Day 31 Time To Buy Some Bread and Hunker Down

It has happened, I have arrived at day 31 and appropriately, hell (some call it Oklahoma) is freezing over. Tonight, as I celebrate my month long accomplishment and anticipate the next 11 to come, I, along with about 30 other states are waiting for a humongous storm to attack us in the night. As I have stated before, I usually just assume that what I have in my kitchen will last for awhile, I didn't so much as buy a jar of peanut butter during Y2K. This frenzied panic is different, I thought that for this epic disaster, I would jump on the band wagon and find out what all this pre-storm food hording was all about. I pulled into the grocery store parking lot to find a single parking space, out on the back 40 and more activity than I've seen since Thanksgiving eve. Oddly, I witnessed dozens of elderly women, linked together, in small groups, holding each other up for the long trek across the completely dry parking lot. It  was as if they were waiting for the ice to spring up unannounced, beneath them. Inside was like the fall of Saigon, nervous parents, dragging  their children and people grabbing whatever they could carry on their backs and in their carts. I could only stare at the madness as I perused the string cheese display. I wondered what people were thinking as they loaded up on chickens and frozen pizzas, what would happen when the power went out? Shouldn't people be buying charcoal and bleach to purify water? What about canned foods, and shelf stable, items like Twinkies and tuna to outlast the Snowpocolyps? I was judicious and bought some bread, some canned vegetables, and some cheese, only tonight I used most of the vegetables to make chili and I've already eaten most of that....I may have to go out foraging for berries the birds have missed or turn to looting by tomorrow night. Here's hoping for enough power to blog and beans enough to keep the flies away.
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Day 30 Rhubarb Wishes and Horseradish Dreams

It's true, a major snowstorm is headed for the plains, but that has absolutely no impact on my new plans. Weather be damned it's time to start pondering the garden! It belongs to my mother, but I tell her what to plant and this year, I have an agenda. I am going to do everything in my power to reduce my food budget this summer, by eating as many meals out of the garden as possible. So, I just learned that there are a few things, I can plant in February! Rhubarb, Horseradish, Asparagus, and Artichokes were mentioned and I'm so excited...... I just can't hide it! I'm not certain what to do with a Rhubarb, but I'm sure I can turn it into something edible and I have swirly eyes just thinking of all the shinnanigans I can create with Horseradish. Beautiful, crispy, fresh Asparagus for Easter will be fantabulous, and homemade Artichoke dip will be the double bonus, half flip of spring. The rest of the summer planting is an open door, peppers, tomatoes, and squash are a no brainer, but I want to add lots of things I know nothing about! This will be the most experimental garden yet, I'm stoked!
Dinner tonight is a toss up, I have leftover Borscht but I also have an Eggplant, that's just asking to be diced and roasted with Olive oil and tossed with pasta. Perhaps I'll have both, who says I have to stay in one region for dinner? Russia, meet Italy...in my tummy.
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Day 29 A Little Bit of Russia On The Prairie

The day has come to meet the beet, as I write, I am in fact, eating the Borscht. It's actually pretty good, but I think the thing I'm most stoked about is the fact that I'm eating several very colorful vegetables at one time. Well, they're all kind of reddish, but when it's all mixed together, it looks kind of like a sunset stew. The beets of course are purpleish, red cabbage, orangey looking tomatoes, very pretty! The sauteed red onions and garlic, give the sweetness of the beets a little punch. All in all, It's a  warm, filling, fragrant, and healthy soup! I have made amends with the beet, here's to trying dirty things and liking them! On the potato front, I have contacted the Washington Potato Commission to bum some Blue potato seed samples for planting! Hopefully we will embark on adventures in Blue potato salad sometime in the future. Part of my mission, aside from the elimination of fake food, is to ingest as many different varieties of vegetables as I can in the next year, a veritable sea of colors and nutrients that I would never encounter in fast food world.
OK, so I don't generally keep track of my weight with scales, I prefer to wait until a button pops off of my jeans to know that I'm fat or I require a safety pin and some twine to hold them up when I'm skinny. I broke my scale rule out of curiosity and it seems as though, I have lost about 7 pounds this month, that's like a sack of potatoes and a bag of sugar! My little plan is working.....down with the clown.
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Day 28 Whole Lotta Something In That Bag

