Fresh Monday

Even though my Saturdays feel like Tuesdays and my Wednesdays feel like Sundays, I can still relish the “tabula rasa” feeling of the start of a new week.  I thought to commemorate this freshness, I should take a photo of everything I eat so as to motivate myself not to eat half a jar of MaraNatha Dark Chocolate Peanut spread.  Let’s see if my theory works.

For Breakfast, I had some vanilla yogurt with blueberries and walnuts…

Along with a slice of plain no-knead bread I baked yesterday with cherry jam.

I am trying to figure out how much it costs to bake a loaf of no-knead bread.  A 2.5 kg bag of all-purpose flour is about $3.50.  The Internet tells me that there are 20 cups of flour in a bag, and if the bread recipe calls for 3 cups of flour, there is $0.53 worth of flour in a loaf.  With 1/4 teaspoon of yeast and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, along with the energy needed to heat the oven at 450F for 45 minutes, I am going to say it costs about 85 cents to bake a loaf of this amazing bread.  A lot cheaper than the $4 or so this would cost from a bakery, plus no added benefit of a house that smells like a bakery!  In conclusion, the frugal life is the good life.

For lunch, I had a green salad with some leftover bean salad on top!  This salad was made exponentially better by the fact it included avocado.  It was made exponentially more complicated in that I was wearing Henry who refused to let me sit down, thus I had to eat it while standing up and trying not to drop salad dressing on his head (Which I did anyway).

Along with a plain old smoothie!  Since I used my spinach in my salad, I just had a smoothie made with:

1 cup of almond milk

4 large frozen strawberries

1/2 banana

1/2 cup fresh pineapple

1 tablespoon of ground flax seed

It was nice to have a smoothie that didn’t look like sludge

I plan on having leftover lasagna, bean salad, steamed vegetables, and a whole wheat bun for dinner.  Possibly a spoonful of crack, i.e. chocolate peanut butter, for dessert.  I would try taking a picture but a certain someone keeps me pretty busy in the evening hours so I doubt I’ll be online.

He recently discovered the fact that he has hands!  Very exciting in the F ‘n’ F household!

There is also that Heavy show on A&E tonight.  Watching TV involving morbidly obese people always helps keep my snacking habits in check.

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Since the New Year, I’ve been diligently keeping track of my budget and have been saving quite a bit.  I give myself $80 a week for miscellaneous purposes, and have proudly amassed $316.  We’ve been wanting to get extra insulation put into our attic to save on heating and cooling costs, plus we will get some money back from the government because of an energy audit we had done last year.  The cost to have the insulation put in?  $850.  Split between the two of us, that’s $425 (I am so good with math eh?).  So my awesome $316 is already spent, plus I am in the hole $109 (told you I was good with math).  Luckily I’ve got plenty of savings, but still.  Adulthood is the pits!  I want to blow my money on candy bars and skip-its instead!

On the plus side, being an adult means I get to have cats and babies.  Even better, I get a cat who thinks he’s a baby!

One diaper I won’t be changing anytime soon

Oh Glorious Morning!

Ok, I am attempting my three square meals again today!  I am determined to lock this down.  Determined! I was going to write this post tonight after all three meals were consumed, but Angie is coming over for dinner and a movie and I don’t think I’ll be online.  Let me share my meals with you so far!

BREAKFAST:

These cold January mornings are perfect for hot cereal and I am lucky as this is the first January I’ve ever had that grants me the luxury of preparing hot cereal each morning if I so choose (and if Henry is happy enough in his swing!).  This morning I combined the last of my oat bran with enough rolled oats to make 1/2 cup.  I cooked this with some raisins and topped it with 1/2 a sliced banana, some plain, non-fat yogurt, cinnamon, and a spoonful of my beloved almond butter.  This was one FILLING breakfast!

LUNCH:

I re-heated the last of the Fakes (delicious by the way!) and had a bowl along with a Morning Glory muffin I baked this morning.  My great friend, Vanessa, gave birth to a little girl yesterday, and I plan to freeze half of the muffins and give them to her once I go visit!  I remember how grateful I was to all visitors bearing the gift of food soon after Henry was born, especially food that is easily consumed with one hand.

The vinegar is a must!

I hope this lunch lasts me until dinnertime!  A cup of decaf green tea should help tide me over…(she says while eyeing the bag of Clodhoppers!).

