It’s been a long time since I’ve had to use those words, but here they are:

COUNTING CALORIES.

I still have 4 lbs to go to reach my pre-pregnancy weight and another 10-14 lbs to reach a weight where I will be comfortable. Even though I only have 4 little lbs to lose, my body is very different. My measurement around the thickest part of my waist is 5+ inches larger than it was before pregnancy. I can’t figure out how to fit in enough exercise even though our new gym is right across the street. In the morning I am exhausted from my monkey baby. At night I’m so tired from the day of trying to work/play with baby/keep the house looking decent/get dinner on the table that I have no energy and say tomorrow I will go.

The cycle is endless and I don’t see it ending soon. I’d love to take a fitness class each morning or do a workout DVD every night, but my priority is spending any free time with Raffi. I have been getting in accidental exercise by doing chest presses with him, pushups over his body (he gets 1 kiss per rep), and lunges while singing. It’s not the same as the way I used to exercise or would like to though. The one thing I have been good about is going for long power walks with him in the carrier.

Losing weight, for me, is 95% diet anyway. My muscles appear out of nowhere with just 5 minutes of a speedy circuit each morning as long as there isn’t too much fat covering them. My goal right now is to lose enough weight that my muscles can come back out and play because right now they are in hiding.

The only way I know how to lose weight effectively is to count calories. Yes, that means I take out a food scale and measure most of my foods and then log them into a calorie counter. My goal is to end the daytime somewhere between 1000 and 1200 calories, giving me enough calories for a nice sized dinner that I don’t measure. I don’t have the time or desire to measure out dinner recipe ingredients, and I also don’t measure olive oil or vegetables. At the end of the day I should end somewhere between 1600 and 2000 (2200?) calories. One day a week, usually on the weekend, that number will be a lot higher and that’s ok. It will all even out over the week.

I don’t like the way I look, and I am in control of changing that. I do feel awesome though – despite only having one pair of jeans that fit. I am eating lots of healthy foods with the occasional sweet, but I’ve simply been eating too much. Nursing my son means I need to eat more calories and not really diet in the way I would like, but I’m comfortable with that too. My issue is when it’s 3 PM and Raffi has been crying for 40 minutes as I try to rock him down for his nap and my teeth are clenched so tight I get a headache. When he finally falls asleep I unwind by eating a snack I wasn’t even hungry for, or adding an extra big scoop of walnuts to my yogurt. When I’m exhausted I do the same thing.

Counting calories will help me cut out the excess and lose the weight I want to lose. It will also help me to think twice before wasting calories on an unnecessary snack. I’m only partway through my first week back measuring and counting, but I feel like it’s already working. I’ve done it before and I’m doing it again.

I hope to keep you updated on my progress. Anyone want to join me on my mission? My goal is to lose 6-10 lbs by April 1.

Bambino is here!

Weight: 8 lbs 2 oz
Height: 20.5 in
Apgar: 9/9

I feel really great and he is really cute!

Thanks for all the well wishes. We are a very happy family of 3.

By the time you leave work, head to the gym, get home and shower, who feels like cooking? You’re hungry, you’re tired, and you wish that dinner could make itself.

How do you solve this issue? You love good food but you hate cooking, or rather, you hate the time it takes to cook.

Here is my solution, from the girl who only loves to cook when she has time:

1. Make a plan with two parts: Make a list, and then go to the market.

It takes a few minutes to do, but not much more than that. Before you go to the market on your rest day from the gym, put together a quick list. I like to do this on the weekend or on Monday. Let’s say it’s Monday.

Here’s what goes on my list:

-breakfast, lunches and snacks for me for the week
-breakfast, lunches and snacks for PB for the week
-2 big dinners with enough for leftovers
-salad ingredients
-ready dinner for that night

Example:
-B, L, S for me: english muffins, bananas, american cheese, whole wheat bread, kettle chips, apples, peanut butter
-B, L, S for PB: eggs, shredded mozzarella, chicken, iceberg lettuce, avocado, bacon, ranch dressing, carrots, apples
-Dinner 1 (Easy): baked salmon, roasted asparagus, white rice
-Dinner 2: homemade cheesesteaks (meat, peppers, onions, cheese, a baguette)
-Salad ingredients: spinach, avocado, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, dried cranberries, walnuts

Then go to the market and buy the foods you don’t have.

