Thursday, January 30, 2014

I could, quite possibly, be crazy, but.....

I have watched "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" more than a few times.  I have toyed with the idea of a juice or smoothie fast on many occasions, and I think that now is the time.  I have always put it off because "the holidays were coming", it was "too stressful to think about a smoothie fast" or some other reason that seemed to be an impediment to my getting serious and starting.

On Youtube, I came across Kitten, The Juice Pirate.  She is such a nifty person, and is such an inspiration to me.  She has answered many questions, and is soooooo enthusiastic!  Check out her Youtube page...   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AJatcP0uMU&list=UUE0MiNGf_oTL5DBlZUGunHg

I have watched this guy a couple of times, and he is inspiring to me...  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjt3bxyKcCI

I am, by my nature, a person that likes to do things in a nice, metered, way.  Committing to juicing for an extended period of time is daunting, but it is something that has begun to speak to me on a very primal level.

Soooo.. Last night, I was looking at 2 bags of kale and thinking to myself, "Now is the time."  I am going to go for a 10 day green smoothie fast, and if that works, then a 30 day, then, if that is going well, a 60 day.  If I am still feeling good at 60 days, I will go to 100 days.

I just might be crazy, but I figure if I am healthy, and the doctor is good with the plan (and he is) I can do this healthfully.

Today is Day #1 - I woke up and used my Nutribullet in order to make 2 green smoothies.  They were identical, each of them containing;
1 banana
4 large strawberries
1/4 cup of blueberries
1 very large handful of kale
Filtered water to the "max" line (I would guess 2 cups)
1/2 cucumber
drizzle of olive oil
chia seeds

Luckily, I really like the taste of kale, spinach, and other greens, and have not had to "get over" the taste of the green smoothies.  They are naturally tasty to me.

I also found this young woman's Youtube page, and think that she is informative and engaging.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D707pPrBWGc

Some of the tips that she gives has been helpful to me.   Having too much juice (in my case smoothie) at my disposal so that I am not tempted to surrender my green smoothie momentum is something that I had not thought about.  Making a gallon of smoothie, and having the goal of close to a gallon of water intake per day seems doable to me.  I will keep you posted!  :-)

t

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Groceries 1/21/2014



Cooks Natural Market

Larabar Uber  1.59 x 3                            $  4.77
Paleo Bread  8.99 x 2                              $17.98
                                                  TOTAL  $22.75

Aldi

Lettuce  2 x 1.99                                      $  3.98
Zucchini 4 x 1.59                                     $  6.36
Celery                                                       $  1.19
Baby Bella Mushrooms 5 x .99               $   4.95
Banana 14.51 lbs @ .29 per lb                 $   4.21
Tomatoes 3 x1.49 per 4 pack                   $   4.47
Eggs 6 x 1.59 per dz                                 $  9.54
Guachamole 2 x 2.99                               $  5.98
Iceberg Lettuce  3 x 99                             $  2.97
Cabbage                                                    $  1.29
Tomato Sauce  6 x .25                              $  1.50
Diced Tomatoes 9 x .59                            $  5.31
Spiral String Cheese                                 $  2.49
String Cheese Stick  2 x 2.69                   $  5.38
Shredded Cheese  4 x 3.29                       $13.16
Hot Dogs  3 x .75                                     $  2.25
Minced Garlic                                          $  1.99
Sour Cream 2 x  1.29                               $  2.58
Cottage Cheese  4 x 2.29                         $  9.16
Deli Meats 3 x  3.29                                $  9.87
Sliced Cheese  3 x 1.99                           $  5.97
Almond Milk 2 x 2.49                             $  4.98
Cinnamon                                                 $   .99
Butter Quarters                                        $  2.49
Fresh Mozzarella  2 x 2.69                      $  5.38
Caesar Dressing  2 x 1.39                        $  2.78
Large Pitted Olives  2 x .99                     $  1.98
Fruit Twists                                              $  1.99
Raisins Canister                                       $  2.79
Golden Raisins                                        $  2.49
Applesauce Cups 2 x 1.59                       $  3.18
Trail Mix 2 x 1.99                                    $  3.98
Dried Fruit Mix  2 x 1.99                        $  3.98
Natural Trail Mix 2 x 5.99                      $ 11.98
Onions 2 x 1.69                                       $  3.38
Dried Berries                                           $  2.49
Cashew Halves  2 x 2.59                         $  5.18
                              TOTAL     =           $  164.64