Since Henry is currently asleep, it’s pretty quiet around here at Chez Frugal ‘n’ Fit.  Even the cats are all mellowed out.

Being a housebound kitty in January is a fortunate hand to be dealt!

Flava Flaaaaaav

To welcome the first day of the new year, I spent it watching five consecutive episodes of his old reality television show, the one where everyone is given a nickname like “Smiley” or “Hottie” and these women compete for the affections of a man who wears a giant clock around his neck.  Some interesting tidbits that came out of watching five consecutive episodes of Flava Flav’s reality show:

1.  Flava Flav is now in contention for being Henry’s Halloween costume in October.  Viking hat, clock around the neck — Just think of the hilarity.

2.  I am really glad I have never been on a reality dating show, especially one in which the prize is a set of gold teeth.

3.  Due to a post I made sometime this summer that mentions Flava Flav, I have received so many blog hits from people who have made searches for him.  I can just imagine their disappointment when trying to find something Flava Flav-related, only to stumble upon this blog full of quinoa recipes.

At least I got to watch Flava Flav with this cat on my lap!

His name is Kitty.  Don’t you forget it.

While my friend, Sarah, occupied someone else on her lap…

She managed to get him to fall asleep in this position!  If there is one thing I have learned, it is NEVER WAKE A SLEEPING BABY, so even though her legs were getting sore and tingly, I pretty much demanded she stay in this position until he woke up.  Am I a great friend or what?  In my defense, I was heavily invested in the antics of Flava Flav and did not want Henry’s cries to disturb my viewing of the spit fest between “Pumkin” (No P!) and “New York”.

Mother of the Year, I am.

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Today we’re having Husband’s family over for dinner so I better get crack-a-lackin’.  Have a great second day of the year!

Movember

Happy Movember!

November and February are traditionally my most-despised months, but for obvious reasons, I do not feel my usual hate.  For one, it is the month of my son’s birth!  *insert OMG face here*  For two, I do not have to go to work (I promise I will stop mentioning this in every entry; this will likely happen sometime in mid-March).  For three, today is beautiful!

I’ve found that a great way to start my day is by having a bowl of yogurt and granola and then immediately going for a 1/2 hour walk.  I wonder how this routine will change once baby arrives?  I was thinking I could still probably get out for a quick 20 minute jaunt once he is fed and sleeping again, since Husband is often home in the mornings (today he started work at noon).  I would bring baby along with, but don’t feel comfortable doing that in the cold months!

I just really want to make sure I get at least a bit of fresh air and exercise this winter.  I can easily see myself hibernating away, wrapped in blankets and eating an abundance of carbohydrates.  That doesn’t sound so bad…until even my beloved yoga pants won’t fit!  <– Possibly speaking from experience.  Possibly.

The maple tree on my front lawn

Along with daily walks, another of my “healthy hopes” is to have either a salad or Green Monster each day.  I’ve mostly been having GMs because I’ve been having leftovers for lunch. Today’s lunch consisted of:

• Leftover snobby joe mix on three small slices of rye bread
• Leftover steamed veggies
• Black grapes
• Slice of Jalapeno Havarti cheese

The chocolate chip cookies are calling my name, but I am trying to hold out until my snack of a GM later this afternoon.  Will power, where art thou?!!?

My plans for the rest of the day involve:

• Watching Oprah.  Portia De Rossi, aka Ellen’s wife, is going to be talking about her experience with anorexia.
• Making Oh She Glow’s chili along with a loaf of quick bread (new recipe!  If good, will be sure to share)
• Watching It’s Complicated (got it in the mail this morning via Zip)
• Avoiding Halloween candy like it’s The Plague (except it’s not The Plague, is it?  It is actually the complete opposite of The Plague in every single way.)
• Waiting to give birth <– Requisite to-do list item

A Bootsy Paw For Your Enjoyment

Happy Halloween!

Before the sun goes down and the ghosts, goblins, and “snookies” start knocking at my door looking for candy (or gorilla juice heads!), I thought I’d write a short post now.