Today, I found myself as an outside observer into the world of kids, fast food, obesity, and outright, free wheeling gluttony. I witnessed the consumption of morbid mounts of food by a child, purchased by his parent, over the course of 2 hours in the car. The kid started off with a trip through the Taco Bueno drive through with 4 bean burritos and a small strawberry smoothie, he ended the trip with a stroll through McDonald's with 3 Double cheese burgers, a large fry, and a large Dr. Pepper! I did the math on this one, in two hours he consumed 4240 calories, 219 grams of fat, 10626 mg of sodium, 308 carbs, and 255 mg of cholesterol (not including the fries, which were not listed in the nutritional information). The combined food, including what his parent ate came to about 19.00! This child consumed 2 days worth of calories just at dinner #1 and dinner #2, I don't even know what the kid had for breakfast and lunch, makes me sweat just thinking about metabolizing all of that. While all of this hulabaloo was going on in my car, I sipped an icy cold tomato juice and had an apple, someone had to do it! So, this gross display of  food shoveling and mindless gobbling, led me to an idea, actually I had the idea way earlier, but this vulgarity solidified my decision to take action. I am going to offer some time to the Boys and Girls Club to teach a cooking and nutrition class, I think it would be a blast for them and for me and it's obvious, someone has to teach the little urchins how to make healthy choices. Maybe they will take what they learn back to their parents, homes will be happier, communities will thrive, and the world will be a slightly nicer place! Ya, it might happen!
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Day 27 A Tale of Two Taters

First of all, let me just say that, the cauliflower "potatoes" the other night did not work out as well as I had hoped. They were neither delicious nor amazing, no sort of miracle took place with the first bite, they were simply OK, even festooned with cheese and butter. I'm sure there are many more useful and fun ways to eat cauliflower, making it into something it's not is just unfair, both to the cauliflower and to the eater of the lie. Tonight, I am once again on a potato kick and am baking a big fat sweet potato, which I am going to cover with onions, sauteed mushrooms, and Cheddar cheese, a real po'tater! I am also on the hunt for a Russian Blue potato, I saw one on the Washington State Potato Commission website and am now on a one eyed mission to make fries with it. If I am unable to locate said blue potato, I wonder if the Potato commission will send me one to plant!?!
My challenge of the day, was an optical illusion of some sort, I went into what I believed to be a gas station, only to discover a Daylight Doughnuts. I calmly purchased a water, while being assaulted by the sight and smell of angelic flaky pastries, I watched doughnuts placed lovingly into boxes, surely headed for unworthy mouths and hips. Once again, I summoned my steel plated will and walked away pure and doughnut free.
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Day 26 There's a Magical Soda Heaven Somewhere in Texas

Why? Why did Coca-Cola pick THIS year, the year I have chosen to banish soda from my life? They have created the ultimate in soda technology, the 100 flavor Freestyle soda machine, a machine with every imaginable soda flavor Coke can think of. The touch screen machines are being tested in several different fast food establishments, none of which I will mention here, lest you all let your thirsty ambitions lead you down those dark and fizzy waters of temptation. Being something of a soda aficionado, I am intrigued by the wonder of mixing soda flavors but also repulsed by the possibilities of gluttonous savagery, led by over sugared children in a Pre- Diabetic free for all. The news video was a little scary, one woman who had shown up for the unveiling states that she had already tried several flavors and was coming back after work to fill up again. Rats, I've been foiled again, the upper echelons of Coca-Cola must have caught wind of my combative efforts to end the syrupy fizz war once and for all. No matter, my one woman show will go forward, warning the masses of soda induced muffin tops and sugar inspired back fat, I will prevail!
In other news, I spent 4 hours in the lobby of a car repair shop today and had to search for water, to the East there was a Taco Bell, to the North, a gas station, I chose North, so as not to even temp myself in wistful smells of beans and cheese or any other type of fast food tomfoolery. Water, I found the Oasis and was blissfully hydrated, standing in the glare of gas station soda-land, score one for me.