Now you have food in your house. It’s a good start.

Here is what the week of dinners will look like:
Monday (market day): baked salmon, roasted asparagus, white rice
Tuesday: summer salmon salad and white rice (made from Monday leftovers)
Wednesday: homemade cheesesteaks.
Thursday: Rotisserie chicken and leftover peppers and onions.
Friday: out

2. Do your prep work.

I get home and even though I’m tired from the market trip I immediately organize everything. First I get rid of anything that went bad in the fridge. Hopefully if you’ve planned right you don’t have much to toss, but it forces me to reorganize foods to their proper shelves. Example: I always keep leftovers and ready foods on the top shelf for easy access. When I’m done I prep a couple of lunches for my husband. Since I work from home I make my lunch when I’m hungry, but PB brings a packed lunch. I will broil a few pieces of chicken breast, assemble his salad and snacks, and put it all in the fridge. I usually do only 2 days of lunches at a time. Then I cut and wash the lettuce and put it in a container with a paper towel on top to help it stay good longer. That’s about it for market day prep work.

3. Cook.

Monday: You’ve already made your list, gone to the market, and done prep work all after working all day. The last thing you want to do is cook. Make market night’s meal an easy one. I chose baked salmon, roasted asparagus, and white rice. You just toss the salmon and asparagus in the oven and boil some rice and you’re done. Easy peasy.

Tuesday: The day after market night let’s say you get out of work at 6 and don’t make it home from the gym until 8:30 PM. You need to plan for that. What I do is try to have enough leftovers from the previous night. I would turn the leftover salmon into summer salmon salad and pair it with the leftover rice. Dinner #2 is done in 20 minutes or less. Since it was done so fast I have a few extra minutes to pack 2 more days of lunches.

Wednesday: After work but before the gym cut your peppers and onions and cook them. Put them aside covered with foil. Set out the pan for cooking the meat and set the table. After the gym: Hop in the shower. Heat up oil in the pan. Slice the baguette into rolls and put in the toaster but don’t put the toaster on. Cook meat. Heat up the peppers and onions in microwave or oven. Assemble dinner. By planning to do a bit of the prep work before the gym, dinner was on the table in no time.

Thursday: Since you finished all the meat on Wednesday (you were hungry) you need a protein component, especially if you are dining with someone like PhillyBoy. After the gym stop by the market for a rotisserie chicken. Eat that for dinner with leftover veggies from Wednesday and a big salad with stuff from the fridge. Pack one more lunch for Friday.

Friday: Celebrate your success with a dinner out.

It seems complicated but it really isn’t. Dinner shouldn’t take more than 45 minutes each night including the cooking and the cleaning up. I probably spend 45 minutes one night and then 15 the next. This system might not work for everyone, but it works for us.

My greatest tips are:

1. Plan, plan, plan. The more prepared you are, the easier it is to get dinner on the table.
2. Don’t be afraid of leftovers. I buy enough for 4-6 people for each dinner so we almost always have enough food for dinner the next night. Sometimes I transform it into another meal and sometimes we eat the same exact dinner.
3. Don’t wait until dinnertime to think about dinner. Try and do some prep work ahead of time. For example, tonight we are having breaded chicken breast and eggplant. I am on maternity leave already so I will be prepping the chicken and eggplant right after lunch and keeping it in the fridge until I am ready to fry.
4. Take advantage of easy supermarket conveniences. My Whole Foods has great rotisserie chickens. When we are low on food, inspiration, and the desire to cook I pick one up and turn it into a great meal.
5. Enlist help. I prefer to do the cooking in my house because I enjoy it. Even so, PB helps me a lot. He comes home from work fairly late so usually his help is with prep work at the beginning of the week and cleaning up after dinner. It saves a lot of time when two people are working instead of one.

***Don’t forget that every dinner does not have to be some gourmet masterpiece. It is fine to have steak, veggies, salad and couscous one night and quick and easy grilled veggie sandwiches and a salad the next. Do what works best for you!

That’s all I have for now, but I’d love your tips for the non-cook cook as well. My friend asked me to write this, and I’m sure she would appreciate as many tips as possible.

I love the flavor of bacon, but I don’t really love bacon.

I also don’t like to eat vegetarian alternatives to meat products.

My solution? Hickory smoked almonds.

