Keep putting this off- ugh

Ok, I need to just get this done. I am behind by a lot. We'll start with Tuesday.

Jeremy and I went to Grocery Outlet and spent $68. We bought the following:

Korean BBQ rice crackers
2 boxes of Cheerios with Protein
Huge box of chia seed crackers
18 Fiber One brownies
Italian shredded cheese blend
12 frozen turkey burgers
3 bell peppers (orange, yellow, red)
5 tubs of lite pimento cheese spread ((shudder))
Large tub with deli ham, beef and chicken
6 whole wheat bagels
6 black cherry Greek yogurts
Quart of plain Greek yogurt
Protein granola
Pecans
Walnuts
Dried cranberries
5 lbs white cornmeal
4 oz herb goat cheese
Watermelon twist candy
Mixed dried fruit
Sugar free cherry preserves
Low sugar orange marmalade
2 cans petite diced tomatoes
2 small cans tomato sauce
2 pack hardboiled eggs
Dozen large eggs
Olive oil
2 bottles of Mio

Jeremy went to QFC a bit later and bought a Lean Cuisine, 5 lbs of flour, and a half gallon of milk for $6 total.

I made stew in the crock pot with three kinds of beans, a can of crushed tomatoes, carrots, and millet. I also baked a loaf of gluten free bread with whole millet, quinoa, oats, and sunflower seeds. It didn't rise much, and was pretty dense, but I did like it ok. I'll be happy to eat wheat again though. I hope I don't have problems with it.

Breakfast: left over millet and brown rice with almond milk, honey, and blueberries
Lunch: leftover Ethiopian lentils, and green beans and carrots, and brown rice
Dinner: bean and veggie stew with millet, whole grain bread
Snacks: dark chocolate, half of a watermelon twist, two hard boiled eggs
Beverages: water

Replenishing the food stock

Yesterday I was battling a migraine most of the day. My schedule was empty in the morning, so I decided I might as well take the day off. For breakfast I made overnight oats with coconut milk. I added about a tsp of honey, a sliced banana, and six crushed macadamia nuts to it. I didn't mind it cold, but I may heat it up next time.

For dinner I cut up two of the bell peppers I bought the day before and sauteed them with about a pound of chicken breast, olive oil, chili powder and cayenne pepper. We ate it with brown rice and cilantro. Jeremy added cheese to his.

Jeremy and I went to QFC when he got home from work. We spent $40 and got:

3 Yukon gold potatoes
3 lbs small honeycrisp apples
3 red and yellow bell peppers
1 bunch cilantro
Chex gluten free granola
3 boxes wheat pasta
4 cans Campbell's Chunky Soup
6 pack of Blue Sky Zero Jamaican ginger ale (it is made with stevia, and was on sale, which doesn't happen often)
2 cups Kraft easy Mac
4 Lara bars
Rockstar energy drink
Brown rice gluten free bread
2 quarts of cocoa mint flavor coconut milk (RFQS)
1 box of almond cashew milk (RFQS)

Breakfast: overnight oats with coconut milk, honey, macadamia nuts and banana
Lunch: leftover curried lentils and carrots, sliced strawberries
Dinner: chicken and peppers with brown rice and cilantro
Snacks/desserts: split a lemon Lara Bar with Winter
Beverages: Jamaican ginger ale, water

What I ate and what I bought 07-16-14

They repaved a section of 8th Ave, right by the corner where our bedroom is. They started working at 6:30 this morning. There were loud noises like what it might sound like if one were to torture a mechanical horse. And the entire apartment smelled like hot tar.