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Day 25 Don't Be Shy, It's Just A Brussel Sprout

Last spring, I traveled home to Kentucky for a wedding and never expected to meet the love of my life, I was blown away the instant we met, and tonight, we meet again. Roasted Brussel sprouts, slightly crispy, salty, sweet, buttery magic. They were literally the best thing I've ever eaten but I've been a little hesitant to make them for myself, because I know they won't compare to the precious baby cabbages, I ate at 732 Social. Tonight I am going to attempt my own version but I am even at this moment stalling in the face of this reunion... I'm a little shy. I am also making cauliflower "potatoes" and marinated mushrooms. I just learned about the cauliflower thing and am really happy that there is an alternative to the starchy wonderlove of potatoes, apparently you can just moosh them up and add milk and butter and whatever else and they taste the same! We'll see, it's worth a try. The mushrooms are old hat, easy, and good with everything, a nice way to round out a meal. These three vegetables came to about 5.00 at the grocery store! That's like two or three days worth of lunch and dinner, for less than a value meal, Score!
I have to say that I learned something else really good this week, one of my families took their kids off of soda and have seen some pretty significant behavior changes in a very short amount of time. See, I'm not making it up! Fancy brown soda water is bad, water is good!

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Day 24 You're Not the Boss Of Me, McClown!

Today, I would like nothing more, than to plant my face in a McFlurry and let the candy toppings rain down upon my head but I am strong and I will not fail on this, my 24th day. Today, life was a little out of my control, I could not negotiate the cost of the new starter for my car, I had absolutely no input in the temperature outside, and I did NOT plan the headache fun fair in my skull, but I was in control of one thing. I decided what to put into my body, despite my ice cream cravings and onion ring dreams. I know that no matter what goes on around me, I always have the choice to make a good decision for myself. I know that Ronald McDonald is not going to push my wheel chair, if I over do it on the sugar and lose a leg to Diabetes and the CEO of Coca-Cola is not going to buy me a new fatter pair of jeans. I am the only person responsible for my health and well being and as much as I would like to blame it on Ben and Jerry, it's just not up to them. 
On to other things, this morning, I ate the fruit, a banana, no drama to report except, I am on the look out for a new blender, as my old one sprang a leak and I much prefer fruit in frosty frozen juice form. Tonight was a Greek yogurt and left over squash night, maybe tomorrow will be a tad more exciting, not every night can be a recipe worthy of a Rachel Ray episode.
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Day 23 Apples Shmapples

Today, I returned from the grocery store with something new, apples. I know, apples are as old and as common as the snakes that push them. Apples are new as far as my grocery list is concerned. I do not prefer them and generally just like to look at them or smell them in candles, but this week, I am going to eat them, along with a bunch of other fruit. I am adding fruit to my repetoire and I'm going try and choke some down every morning. Before I stopped eating out, I rarely consumed fruit, aside from the occasional grape or strawberry, but since I am broadening my experiences, I'm going to find a way to make apples enjoyable and edible. I'm thinking smoothies may be the way to go on this one, which means I may have to get up earlier, not neccessarily a bad thing. Breakfast is the one meal I miss grabbing on the way to work, every day I used to have an egg and cheese buscuit from McDonald's, a hashbrown or two, and a big fat Coke, so greasy, so buttery, so full of fizz and sugar. Ok, enough of that! I'm proud to say that I was 5.00 under budget for groceries today, coming in a 95.00 which should last for about 2 weeks! I am rocking the money saving vibe with this project and still had money left from my last paycheck (a new thing). I also attacked the fridge and have a lovely open space for the tons of vegetable projects scheduled for this week....including the one I've been eyeing from afar. So, my goals for this week, face my fear of fruit, create some new recipes, and celebrate my monthlong victory! Only 11 more to go!