I like to put some in a small baggie and then smash them and add them to salads. They are smoky and crunchy without being, well, bacon!

Try them- you will be pleasantly surprised.

That’s all the brilliant advice I have for today. Happy Friday & Happy Labor Day weekend!

Leslie got married this weekend in a fabulous day of sunshine and love (surrounded by days of rain and thunder).

We were so excited to be present for such a special day, and I can’t wait for the newlyweds to get back so we can celebrate some more! Until then, here are a few photos from the wedding…

The bride is pictured here with Melissa, Ashley, me, Lauren, & Meghann

Click to enlarge.

Don’t talk to me either. Somehow everything has changed since becoming pregnant, or maybe everything is just magnified.

Now, when I’m hungry, I am a real CRABBY McCRABERSON.

Don’t talk to me when I’m hungry, or I might bite.

I wish I was kidding.

Anyway, we’re back from Italy and I just find it hilarious that the very first thing I did (after brushing my teeth) was go to the market. I was still in my travel clothes which were gross and I looked like I was in clothes that were worn for 16+ hours, but I didn’t care.

FEED ME.

I rushed over to Whole Foods to stock our fridge for the next few days until I can get to another market. Looking at this list and our schedules, however, it might actually last us until next week. I bought a couple of prepared items because I had to eat the minute I got home. I do not eat plane food, the sandwich I bought at the Rome airport got soggy, and the flight was 2 hours longer than I thought it would be. I was realllly hungry. I forgive myself the prepared foods though because I don’t think $100, especially at Whole Foods, was all that bad.

Meal plan:

Lunches: salads or pasta with sauce for me, big salads with roasted chicken for PB
Snacks: I didn’t really buy any. Pineapple, grapes, and then whatever we have in the cupboards.
Dinners: T: stuffed artichokes W: pizza and salads with friends R: salads with boiled eggs F: we are both away

Here’s what I bought:

Prepared pasta with smoked mozzarella $4.95
Pineapple chunks $4.27
Prepared salmon $8.60
1 lb of fusilli $2.19 (ridiculous!! Never being pasta there again!)
English muffins $2.69
Annie’s balsamic dressing $5.99
Tropicana orange juice- carton $3.39 (is this a lot cheaper at other markets?)
1 can corn in water $0.89
Bread crumbs $2.49
3 rolls $2.07
2 croissants $3.58 (it’s a pregnancy/Italy thing- but next time I’ll buy from Sam’s Club where I can get 8 for that price)
Whole roasted chicken $7.99
4 artichokes $13.96 (woah! I love them so hopefully they are delicious and will be worth it)
3 bananas $0.99
Potatoes $4.99
1 garlic clove $0.72
Green grapes $3.04 (way cheaper than I thought they would be and they are awesome)
2 lemons $1.58
1 pint grape tomatoes $4.99
shredded mozzarella $4.69
parsley $1.99
1 small container kalamata olives $4.05
2 avocados $5.00
Large container arugula $5.99

Total spent: $101.73

Moral of the story: Fresh produce is expensive!

Solution: We joined a CSA!!!!

Wimer’s Organics has a new pickup location that is somewhat in our area. We signed up for an all season biweekly vegetable share that goes from May through November. It will hopefully be perfect for us since one box should feed 2-4 people and we are only getting them every other week. I only wish the CSA had fruits too, but I won’t mind picking those up from the Thursday farmer’s market once it starts up again or even from the regular store. With the CSA I hope to save money and expand our vegetable repertoire. I can’t wait for the first box!

Oh, and my friend Amy wrote this great post just for me to help me with my grocery bill. She and her husband are experts in not spending a lot at the market. Check out her post!

PS- Italy stories will come as soon as PB gives me a copy of the pics. I can’t wait to share our incredible trip with you.

Grocery budget challenge posts:
The Details
How much do you spend?
Week #1 $89.13
Week #2 $186.91
Week #3 $53.11
Week #4 $29.39

I don’t give myself too much credit for this week’s budget. We are leaving for Italy on Thursday so I really bought the bare minimum. We had a party to go to Saturday night and I promised to bring caprese skewers, so I needed ingredients for that. I’ve also really been into pineapple lately, but my Whole Foods didn’t have any whole ones this week. I splurged on the ready containers.

