Day 9 - The Breakfast Challenge

Guess how many of our favorite cereals qualify this month?

Absolutely none.

It was a bit of a surprise to find that our "healthy breakfast cereals" were off limits, since we weren't exactly eating them for their flavor. "All Bran" was by far the biggest offender--quite cheeky of it since it is also the worst-tasting of the bunch and looks more like a dismantled bird's next than any naturally-occurring food. Grape-Nuts would have qualified if we knew how to obtain soy lecithin as an ingredient. It is one of the only cereals we found without corn syrup, however, so it will be "re-allowed" at the end of the month.

Still, that leaves 20 days of breakfast left. Breakfast has always been a bit of a challenge, considering I dislike eggs, am allergic to milk, and don't like sweets for breakfast, but removing ready-made cereals has spurred me to a whole new level of weirdness. So far this month I've had leftover butter chicken with rice, leftover roast beef, cottage cheese with toasted sunflower seeds, several attempts at an oatmeal variation I can stand, homemade pretzels with snap peas, and today's cooked cracked wheat.

I am beginning to have fantasies about those Grape Nuts.

Lazarus

Remember this one? The MS3 Mystery Stole with the red beady eyes and one asymmetrical wing that is based on an evil ballet character?
Yeah, that one.

It's back.

Not that I've grown any fonder of it during our time apart, but I only have one clue left and, above all else, I want my knitting needles back. (The things I will go through for some #4 bamboos.....)

So it has been rechristened "Lazarus" (which is a whole lot nicer than it's previous names--"beaded knitting abyss," "stupid-ass bird shawl," and "the beady thing") because frankly, no one thought it would ever see the light of day again.

Obviously, when I fall out of love with something, I REALLY fall out of love with it. For those of you feeling a bit nervous for Andy at this point, let me assure you that all is still wonderful, though if he ever sprouts one wing, gets beady red eyes, and starts dancing around the house as the evil queen from Swan Lake, I am SERIOUSLY going to rethink things.....

Day 5 - Reality vs. Toni

As much as I try to avoid it, one must occasionally have a brush with reality, though living in it is entirely optional. (Toni-ism)

REALITY: Unless we are going to spend the month grazing on the grass that is currently buried under ice & snow, everything we consider "food" is processed somehow--cleaned, cut, milled, pasteurized, baked, blended, chopped, frozen, canned, etc. A brighter person might have selected summer for this experiment so one could grow their own vegetables--and in fact, a brighter person would have figured out how to grow said vegetables instead of losing them to bugs and weeds--but it was my idea to launch into this in February, so we need to clarify things a little.

The guidelines we're working from now:

1. Does it look like food?
2. Could we have made it ourselves?

#1 encompasses vegetables & fruit in their normal, found-in-nature (though not necessarily in our garden) state, and meat.
#2 allows things like flour, butter, WINE, cheese, etc. (NOTE: I did not say "can." I said "could" in the more "if-we-knew-how-and-the-cooking-gods-were-in-a-good-mood" sort of sense)

We have also opted to allow the chocolate soy milk we drink in the morning for protein. Andy is lactose intolerant & I am allergic to milk, so we're making this a technical exception because, hey, it's our experiment.

Now if I could just figure out how to make cinnamon bears.....

Day 4 - This is SOOOO Much Harder Than it Sounded!

Having just returned from an hour-long excursion in a grocery store, I can now swear quite positively that the American diet is composed largely of corn syrup. The stuff is everywhere, which amazes me because the corn syrup in my cupboard is a thick, sticky, very sweet substance that I use once every 8 years. What is it doing in Italian sausage for heaven's sake--meat candy?


The other thing I learned tonight is that I have no idea what most of the ingredients listed actually are, but I left with the slight suspicion that our grocery stores are highly explosive. Nitrates, acids, phosphates, sulfates--didn't we blow these things up in high school chemistry class? I was very VERY careful not to drop that pasta....

"You Make Me Happy" Award

I am really new to the on-line world of bloggers--actually, not knowing there really was one until quite recently--but it turns out that there is a virtual world of funny, creative, and interesting people out there, and they go out of their way to encourage and support each other.

