You’ll notice I’ve put this post under “things I love.” I love food and I am so passionate about the food revolution. I’ve reviewed the Omnivore’s Dilemma and Skinny Bitch in the Chasing Education book club. And if I haven’t mentioned the documentary Food Inc. I’m mentioning it now. Food Inc is what sparked my interest in educating myself on the foods that I put into my body.

I am not writing to preach the gospel of vegetarianism or veganism. I am writing because I think that people who educate themselves or allow themselves to be educated about the food industry in the U.S. will be able to make their own smart choices. I won’t go into the disgusting details of what exactly has to be done to get that steak or that glass of milk from a “cow” to your grocery store. Should you decide you want to know, all of the resources I’ve mentioned above are great ways to start educating yourself.

I’m writing to tell you a little bit about the way that I eat and how, even if you’re a poor graduate student, you can buy healthy food on a budget!

My philosophy is that the fewer steps away from the earth something is, the better it is for me. (Please be reasonable, I am not saying that you should consider sauteing some soil or grass!) I try to stay away from anything that comes from a can or a box and if I don’t know exactly what all of the ingredients are, you won’t find it in my pantry. This can get a little bit complicated, as almost everything that you’ll find in the center of the grocery store has magical ingredients that the average person cannot identify. If you’re contemplating starting your own food revolution, I recommend sticking to produce, lean proteins (like legumes and nuts) and whole grains.

People often comment that my diet must be so boring. Ha! I eat far more interesting meals than the average omnivore. Why just last week I had black bean chili, vegetable couscous and quinoa paella. It certainly does take a bit of effort to get into the habit of cooking full meals, but once you do, it’s more enjoyable than it is a task. It is the same as getting into the habit of exercise. The first few weeks are the hardest, but it’s so rewarding once you do!

The other comment that I get all the time is “eating healthy is so expensive.” I beg to differ. While you may initially and occasionally have to invest in some spices, you can get healthy and fresh fruits for great prices, you just have to know where to find them. Check out local farmer’s markets and produce stores for your fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables that are locally grown and in season don’t come with the extra transportation cost that is tacked on at the grocery store. Another option for less expensive produce is Aldi. Shop around for the best prices on whole grains. I’ve found that I can buy quinoa and couscous by the pound at Whole Foods and it’s significantly cheaper than buying it at the grocery store that’s nearest to me. If you plan your menus, you’ll only have to grocery shop one day a week. Yes, you might have to visit two or three stores to get everything you need a price you can afford, but your body will thank you. If you spread the word, maybe your friends will join you and you can start a food revolution in your community.

While I love food, this isn’t so much about the actual food as it is about educating ourselves and the people around us about what we are putting into our bodies. The only way that things will change whether we are talking about food or politics (it’s shocking how closely related those two things are), is if people realize why these things need to be changed and start behaving accordingly. Your local grocery store will continue to sell meat that has been put through all kinds of disgusting processes and then dyed to look fresh, until people stop buying it and demand something better. Your grocery store will keep stocking gas-ripened bananas until we make the decision to stop buying fruits and vegetables that are not in season.

Save your body. Save some money. Save the planet. Just sayin’

I could go on about this forever, but I won’t. If you’d like to know more, check out the resources I’ve mentioned in this blog post!

Check out Jamie’s Food Revolution here

OliBac - Flickr Creative Commons

I can’t believe that next week I am heading back to a work where sleep is a luxury (though I am in a mild version of that world right now!) and a clean apartment will soon be a thing of the past. Oh to keep up with 2 side jobs and three blogs be a career woman and a graduate student! I will certainly be challenged this semester. I will certainly grow professionally and academically. And I will (almost) certainly be losing my mind a few times a day. But as I head back to school visions of sugar plums techy toys dance in my head!

iPad

A giant iPhone (I would know since I have had 2 iPhones in the last month!) is what the boyfriend tells me. Well, I love my iPhone — wouldn’t it just mean more to love? I recently did some sales trainings to get a free license for Mobile Me. (I wanted the track my iPhone app, so that future iPhone thieves stand less of a chance and I didn’t want to pay $99 for it! Don’t ask how I got access to the trainings. There are some things that are better left undisclosed!) Naturally, those trainings are meant to leave you feeling you absolutely must have every apple product out there. It totally worked. The thought of  writing notes about class (and about blog posts ideas) on my iPad and then wireless syncing those notes to my MacBook Pro gets my inner geek all excited. And how cool would it be to have galleries of my work for clients to see at the swipe of a finger (see what I did there)?

