Kindness...

Well...
My “Buy-nothing-in-March challenge”. It was a bust, I didn’t even last the week!

I’ve come to a couple of conclusions:
- I need to be a bit kinder to myself.
- I’m an opportunistic shopper.
- Cooking is my passion.
- My shopping is 95% whole foods.

Cooking as a passion, is a very useful hobby, it keeps the family well fed. Bonus.
Yes, I’ve got a full pantry and freezer, but that is mostly because I hate waste. Leftover bread gets frozen (croutons, bread crumbs, toasties,...), bananas that are ripening faster than the kids eat, land in the freezer (chocolate ice-cream, cakes, smoothies, porridge sweeter,...), a roast chicken carcass becomes stock (sauces, risotto, curries, soup), leftover roasted beetroot gets pickled (wraps, salads, lunchbox snacks). Leftover dinner is great for lunches, or boosted with legumes and veggies a quick dinner on a busy evening. I keep a lot of my seeds, nuts and flours in the fridge or freezer to keep them safe and fresh. Just like excess chillies, homemade curry pastes and chutneys. I have lots of those chutneys, pickles, pastes and ferments in the fridge. Right next to my homemade yoghurt, muesli bars and sourdough starter for our breads. Famers markets are once a week, I stock up on those lovely fruits and veggies and make them last.

Lunch in a hurry: turkish bread with hummus (freezer) with fresh veggies (garden) and chilli sauce (fridge)

So yes, my fridge and freezer are full, they’re are only small after all. But there is a good turnover, and I know exactly whats in there.
The pantry is filled with heaps of different ingredients like legumes, seeds, grains and spices that get used often, 95% is what we call whole foods. A couple of packets of pasta and crackers make up for the other 5%, hiding for backup.
I’m an opportunistic shopper, example: a trip to the library often also means a visit to the pharmacy opposite, in the 10 minutes it takes for the scrips to be filled, I go next-door and find the best local organic milk I can find in town. So what I last week crankily put down as shopping all over the place, isn’t madness at all, just time efficient... Like a said, I need to be kinder to myself...

What really bothers me is that every time I step into a supermarket you get bombarded with choices, you know what you need, but you also know they’re using every trick to make you buy more. And if I’m tired, stressed or hungry, emotional eater that I am, I fall for those tricks. That’s what really upsets me. With awareness, I’m going to let my frustration go, and focus on all those other nourishing ingredients that transform into enjoyable family meals. We all have our faults, there is (one of) mine.

This week I saw a sign on a road I very rarely travel, with farm fresh berries, I stopped and stocked up, a bit of puzzling and my freezer is closed again.
Rosella’s from another local grower also made it home, you don’t see them often and I saw it as a good way to test out if its worth the trouble growing them ourselves (oh, yes I need them in my garden, high priority). An Indian specialty store in a town I only drive through a couple of times a year resulted in a small bucket of ghee that will lasts me the year and a specialty curry powder that I haven’t managed to recreate. So, yes I didn’t even lasted the week,
and I’m fine with that.
Kindness.

Gluttonous

For the last couple of months I’ve been going through every cupboard, drawer, build-in,... Sorting through. Reorganising the toy box, puzzles, clothing, books and linens. With the change to autumn this week all the kids clothes got sorted. Bags and bags of clothes where donated. Too small or not our style (I’ve been given so much hand-me-downs by generous friends). Things hardly played with, gone. Taking it little by little, but it’s feeling great!

And then I got to the kitchen...

Home grown bananas, not the prettiest, but taste wise don’t compare to anything else! The whole bunch (+/-100 bananas) ripens up within one week...

My freezers are full, my fridge is crammed to the max, trying to fit in last night chicken korma almost needs an uni degree in engineering. My pantry is so full it’s overflowing into the laundry room (mostly business related, but still). My shopping list is an unorganised mess that got me there in the first place. There was a time where I would stock up every couple of weeks, there was a time I would even go once a month. But once you start dropping the ball, you have to go in to pick up the necessities you forgot, and while you’re there... To my defence, there is no waste. Nothing wrong with a full pantry with things that get used, but I’m starting to feel a little greedy. 

No more shopping for the rest of the month. Panic! No shops at all? A little drastic. Thats one way to shake things up. How are you going to manage... Shouldn’t you do that at the beginning of the month, maybe next month? Well, nothing better then the present. It only hurts, because you’re changing (for the better).

Rules: 

- Ends on the 1st of April, almost 4 full weeks.

- Medication is exempt.

- 1 halfway stock up on fresh fruit, milk and vegetables.

Anyone that wants to join in, even for a week. Comment below, let me know how you go.

And those gorgeous homegrown bananas you see? This is about 2/3 left of the bunch. Smoothies, pancakes, baking, porridge sweeter, lunch boxes, snacks and dessert. No hardship.

Yesterday evening, after taking this photo, I peeled half of the most ripe ones and stuck them in bags in the freezer (no wonder my freezer is so full!). Defrosted they can go through cake batter. Frozen, they make the best chocolate ice-cream or frozen yoghurt!

