Hippies!

I really wish I had saved everything from my past! It's all back in style now!

One of those things is cloth grocery bags. Back in the 1970's I was one of the few people in my city who brought my own tote bags to grocery stores. It was probably an article in The Mother Earth News Magazine that prompted me, and also gave me my first bag pattern. Okay, so most of the store managers insisted on also giving me my items in a paper bag and I could then do with it what I wanted, and I would usually step aside to a non-used checkout aisle and remove things from the paper bag and put them into my cloth bag, fold up the paper bag, and leave it. After a while it just became too time consuming, or I would forget to bring my bag, or our little family of two expanded, necessitating many bags, but over the years my using of the cloth bags fell out of favor.

Flash forward 25 - 30 years. Now some stores are offering incentives if you use your own bag, and in NYC they're thinking of charging a 5 cent tax per bag if you use plastic. Our mayor-elect (swearing in isn't until next week) also thinks it's a good idea and is thinking of doing the same thing. Ever since Earth Day 2008 local grocery stores have been selling their own bags - some are canvass, others are plastic, but all are ugly and have the store's logo prominently displayed. The prices vary widely, too. Some stores have them as low as 99 cents each, while others are charging an outrageous $10 or more. And they're cheesy and shoddily made, too. So many people are complaining how they have to buy new bags at least monthly to replace bags whose handles fell off or bags that ripped under the strain.

The solution to those problems is to make my own again. I have plenty of unused fabric in my stash, mostly novelty calicoes that I was going to use either for quilts or aprons but never got around to making. I also have a load of heavier fabrics that were bought ages ago from a fabric warehouse store that went out of business. I never used those fabrics for their intended purchases because being a "warehouse" that sold second-quality fabric and bolt ends there was some damage to every piece that wasn't noticed before purchase and probably hidden by the women who did the cutting. They never cut the fabric right in front of you - the cutting table was about 20 feet behind a counter along the back wall of the store so the employee's back was to you, blocking your view of the fabric on the table. Hey, it was the ONLY fabric store our city had for over 20 years, and since it closed, all we had was a non-closed crafting store that sold some fabric of almost similar quality but at 3 times the cost. That place lasted less than 3 years before the chain went bankrupt and we're now fabric-less again.

Anyway, my big job for next week is to start making my own fabric grocery bags again. My husband estimates that 12 should be plentiful, and both he and the kid, the 2 main carriers of said bags, prefer the traditional plastic bag style to the squared off tote bag with narrow strap style. They would also prefer a not-too-girly print or better yet, a solid color, but reversible will do if I insist on cutsie things for when I go shopping. I found exactly what I was looking for on this craft blog post. The instructor shows plenty of photos and gives clear, precise, step by step instructions on how to make a cloth reversible grocery bag in the plastic bag style, complete with its own built-in storage pocket so you can fold it up and tuck it into itself for a nice, neat package to tuck into your pocket or purse while shopping.



That reminds me of another thing owners of today's cloth bags complains about - carrying those empty bags around the store. Those tote-style bags are bulky, especially the plastic or plastic-lined ones, so if you have a lot of shopping to do and use a lot of bags they take up a lot of room in your already-bulging cart. Then you have to worry about someone swiping your bags from your cart when your head is turned. I've seen it happen. The same type of women who think nothing of leaving their purse in the wagon while they walk back to the next aisle to grab an item they forgot leave their empty bags unattended in the cart. I've seen people push their cart past the unwatched cart, grab a bag or 2, and keep on walking. Since everyone has the same ugly bag sold by the store, there's no way to prove ownership of the empty bag, because usually the same type of person who leaves her valuables unattended also never thinks to put their name in their bags.

So, if I get one a day done I'll be happy, but with everything that's been going on around here lately, I'll be happy to get one a week. I'll try photograph them as they're finished and post the pics.

November Menu Is Set

November Menu Is Set

It's been a crazy month so far, between the kid's job interviews and medical problems, the election, 3 doctor's appointments, lab and radiology (some for me, some for my son). Then the gloomy weather - I don't remember the last time I saw the sun. Oh, wait - it was as I was coming home from the opthamologist with my eyes fully dilated from the drops he gave me, and because it was raining when I went in I didn't bring my sunglasses so I was in pain for the next few hours.

And it's not over yet. My son is still waiting for the doctor to call him back with the results (He was out of the office at the time my son was told to call), and he still hasn't heard back from the job interview, but in that case she did say in 3 weeks and it's only been less than 2. I hope he hears something soon - his first student loan payment is due in 2 weeks.

And I'm still jerking myself back and forth between vegan foods and SAD (Standard American Diet). Don't get me wrong - I do love the healthy vegan foods that are available. It's just that some of it is so darn expensive! Rice milk is more than twice the cost of powdered skim; a batch of scrambled tofu costs about ten times more than 2 scrambled eggs; vegetarian sausage is more than twice the price of real sausage and sometimes has the same amount of fat, unless I make it from scratch. And I miss dairy cheese and yogurts. Not only are they much cheaper than vegan versions but they taste so much better.

