Transitions

As predicted, starting a full-time job has been a huge transition for me. Not just in terms of scheduling other aspects of my life, but my overall energy level when I get home. My sleep schedule hasn't quite adjusted yet, so I feel tired a lot of the time, and not up to many home projects. I'm afraid a lot of plans have fallen by the wayside.

I did, however, take the opportunity to make a few other life changes, in the general direction of becoming healthier. This is largely driven by my desire to make a few tiny versions of my husband and I in the next few years, and the knowledge that there's a lot you can do to prepare your body for that. These are some of the changes I've been able to make recently:

Organic milk: this was actually something we started when we moved to Illinois, and milk prices weren't as high as they were in California. The big deal here is getting dairy products that are hormone free, or as hormone-free as possible. We also get organic cream and yogurt for baking. The one we haven't managed yet is organic ice cream; that one's still just too expensive for us right now. But too delicious to give up entirely! (for now)

Bringing my own lunch: Except for one day of going out with my co-workers, I've brought my own lunch every day for two weeks. Some of this has been leftovers for restaurants (haven't done quite as well on the dinner front), but a lot has been homemade things. My batch of avgolemono soup was perfect with some pita bread and salad brought alongside. I'll probably be trying to continue that trend in the coming weeks.

Mostly dropping alcohol: This one has been building for a while. I'm not alcohol-free at this point, and will still get a glass of cider if I'm out somewhere. But I'm trying not to buy alcohol to have at the house, and usually won't have more than one drink on a special occasion.

Going Caffeine Free: This is the biggest lifestyle change I've made so far. I'm not a huge coffee drinker (though I enjoy it enough), but pepsi/coke and black tea are a huge staple in my drinks menu. I'm not caffeine dependent, and usually only have one caffeinated beverage a day. But I knew this would be the hardest habit to kick, and the one I would need most practice at. It was maybe a little crazy dropping it right before starting work, but so far I'm alright. I have caffeine free peppermint tea and mango tea at my desk, and I drink plenty of water.

Decreasing my sugar intake: Without the same amount of soda in my life, my sugar intake has decreased hugely. I'm also no longer putting sugar in my tea, which is a big step. There are still cookies, and some sugar in my oatmeal, but overall I'm eating much less sugar.

Those are some of the changes I've been able to make, and hopefully I'll manage more in the coming weeks. The husband bought me a membership to our local co-op for Christmas, and I've been happily using it to get discounted organic produce and grocery items. But they also offer classes and workshops, and that might be my next step in healthier eating, and hopefully providing a much needed breath of creativity into my meal planning.

- Cait

There and Back Again

Hello dear readers!

I'm sorry for the unexpected hiatus. The holiday season was pretty busy, and I was in the midst of handing in my master's thesis (which is now done!), so blogging took a back seat. I'm afraid the next few weeks may not get much better as I start a new full-time job tomorrow. But I definitely still have things to share with all of you, and so I'll try to keep up with posting.

Tonight I'm cooking one last big complicated meal before launching into work. I've been doing a lot of meal planning in the last few weeks, especially while the husband and I were both on break with very little to do other than be at home and eat. I bought a whiteboard and promptly took a sharpie to it to outline days and meals; so far I've used it 3/4 weeks this month, and I have to say it's been great for grocery shopping. I still forget things, but in general I feel more confident heading out to the store with a list in hand. It's made meals much less overwhelming.

Tonight is my favorite beef stew recipe, which calls on you to throw in a whole bunch of guinness and red wine. Tonight we went with New Castle beer instead, because the last few times making it with guinness have felt too heavy. New Castle still brings a rich ale flavor to the broth, but it a little lighter with the rest of the ingredients. This is by far my favorite stew to make on a cold dreary evening, or just when I need something hearty. We're pairing it with some homemade cornbread and, of course, more New Castle for ourselves.

The beef stew, besides being delicious, was also a great example of how I'm going to be shifting my meal planning starting this week. Dinners will need to be fairly easy to make, but also need to support being made in a reasonable quantity; I definitely want to have leftovers available for lunch whenever possible. Soups are probably going to become a bigger staple in our diet, as I can easily package them and heat them up in a microwave.

The soup I'm looking forward to most is the Greek avgolemono soup I'm going to make this weekend. My husband doesn't like it much, so I thought it would make a perfect soup to prep for lunches ahead of time. I made my own chicken broth last week with baked lemon rings thrown into the crockpot, and I think it'll just be heavenly. Substituting brown rice, though, and maybe with a little bit of frozen spinach thrown in for a vegetable component.

I'll let you know how adjusting my cooking schedule around work goes, and also try to make a few updates soon about decorating the rooms in the house. We've made several improvements in the last few months that I haven't gotten a chance to share yet. And I promise, next time I'll include pictures.

- Cait