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Day 22 I Spy a Dirty Beet

I found them, I found the beets, I was secretly hoping that farmers had stopped growing them and I would not have to keep my promise to make nice with them. I did not buy them, because I'm not ready to make the Borscht yet and I wouldn't want them to go bad or anything, but I saw them and they were dirty and bulbous and well, beety. Tonight, I will secure the recipe and tomorrow, I will approach them again, maybe from a different angle. In other news, last night I watched the documentary, No Impact Man and I am super inspired to take my experiment a little further. I will not go as far as eliminating electricity or forgoing toilet paper, but I like the family's approach to food. They ate only fresh, unpackaged food, such as fruit, vegetables, and food from the bins at Whole Foods. I don't know that this will be a 100% possibility for me to do, but I would like to make at least 80% of my food from fresh ingredients, I think that's a great idea and very healthy to eliminate the processed junko. I agree with the thought that there are many things that people can do to help the environment but it's impossible to do everything. Picking several things that serve the purpose, still has an impact on the earth. I feel the same about food and health, most people won't cut out fast food for a year, but maybe someone will cut down to once a week and drink more water or think twice about taking the kids to McDonald's and instead make a picnic of fresh from home foods and  have an hour of quality time together in the grass. The more we pay attention to what we eat, the less likely we are to eat garbage, I'm not your mother and you don't have to listen to me, but don't eat garbage, a nice lasagna is so much more satisfying!

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Day 21 The Pears Live Next to the Peas

One could describe me as disorganized, I know, those close to me, reading this are shocked! I have been known to eat off of pot lids, when all the other plates were being employed as art trays, or to eat cereal out of a take out container, at critical moments. I am often missing vital kitchen items, so that when I have company, they must bring their own bowls and sometimes spoons. I also sometimes get frustrated, while washing dishes and will just throw things away, leaving me with maybe half a setting of plastic gas station cups.Until recently, my cabinets and drawers had always been a mishmash of canned food, dishes, art supplies, books, and cell phone chargers. About 3 months ago, I discovered that when my kitchen was disorganized, I was more likely to avoid it and to grab something to eat on the way home.There have literally been months, when I have not made a thing in my kitchen, which were probably my most expensive times, food wise. I began to slowly put things into their place and discovered that I enjoyed cooking in my kitchen when I could find my stuff! When the cheese grater was in it's place, I didn't mind shredding a block of cheese for a recipe. When the dishwasher was unloaded of clean dishes, I could add the dirty dishes as I went and keep my space uncluttered for creating. I am not by any means cured of my hodgepodge mentality, I have to keep a tight grip on that pony because, it does not take much for the disorder to come back. During this experiment it is especially important to keep things compulsively organized because if I can't cook, I don't eat, it's that simple. So, as of now, the canned foods are all together, and quite happy, the herbs and spices are in their fragrant little community, and the dishes are stacked calmly in their cabinets. Tonight I made Spinach Goat cheese pizza in an uncluttered and happy space and it was pretty good! I believe that order in one area spreads to order in another and this will be the beginning of a lot of good changes in my life.

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Day 20 Nothing Beets a Bowl of Borscht

I have deep table rage of several foods, oranges, dill, and beets being the top three. I specifically hate pickled beets, as those are the only kind I've ever tried. When I was a kid, my mom would put pickled okra and pickled beets on the table every night for my step-father. I hated pickled okra because when I chewed it, it felt like a glob of vaseline in my mouth, but beets, they were on a whole different level of nasty. Every night, someone plopped a pink gelatinous disk onto my plate, staining the very purity of my mashed potatoes or molesting my bread with it's tacky fuchsia juice. The taste, can only be described as dirt, beets taste like dirt and I know because I have eaten dirt and it tastes better than a beet. So, I have established the fact that I hate beets, but I am going to experiment a little in the next week or so. I am going to tap in to the tiny Russian chef, who lives in my brain and try to make amends with the ominous beet. It wasn't the beet's fault that it was pickled and I'm thinking that could be the wrench in our relationship, so, I am going to make Borscht, which I'm pretty sure is not pickled and traditional black bread. I feel that I must attempt new stuff, during this experiment, because I want to learn as much as I can about creating for myself. If I don't know how to create for myself, then I will depend on convenience and that's just not healthy. Also, maybe I will still hate beets after the Borscht, but maybe I will love them and I'll have another recipe to add to my collection. After that, I may turn my attention to my most despised food, Oranges, that's a whole nother post.
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Day 19 Breadcrumbs in a Blizzard