But I really should avoid them. Tonight we were supposed to have this mushroom and barley thing, but my mushrooms turned fuzzy, so we're having burgers instead. I have no veggie burgers made right now so we'll have the turkey burgers that I have in the freezer. At least I have plenty of stone ground whole wheat burger rolls. I have plenty of fruit for snacks, especially bananas and apples, but have to get used to not putting peanut butter on them, or in my morning oatmeal. I made a tofu scramble this morning and felt guilty because of the price, but I was just so sick of oatmeal and needed a change.

And the dinner menus are not just chosen but printed out and hanging in the kitchen for all to see for the rest of the month. I have December's planned but not printed, too. Out of all these meals, every one is McDougall legal, as long as I eat cheeseless pizzas on Fridays, that is. :) This month we have 2 birthdays, and in both cases they want pizza, so again, a cheeseless pizza for me, with cheese for the birthday boys.

Our 31st anniversary is also this month. On the day of our wedding, my husband and I never got to eat dinner. As soon as the meals at the head table were served we were called by the photographer to get the cutting of the cake pictures. While we were gone the waitstaff cleared our plates! We complained loudly, even calling them idiots - Didn't they notice that every plate for the entire bridal party was untouched? They had no food left in the kitchen (Even the band ate their meals while we were getting snapped) so we were to go hungry. The kitchen helpers felt sorry for us and did give all of us a larger piece of cake each, but we were still going table to table asking our relatives if there was any FOOD. Our best man's mother and an usher's wife had some leftovers that they ate up, but the rest of us had to make do with some candy from the machine in the bar.

My husband and I were almost the last people to leave the reception. What the heck, we were paying for this party and not leaving for our honeymoon until the next day so why not?! As soon as we got to our apartment we popped a frozen pizza into the oven, put Tom Waits on the stereo, and started counting the money and signing the checks from the envelopes, as my mom was going to deposit it into the bank for us while we were gone. Every anniversary we go through the same routine - we eat frozen pizza while Tom Waits is playing on the stereo, and since we have no money we just count our blessings.

For You Monster Magazine Fans Out There

A read this plea today from bobbie on the Bad Movies group on Yahoogroups. For those of you who have memorized the script from every monster movie ever made, this is for you. For those who aren't fans, or are too young to know who Forrest J. Ackerman even is, go to his WikiPedia page or the Wiki page for his life's work, Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine.


Some of you may have heard this, as it has been posted in several
groups. Forry Ackerman is very ill. He has pneumonia and, considering
his age, many of us are very worried.

If anyone would like to send a card to cheer him up, please mail it to:


FORREST J ACKERMAN
4511 Russell Avenue
Los Angeles, CA
90027

(Thanks to good fan Jeff for posting this.)

When??

When will I ever learn?

Will I ever get back to 100% compliance to the McDougall Plan?

There has been so much stress going on in my (our) life (lives) right now, and I'm (we're) such an emotional eater, that I usually go off plan before breakfast is even over. For example:
On Plan - Scrambled Tofu with loads of veggies cooked in a non-stick pan
Off Plan - Scrambled eggs (2) fried in a bit of butter and served on a white-flour roll with a slice of cheese on top

On Plan - oatmeal and raisins with natural (no sugar) applesauce and a pinch of cinnamon
Off Plan - oatmeal & raisins & peanut butter & chocolate chips

On Plan - no-fat added bean burrito
Off Plan - cold pizza with extra cheese & meat

You know the old 12-Step Program slogan, "Each Day A New Beginning?" Today is yet another new beginning. At least I had the on-plan version of oatmeal already, lunch will be a salad with garbanzo beans, and dinner will be rice and veggies and a vegetable soup.

How much does it really cost to eat a healthy diet?

Money Is Tight, and Junk Food Beckons

By TARA PARKER-POPE

How much does it really cost to eat a healthy diet?

Economists, health researchers and consumers are struggling to answer that question as food prices rise and the economy slumps. The World Bank says nearly a billion people around the world live on a dollar a day, or even less; in the United States, the daily food-stamp allowance is typically just a few dollars per person, while the average American eats $7 worth of food per day.

Even middle-class people struggle to put healthful food on the table. Studies show that junk foods tend to cost less than fruits, vegetables and other healthful foods, whose prices continue to rise.

This fall a couple in Encinitas, Calif., conducted their own experiment to find out what it was like to live for a month on just a dollar a day for food. Overnight, their diets changed significantly. The budget forced them to give up many store-bought foods and dinners out. Even bread and canned refried beans were too expensive.

Instead, the couple — Christopher Greenslate, 28, and Kerri Leonard, 29, both high school social studies teachers — bought raw beans, rice, cornmeal and oatmeal in bulk, and made their own bread and tortillas. Fresh fruits and vegetables weren’t an option. Ms. Leonard’s mother was so worried about scurvy, a result of vitamin C deficiency, that they made room in their budget for Tang orange drink mix. (They don’t eat meat — not that they could have afforded it.)

