– Thinking it’s time for me to update my wardrobe and that this would be a good place to start.
– Planning on perusing this book and making a few more recipes.
– Wishing someone would cook this up for me this weekend.
– Where’s my lounge chair? aka I want to drink this
– We’re planning on doing some Fall activities this weekend and I am thinking that this would be a good end to the weekend.
Share a link of your own in the comments!
We are 10 Days into our October Meal Challenge and we are going pretty strong. We have been eating at home more often, although we have been out a few times due to a friend in town and laziness but overall have been doing really well. We have had two coffees out but have been making ours at home which is a huge money saver. We have also been making our own treats as well such as banana ice cream. So far we are about 2/5 through our budget which is pretty good since what we have will last us until at least the 12th and we don’t have any big plans besides a date night for the remainder of the month.
Here are a few of the things we have been eating (sorry for the Insta photos but I can seem to find my camera in the mess of this new house):
Vegan Poblano Mac and Cheese with Sauteed Spinach
Total $10.67; Portions 8; Price Per Portion $1.33 –> This was eaten for dinner, lunch and snacks
PB Banana Chip Ice Cream
Total $2; Portion one large portion for one hungry toddler and one hungry adult
Homemade Pour Over Coffee: honestly we could save even more coffee by buying less expensive coffee but what can I say Neil is a real coffee snob (okay so am I). A nice bag of single origin coffee from our favorite local coffee shop goes for $16-18. Basically that’s 8 pots of pour over coffee (total 20-24oz of coffee divided by 2). So a Mug of coffee in our house goes for about $1 per person which is still about $3 less per person than it would be if we bought a 12oz pour over out.
We do plan on saving a little bit more on coffee because Neil is (finally) getting back to roasting his own beans. Oh the joy of having a husband who likes to be self sustainable! That means we will be cutting our coffee spending in half and to be honest since we already have the green beans to roast it’s basically free this month since we won’t have to take out of this months budget! Our goal is to have Neil roast for the remainder of the month (although I see at least one more bag of roasted coffee in our future). – Side note would anyone be interested in learning how to roast their own coffee?
Creamy White Bean Hummus Pesto
Full disclaimer on this one I am now an ambassador for Eat Well Enjoy Life Hummus so I received the hummus for free. As you can see on my Instagram I have been gobbling it up with the help of my little mini-me.
Total: $5.45; Portions: 6; Cost Per Portion $0.90
As you can see we have been doing pretty well! We have been eating out of our pantry as much as we can and sticking to more of the basics such as rice, beans and greens. We have only had one night were things went a little awry with our budget due to Neil being sick and desiring some ginger ale, toast, ginger chews and coconut water.
How are you doing so far with your budget?
Thinking about: Coffee (always). Going to bed. I’m tired but our little one is wild tonight and I’m not sure why either. We took her out on a long walk (part of which she walked), we laughed, ran around and did a variety of energy draining activities but yet she is till awake. I’m also thinking about the 30 blog posts I plan to write and the 10 freelance articles that are pending. Lots on my mind right now.
Feeling: Tired out. Overwhelmed. Happy. Grateful.
Watching: Lately we have been catching up on Top Chef Masters and I have been watching one of my guilty pleasures Switched at Birth on Netflix. Oh and I’m always watching The Office –> for fellow fans there is a new season on Netflix now!
Reading: I am reading Orange Is The New Black- I couldn’t quite get into the show but the book is really good so far. I think I’ll give the show another chance once I finish the book.
Looking forward to: Being completely unpacked, although that could be weeks. I am also looking forward to this weekend because I am hoping we do some sort of Fall activity.
Making me happy: My hardworking husband and my crazy kid. If you are interested in Edith and her crazy antics you should check out the latest Instagram videos and posts –> here
So I wish I was checking in to say that I was totally on top of my workouts but I’m not. I am four days into October and have only one one T25 workout. Not a great start but not the end of the world either it just means I need to step up my game. What I am happy to say is that I have been out and active the days that I missed T25.
I did go shopping today. Clothes shopping. Honestly I have been dreading going clothes shopping because nothing fits well and honestly the tag size gets to me, but today that was different. So I am still far from being back to my pre-pregnancy weight but I am getting there. I even bought clothes a size smaller today and I have to attribute that to my new home. We are now in a super walking friendly area and well a 19lb baby who likes to be worn on walks helps add to my workout. Just goes to show you even just a little extra movement can help make progress!
What did you do for a workout this week?
Where has the time gone? I had planned to tell you about my new favorite juice last week but time just got away from me! So here we are over a week later and no juice left but I’m going to tell you about it anyways because it is fantastic.
I was provided a case of Vital Juice to try out and review and honestly I was as little skeptical. I am a huge fan of juicing and we juice at home semi-regularly, okay more like in spurts throughout the year, anyways I enjoy fresh juice. The bottled stuff on the other hand is a whole other story. There are a few that I have liked, many that have been just okay and a couple that were just plan awful, so like I said I was a little skeptical.
The first Vital Juice that I tried was Vital Greens which is made up of cucumber, apple, kale, spinach, ginger, and lemon. First sip, yum! Second sip, YUMMM!. Third sip…..well you get the point. It was fantastic. I had to stop myself from opening every bottle right then and there just to see if the next was as good as the first.
The next one that I tried was Vital Carrot which has apple, carrot and ginger. Now usually a juice like this can sometimes taste a little too earthy for me but again this one was delicious. The apple really balanced out the earthy carrots and the ginger gave it a good zing.
Then I was on to what would be my favorite juice, the Vital pineapple, which has pineapple and ginger. I am a pineapple lover so it’s no surprise that I was in love with this juice, although now that I think about it I would have to say it was really a tie with Vital Coconut (just young coconut water). I love coconut water and I have never tasted any that are better than this one.
Lastly, I had another bottle of Vital Greens which of course I loved and then it was on to my last bottle which was Vital Beet with almond. This juice/milk has carrot, orange, almond, water, beet, agave and vanilla and just being honest it was my least favorite. I loved all of the others and will buy them again (yay for having them in local Portland stores!) but this one would never make my shopping list. However, Miss Edith LOVED it. She gulped it up so I guess it was just me!
Have you tried Vital Juice? What is your favorite juice?
Wondering where you can buy Vital Juice? Check here.
Winter seems to have arrived in Portland and we have been wading our way around town all weekend. It has been raining non-stop and I have fallen subject to a cold and so has Edith, which means Neil you’re next. We have been bundling up and snuggling under blankets as we try to ward off the cool, rainy weather. We have also been warming up with big bowls of soup because honestly there isn’t anything I enjoy more than soup on a rainy day. That being said I think I have a lot of soup recipes coming to you over the winter since well we are in Portland now!
Here are 12 of my favorite Soul Warming Soup Recipes.
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The following post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of Oxygen Network. All opinions are my own.
It’s that time again! Are you an emotional eater? Were your parents your role model for health and nutrition? Check out this sneak peak from Oxygen’s My Big Fat Revenge and tune in tonight at 9pm EST.
Leave a comment telling me about a time you felt discouraged while attaining the goal of bettering yourself.
One winner will receive the following ($500 value).
The giveaway is open to US residents only and will be selected randomly from the comments. Giveaway open until October 28th. Winner will be announced in my My Big Fat Revenge finale post on October 29th.