So, it's supposed to snow tonight and I am super excited due to the fact that my agency will close, if all goes well. I am sorry to say that I am not one of those people who stocks up on prunes and bread, when the temperature begins to drop. I am instead going to ride out the blizzard, with the remains of my Christmas stocking, still piled on my kitchen table. My mom is a stocking junkie and usually goes for bulk instead of quality, when choosing gifts. These are also not regulation sized stockings, no, they must be able to accommodate something as small as a chap stick or as large as a crock pot and everything in between. So, sifting through the rubble that was my Christmas, I find several items that will sustain me, should the snow reach epic drifts against my front door. First I have.....a can of breadcrumbs, BREADCRUMBS IN MY CHRISTMAS STOCKING! Four economy sized packs of gum, like she went to Sam's Club and bought Trident in bulk, for a family of six. I also have a three pound bag of mints, some instant coffee, which looks like it may have been a sample from the mail, and a tub of coco powder. If things get rough, I could mix the breadcrumbs with snow, maybe make a primitive cornbread, barter the coffee and coco with other survivors, and chew the gum to keep warm. Obviously, the breadcrumbs can also be used to find my way home in the blizzard, should I become confused and hungry. I'm pretty creative, so I think I can stay alive for a few days, should the rice run out and the rescue squad be detained. Stay warm friends!http://www.fastfoodboycott.blogspot.com/

Day 18 A Poem About Leftovers And Other Ramblings

I know some of you may be wondering, what ever became of the over spiced curry from earlier in the week, well, here's the truth, I haven't been able to face it. Since I cannot bring myself to eat it, I wrote a poem about it.

Ode To My Leftover Curry

I look at you every time I open the Frigidaire

Tupperware separates me from the napalm that is you

I am unwilling to unleash your spicy fury

Though I must face the dragon

Disguised as rice

Spicy rice…..my fear of you

Is bigger than my love for you

Ok, now that my tribute is done, I have a confession to make, what I'm about to say is most definitely not ethical but I'm pretty sure it's not illegal. About 2 months ago, I stumbled upon the Baskin-Robbins website and went a little crazy, signing up for free birthday ice cream. The site allows one to sign themselves up, as well as friends and relatives for a free cone on their birthday. I signed up a lot of people....like 20 or so, including people who may or may not live in other states and people who may or may not even exist. So, that being said, I had forgotten all about the free ice cream until I opened my email today and found that I have another birthday this month! I was really excited until I realized that Karma is alive and well and I can't partake of free ice cream, because it's fast food, son of a @!#$@#$!
On a happier note, I got through a staff meeting at Starbucks this morning, by sucking on a bottle of tap water and eating a can of cashews I got in my Christmas stocking last month, ya, not really comparable to an iced Carmel latte, and a carrot muffin, lemme tell ya!
For dinner I made Portabella Quesadillas with red onions and garlic. They were sooo good, way better than Bueno and much more satisfying! So, here ends day 18, another successful x on the calender and another day of unmatched will power. Go me!  http://www.fastfoodboycott.blogspot.com/

Day 17 Five Pounds of Oatmeal, Now That's a Sack O' Fiber

Things started out weird today, yesterday my Grandmother gave me a gigantic sack of oatmeal, 5lbs. of unflavored oatmeal actually. This morning, I looked at the famine relief sized sack of BS and could not come to a conclusion as to how to eat it. I needed time to process all that I could accomplish with said sack of oatmeal and my holiday was not the time to create recipes, willy nilly in my head, I had things to do. Instead, I decided to have myself a little spa time, before my day out in the cold and this is where things went horribly wrong. I dumped about a cup of oats into the bathtub, in an effort to combat dry winter skin, I thought I was being thrifty, turns out I was just being stupid. The oatmeal was nothing like the Aveeno stuff in the store, I was covered in gooey, sticky oats, I have no idea what went wrong. Also, the bathtub was a sludge pit of breakfast goodness, which I had to clean immediately, lest it dry into some giant, crusty cereal bowl.
Later,  in what could be considered my first face to face challenge, my brother forced me to accompany him to McDonald's to watch him eat. He waved french fries in my face, shoved his soda under my nose, implored me to take a drink, and generally attempted to lure me into breaking. I can proudly say, I did no such thing.
Tonight I bought a great Clean Food magazine and found a recipe for a natural soda alternative, made from carbonated water, ginger, and honey, only 40 calories and no chemicals. I made some but it just tastes like Perrier water, at least I tried, nothing will ever compare to the sweet chemical carnival of a Coke. While the soda did not work out, I was quite the chef this evening, with a Portabella Blue cheese "burger" with caramelized onions. I rock the home cooking circuit.  http://www.fastfoodboycott.blogspot.com/

