i actually went on foodnetwork.com (like my friend christin advises) and found some recipes that i hope to convert to 'organic' dinners.
the recipe/ingredient shopping list part took over an hour. HOUR. that's before i pack my baby into the car, with all his bottles/toys/contraptions and actually get to it at the market. cooking just takes alot of intentionality and...well...tlc. (oh dear GOD, i said TLC. and after what went down on monday night, i may have to burn my post, now....)
i think foodnetwork.com needs a makeover. it was hard to navigate (then again, i'm an idiot) and everytime i went to a page, it would show different stuff each time. and if you want "chicken" meals, the same meals show up no matter what catagory you pick. "healthy chicken"...."quick and easy chicken"....etc. so that was lame.
but i managed to find 5 recipes worthy of cooking.
i won't lie, some recipes have over 25 ingredients and that's just ridiculous.
so not only do we have an hour a week of PREPPING recipes.
then there's the shopping.
then there's the COOKING....?
and i'll ultimately be spending MORE than i could just ordering chinese. people, this better all become more streamline or i'm not sure i can manage! (i'm sure it will. people tell me that anyways....)
anyhow, isaac was a monster in the market.
and it was VERY crowded at 5pm. i know. i had to wait until naptime was over! had no choice. lesson learned.
it took me 30 minutes in the produce dept alone because the SIGNS that read ORGANIC or not are about 20 feet ABOVE the actual product, so people walk around with their eyes facing the ceiling, rather than the produce. about 5 mintues into this....isaac starts screaming. not amused. we press on.....
amateur note to self: buy produce LAST...it sits in the bottom of the cart to be destroyed by frozen chicken and bottles/jars of juice. gosh, i am almost 30....and to think.....
ok.
so while i did strive to buy only organic produce, i was contending with isaac and the lofty signs and the foot traffic and i did my best. strawberries were on sale! blueberries packs were buy 1 get 1 free! bananas were easy. oregano, cilantro, parsley WERE NOT easy. that's another story. i don't know my herbs at ALL.
let's fast forward.
the fish is farm-raised. is that organic? i was too embarrassed to ask.
i did ask about the turkey sausage, "all natural ingredients, made on site....but not organic."
boo.
why not?
all in all, i like whole foods.
i do NOT like the price tags.
but i digress....
this feels like a fulltime job. whew. i'll have to start making dinner at like...2pm! oh dear. is this what all of you guys do?
i would love to check out the farmers market on saturday, but i'll be out of town for the weekend. THAT outta make this alot of fun...haha.
considering i never eat breakfast....EVER.....i pulled out some all-natural yogurt and organic fruit and it was DEEEELICIOUS.
i also stocked up on organic juices, coffee creamer, and milk.
so far so good!
it will be nice to have juice/milk in addition to boring water.
though, i will admit, water did taste a wee bit better this morning than it did yesterday.
it doesn't QUITE replace my morning diet cola....but....here we are.
wish me luck on my fancy organic turkey lasagna tonight....outta be interesting and i'll let you know if it's worth sharing!!!
.....(can wine be organic?)
oh my gosh...are my eyes deceiving me??? allison..is writing...NOT ONLY a blog about eating GOOD HEALTHY FOOD but also trying to cook dinners??? this is an alternate universe.
ReplyDeleteseriously how fun though, what a cool idea to get ideas & support as you start this. plus I love pictures of food so I'll be a good visitor.
I have to say, you're taking it pretty extreme for your first go-round. example: I think the turkey sausage made on site with all natural ingredients is PERFECTLY ok even if it isn't organic. I basically think that pretty much anything you can buy at Whole Foods, because of their philosophy of food and the products they carry, is probably 99.9% better than ANYTHING you could buy anywhere else. same goes for TJ's. I know the prices aren't great so that's why I think you can pick some things and skip others and get them at your regular store. same good product but for less.
