January Wrap-up

January is over, so I should probably see how I did on my goals for the month.

#1 - Pantry Challenge:  eat only what's currently in my house for the month of January.  

How I did:  not bad.  it was rough at first, but I did adjust.  I made two grocery trips, and while I did buy more than strictly necessary, I didn't have any unplanned post-work trips just because.  There were three days that I bought food, two of which were weekend days where packing my own food wasn't the best option (although it could've been done with some planning).  

The Numbers: 26/31 or 84%.  i call this one a huge success.  bonus:  it's got my friends inspired to pack their lunches, too, and we're starting to resume lunchtime games!  

*~*~*~*~*~*
#2 - Body Practice:  Move my body for at least 20 minutes ten (10) times in January.  that's roughly twice a week.

How I did:  i didn't.  Not even once.  this is pathetic, and I'm rather embarrassed by this.  

The Numbers:  0 out of 10, or 0%.  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
#3 - Use it or Lose it:  30 minutes of active decluttering three (3) times per week.  That means setting the time, flylady-style, and actually dividing and conquering, not just staring at the piles and berating myself for being a slob.

How I did:  um, well, while I found Unf*ck Your Habitat late in the month and downloaded the app, i only got four actual decluttering sessions in, three of them in one day. at the beginning of the month.  I haven't actually USED the UfYH App for anything other than amusement.  

The Numbers:  2/15, or 13%

~*~*~*~*~*~*
#4 - Financial challenge:  come up with a savings goal for the month; figure out a workable budget; set some short/mid/long-range financial goals.

How I did:  I didn't.  I'm still actively avoiding a pile of bills that needs to be dealt with, and I'm still making stupid mistakes and having lapses in judgement that are just embarrassing.  Clearly, this needs a LOT more work.  

The Numbers:  0/5, or 0%.

January's challenges, the take-away:  Maybe I was trying to do too much at once, and felt pulled in too many directions.  maybe I used being sick as an excuse for too many nights parked on the couch.  The bento lunches were tons of fun, and I really like having lunch with my friends daily.  I could do better trying to use up stuff in my pantry, but I'm getting there.  

for February, I'm going to continue to work on these four things.  There isn't much else I could add or change, really, so I should continue to focus on these core habits.  

How did your January go? 

Bento Monday

Mmm, cheese curds! With turkey and ham and chicken rice soup.

Turkey, ham and peaches again??

How long does it take to form a new habit?  some Googling tells me anywhere from 21 days to 66 days to maybe even longer.

Today is January 21st, so i'm just at the 21 day mark (-ish) for my new habits.  Some are clicking better than others.  and while i'm really getting into the groove of packing my lunch and cooking dinner, 21 days in seems kinda soon to already be in a lunch rut.  

there's no Monday Bento picture today, because today's bento was exactly the same as last week's bento, which was identical to the prior week's bento.  *sigh*

I'm not sure what it's going to take to shake that up.  I have pinned a bunch of bento lunches, but I haven't bothered to really dig into them.

I even treated myself to a new lunch container and snack container after coveting a friend's.  the lunch cube is HUGE.  I can pack a TON in it:

Lunch Cube to go by Sistema -- BPA free! 

That's about 1.5 cups of raw veggies and some dip on the left.  the flap closes over and snaps, but does not seal (sauce or liquid would leak out if tipped).  the right side is divided not quite equally, and i was able to cram in so much food:  two turkey/ham roll-ups, a cheese stick, a fruit cup, and a leftover biscuit.  It was more than i could eat during my lunch break.  i had the biscuit later that afternoon when I need to gnaw on something out of stress/boredom, but I sure wasn't hungry.  

Lunch Cube to Go by Sistema - it's HUGE!

I mean, just look at that thing.  It'll be great for salads.  I have to remind myself that I am  not required to cram my containers full.  I can leave space.  It's such a novel idea to me, the whole less-is-more thing.  Today I'd say I ate about half of what I'd normally shovel down, and I was fine.  I was hungry on the drive home, sure, but I had a loose plan for dinner, so it was no big deal.  

