them and make some money. (Granted, I would have someone else handle my money) Instead, I just end up with salsa that tastes remarkably close to a cleaning product. I am starting to think it may be these tomatoes I got. Deceptively beautiful. Let's hope...otherwise my domestic career has just come to a crashing halt.

Ok, sorry, I just couldn't resist with today's photo! It just made me laugh...

THE GROCERY

So I finally made it the grocery store today. I don't get the privilege...yes, I said privilege very often. Grocery shopping just happens to be one of my favorite errands. The results are edible..come on. Anyways, I had my super long list (it is supposed to last me the WHOLE week) of the few recipes I've chosen to make at home. I tried to find recipes that were different but had similar ingredients and I was off...

I think my shopping habits are now peculiar. 80% of my shopping is done in the produce section. I started freaking out that I was spending too much and then as I was leaving that area I realize I only have a couple items left to buy. They weren't kidding when they said you should shop the perimeter of the store if you want to eat healthy. That is exactly what I did except for the baking aisle, pasta, and canned veggies. I had so many plastic bags of produce piled high in my basket I am pretty sure I looked like a freak. I am still a little self conscious about grabbing whole wheat flour instead of the normal stuff and darting past the cookie aisle. When I didn't have a bag of cheezits in my cart like every other shopper, I started to question my humanity. Normal people eat healthy too, right?

Anyways, I managed to keep my groceries around $50. I certainly wouldn't impress those "coupon moms" out there. But I was proud because I thought it was going to be way worse. I am sure I will get more saavy as I go.

Now that I got the goods, I decided to make home made muesli today. It's something I have been craving since I got back from Cambodia. All the little cafes there would sell it and considering it was cold, filling, and not dangerous like salad...I became obsessed. However, I am realizing making it yourself is NOT cheaper than just buying it pre-made. When did nuts become so expensive? The nuts themselves are the price of the pre-made muesli. Lame.

Anyways, here's my new muesli...and here's the recipe!

A HOT MESS

C
So to ease into my new healthy eating...and before I hit up the grocery. I decided to start with a sweet treat. Oatmeal cookies are about as healthy as cookies can be. And the minimal amounts of flour and white sugar compared with oats and brown sugar gave me just the convincing I needed.

The thing I love about homemade cookies is how simple they are to make. It takes no time at all to whip up the batter. I still hold my breath with each batch because I know how precise you have to be when baking. And I am all about a pinch here and a bunch there. (that is a recipe for disaster) This book is really what I need to understand when you should add the eggs, what you should keep separated, etc. I just look at the directions as a way to dirty another pan, but there is probably a reason to separate bowls. Rules, rules...

I at least know I get close enough to the recipe that they are edible. And that is exactly what they were. So edible...so ooey, gooey good that I ate half the batch because it all fell apart. And we all know crumbs cannot be left. Suffice to say it was a hot mess! But a good one at that!


This recipe can be found here!