And Farmer's Markets - if you get a good one, then a lot of your produce can come from there. ours aren't really fully in season yet; the first week I went they just had potatoes, carrots, spinach, and peppers. NO fruit yet and no good veggies. So I buy half organic/half not (my shell philosophy) at a reg grocery store for cheapity cheap.
They DO make organic wine! TJ's has it and Whole Foods does and probably others too.
What else was I gonna say - oh yeah! about cooking at 2 p.m.??? Um, NO. most of my meals I literally throw together in 20 minutes. truly. that is super true. I build my meals on the meats/proteins and veggies and then figure it out. So like - when I shop, I buy meats (chicken, ground beef, ground turkey, fish, even some steak maybe?) and freeze some and keep the rest in the fridge to use right away. Then you can build meals around those elements. Aaaaand...you should grow herbs. they are so easy and you save SO much money when you can go snip cilantro and basil in your backyard. if I can keep herbs alive, you can. I have a nasty black thumb.
anyway i'm super proud of you, this may even help some of your health issues - I mean, all of us can eat healthier. But the main thing I always think is that I don't want chemicals and nasty fake foodstuffs in my body.
STOP LEAVING LONG COMMENTS...I know.
I'm actually speechless....
ReplyDeletewell, not really but I am SHOCK! I am proud of you and I think this will be good for you.
I'm not a hard core organic person, but I do make sure the house is stocked with healthy foods all the time and we have very little "bad ingredients" in the house. I buy organic when I can or at least "all natural."
I'm excited about this new journey for you.
My only advice would be don't stress too much if something isn't organic. I've meet some crazy organic lovers and they can be a bit obnoxious. :)
So, are you giving up coffee too? I can't see that and you really are giving up DIET PEPSI????
ahhh i love this! i can't wait to see how this goes. ps: horizon milk is amazing and it's the best milk to make latte's with. it steams up nice and sweet and creamy. love it! GO AL!
ReplyDeleteI tried to go i would say 85% organic for awhile and it broke my bank. I'm rooting for you and will be a regular cheerleader since I will live vicariously organic through you! lol. Horizon milk, by the way, is a staple here in our office.
ReplyDeleteso, i see that christin already answered the organic wine question....however, i am wondering if you prefer red or white? we enjoyed a *lovely* organic cabernet the other night, that i'd be happy to find the name of and recommend, should you so desire ;)
ReplyDeleteon the topic of fish, it is actually (usually) best to go with wild caught, as opposed to farm raised. swimming in a larger body of water (wild) typically means that there are less contaminants per gallon, or whatever, and thus the fish (and by extension, you) consume fewer contaminants. there is a good list on the environmental working group's website to find which fish are the 'cleanest' to eat: http://www.ewg.org/safefishlist i always try to buy my fish wild caught from alaska too, as their methods of fishing are most environmentally sound, and also result in healthier waters, healthier fish, and thus, healthier US!
one last thing (no, i am NOT trying to rival christin's long comment ;) ). i read this entry yesterday before heading to the gym..and then read an article while i was on the elliptical that totally made me think of you! it was a simple way to infuse a little taste into all of that bland water you're supposed to be drinking :) so, here you go (i'll be trying these out too!):
Fruit/Veggie/Herb Infused 'Ice' Cubes:
Prepare, then freeze in an ice cube tray:
Cucumber Basil Puree:
Combine one cup water, 1 cucumber (peeled seeded), 1/4 cup torn basil, and a pinch of sea salt in a blender.
Orange Lime:
Mix 1 1/2 cups orange juice, 2 tbsp. lime juice, and 1 tsp. lime zest in a bowl.
Lemonade Raspberry:
Dissolve 2 tbsp. sugar in 1 cup warm water. Stir in 1/3 cup lemon juice. Divide 6 oz. of fresh raspberries into an ice cube tray. Place a sprig of mint in each cube, add lemonade and freeze.
Voila! Hope this helps!
info on the organic cabernet:
ReplyDeletedomaine jean bousquet
mendoza l argentina
cabernet sauvignon 2007
made with organically grown grapes
tupungato valley
drinking it now...delish...ENJOY!