Tomorrow's lunch will be leftovers from tonight's dinner (chicken and veggies loosely stir-fried with rice noodles and an over-seasoned sauce that I don't think I could replicate).  when dishing up my dinner, I went for a small bowl vs a large plate.  ditto for packing up the leftovers.  I got two servings out for the fridge, and plenty of fresh veggies to bulk it up when I nuke it.  

*~*~*~*~*~

for the record, I am 19 out of 21 for the "don't spend money on food" thing.  go me!  *happydance*  As for the other two?  Well, um, I uh, am not doing so well.  more on that later.

Bento #2

No photos of this week's Monday Bento.  You'll just have to use your imagination!

I'm using the Kitty Bento again.

Bottom layer is my protein:  a slice of ham and a slice of turkey rolled around a string cheese stick, and sliced.  the meat and cheese were different lengths, so there's some extra meat tucked in there.  I also added a mini babybel to that section.  

Middle layer is veggies galore!  baby carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and a couple snap peas.  put some veggie tip in the tiny little Tupperware midget (the one that holds about a tablespoon, about half the size of the Classic Sheer Midget) and wedged that down in there, too.  it's got that domed lid, and it all just barely fits.

Nothing tucked in the lid this time - i put the homemade soup in a small (1/4 cup) plastic container and i'll just toss that in my lunchbag.  No reason to keep using (and tossing) plastic baggies when i've got a variety of plasticware.   also in my lunchbag is the banana for my snack and the yogurt for my breakfast.  All in all, it should be a perfect lunch:  nice variety, not too much food.  

Lunchtime Couscous

Monday's Bento contained what i called "homemade chicken-veg-couscous soup" but turned out to be, um, not soup.

the bowl holds one cup.  the baggie contained 1 tsp chicken broth powder, 1 tsp dehydrated veggies, and 3 Tbsp couscous.  I dumped the mix into the bowl, filled it with hot water from the coffee bar, stirred it up and then put the middle container's lid on it for it to soften up.  When i went to eat it, the couscous had swelled up and there was only a couple teaspoons of liquid left.  

So, 3 Tbsp couscous is too much for soup, but it's perfect for a side dish!  it sat for five minutes or so, and was pretty much perfect.  it maybe needs a tiny bit more broth powder, but it wasn't so bland that i couldn't eat it -- it just wasn't overly salty/seasoned the way pre-packaged soups/ramen are.  

for soup, i think 1 to 1.5 Tbsp couscous would be plenty, or i'll need to double the liquid.  I think I'll give that a go for lunch tomorrow, along with a turkey/ham/swiss wrap.  

Month 1, Day 10

Ten days into the new year.  How are things going with my various challenges?

Pantry Clean-Out

Yesterday was The Great Pantry Clean-out of 2013.  I pulled everything off the shelves, wiped them down, and pitched everything that was expired or questionable.  I filled a garbage bag, and had an overflowing grocery bag of cans and jars to take out to the recycling bin after being dumped.  (is running canned/bottled food down the disposal and recycling the containers the best way to do things?  It made sense to me, anyway)

There was stuff that expired in the spring of 2010.  Most of the stuff was early 2012, plus a healthy dose of 2011.  I'm so embarrassed.  

I re-arranged how I had things.  I always had the large, bulky stuff (like the giant bag of frosted flakes) on the top shelf, and all sorts of small things on the bottom shelf that got lost.  I'm tall-ish, so reaching that top shelf isn't an issue, not like losing things down low.  I swapped a bunch of stuff, putting the bulky but not horribly heavy things on the bottom shelf, and the smaller, more easily lost, items on the top shelf.  The meal components are on the two middle shelves, like items grouped together.  

I made some notes on shelf measurements, and may look into getting another little wire shelf to help with space management.  

The good news is that I've got plenty to work with - pasta/noodles and some sauce, refried beans and enchilada sauce plus masa harina to make my own tortillas, some barley, corn meal and couscous, some mixes, and enough cream of chicken soup to drown a poultry farm.  Add that to the beef, chicken, pork and fish in my big freezer, and I should be able to put some meals together for most of the month.  