This morning I went for a 1/2 hour walk before the rest of the world woke up.  This is my favourite time to walk because the streets are so quiet, especially on a Sunday morning.  Now that I am merely 6 days away from my due date, I always make sure to bring my cell with me, just in case a baby decides he wants to use that moment to make his appearance. Thankfully, he stayed put, and I was able to stroll the complete 1/2 hour without any pain or discomfort.  This is an achievement because during the past couple of walks, I’ve had some Braxton Hicks contractions which makes walking just a tad more difficult.  Today was perfect.  I even spotted this beautiful sunflower, one of the last remnants of summer before Mr. Frosty or Father Christmas or whoever it is who is in charge of freezing cold weather decides to show up.

Indeed, this afternoon brought with it Toronto’s first snowfall of the season.  We just had a few flurries, but it was enough to make me and the people around me say a few profanities.  Just a few, though.

Do you spot the kitty?  Do you spot the port-o-potty? (They are building houses across the street!)

My in-laws came over with a new kitchen table that was originally my husband’s grandparents’ and then my brother-in-law’s.  His family is moving and bought a new kitchen table, so we inherited the beautiful oak dining set.  It is much nicer that our $139 set from IKEA but it took us the majority of the afternoon to 1) figure out how to get it into our tiny house and 2) put the top on the base.  Ok, let me rephrase that.  It took my in-laws and husband the majority of the afternoon to put it together while I sat on the couch and rubbed my giant belly.

But I made dinner!  Brownie points?  No?

Now I am just anxiously awaiting the first trick-or-treaters of the night.  My bowl of candy is ready and waiting!

A noted lack of Peanut Butter Cups.  Hmmmm, how did that happen?

This Sunday night feels different than what I’m used to.  Of course, this is partly because of Halloween, but it is mainly because tomorrow is my first Monday off work!  I still wake up each morning feeling like it’s Christmas, although even with more than a year off, I am already wondering/stressing about my work-life balance once I must return to work (anyone offering free daycare in the Greater Toronto area?).  Talk about putting the cart before the horse!  Sometimes I need to remind myself to just chill out and enjoy the ride.  The my-baby-is-coming-soon-and-I-don’t-have-wear-anything-other-than-yoga-pants-for-a-year ride!

When life hands you defunct granola bars…

Make granola!

On my first day of maternity leave, I decided to embrace my internal hippie domestic and make granola bars.  We are always buying granola bars because they are so convenient to take to work, but I haven’t yet found a bar in the stores that is tasty, filling, and nutritious without costing a small fortune (Larabars, I am looking at you specifically).  I used a recipe I had made before, composed of your usual combination of oats, honey, raisins, nuts, wheat germ and the like; a recipe that I had written “Excellent!” beside.  I figured it couldn’t go wrong, but go wrong it did.

Flavour-wise, they were perfectly fine.  But when it came to actually cutting them into bar-form, it was, as the Internet likes to say, a FAIL.  Those puppies were stuck in the dish and there was no way they would escape in tact.  I pretty much had to chisel them out of there, which ultimately created a very large supply of, well, granola!

Thankfully, I love granola and have no problems eating it for breakfast for the next 78 days.

Sliced banana, wildberry yogurt, and granola-bar-less granola!

Since I am now on Day Three of my so far baby-less maternity leave, I have learned a couple of things.  First of all, it is very very easy to nap.  Secondly, it is very very easy for days to fly by with little-to-no productivity.  I have found that a to-do list written the night before is a must!  On today’s to-do list, I wrote:

- Shower (I know, I really challenge myself…)

- Clean the bathrooms and sort through the medicine cabinet

- Walk to the library to pick up my holds (LOVE that I can walk to my library)

- Bake chocolate chip cookies for visiting with friends/family tomorrow

- Do not sit on couch and eat half of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies

- Make a frugal dinner

- Carve a pumpkin

- Roast pumpkin seeds

I am happy to announce that I have achieved the first half of my list.  My medicine cabinet had FOUR bottles of sunscreen in it, by the way.

For supper tonight, I’m making butternut squash/apple/sweet potato soup as well as lentil rice casserole, a recipe I found from my brand new copy of The Complete Tightwad Gazette!

This was one of the birthday gifts from my hubby!  He knows the way to my heart is through frugality.  That, and chocolate.

I will be sure to post the results tomorrow.

For now, I am just sipping on my Green Pink Monster and hanging out with the kitties.

Banana, spinach, milk, and raspberries.  Seasonally inappropriate, yet too delicious to deny!