Oh, and one note! I couldn’t say it before, but I’ve been buying bottled water because tap water (even filtered with the Brita) tastes really weird to me while pregnant. I was starting to become dehydrated from not drinking enough because of the taste and decided I would just have to start buying bottled. It is really expensive and wasteful, but it’s what I need to do right now.

Our dinner plan for the week:
Sunday: pasta with pesto (using the leftover basil), grape tomatoes & mozzarella
Monday: baked falafel (from frozen) and baked fries (Alexia)
Tuesday: pancakes & eggs
Wednesday: pasta with crushed tomatoes, grape tomatoes & mozzarella
Thursday: DiBruno’s sandwiches taken on the AEROPLANO!

Things are looking pretty empty in here. We haven’t traveled for a long period of time since Jordan this summer, and I forgot how sad our fridge could look. I hate the look of an empty fridge!

Whole Foods List:

Pineapple $4.71
Small mozzarella balls $7.98 (1/2 for the party)
2 pints grape tomatoes $9.98 (1/2 for the party)
Basil $4.99  (but my MIL is replanting a basil plant we bought from the flower show, so hopefully soon I’ll have my own basil!)
small bottle water $0.69 (I was starting to get dizzy in the store)

I don’t want to grade myself this week because I don’t think I deserve one. I didn’t make a list, I didn’t plan, I just decided not to really buy anything this week (but still spent $30!). We leave Thursday and we’re so busy this week that I knew I wouldn’t have time or energy to make anything serious.

PB and I just found a CSA that delivers weekly nearby, so we are thinking about doing a 1/2 share this spring, summer & fall. We’re still discussing it though!

Did I miss anything I’m supposed to do for marketing during a travel week?

Grocery budget challenge posts:
The Details
How much do you spend?
Week #1 $89.13
Week #2 $186.91
Week #3 $53.11

*Image source

Well, looks like I learned something between week 2 and week 3.

Leslie and I went out for an ice cream, and we both had to go to the market. She suggested Trader Joe’s, and luckily I had my market list in my purse. I did buy 3 items that weren’t on my list (especially for PB!) but I know PB will enjoy them. I still spent way less than last week which was great. Leslie and I were fun old ladies and chatting our way through each aisle. Trader Joe’s was PACKED.

I still had to stop at Whole Foods since I wanted to pick up sushi for dinner Saturday night, so Leslie and I went there next. I subtracted the cost of the sushi since it is really considered take-out. That was fair right?

Here is our dinner plan for the week:

Sunday: roasted chicken, steamed green beans, bulgur pilaf
Monday: pizza & bean salad
Tuesday: out with PB’s mom!
Wednesday: business dinner
Thursday: falafel with tzatziki on naan, hummus & carrots
Friday: leftovers, etc.

For lunches I am going to send PB to work with leftovers or turkey & cheese sandwiches on whole wheat bread.

Trader Joe’s Market List

Whole wheat pizza dough $0.99 (it was too cheap to pass up)
Whole wheat english muffins $1.49 (way cheaper than Whole Foods)
TJ’s soft 10 grain bread $2.49
Tzatziki dip $3.49
3 Luna bars $2.97
Frozen falafel $3.69 (I hope we like it- I don’t usually buy frozen products like this)
Light Laughing Cow cheese $2.99
1 dozen eggs $1.79
Frozen french green beans $1.99 (huge bag too!)
Applegate Farms ham $3.59
Applegate Farms turkey $3.69
Provolone $3.99
Whole wheat naan $3.49
1 small Greek yogurt- pomegranate $0.99
Turkish apricots $3.49

Whole Foods’ Market List

Kitchen twine $6.99
Breyer’s light vanilla ice cream $4.99

Grand total: $53.11

Items I didn’t buy that I really wanted to….
Sorbet that Leslie told me was awesome
A loaf of French bread
A piece of tiramisu
Zucchini
Green grapes

Grade I give myself: B

Reading over this list right now I realize that we did not need both turkey and ham since PB is the only one that eats those and we will have plenty of leftovers this week. We also probably didn’t need the square bread since we have some wraps from the freezer that I defrosted a couple of days ago. We didn’t get many vegetables this week because we still have tomatoes and a few other veggies in the fridge. We also still have grapes, apples and oranges.