I bought a loaf of bread for $2.50 and a jelly filled doughnut for $.89 at QFC. I also stopped at Safeway after work and bought the following:

3 Oikos Greek yogurts ($.85 ea) $2.55
8 oz sour cream $.99
8 hamburger buns $1.12
1 green bell pepper $1.00
2 nectarines $1.79
3.38 lbs of reduced for quick sale spotty bananas $1.66

That's a total of $12.50 spent today

Here's what I ate:

Breakfast: smoothie with pineapple coconut water, milk, vanilla yogurt, frozen banana
Lunch: leftover quiche
Dinner: curried chickpeas with carrots
Snacks/desserts: raspberry jelly doughnut
Beverages: water, Crystal Light

Slow cooker recipe for hearty bean and vegetable soup

sooooo many vitamins

This soup gets tons of flavor from fresh, dried, and canned veggies and beans, and is high in with lots of assorted micronutrients. I am tagging this recipe as vegetarian, because you can very easily replace the chicken bouillon with vegetable or mushroom bouillon. Don't be intimidated by the long ingredient list. This is super fast to put together.

1/3 cup dried black beans
1/3 cup dried pinto beans
1/3 cup dried garbanzo beans
1/3 cup yellow split peas (if you can't find these, try brown lentils instead)
1/3 cup green split peas
5 cups water
2 carrots, thickly sliced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup dried onion
2 T sodium free chicken bouillon
14 oz can diced tomatoes in juice
3 cloves of crushed garlic
1/4 cup white wine
1 t oregano
dash of black pepper

Combine all dried beans and pulses with the five cups of water the night before and allow them to soak. The following day, combine all ingredients in a 2 qt or larger slow cooker and cook on the low setting for 6 or 7 hours until beans and split peas are tender. Makes 8 cups. Nutrition info is for 1 cup.

Soba noodles with chicken, veggies, and sweet spicy glaze

8.8 oz package of soba noodles

6 oz chicken breast

1 bell pepper, cut into strips

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 T olive oil

1/2 cup apricot preserves

1 T rice vinegar

1 t chili garlic sauce

1 T powdered ginger

1/2 t soy sauce

2 cloves crushed garlic

1/4 cup slivered almonds

Boil water, add noodles, cook and drain. Set aside. Mix together preserves, rice vinegar, chili garlic sauce, ginger, soy sauce, and crushed garlic in a small bowl. Set aside. Saute mushrooms and peppers in olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken breast and saute until just cooked. Fold in sauce until chicken and vegetables are well coated. Top with slivered almonds. For the juiciest chicken, cover the pan and allow it to rest for at least 5 minutes. You can mix the noodles right in, or serve them separately. The nutrition info is for 1/4 of the recipe.

This would probably also be good with peach or plum preserves. 

Lots o' food shopping

Today I bought groceries both at Grocery Outlet and at Uwajimaya in the International District. Here's what I bought at Grocery Outlet:

1 dozen large eggs $1.69
19 oz cashews $4.99
1 quart of organic vanilla yogurt $1.49
1 14 oz can of vegetarian baked beans $.69
2 cans of petite diced tomatoes (.79 each) $1.58
8 flour tortillas $2.59
3 7 oz boxes of tomato sauce 3/$1.00
7 oz wensleydale cheese with dried fruit $1.99
2 lbs. whiting fillets $4.99
jar of ground black pepper $.99
vanilla extract $1.49
8 oz. caraway havarti $1.99
4 oz. peppered soft goat cheese $2.49
2 2.5 lb bags frozen chicken tenderloins ($6.99 each) $13.98
1 lb sliced crimini mushrooms $1.99
sweet potato crackers $1.69
2 red bell peppers (.99 each) $1.98
48 oz vegetable oil $2.99
20 oz Diet Dr. Pepper $1.09
8 oz. reduced fat havarti $1.99
16 oz. turkey breast lunch meat $2.49
10 5 oz cans tuna (.63 each) $6.32

Total: $62.49

And what I got at Uwajimaya:

lemon fried pie $1.59
1/2 cup slivered almonds $2.39 (wish I had waited, as I went here first and there were much better deals on them at Groc Out)
soba noodles $1.59
3 packs of gyoza wrappers (.99 each) $2.97
1.08 lb lean ground beef $3.77
1.12 lb ground chicken breast $2.79
1 lb carrots $.89
2.70 lb green cabbage $2.13
5 honeycrisp apples $4.01
3 huge mangoes $2.64

Total: $24.77

Chicken Fajita Pizza

I used this recipe to make the crust, but I put the bowl in a warmed oven while prepping the toppings so it could rise a little. I also reduced the salt to 1/4 t, and I used powdered sugar instead of granulated since that was what I had. The yeasts like it just fine.

