Saturday, August 23, 2014

Fish chowder

Yesterday for dinner we thawed out the rest of the whiting and made fish chowder. I had to remove the skin from the little filets which proved to be a difficult and kind of nasty task. For the most part I just had to tear chunks of raw fish off the skin. This fish does not butcher easily. I managed to get just over a half pound of fish meat without skin by the end. I wish I could share a recipe, but we kind of made it up as we went along and figured out what to put in it through trial and error. We used sodium free chicken stock, cornstarch for thickener, two chopped potatoes, about a half pound of chopped carrots, some dried onion, black pepper, garlic, thyme, salt free seasoning blend, just enough salt to bring out the flavors, and added half and half at the end.

Whiting is pretty fishy, but the chowder didn't turn out TOO terribly fishy. We wound up with a lot of it. Like at least two quarts. We'll have it for dinner tonight as well. Winter doesn't like fish, so we needed to use it up since she gets here Monday.

Breakfast: oatmeal with half and half, berries from the freezer, and brown sugar
Lunch: tuna sandwich, banana
Dinner: fish chowder
Snacks/desserts: protein bar
Beverages: chocolate milk, water, sugar free cherry drink

Friday, August 22, 2014

Some of Winter's acting, and Jeremy's GFR

Winter's dad is going to school for film in Alaska, so sometimes she gets to do some acting. Recently she was the lead in a short film called La Llarona by Frostbite Films. She had smaller roles in The Business and Asleep at the Wheel, also made by Frostbite Films in the last few years.

Jeremy had his labs redone recently and his GFR has dropped to 20. It had been holding steady at 23-24 for a while, and even for up to 27 at one point. The last time he saw his nephrologist he asked if his GFR had to be 20 or lower for a kidney transplant, and his Dr. confirmed this. I was hoping the recent trend upward meant we might have a little more time before the transplant, but it's looking like it may be sooner rather than later.

Got home late last night

I usually get home by 8:00 at the latest, but last night I wasn't even leaving the grocery store until after 8:00. I picked up a couple of frozen side dishes to go with the frozen Morningstar Farms BBQ riblets we had already. We didn't eat until around 8:45. I will need to remember to keep a frozen pizza or something on hand for stuff like this once Winter comes back, so at least they can get dinner started without me.

It seems like Jeremy's interview went well, but he won't find out until Monday.

I bought the following at QFC yesterday. I left the chocolate milk, bananas, and protein bars at work. The person before me had left a coupon for $2.00 off your next shopping order at the U Scan, so I used that too. Cool!

1 qt chocolate milk $2.19
Box of 6 protein bars $1.00
4 large bananas $1.28
1 huge nectarine $1.77
Frozen single serve Chili's pepper Jack Mac and Cheese $2.50
Green Giant frozen vegetables $1.00
1 quart of half and half $2.29
2 lbs brown sugar $2.59
2 Yukon Gold potatoes $1.22

Total $15.84
minus $2.00 coupon
$13.84
minus 3% from using GC purchased on Raise
$13.42

The frozen vegetables I bought were the Green Giant antioxidant blend. I normally do not like frozen veggies as I find them to be watery, mushy, rubbery, and lacking in flavor. I really liked these. They are not as good as fresh veggies to me, but I would get them again in a pinch at that price. Normally they are $2.49 for two servings.

The Chili's mac and cheese is actually awesome, I am picky about frozen mac and cheese as well, but this one is worth it. It's super creamy, and the peppers give it a nice flavor, but not really spicy. One container has enough to make a side dish for two people.

Breakfast: chocolate milk, nectarine
Lunch: small amount of leftover chicken teriyaki stir fry, banana, protein bar
Dinner: Morningstar Farms vegetarian BBQ riblet, pepper jack mac and cheese, mixed vegetables
Snacks/desserts: white cheddar with cracked pepper, another protein bar
Beverages: Crystal Light, water

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Things eaten yesterday

I worked an early morning shift at the airport yesterday, and impressively I managed to pack a lunch, but ran out of ideas and time for breakfast. I keep forgetting to pick up brown sugar so I can make oatmeal. I will not use Splenda in it. Blech.

We intended to take Joey back to the vet yesterday to have more tests done but they take their last walk in at 4:30 and Jeremy got home at 4:15. It would have been super tight. He will take Joey on Monday.

As for spending, Jeremy and I both got sodas from the laundry room machine, and I bought Reese's Pieces. We spent $2.50.