Chocolate ice-cream or mousse:

3 (frozen) bananas, 2 tablespoons cocoa, handful of macadamias, a splash of (coconut)cream and a pinch of salt. In the blender until smooth. 

Frozen, put it back in the freezer for another hour for a firmer ice-cream. Chocolate sprinkles and a couple of macadamias are a nice touch.

Defrosted, serve the mousse with fresh berries or pear. It was a huge hit with the kids. No nasties.

Back at the Super Market Challenge

About three years ago I started rambling about my bad relationship with the supermarket, my dread to go there, but still ending there way to often. I started a Supermarket Challenge.
It was a bit of planning, but I managed to bring it down to once a month!

Over the last year I’ve noticed my visits have increased again. Not being organised enough to make a decent shopping list, or just not wanting to do one huge shopping day with two little guys in tow.
Fair enough, but I do notice my waistline is starting to suffer...
My weight gain isn’t during pregnancy, but in the months following. The busy, chaotic days with a little one in the mix, the lack of sleep with all the broken nights.
For me that results in sugar cravings to make up for the lack of energy. A very bad habit.
Chocolate, ice-cream, cookies,... All calling out to your sleep deprived mind right down every aisle of the supermarket.
4 months since David’s birth, I’m still tired, with four young kids chances are pretty high that one of them will wake up early. Of course there is the never-ending loads of washing, tidying, organising,..
But I also feel bloated, headachy and grumpy. That is not only sleep depreciation...
There is a couple of things I can do about getting myself out of the down spiral, things that I know work for me. As a start: cutting back sugar temptation: restarting the supermarket challenge.

Wednesday 22th of October was my last supermarket visit, that’s over three weeks ago. I did go to the farmers markets, health food store and butcher in the mean time, but then, you can only find real food there.
Other then healthier meals, it has also given me more time to cook those real foods into tasty energy lifting meals. It will take more then good food to get back in shape, especialy when you’re head is not into it. So the next step will be a mental challenge, doing more things that make me happy, rested, balanced. Part of that will be a physical challenge, nothing better then a good workout to get all those happy hormones flowing again...

Gotta go, The kids are “starving”...
On the menu for lunch: a Turkish sandwich with macadamia/kale/basil pesto, red onion/thyme relish, spinach and haloumi. All leftovers, upgraded with freshly roasted veggies.

The supermarket challenge, an update

You might remember that supermarket challenge I set myself a year ago?
(click for linked stories)
Well, I'm actually still going!
Milk is still the bottleneck, but I've worked out I can put 20L of milk into the fridge side-by-side on the bottom shelve. Another 2L in the door and we have enough milk for the rest of the month.
Actually quite a lot if you write it down like that, most of it is made into yoghurt, used in cooking or for the occasional cheese making. The kids have discovered Weet-Bix (an iconic Australian breakfast cereal, very high in fibre), a treat for the weekend, they help themselves to it and the milk to go with it, while we get to sleep in. Hooray!!! But takes an extra 2L of milk a month easily.
Flour (bakers, plain, rye, buckwheat) is another big item on the shopping list, when baking bread daily and all the other home baked goodies.
Oil for baking and preserving. Butter, the real deal, for sandwiches and baking. And a carton of cream for cooking and ice-cream making. Cheese for sandwiches, cooking and salads. Nuts, pulses, rice,...
And on-and-on we go. It takes a little while to work out the quantities you'll need to get you through a month, but once you run out of something, get creative. A thorough pantry and fridge clean out will probably makes you find enough food for another week. Then make a shopping list, can't be half as stressful as taking three kids into the supermarket every other day.
A relaxing, social, weekly trip to the farmers market to supplement the kitchen garden and a stop at the local butcher will keep me clear from the supermarket for another month.

Supermarket challenge - continued

Remember me writing about the supermarket challenge I set myself?
The aim was to reduce the supermarket visit to once a month, it actually worked! And has continued to work for me in the last couple of months.
The garden supplies with a lot of our veggies, not enough but then there is the weekly farmers markets. Meat comes from the local butcher using local meat, flour and dry good are stocked once every 6 weeks through the local health store, where they can put in a bulk order for me.
I notice my pantry has undergone many changes in the last couple of months, in a good way, all food  gets cooked from scratch, with the exception of crackers and puff pastry. Once you get the hang of it and becomes part of a routine it is pretty effortless. Most meals are made within 30 minutes, I very much like cooking, but it's still pretty crazy at that time of the day when the kids get tired and hungry.
Some days, time permitting, I do some "grouped" cooking. Having a couple things going at the same time, making yoghurt, bread, tomato soup, quince paste, apple sauce, sausage rolls, cookies, granola, ice-cream mixture, curry,... Most only have a short prep time, then it's a matter of time for baking, simmering,... After putting one thing in the oven you can prep the next one, while you stir the soup and the jam. In an hour or two you can have the pantry and freezer supplied with shortcuts through a busy week.
I'm starting to get to the point I could do with a visit once every two months, with only a quick monthly stock-up of milk and cream. I would love to be able to go without the supermarket completely, I don't see that work for a while and how far do we want to push this? But cutting out unhealthy convenience foods and taking away the temptations out of the pantry sure helps to feel healthy and energetic.