For the sauce I mixed 1 T chili powder, 2 cloves of garlic, and 1/2 T cumin in with 7 oz of tomato sauce.

Rub 4 oz of chicken breast with chili powder, and grill for a few minutes. Let it cool, then shred. It's ok if it's slightly undercooked. It will cook the rest of the way in the oven, and you don't want it to overcook and get dry. Cut 1 bell pepper into strips. I used the other halves of one red and one yellow pepper used in last night's tacos.

Spread the sauce evenly over the pizza crust, and top with pieces of chicken and pepper, then cover with 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, and a dash of red pepper flakes.

Bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees, and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting.

I made this pizza in the morning before work, then covered it with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge, so when I got home we just had to toss it in the oven. That gave the crust time to rise a little more too, but it really doesn't need to. I've made this crust before and baked it immediately and it was good, just not as puffy.

I cut it into 12 pieces. Nutrition info is for 1/12th of the pizza.

Tilapia tacos

8 oz tilapia, cut into several pieces
1/3 cup oil
6 corn tortillas
1 bell pepper, chopped (I used half of a yellow one and half of a red one)
juice of one lemon
2 t chili powder
1 t cumin
6 T reduced fat sour cream

Add 2 T of the oil to a hot pan, and add fish, peppers, lemon juice, and seasonings. Sautee until the fish is fully cooked, breaking it up into smaller pieces as you cook. Add the remaining oil to another pan, and fry each tortilla for about 60 seconds on each side on high heat. Serve with sour cream. Makes six tacos. Nutrition info is for one taco.

Lots of grocery shopping today, and frozen yogurt

Jeremy and I went to Menchie's for frozen yogurt today after I got done with work. I got salted caramel and dark chocolate yogurt with brownie bites, hot fudge, whipped topping, roasted peanuts and a maraschino cherry. Jeremy got watermelon and tangerine sorbet with green grapes. The total was $10.28. It was worth every penny.

We then took a bus to the Grocery Outlet. That store is always interesting because you never know what you are going to find, so it's hard to do any sort of planning ahead. I had to exercise a lot of restraint. They always have things that I really don't need to be eating at pretty incredible prices. I did buy a bag of those Hot Pockets Snackers macaroni and cheese bites though. I looked at the nutrition info and they really weren't all that awful, so I decided to go ahead and indulge on one thing.

Here's what we got:

12 sugar free energy drinks (fifty cents each) $6.00
Hot Pockets Snackers $1.99
18 oz. Craisins $1.99
2 bags organic frozen mixed vegetables (99 cents each) $1.98
8 oz. shredded mozzarella $2.39
7 oz. Lancashire cheese $2.30
3.5 lbs pearl couscous $4.99
20 oz Diet Dr. Pepper $1.09
18 white corn tortillas $1.19
1 can diced tomatoes $.59
4 Yves veggie burger patties $1.99
3 Liberte Mediterranee yogurts $1.00
2 Liberte Greek yogurts $1.00
1 quart organic half & half $1.99
8 oz black pepper white cheddar $1.99
3 7 oz boxes of tomato sauce 3/$1.00
7 oz jalapeno havarti $1.99
Yellow bell pepper $.99
Red bell pepper $.99
1 lb cherries $3.99
1 lb strawberries $1.99
1 dozen large eggs $1.69

That comes to a total of $43.13