I thank all of your comments from last week but especially those from Tricia. She sent me very detailed emails on how I can cut costs, and I tried to use at least a few of them for this week. Hopefully I can find a Costco or BJ’s close enough so we can join for the bulky items.

I think I was definitely more efficient this week, and I hope that next week I do even better, buying only what we really need. We leave for Italia next Thursday (!!!!!!!!!!), so I will have to be really careful about what we buy.

Grocery budget challenge posts:
The Details
How much do you spend?
Week #1 $89.13
Week #2 $186.91

Week #2 grand total: $186.91

Yes, I failed.

(source)

We spent $186.91 on groceries for one week, which is way more than my goal- even though I took away the cost of paper towel and toilet paper.

(Does that make me a cheater?)

In my defense, PB and I took a fun walking trip in the nice weather to Whole Foods yesterday and ended up buying more than planned. He saw gorgeous watercress (recipe coming soon) and a few other items we just couldn’t resist.

Number of items purchased not on the list: 6
Number of visits to the store: 3
Number of stores visited: 2 (Genuardi’s & Whole Foods)

I prefer Wegman’s, but it is hard to find the time to do a big shopping trip and it’s far. I ended up at Genuardi’s near the King of Prussia mall after making some returns. Thank goodness for Yelp!

Genuardi’s market list:

canned beans (kidney, black, white)
2 jars of Skippy peanut butter (on sale $2 for 4)
cake flour (for a specific recipe)
3 cans of jumbo black olives
tortillas (which are already gone- and I went to the market on Saturday!)
1 box Barilla ziti (the only brand of pasta I buy)
ricotta
Eggland’s Best eggs
a few miscellaneous items (sponges, kleenex, cheesecloth)
green onions
radishes
baby white potatoes
baby spinach
Applegate Farms deli turkey
Provolone
Stacy’s pita chips
Sabra hummus

Savings: $12.12

Whole Foods’ market list:

**Reminder: PB was with me so we bought more than if I had gone alone
5 Gala apples
2 cans San Marzano tomatoes (expensive! $3.99/can)
2 packs of whole wheat english muffins
Alexia frozen french fries
3 eggplants (impulse purchase by PB!)
Fennel (impulse purchase by PB!)
Petite poulet (impulse purchase by PB!)
Whole chicken
Pineapple (impulse purchase by me- $6.69!)
Bananas
1 can hearts of palm
Half & half
Red grapes (impulse purchase by me… again!)
1 avocado (expensive at $1.69)
Watercress (impulse purchase by PB!)

Week #2 grand total: $186.91

That is so much higher than I want it to be. Where did I go wrong? I checked my pantry before heading to the market and made a meal plan again. I am really stuck on certain brand names of foods and I have a tough time just buying the item on sale. Also, I realize that I bought quite a few items in the produce section that came from far away or are not in season and therefore were more expensive. I will be more careful of that next time.

Grade I give myself:  a solid C+

Next week will be better! The hardest part is that I felt like we spent so much but didn’t really get that much for our money. Do you ever feel that way?

Grocery budget challenge posts:
The Details
How much do you spend?
Week #1

Sometimes I really think I lived a previous life during a war. My food habits can be so strange, and I don’t know where they come from.

Growing up we always had plenty of food, and at dinner each night there was always more than enough for everyone to have seconds. Yet I would gobble down my first bowl of whatever dinner was as fast as possible just to ensure there was enough for me to have seconds.

Weird.

When I travel on trips, I pack enough snacks for at least 3 times the amount of travel time.. just in case.

When I serve myself a plate of food, I have to make sure that it is an amount I can finish because I never, ever leave any morsel on my plate.

I’ve been a clean plate girl ever since I was a kid.

And when I open the fridge, I tend to panic if it isn’t jam packed. Same with the pantry. I tend to buy at least 3 of everything so we have plenty at all times.

Is this a disease?

Is anyone else like this?

I tried to hold back on buying those extra items from Whole Foods that I thought we might need during the week, but I couldn’t do it. Yesterday afternoon I emailed PB frantically with a list and asked him to pick up the extra items…. bringing the weekly total up to $115.39.

What if I really, really wanted to eat an orange and we didn’t have any in the fridge?

It would have been a tragedy.

Anyway, now I kind of feel like a freak and need to know that hopefully I’m not alone.

Signed,
food hog in philly

Grocery Budget Challenge Posts:
Intro
Week #1