Contest for Followers

Ok, Blog friends, for my 365th follower, I am giving away a 100.00 gift card to Whole Foods. It's easy, just hit the button, leave me a comment and you may be the one. You must be a public follower, otherwise I can't see that you have joined my little family.  http://www.fastfoodboycott.blogspot.com/

Day 16 Holy Pepper Monkey That's A Hot Bowl Of Hell

So in the interest of keeping things interesting and cheap in my kitchen, I've been experimenting here and there. I must do this so as not to be seduced by the glittering lights of the Mazzio's pizza pick up counter or the lure of the Crispy Creme siren. So far my creations have worked out pretty well, until last night. First let me just say that I love Thai food, I love the heat, I love the spice, love it. Last week, at the Asian market, I picked up a very large tub of Red curry paste, which I love but have never cooked with. Look, you cannot scare me with heat, I can eat habeneros by themselves, my tongue is like a Zen monk playing poker with a dragon, I'm good. So, I decided on a very simple curry rice with vegetables, I added the curry paste, I added a lot of paste, probably like 1/3 of a cup. I knew as I did this that it would be warm, but I was in the mood for adventure.....I got an adventure, if adventure is another word for "son of a motherless goat, grab the baking soda, there's an electrical fire in my mouth." I have leftovers and  in the name of a faltering economy,I will not throw them out, I will find a way to get my money's worth, you bet your flaming, blistered gums I will.  http://www.fastfoodboycott.blogspot.com/

Day 15 Zen Battle Between Self and Soda Machine

First of all, I left the house without water, this small act led to an epic battle of wills, right there in the Jiffy Lube waiting area. My mouth was to say the least, parched and felt to be covered in horse hair. I was DYING, I'm not kidding, I could feel my skin shriveling from lack of moisture and the Culligan water cooler, with the tiny, tiny cups was empty. I tipped it, I'm not gonna lie and even then was rewarded  only with a small squirt of tepid water. To my left was a gleaming Coke machine, so full of fizzy goodness, I almost dug into my purse for change, but NO, NO, NO, I would not crumble now! I pulled a book out, tried to read, glanced at the soda machine, stared at the greasy guys working on my car, snuck a longing glance at the Coke button, that would surely bring relief to the Gobi desert in my mouth, read some more, meditated, thought of waterfalls, imagined the fizz and the first eye watering sip from a cold can. Finally my car is finished and I do not even stop for water on the way home, I wait until I am standing in front of an unending supply of tap water and ice cubes and I drink until I'm sloshy. I have conquered the fizzy beast.  http://www.fastfoodboycott.blogspot.com/

Day 14 This Has To Be A Record

Today was monumental in many different ways, the most relative being that I have made it 2 full weeks without so much as a single fast food SNAFU (look it up). I have not once fudged on soda or caved for a Mexidip and chips combo, my willpower is unstoppable! Second, my mom told me to pull my pants up, which means that they are falling down, which means..........a trip to Old Navy for a smaller pair? We shall explore this possibility tomorrow. Third, I LOVE this Serene herb stuff, I am so very serene and have not been at all anxious or annoyed all day. Ususally on the way to work or home or, well anywhere on the road, I scream kind words at other motorists and shake my happy fist at them, today, nothing but smiles and friendly nods. Oh no, what if the firey side of my personality is gone forever? How will I put the kibash down on rotten children and their parents? Perhaps subtle manipulation will have to work instead. All in all, this has been a great two weeks, I feel like I have more energy, not as sluggish, and I feel like I'm doing something really good for myself, this is going to be my year!  http://www.fastfoodboycott.blogspot.com/

Day 13 Where Is That Smell Coming From?