The bad news is that I'm out of fresh fruit (plenty of fruit cups for lunches), about to run out of fresh veggies, and will be out of soy milk by the weekend.  I could stretch the eggs for two weeks if I plan carefully, since I have 1.5 dozen.  I have plenty of sugar, but less than five pounds of flour, so any major baking will have to be planned carefully.  Two cans of green beans won't get me very far, either.  

When I said "no spending money on food" I was treating it as an all-or-nothing thing.  Pass/fail.  But seeing as how i'm giving myself a point per day that I don't spend money on food, a trip to the grocery for fresh fruit/veg would be allowed -- meaning I don't get to beat myself up for needing fresh fruits and vegetables in January.  Buying canned goods and meat is verboten.  Use it or lose it, remember?  

I'm going to use this great menu and grocery planner from Design*Sponge and see what sort of dent I can make on my newly-organized pantry. 

First Bento of 2013

For Christmas, my friend Grace got us adorable little bento lunch boxes - kitty for me (actually, the Lucky Cat - googling "kitty bento" will vomit Hello Kitty on your screen), the geisha for Beth, and the ninja for herself (which i'm not finding anywhere.  phooey).  she brought them to us packed with food, and we had our first bento lunch together.  there was lots of squee-ing and talk of future lunches.  

the three of us, along with some other ladies, used to always eat lunch together on Mondays, and play games, sequestered in a conference room.  Over time, people moved on, got busy, and our Monday lunch date was forgotten.  After the success of a few game days, and a few people seeing us playing No Thanks! in the cafeteria, we decided to resurrect Monday Lunch and Games.  We've also declared Monday our default bento lunch day.  

I'm excited about this for several reasons.  First, playing games at lunch is a nice mental break.  We play quick and fluffy stuff, not the hours-long brain-busters.  We might be able to fit in a game of Citadels if we play while we eat and there aren't too many of us, but mostly it's No Thanks.  A couple times we had to split into two groups, but that actually works better, as it's hard to socialize with everyone when there's 8 people in a room.  Second, I like having a private lunch.  away from people.  away from the traffic and the phones and out where everyone and their mother can pester me.  it was MUCH worse in my old position, but even on my new assignment i've got people tracking me down.  third, it encourages everyone to pack their lunch, or run out and get something to bring back.  I cannot afford to go out for lunch every day.  having a day when i know others will be packing their lunch, too, gives me something to look forward to.  

so in the midst of my Pantry Challenge, I'm trying to come up with bento lunches.  Here is my first attempt:

Bento! 

I call this one "Flowers in the Snow."  In the bottom container on the left, we have turkey, ham and swiss on a flour tortilla, cut with a 1" flower cookie cutter, and stacked on toothpicks cut in half.  The middle container, in front, has flower carrots (cut using the smallest flower cutter from that set) sprinkled on cauliflower "snow."  The cut-aways from the carrots are in the bottom.  The red thing is a mini-babybel cheese.  I got fancy and cut the wax with the cookie cutter too, then realized it might make the cheese soggy, so it's now wrapped in plastic.  The top bowl, on the right, contains a homemade chicken-veg-couscous soup (1 tsp chicken broth powder, 1 tsp dehydrated veg, 3 tbsp couscous) that i'll mix with hot water from the coffee bar when it's time to eat.  In back is a fruit cup (peaches).  I have chips and stuff at my desk at work for snacky stuff, and i have oatmeal for breakfast, and a yogurt with granola for a snack as well. 

I really think this bento is made for small children, as we've all commented that it really doesn't hold enough food for an adult.  I find that the soup helps fill me up, and eating a bit less at lunch isn't really a bad thing.   I've got a protein (lunchmeat and cheese), carb (tortilla and couscous), fruit (peaches) and veg (carrots and cauliflower).  It's not as colorful as it could be, but for working with what i have, it's not too shabby.  

I can't wait to see what the other two come up with!

New year, new month, new chances

The new year is just barely upon us - I'm sure most of the party-goers are still partying, and the bars are far from closing - but I am awake, and wanted to get this down.  

in 2013 I'm not going to do all-or-nothing resolutions.  Instead, I'm going to set some goals each month, and see what happens.  I'm starting January off with a bang by attempting four different things.