I managed to get pretty far into January without going to the store for anything more than toiletries.  After purchasing several hams and turkeys, I did not have a whole heck of a lot of room in my freezer for more purchases.  I utilized many of the frozen veggies in my freezer to make dinners, so I have been able to avoid the grocers for the first few weeks of 2014.  YAY!  

I am not sure if I am going to attempt to do a 365 Day spending freeze.  I will keep you posted if I do decide.


t

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Fallen off the face of the planet... sorry...

Sorry, I fell off the face of the planet, folks.  Life got busy, the holidays happened, and we had a family emergency that threw us all off kilter.  Things are better now, and I have time to sit and write again.

Rather than going item by item, I am going to do an overview of the remainder of the year.

September - $26.38 in un-budgeted expenses

After church one Sunday in September, the girls and I went to Centerton Inn.  It is a local breakfast/lunch place that we occasionally splurge at.  They know us, we live in a small town, and they let me substitute extra bacon in exchange for the hash browns.

Groceries for September - $570.49

$  96.83
$    5.96
$  58.84
$143.28
$  64.37
$201.21
$570.49

I thought that was a bit much, then I remembered that August's grocery total was pretty low, so I looked it back up, and it was $152.99, so a rebound amount that is a little large makes sense.

SNAP is $688.00 - $570.49 = $117.51 rollover for the month.  Added to the previous rollover amount from the rest of the year of $1076.43, and I have a rollover total of $1,193.94 to go into the holidays with.  YAY!

October - i have no idea anymore if I had un-budgeted expenses.  Sorry.  That is actually the case for the rest of the year.  I did not hold onto any receipts like I had been.

Groceries for October - $418.38

$210.15
$141.01
$  42.73
$    5.41
$  19.08
$418.38

SNAP  $688.00 - $418.38 = $269.62  added to the rollover amount from above:
$269.62 + $1,193.94 = $1,463.56

November - un-budgeted expenses not tracked again.  Sorry.

Groceries for November - $900.85

$   30.49
$ 207.93
$ 312.17
$ 214.19
$ 136.07
$ 900.85

The most expensive grocery trip included 6 turkeys and 7 hams for the deep freeze to be nibbled on during the rest of the year.  After Thanksgiving, they go on sale, and I try to grab a few every year to be eaten over the first few months of the following year, so 2014 has some treats in the deep freeze for it.  :-)

SNAP $688.00 - 900.85 = -$212.85 to be taken from total rollover.  $1463.56 - $212.85 = $1,250.71

December - no expenses.  Sorry.

Groceries for December - 

$   58.69
$ 342.69
$ 401.38

SNAP  $688.00 - $ 401.38 = $ 286.62 + $1250.71 = $1537.33 total rollover for the year.

In 2014, I am going to start focusing on increasing the amounts of meat from grass fed sources.  I am going to work on getting away from feedlot beef, and conventionally raised animals.  That will inevitably raise my monthly food bill, but I am still going to try to keep it under the SNAP allocation for a family of 4 in my home state of Arkansas.  That amount has gone down to $632.00 per month for 2014.

If $632.00 had been the amount for 2013, I would have had a rollover amount of only $865.33.

$688.00 - $632.00 = $56.00 per month difference x 12 months = $672 difference over the course of a year.  $672.00.  That is more than a whole month in benefit less.  I am blessed in the fact that I do not rely on the SNAP program.  If necessary, I could absolutely go over $688 or $632 every single month, I am not restricted to an amount governed by averages.

t