What would you like to change in your grocery shopping habits?

I need more milk

I’ve been putting a bomb under my own challenge (only shop at the supermarket once month), although my system works fantastic, I need more milk!
Hardly used for drinking, but start making yoghurt and you need an additional 1,5L a week.
Then there home-made ice cream (buying cream only once a month keeps this a special occasion), for the most fantastic recipe look here.

Home-made custard, I normally halve the recipe. Many custard recipes only use the egg yolk, the use of corn flour is also reason for discussion. But this is a fail safe, very quickly whipped up recipe.

I’ve also started making ricotta, so quick and easy to make, why bother buying it. Seriously:
Heat milk, add a little vinegar, milk starts to curdle, drain, use.
Drain for a little longer and call it paneer, handy for curries.
Or add a little salt and cream and call it cottage cheese.
Swop the milk for cream and the vinegar for lime juice and it will become mascarpone.

Now I’ve found a recipe for Feta on a fantastic cheese making blog: Gavin’s Little Green Cheese.
Also great tutorials for many other cheeses I would love to make. It’s just the 4L of milk you need for this recipe, how much work is a milking cow? Now I realise how easy to make so many cheeses are, I just look differently at the overpriced, over-packaged, crappy tasting ricotta in the supermarket.

I never realised that we ate that much cheese. I could have know, we’re Dutch after all, Sander is even born in Gouda, yep that’s the place the world famous cheese comes from...

4 weeks and out of milk

Four weeks is as long as we lasted in our supermarket challenge. We could have gone on much longer if it wasn’t for the fact that we run out of milk, I really like a little bit of frothed milk on my coffee in the morning... And the kids really love their yogurt, you should see them in the morning when they hear the stick blender: a banana and yogurt smoothie!!! and they’ll be dancing in the kitchen!!!

It turns out that we use about 2,5L of milk a week, 1,5L of that is used for yoghurt the rest for coffees and cooking. This might increase since I’m very much looking forward to make start making cheese. Ricotta and paneer are on the agenda.

I’ve done my supermarket run, it wasn’t a whole month, I really would have liked it to be, but 4 weeks is a very good start.

The supermarket challenge, halfway

Two weeks into my supermarket challenge, just about halfway.
So far the only thing that I’ve run out of has been salt. Salt free cooking is fine, but you really need some when you bake bread. A trip to a wonderful little organic shop I hadn’t been before fixed that up, I felt a little sad afterwards. I would love to go there more often, such a lovely lady running it, full of stories. But she sells mostly organic veggies, yoghurt, eggs and sourdough bread. I have no need for that.

The challenge is feeling good, instead of wanting to stock up, it makes me want to slim down. I’ve started using all those half empty bags of pasta, then there are those silly things that look nice but never get used and things that are starting to nudge their expiry date. It sure make an interesting menu at the moment... It’s nice having a lot of variety to choose from, the downside is that it slows down the turnover and the weevils start having 18+ parties. Nuts and grains are the worst, less variety and stocking some bulk flour in the freezer should fix that. And I’ll need a shopping list, I can hang it right next to my to-do-list and moon calendar on the fridge.

I used to work full-time as a project manager, can you tell?

The supermarket blues

I love going to farmers markets, it’s an outing. I know most farmers by name and have been invited to come and have a look at their farm. There is always time for a chat, something to snack on for the kids and advise what and how to grow in my own garden.
I also happily buy meat at the local butcher or my flours/spices/seeds at the local health food store. But the supermarket, that’s something that leaves me feeling drained of energy. I hate going there. But I still go every week. Why???
This week I went three times, the second time was a different supermarket because the first didn’t have the rice and flour I needed. The third time was because I forgot something crucial (the rice), it's starting to feel like a bad and draining habit popping in for every stupid little thing.

I came across a post from one of my favourite bloggers: Inner Pickle. She was challenged to go without buying for as long as she could, she has set herself a 30day target. Although her challenge was not to buy anything at all, it has made me think.
I can easily go for a month without any trips to the supermarket. Milk has always be my biggest bottle neck. But for a while I’ve been buying my organic milk from Aldi, it stays good for about 6 weeks and is great for making yoghurt or cheeses when I find the time. My pantry is bulging healthy and I bake and cook from scratch anyway. I only go to the health food store once every 2 months, how much I love them, they’re still in that big ugly shopping mall.
We don’t go through a lot of meat, once a month would probably be sufficient now we have a small freezer, but I would miss the chat. I’ll combine it with my weekly visit to the farmers markets.

Next stocking-up trip: 5 May 2012.