Today, faced with the task of spending my evening in the home of a client, I find none too clean, I decided to take control of my germ panic and schlepped off to the health food store. I went looking for Kava Kava, which is a herb for anxiety, turns out Kava Kava screws with your liver or something. The nice lady running the store, pointed me in the direction of something called Theanine Serene, Ya, I don't know either, I just bought it. I of course wasted no time in choking down two giant tablets and waited for the serenity to begin. It was only about 30 minutes before I stopped caring about roaches and head lice, smooth sailing, but soon I caught a whiff of....dentist office? Where the hell is that smell coming from, it's so strong, I think someone must be in the back seat, smoking a clove cigarette. Then I realize, it's me, it's coming from my skin, I smell all spicy, like a toothache pack....this will not do. I am home and a few hours past the initial pill popping, I still smell, I can't get rid of it, I may have to soak in lemon juice or vinegar? I don't know! On another note, I made the most perfect omelet ever, tonight, I am a smelly genius. http://www.fastfoodboycott.blogspot.com/

Day number 12 No Thanks Domino's, I Got This.

Tonight I made a homeade pizza for about 4.75 and that includes extra ingredients for another pizza, plus leftovers for lunch tomorrow, not bad! Plus everything is uber fresh and I'm not contributing to the evil corporate pizza empire.....I am my own empire. Today could have been a distaster in regard to my mission, first I got a really bad papercut, under my fingernail and then I got tangled up in my scarf and the strap of my purse. Normally, this kind of day would find me at Braum's having a Coke, some fries, and a carmel sunday, but NO! I persevered another day. I did discover something wonderous today! Olives in a bag! Have you ever wanted to snack on a can of olives in the car, but been fresh out of can openers? Problem solved, olives in a bag, I ate those and some cheese for lunch and they held me over until I could get to my dinner bridge of Greek yogurt, which held me over till dinner. And so ends another day in the life of me. http://www.fastfoodboycott.blogspot.com/

Day 11 Richer and a Tad Less Trashy

I noticed something today, I haven't had to stop and toss fastfood cups from my car in awhile. I wonder how much garbage will not reach the landfill, with my challenge? Here's a little math, I was stopping for soda during the workday and on the weekends about 3-4 times a day, so 4 cups= 20 cups a week x 52 weeks = 1040 cups. First of all, that's a lot of trash and that's not including everytime I ate breakfast, lunch, or dinner out and the trash that resulted from food packaging. So, not only am I saving money and losing weight, I am also reducing my footprint, go me! Second, at around 2.00 per soda, I am saving about 8.00 a day and have already saved almost 90.00 ON SODA ALONE! I have bought 2 bottles of water, since my challenge, but have since started bringing a big cup to work and drinking the water cooler water. http://www.fastfoodboycott.blogspot.com/

Day 10 I'm on a Homeade Roll Now

Well, it's day 10 of this journey called deprivation but oddly, I do not feel deprived, I feel really great! I'm pretty sure my pants are a little looser too! In two weeks, I'm going to Old Navy to try on a size 14 jeans, just for ha ha's, we'll see what happens. For lunch today, I had tabouli, Greek yogurt, and a string cheese, and I drank Green tea concoction all day. Last night I invented a little something I like to call Jamaican Honey tea, not bad, the Cayenne in it kept me warm all day. Tonight I made Mushroom Stroganoff, which I will add to the recipes later. If by some miracle we get snowed in overnight, maybe I'll make some rice pudding tomorrow to keep myself busy. Oh, I also created a recipe for achy muscles last night, but I can't tell you what's in it, I may want to patent it and pimp it out later. http://www.fastfoodboycott.blogspot.com/

Day 9 Snowday Sunday

Today is the PERFECT day to NOT have to go out and forage the Chinese buffet or go out into the cold to gather burritos, it's snowing! I'm holding my breath for a Monday snowday and I have plenty of fun things to cook, if I'm stuck inside. I feel really great today, I had some oatmeal, some avacados, a few grapes, and for dinner, tonight, I'm making butternut squash. My Grandmother makes the best squash casserole, so later I'm going to add it to my recipe list. I feel pretty thrifty too, for every day that I don't eat fast food, I'm saving 5-15.00 a day, that's a lot of school books! http://www.fastfoodboycott.blogspot.com/