Cats in Autumn, Volume One

Another Fabulous Monday

You won’t hear me saying “another fabulous Monday” too often but when it involves sleeping in, a day off work, and Breakfast Quinoa you most certainly will!

But first, check out this thumb claw:

Don’t mess with Texas.  By Texas, I mean Dr. Snuggles

Yesterday was an accomplished day.  I walked 10 km!  I have told this to pretty much every person I have spoken with since then.  I am proud of myself.  I have this wacky theory that as long as I keep myself in relatively good shape, the birthing process should be easy and the little guy will be out of there in, like, four hours.  That’s how it works right?  You get to imagine the kind of birth you want and it just happens?

/Delusions.

We walked down to the beach and it was gorgeous out!  I have never seen a Canadian beach filled with so many people before.  This is partly because I very rarely visit Canadian beaches, or when I do, it’s at 8 am in the morning.

Pasty, sun-deprived Canadians

Like these two hotties!

We walked and walked, taking a couple of breaks to eat baby carrots (don’t leave home without them!).  Husband got a craving for a falafel and the beauty of living in Toronto is that a mere five minutes later we came upon a falafel shop.  Now that’s what I’m talking about!

We each ordered a falafel sandwich and shared a bottle of water.

Not bad for $3.50

We continued on our merry way and stopped for another break at Starbucks.  I wanted an iced decaf coffee but they didn’t have any so they gave me an iced decaf Americano for the cheaper price.  Score!

I added cream because that is what I do.

We eventually made our way home and chilled in the basement (literally).  I snacked on some zucchini bread and then made us Green Monsters.  You will notice the rest of the day’s pictures aren’t taken in natural light because I spent the remainder of my time hibernating in the cozy, cool basement.

I made this GM with the usual milk/frozen banana/frozen peach/spinach combo, but my spinach was starting to turn which gave this a very spinach-y flavour.  Ummm, not such a good thing.  But I still drank it!  Waste not, want not.

Yeah.

Because of my determination to spend the rest of the day on my rump, cooking a large meal for dinner wasn’t on the agenda.  We just ended up having grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches.

Grilled cheese sandwiches are severely underrated

I thought this would conclude my day’s eating, but I heard the siren’s call and I could not resist…

Thankfully (or tragically?), the carton is almost empty and this temptation will no longer reside so close to my, um, taste buds.  That is, until a buy another carton…:)

I stayed up WAY too late last night (as did the little man who was kicking away until 2 am!) and woke up around 8:30 am.  I made some Breakfast Quinoa because I am addicted to this stuff!

My plans today involve going to “ribfest” with two carnivores.  A vegetarian nightmare?  Perhaps.  I just am hoping for corn on the cob and lots of it!

Before I forget, here is the Monday Rundown (a synopsis of my miscellaneous spending for the previous week):

Dinner out $20

Change for subway $1

Gum and Christmas cards! $5.4

Coffee $1.89

Coworker gift contribution $20

Coffee $1.89

Gluten-free snack for coworker $4.75

Falafels and water $9.3

Total for week $64.23

Yes, I bought  Christmas cards in July!  They were on sale for $3 so how could I resist?  Like usual, I mostly spent money on food, but I also contributed to my coworker’s departing gift as well as a gluten-free snack for her party (my work’s social policy has changed so they no longer pay for parties!).  She is the one who hired me at my job five years ago and has made my life infinitely easier because of her calm, kind demeanor.  I figured she was worth approximately $24.75.

Now it is time for me to go do nothing.  Happy Monday!

Caturday Continues

I spent most of my day with these little guys…

That is one worn out rug.  But it was free.  Frugal!

So I baked the zucchini loaf and watched a movie all before 9 am and then I proceeded to clean out my refrigerator which is a feat never accomplished before.  To answer some of your questions: Yes, I have lived here over a year.  Yes, I am very lazy.  And, yes, it feels great to have a clean fridge!  I threw out old jars of olives, empty jars of jam, spoiled applesauce, and moldy hummus.  It was pretty disgusting.  I am so glad it is done!

For lunch, I had an Arnold Wheat thin topped with microwaved eggs (2 whole eggs), sliced tomato, and cheese.  Delicious!

I also had a slice of zucchini loaf.  Maybe half the loaf is gone already?  But I’ll never tell!

I spent the early afternoon in my backyard with my iPhone, a stack of old magazines, a library book, and a Chocolate Cherry Bomb!  Perfection, thy name is a mid-summer day.