Last week, Rachel listed me as one of the ten blogs that make her happy and gave me this:



Now how cool is that? This means that I am now to list the blogs that make me happy, and having just learned how to do links on posts (I am feeling SO techie!!!):

My husband, who not only goes along with all my crazy experiments, but seems to enjoy them (although there was some discussion about the month of no processed foods and the phrase "it's about being healthy, not about being miserable" did cross his lips....

My friend "Bananas" who is planning to hike the Appalachian trail this year and who is always positive no matter what life throws at her.

Susie, who is living & exploring England and whose little girl just met the Queen of England. That's seriously cool even for us democratic Americans who aren't supposed to care about such things.

The knitting-related blogs:

Alison whose concept of how much knitting can really be accomplished in a set time period is only slightly less delusional than mine, but whose optimism & cheerfulness never fails.

Rete, who always has lots of projects going (and much more successfully than mine). I especially love the 101 things in 1001 days project on the side bar. That may have to be my next project.

Camille, one of the enablers who got me into the dem fischer sin fru project, and Alacaeriel, both of whom I met during the whole MS3 project. (I don't think they've finished either.)

And Rachel, who not only made my day with the nomination, but whose blog is such a distraction that it has taken me a week to do this post. Thank you Rachel!

No Cinnamon Bears Either!!!!

Yesterday was a harsh, harsh day. No white chocolate martinis. No caffeine free Diet Pepsi. And to add insult to injury, the cinnamon bears in the office candy bowl are off-limits as well!!! (sob) While I am struggling to remember why I came up with this idea in the first place, Andy has filled in as guest blogger:

Forgive Me Father For I Have Sinned

Day two of "Don't eat any processed foods" month, and I blew it already.

This morning Toni was walking down the stairs, as I was carrying a bowl back to the kitchen from the office. Toni asked, in her kindest and most loving voice, as I walked past

"You did not just have a bowl of illegal cereal, did you?".
"I had a bowl of cer... Oh sh*t!"

Only two days in, and it is strange what we decide we miss most from the "processed foods" world. Toni sent me a page yesterday stating that she had been used to eating one cinnamon bear from the candy bowl at work each day, and was missing her cinnamon bear today. I evidently will be missing my morning bowl of "sticks and trigs". [Toni's note: I wasn't sure if this was a typo or if this was a special brand of cereal for engineers, so I have left it as-is]

Late Thursday night we decided that alcohol was out as well for the month. What were we thinking? No chocolate martinis? No butterscotch mudslides? Little did I realize this last decision would impact my social life. I was planning on meeting up with some friends at a bar last night after work. So I sent Toni an email stating that I was going to stop for a beer on the way home. That email was immediately followed by another email stating , "oops. Beer is out. I'm going to stop for a soda with the guys. No, that is out too. I am going to stop for tea with the guys." It was then I remembered that we were going to be meeting at a bar right by the Harley Davidson dealer. Yes, a BIKER BAR. Now I'm very comfortable in my masculinity. But I just could not face showing up at a biker bar, and drinking tea. The thought of trying to explain the month of healthy eating to my friends while they are at a biker bar, chugging down beer, and eating something thoroughly processed and greasy, is a bit of a stretch for me.

When we ended the month of not buying anything new, we decided to resist the urge to go on a buying frenzy on the first day out. We limited ourselves to $40 each that we could spend on anything. It was fun to see what we each bought at the end of the day. Now for the month of eating healthy, it seems we should likewise limit our 'binge eating' at the end. Last night I asked Toni if on March 1 she could eat any two 'banned foods', what would they be. She did not even hesitate, "pizza and white chocolate martini". That describes Toni Sutton very well. I'm married to a pizza and white chocolate martini kind of woman.

Andy

Toni's note: Andy is joking that if I finally break down and have one of the bears at work before the month is out, my future post should be "Forgive Me Father For I Have Cinnamoned." We're very punny around here.

Day 1 - I Wasn't Ready!!!!!

February 1 and the month of no processed foods is kicked off. In a discussion late last night, it was decided that white chocolate martinis should probably not be allowed (sob). I had been mentally preparing myself to give up Diet Pepsi and mulligatawny, but white chocolate martinis??????!!!!!!!!!!

I'll be back when I have recovered the will to live.....