Day 7 and 8 This is getting easier

Soooo, yesterday I had a salad from Whole foods, is this considered fast food? I don't think it is, since it is a grocery store and I bought other groceries while I was there...and it was healthy. Today, I went searching for the fabled herb store and found only, an Asian market. I bought a box of 100 count Green tea bags, which will be my substitute throughout my anti-soda challenge. My mom and brother are also taking my lead on no fast food, as we declined to partake after our bookstore outing. My brother, who is only 17 suggested stopping for lunch and my mom talked him in to the buffet behind their refridgerator door. Maybe I will influence a movement! http://www.fastfoodboycott.blogspot.com/

Days 5 and 6

Yesterday, I worked late, with only an avacado to keep me company, well I also had a can of lentils but no time to eat them. My last meeting of the day stretched out to 2 hours, thanks to my lovely co-worker, you know who you are, who likes to power through...I almost cannabalized her in our client's house. So anyway, I also forgot my power cord at the office and so am catching up today. Still no fast food, no soda, I think I'm going to make it but started worrying about office meetings in restaraunts. Today, I prepared pretty well for being on the road all day and had snacks, water, and juice to get me through. I ate dinner with my mom tonight so no dollars lost there, I even took home leftovers. All in all day 6 is a success! http://www.fastfoodboycott.blogspot.com/

Day 4 I need a Coke and a biscuit

Today, I spent .48 on lunch, that's right, I bought two bananas. Normally I do not prefer bananas, but in lui of fried mozzarella sticks from Sonic, I'd say I made a pretty solid choice in terms of healthy food and I saved about 6.00. I'm on a roll now and I drank water all day long. I was really tired after spending the day social working and it would have been so easy to just drive through somewhere, but, I was strong and had pasta and cornbread from my cabinet. http://www.fastfoodboycott.blogspot.com/

Day 3 Goodbye caffine, your departure hurts so good

I have a cranking, enormous caffine withdrawl headache, Lord have mercy! Today was my first day back at work and lemme tell you, driving past my morning 40 0z Coke was harder than I thought. Driving past it again in the afternoon, was even worse, I really needed a soda and some fries on the way home, but I stuck to my mission. The beans I took for lunch today were good but not enough, gonna have to get creative with lunch stuff. I'm really going to miss Sonic's Cranberry Limeades, so long old friend. http://www.fastfoodboycott.blogspot.com/

Day 2 Beans, beans....

Day 2 has been a success! I usually treat myself to a bean burrito, a large Coke, and or a biscuit from the chicken joint, on my way to Grandmother's house. Today, I just drove on past, go me! Tonight I made beans and will be gracing my co-workers with beanie freshness in our tiny offic tomorrow. I also stopped by Aldi's today and loaded up on avacados, 4 for a dollar! They are not ripe and it may be a few days, but what a great cheapskate bargin. Bad news though, still the same pants size as yesterday, how long does this take?  http://www.fastfoodboycott.blogspot.com/

Day 1 The Boycott of Fast food and soda

Today is January 1st, which begins 365 days of the swearing off of fast food. I am committed to eating at home and also eliminating soda. I love soda so this is going to be difficult. I love full sugar soda, diet soda, soda that could be called fizzy juice, I love it all. I will bring my lunch to work or buy it directly from the grocery store EVERY day. No more pizza buffets, no more Sonic grilled cheese or yummy yummy burritos, I'm done! The purpose of this experiment is to see how much money I can save by eating at home and to see if my new eating habits, affect how my clothes fit. Right now I wear a size 16 (I don't do scales) so let's see if that changes with the elimination of grease and processed crap. On a side note, I am going to attempt to eat healthier at home and add some herbs to my diet. For the last few days, I have been drinking ginger green tea and adding different things like Cayenne to help with blood sugar and stuff. We'll see how it goes! http://www.fastfoodboycott.blogspot.com/