Ironic that the magazine talks about “more energy now!” because I only lasted about an hour before I headed inside for an afternoon nap.  Did I mention I got out of bed at 5:39 am?

I nibbled on chocolate, trail mix, and more zucchini bread (!).  I did some laundry.  I stared into the baby’s crib (my current favourite hobby.  14 more weeks to go!).  Hubby got home and we lazed around.  I began to crave pizza even though husband wasn’t hungry at all.  Ordering pizza alone is no fun, plus it is neither fit nor frugal.  So I decided to create my own pizza substitute using the minimal amount of groceries we have.

First, I sauteed some zucchini, broccoli, and onion in herbs, garlic powder, and olive oil…

I microwaved a couple of sundried tomato tortillas and then stuffed them with this veggie mix and some cheese.  I heated up a small bowl of marinara sauce for dipping purposes.  Ta da!  Cheap, easy, pizza-craving-satiating dinner!

For dessert, I had a small bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, aka best ice cream ever.

Tonight we are watching Dexter, that show about the likable, sociopath serial killer.  Good times!  Who knows what tomorrow will bring?  I am hoping something tasty…

Walnut Raisin Zucchini Bread

Apparently, I never got the memo that you are supposed to SLEEP IN on Saturday mornings.  I had been awake for  a good 20 minutes already when I spotted the time on my clock…

Yes, this time occurs TWICE a day

I woke up content but work was on my mind, so of course it began to reel off a list of tasks I need to remember to do.  I just forfeited the idea of sleeping any longer and decided to face the day.  The sun hadn’t even risen yet!  The days are already getting shorter, which is actually appealing to me this year…

I decided to have some blueberries and cottage cheese for breakfast to tide me over…

Pre-dawn photography:  Kind of sucks

So that I could make some zucchini bread!  Check out the size of this monster:

More like the size of an eggplant…or Sasquatch.

My recipe called for 1 cup of grated zucchini which ended up taking only about 1/3rd of this guy.  What to do with the rest?  I am thinking chili for dinner…

I had a hard time finding a healthy recipe for zucchini bread so I decided to take the highest rated one from www.allrecipes.com and then amend it to make it healthier.  Next time, I would substitute 1/4 of the oil for applesauce.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have any on hand.  What kind of healthy baker do I think I am with no applesauce on hand?

Walnut Raisin Zucchini Bread

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 large egg or 2 small eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup grated zucchini
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 325 F and grease a loaf pan (or use a silicone one which requires no greasing!)

2.  Combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Set aside.

3.  Beat the egg(s), oil, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just mixed.

4.  Stir in the zucchini, raisins, and walnuts.  Pour mixture into the loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes.

5.  Let cool for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan.  Cut a slice (or two!) and serve with a steaming cup of hot coffee.

Verdict?  DELICIOUS.  It had a crispy outer layer but was soft and moist on the inside.  I loved the walnuts and raisins in it, too.  In a couple of days’ time, this will be good warmed in the toaster oven and smeared with nut butter!

After baking, I also watched Bright Star.  So much accomplished all before 9:00 am!  Of course, I will be ready for bed around 7 pm tonight.  How to spend the rest of the day?  I have no idea.  Looks like a beautiful one out there, though…

HAPPY CATURDAY!

Source of picture

Back on track

It is 8:22 am and I have already grocery shopped, put everything away, and had breakfast.  I love productive mornings!  Of course, this means I will need a nap around 2 pm today, but still…

For breakfast this morning, I had the last of my Morning Glory muffins with a blueberry Siggi’s.  Since I am not such a fan of blueberry Siggi’s, I topped it with actual blueberries and a drizzle of honey.

It definitely made it tastier.  Too bad that such expensive yogurt requires so much sprucing up!

I am just about to settle in with some crochet, a cup of coffee, and Gilmore Girls DVDs until my beloved wakes up, but first here are some photos I just took using the “photo booth” application on my Mac.  Early Saturday morning fun times!

Our author diligently blogging.  Or just taking multiple pictures of herself.

(You can tell I am sitting in the “man cave” due to the artwork behind me!)

He is a bit frightened, and confused.

You would be too.

My favourite blogging companion.

Now it is time for me to participate in my favourite weekend hobby.  Have a great Saturday!