Breakfast consisted of oatmeal; lunch was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Dinner often consisted of beans, rice and homemade tortillas. Homemade pancakes were affordable, but syrup was not; a local restaurant gave them a few free syrup packets.

One of the biggest changes was the time they had to spend in meal preparation.

“If you’re buying raw materials, you’re spending more time preparing things,” Mr. Greenslate said. “We’d come home after working 10 to 11 hours and have to roll out tortillas. If you’re already really hungry at that point, it’s tough.”

While he lost weight on the budget diet, Mr. Greenslate said, the larger issue was his lack of energy. During the experiment he was no longer able to work out at the gym.

A few times they found a bag of carrots or lettuce that was within their budget, but produce was usually too expensive. They foraged for lemons on the trees in their neighborhood to squeeze juice into their water.

Ms. Leonard said that after the 30-day experiment, one of the first foods she ate was a strawberry. “I almost cried,” she said.

The couple acknowledged that the experiment was something of a luxury, given that many people have no choice about how much to spend on food.

“People in our situation have the leisure to be concerned about issues like this,” Ms. Leonard said. “If we were actually living in this situation, I would not be taking the time to be concerned about what I could and could not have; I’d be worried about survival.”

Researchers say the experiment reflects many of the challenges that poor people actually face. When food stamps and income checks run low toward the end of the month, they often do scrape by on a dollar a day or less. But many people don’t know how to prepare foods from scratch, or lack the time.

“You have to know how to cook beans and rice, how to make tortillas, how to soak lentils,” said Adam Drewnowski, director of the Center for Public Health Nutrition at the University of Washington. “Many people don’t have the knowledge or the time if they’re working two jobs.”

Last year, Dr. Drewnowski led a study, published in The Journal of the American Dietetic Association, comparing the prices of 370 foods sold at supermarkets in the Seattle area. The study showed that “energy dense” junk foods, which pack the most calories and fewest nutrients per gram, were far less expensive than nutrient-rich, lower-calorie foods like fruits and vegetables. The prices of the most healthful foods surged 19.5 percent over the two-year study period, while the junk food prices dropped 1.8 percent.

Obesity researchers worry that these trends will push consumers toward less healthful foods. “The message for this year and next year is going to be affordable nutrition,” Dr. Drewnowski said. “It’s not the food pyramid, it’s the budget pyramid.”

The experiment in California was hardly the first of its kind, though the teachers’ budget was tighter than most. Last month Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm of Michigan and her family took a weeklong “food stamp challenge,” spending only $5.87 per day per person on food — the Michigan food stamp allotment. She told reporters that she ended up buying a lot of macaroni and cheese. Last year Gov. Theodore R. Kulongoski of Oregon lived for a week on his state’s $3-a-day food stamp allocation.

Ms. Leonard and Mr. Greenslate, who chronicled their dollar-a-day experience on their blog, onedollardietproject.wordpress.com, say they are looking at other ways to explore how difficult it is for people with limited income to eat a healthful diet.

“I challenge anyone to try to live on a dollar a day and eat fresh food in this country,” Mr. Greenslate said. “I would love to be proven wrong.”

well@nytimes.com

The Director Who Films Your LIfe Test

I had a problem embedding the code so just copy/pasted it all here. The link to the test is after the results.

Your romantic comedy-drama of a life is now in the hands of Laverne. We almost put Ron Howard in this spot, but we figured you wouldn't want the part of your dad played by Ron's little brother Clint (who's in EVERY one of his films). Penny will hire Squiggy, instead. She directed A League Of Their Own, Big, Awakenings, and Riding In Cars With Boys among few others.

The Director Who Films Your Life

I would rather have Clint Howard - I loved him in his role of Eaglebauer in Rock and Roll High School, and just about every zany character he plays in Adam Sandler movies. With all his famous friends and relatives in the "business" I'm sure he's make a great movie!

NaBloPoMo Day 3

I know I promised to write a post a day for a month, but what does one write when there's nothing new to say?

Should I blog about my son's current health problems? Nah, that would be a HIPPA violation.

About my food problems? Nah, you're all sick of that stuff.

The weather? What can one say about November in New Jersey, when it's too cool to be a "nice" fall day and too warm to be the harbinger of winter.

Landlord? Crazy aunt? Depressed husband? Failed recipes?

I guess I really don't have anything to say today.

Another Reason to Post

Yes, another reason to post daily, at least through the month on November - NaBloPoMo - National Blog Post Month!



So, I may not make a lot of sense, I may whine and moan, curse or pray, but at least something will get written. At least VeganMoFo is over so I'm no longer posting daily recipes. :)

I won't be posting to the official NaBloPoMo site for their feed, just here and my LJ blog. With Thanksgiving, our vacation, and the kid's current health problem, I may not be able to make a daily post, but I'll try.