Fruits of our neighbors

Mr.M and Jax went on a walk last night and brought home a bag full of goodies. It seems that they stopped to chat with each neighbor with a fruiting tree, told them about our quest to eat local foods, and were given as much as they could carry. They brought home apples, oranges, lemons, a big grapefruit, and mouths smeared with blackberry (they don't travel well in the company of bigger fruit!) The blackberry bush's owner said we were welcome back, so I'll be back to get a batch to freeze. Same goes for apples - applesauce is coming our way with these sweet, tart beauties.

What is growing in your neighborhood? Most of the tree-owners we've encountered are happy to give fruits away from their trees and it never hurts to ask if you could enjoy a few. It doesn't get much more local than that!

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I took off what was gained last week, and then some, so I'm feeling good about today's weigh in. I'm now down 24 lb. in 11 weeks and making strides toward my goal of 10%/31 lb. by September 23. My BMI, still well within the obese range, is down 4 points.

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The Weight Watchers leader substite I didn't like (see the June 22 entry) was back again. She started the meeting by saying she'd gained 5 pounds and the scales must be off. Well, I lost 3.8 lb and am counting on them being right! Then she goes on to talk about how she started out SO fat at 170 lb. and how did she let herself get so big, and talking to a new woman about how it's good that she started WW before really getting heavy. Um, HELLO!? I'm starting out at 311 lb. and my GOAL is 165. I'll be THRILLED, jumping up and down and hugging anyone who will let me, when I reach 170 and even then it will take more than a year of hard work to get there. I almost left in the middle of the meeting, but I wanted to tell her how discouraging that was. She talked again about how she doesn't exercise, but she has heard it can help. Our regular leader is at a bowling tournament and she said the regular leader was "almost fanatical" about exercise. WHAT?

After the meeting, I told her that I found talking about the weight in numbers really discouraging, since she was feeling so horrible about being at my goal weight. She said that's not what she meant, and I'm taller and she has smaller bone structure besides (taller by two inches and who can see my bone structure under all this padding?), and that she was eating unhealthy and not at a good weight for her. I said she should say she was eating unhealthy and was uncomfortable at her weight instead of saying how terrible 170 is. I'm still feeling discouraged and will be mentioning it to my regular leader next week. (I find my regular leader inspiring and incredibly helpful. She has lost 140 lb. and I can identify with her.)

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Budget

I've been eating primarily local, organic, CORE foods and doing it on the USDA's Thrifty Plan for cost of food at home - just about $92 a week for my family. I went over a few weeks and under a few weeks, but my average is right about $90 for the past 6 weeks. We're adding an eater to our family, as I'm cooking lunch and dinner for my mother in law (for here or to go) in exchange for childcare when I go back to school next month. She eats here frequently anyway, but now it's a bit more of a formal arrangement and I'm adding her into our cost of food. With that addition, my weekly budget is now $119.80. Thank goodness for all the free fruits, since I bought only $73.57 this week so far.

This week, I've spent:

$26.00 for two chickens and a dozen eggs at Soul Food Farms
$33.57 for bread, polenta, yogurt, milk, applesauce, spices, spaghetti, dried tomatoes, feta cheese, a bottle of Bragg's Liquid Aminos, and an apple bar for Jax at Country Sun
$14.00 for two blocks of smoked sharp cheddar from Spring Hill Cheese

I also sent in $180.00 for the Grain CSA payment. It has been a bad couple of weeks for fishing so the whole salmon isn't in quite yet, but that will be here soon adding to our monthly budget. Also, I'll be renewing my produce CSA box at the end of the month, adding another $185.00 to the month expenditures.

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Daily Menu

Breakfast
1 slice California Style whole grain toast from Alvarado Street Bakery (1 Point)
1/2 t. butter from Spring Hill Cheese (yummmm!), 1 t. Strawberry Rhubarb jelly from Phipps Country Store (1 Point)
1 c. plain fat free Wallaby yogurt
1/4 c. steel cut oatmeal
2 apricots

Lunch
leftover Chicken cacciatore with whole wheat pasta and 1 t. olive oil
Apple from a neighbor's yard

Dinner
We ate at Fresh Choice. I had a bowl of pho noodles (1 Point for the noodles), a huge salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and a brownie (3 Points).

WPA (Weekly Points Allowance) points used today: 6
WPA points available: 32
Activity points today: 3 (Walking)
Activity points this week: 3

Daily 8 - the 8 Healthy Guidelines
1. Fruits and veggies - 5+
2. Whole grains - oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, whole grain bread
3. Milk - yes
4. Healthy oil - yes
5. Protein - yes (chicken)
6. Limit sugar and alcohol - yes
7. Water - 8+
8. Multivitamin - yes