Breakfast: protein bar
Lunch: turkey, cheese and Dijon mustard sandwich, banana
Dinner: chicken and veggie stir fry with teriyaki sauce and brown rice
Snacks: another protein bar, Reese's Pieces
Beverages: water, Barq's root beer

Jeremy's interview is today at 4:00pm. He is hoping for a part time second job doing personal training a few evenings and maybe Sundays.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Things we ate yesterday

Breakfast: shredded wheat
Lunch: leftover turkey sausage potstickers, banana
Dinner: leftover pasta with tuna, carrots and cheese sauce, leftover turkey sausage potstickers
Snacks/desserts: protein bars, gummy bears
Beverages: Crystal Light, water

I worked a shift at the WA State Convention Center yesterday doing chair massage. I bought some gummy bears during my break. Jeremy bought a Diet Coke from the soda machine in the laundry room also. That is all.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

What we ate 08-18-14

Yesterday Jeremy stopped at QFC after the gym and spent $2.00 on a Lean Cuisine, which he ate for lunch, and $1.50 on a cherry cream cheese danish for me.

After dinner we went to Yogurtland to use the buy one get one free coupon we had. We spent $3.12 there, but since it was really 10% off of that with the gift card bought on Raise, the actual total spent was $2.81.

We also went to QFC a second time and bought 3 boxes of protein bars for $3.00, and three bananas for $.68. Jeremy also got a diet Lipton tea for $1.00. Total including taxes and all discounts was $4.64.

I made potstickers last night for dinner out of turkey sausage, cabbage, carrots, seasonings, and the last package of gyoza wrappers we had in the freezer. I did not add any hoisin sauce or soy sauce since that turkey sausage is pretty salty already. I also split the little butternut squash we had in the fridge and baked it.

Breakfast: smoothie with banana, peach Greek yogurt, and milk
Lunch: leftover pasta with tuna, carrots and cheese sauce
Dinner: turkey sausage potstickers, butternut squash with butter and cinnamon
Snacks/desserts: protein bar, cherry danish, vanilla and mixed berry tart frozen yogurt
Beverages: water, Crystal Light, a little Lipton diet iced tea

I finally made an instagram account too. It has lots of cat pics, and last night's dinner so far.

Monday, August 18, 2014

Jeremy cooked dinner last night

Cue the scary music. He has been watching videos by this guy who calls himself The Protein Chef. He made the recipe that this link goes to. Some sort of chicken parmesan quinoa casserole... thing. It was not the tastiest thing I have ever put in my mouth, but it's pretty darn healthy I guess. I would have added olive oil and red wine for sure.

Jeremy downloaded an app to his phone called Pact. It syncs up to his UP band and Myfitnesspal account, and basically what you do is input a credit card number and make wagers based on completing certain tasks. If you fail to complete the task, you are charged whatever amount you wager. If you complete the tasks then you get a cut of all the money paid in by users who missed their goals. The FAQ says payouts are between .30 and $5.00 a week, depending on the challenges you take on and the money you wager. Maybe this UP band will pay for itself in time?

Jeremy also just now got a call from 24 Hour Fitness! He has an interview for a personal trainer position on Thursday!!

Yesterday the lunch I brought with me to work was not nearly substantial enough, so I went over to QFC and bought a big box of sesame orange chicken from the deli that has been marked down half price to $2.29. It was everything one might expect from grocery store deli "Chinese" food. I did not finish it, and though it's currently in my fridge I may not eat the rest. It stuck with me till dinner at least. I also got a Dove milk chocolate bar. Mmmmm.

Breakfast: peach flavored Greek yogurt
Lunch: leftover pasta with tuna, carrots, and cheese sauce
Dinner: Jeremy's quinoa chicken parmesan thing
Snacks/desserts: sesame orange chicken with rice, milk chocolate, protein bar
Beverages: Crystal Light, water

Sunday, August 17, 2014

What we ate 08-16-14

Breakfast: peach flavored Greek yogurt
Lunch: Lean Cuisine cheesy potatoes and broccoli, banana
Dinner: pasta with tuna, carrots, and cheese sauce
Snacks/desserts: protein bar, root beer float frozen yogurt
Beverages: water, Crystal Light

I had a free 5 oz coupon for Yogurtland that expired soon, so I stopped there after work and got some root beer float flavored yogurt. One of my favorite ones. After the coupon it cost $1.21. Before we started budgeting our food purchases I used to go get frozen yogurt at least 3 times a week. I walk past two of them on my way home from work. It's hard not to stop there, especially when it's so hot out.

Jeremy and I went for a walk through Pioneer Square and down by the waterfront after dinner. The temperature was perfect, and there was a nice breeze. We forgot that hempfest was this weekend though. The waterfront area was super crowded.