air fryer

  • Food & Nutrition, Saving Money

    Grocery Haul: January 2019

    Grand Total: $80.77

    Quite honestly, with finals, grading and vacation, my grocery shopping got all out of wack.  I did a lot of eating out, snacking, making multiple random trips to the grocery story but not coming out with anything I could turn into a meal etc…… Somehow, I managed to make it to Winter Break.  Now that it’s January, and the only commitment I have is to study for my qualifying exam (46 days away), I can make grocery shopping and meal prep more of a priority.  No new resolutions, I’m just trying to get back to being consistent.  To do that and to maximize my time, my thought process before hitting the store was to plan for meals that would be quick no brainers (pasta, stuffed peppers, turkey burgers, etc) and snacks of course so that I could focus my energies on reading.

    As much as I love TJ, I want to use this grocery haul as a reminder of something never to buy again, Winter Wake Up Tea.

    I drink a lot of tea.  It keeps me company and calms my nerves while studying, so I was excited to try this new flavor based on the description. It’s said to be “a spicy Black tea blend with cinnamon and ginger”–seemingly all good things.  TJ already has some great flavors that I love like Harvest spice, ginger pear, mango black tea, so I had no reason to doubt that this would be any different.  This taste like dishwater.  I’m sure it could be doctored up with a lot of milk, sweetener, etc, but ain’t no body got time for that. It was only about three dollars, so I’m not out of too much money, but I’m disappointed.  In short, Winter Wake Up should go back to bed.

    Here’s my first meal prep of the year!  I made the bbq chicken wings in the air fryer, and they came out pretty good!  As sides I made green beans and quinoa pesto.

    How are you all doing in the new year?  Have you gone grocery shopping yet? Any new food related commitments that you’re making to yourself?

  • Food & Nutrition, Nutrition, Saving Money

    Grocery Haul: October 2018

    Grand Total: $101.63

    Happy fall!  This month I’m really trying to be intentional about eating more, hence why my TJ’s bill keeps creeping higher and higher (FYI I don’t just shop at TJ’s–I’ll explain my strategy in a later post).  My desire to eat more isn’t just about preparing for winter hibernation.  Because of my under eating, I often wake up at 3 and 4 in the morning because my body is craving food.  Needless to say, this messes me up for the rest of the day even if I do  fall back asleep.  If I can manage to get this under control, I’m looking forward to sleeping more, and I also think it’ll be interesting to see how my body responds to getting more food on a regular basis.

    My new-ish item of interest at Trader Joe’s are these vegetable spring rolls….One box includes five pieces and they came up to $3.99.  They are filled with edamame, kale, cabbage and mushrooms.

    This is my second time buying these spring rolls, and there’s a reason–they’re pretty darn good. The first time around, I  baked them following the instructions on the box.  The second time, I used my roommate’s air fryer, which gave them a really nice crunch in only about 7 minutes.  I prefer the airfryer because it’s quicker and more fun to use; however, since I meal prep’ed with these and therefore put them in the refrigerator rather than eating them immediately after I cooked them as it’s suggested, the crunch pretty much just went away.  I know that this isn’t ideal and that the texture is less than desirable, but, even with the slight sogginess, I’m still here for it.

    My lunch this week.  In addition to spring rolls, I made stir fry with TJ pre-chopped vegetables, marinated tofu over brown rice. I also sautéed kale.

    Am I the only one that is willing to make small taste-based concessions for the peace of mind of knowing that your food is taken care of for the entire work week?  Meal prepping for me is more about saving time and money rather than eating perfect meals.  I’m willing to eat a semi-soggy spring roll or two.

    Onwards and upwards.  We’re already half-way through the semester!