MacBook Pro

Did I mention that I don’t actually have a MacBook Pro yet? I’m going to need it (I actually need two, because I think that some major fights will break out in my household if we had to share something as cool as this!) to edit those photos in my gallery and to make awesome videos of awesome stuff. (Look…anyone who says they’ve got everything all figured out is lying. So I don’t exactly have everything I’m going to use my MacBook Pro for figured out yet— don’t judge me. ) The new MacBook Pro has a glass trackpad that allows it to use multi-touch technology (like the iPhone and the iPad)– no buttons! (Read about it here.)  I know that I sound like an Apple fan girl right now. In reality, the only Apple products I’ve ever owned are my iPhones (all three of them…ugh. Yep…still bitter.) and my iPod (age 5). But Apple’s discreetly feminine branding is working its charm on me. I’m a marketer; I know exactly what they are trying to do. I’m falling for it. Kudos, Apple!

Digital Pen

This may or may not be a more practical gadget than the previous two. I’ve been debating whether or not to invest in a digital pen for over a year now. While there are a few brands that make digital pens, the only one I’ve seen in action is by Livescribe. The pen records voice while you take notes. Later you can click back on different parts of your notes and the pen will play back what was being said at the time that you took that note. The pen also allows you to upload your notes as a PDF file. There are two major drawbacks (thus, my year long “to buy or not to buy” debate persists). You have to write in the special Livescribe notebooks for the pen to work. (I’m sure you can’t bet these notebooks at Staples for $1) The other drawback is the price tag. How often do you lose pens? How often are your pens stolen? How pissed would you be if the pen you lost (or the pen that was stolen) had cost you $150? Exactly! While I’m not ready to financially commit to this gadget, I would be totally stoked if it were gifted to me. Are you there Lightscribe? It’s me Laura!

I bet you can’t wait for more of these! (Check out my new YouTube Channel, if you really want more of my silly iPhone videos.)

On Monday, I spent some time with some wonderful friends; most of them were under the age of 10.

How simple and lovely the lives of children!

Despite conning their brother into eating a lemon, and putting their ice-cold hands underneath his shirt, they just might be the world’s best (and cutest sisters!).

photo evidence of kids-night-out on my desk at work

“Mom, just tell me it’s ok,” he says after Mom tells him to apologize to the waitress for making a mess.

“I’m just spitting at the sky Mom. See? I’m spitting at you, sky,” he says after being reprimanded for spitting.

I may not want children of my own, but I sure do love a refreshing evening with other people’s children. If only life’s problems could still be resolved with my Mom telling me that it’s ok, what a different life I would lead.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/booleansplit/ / CC BY 2.0

I feel terrible. I have no photo documentary on my ravenous pig culinary experience. You may be able to excuse me when I say that the fresh-out-of-the-oven gruyere biscuits with sea salt butter and the cooked-to-perfection-burger with blue cheese and perfectly- caramelized-into-a-spread onions  taunted me. I was thinking with my taste buds and not with my camera. But this gives me an excuse to go back very soon!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nate/ / CC BY 2.0

In addition to my new found passion for the gastro-pub concept, I have uncovered my love for breakfast. I know. I know. Breakfast: the most important meal of the day. I’ve been skipping it since 1998. I thought filling myself up with coffee instead of breakfast would boost my metabolism and cut my calories. All of that changed this weekend when I prepared a bowl of steel cut oats with a light sprinkling of chia seeds and a fruit medley.  It was this weekend that I became super woman.  After my workout, I biked 13 miles in a single afternoon and I wasn’t hungry again until long after my usual lunch time. In conclusion, I want to give a warm welcome to breakfast into my daily routine.

Last (and maybe even least) on the list of things I loved this weekend is the Super Bowl. While I am not a big fan of football, I am a huge fan of the awesome company, loads of junk food and inevitable comic relief that comes with Super Bowl Sunday. This year on the comic relief menu: my promiscuous puppy.

the one on top is mine...hehe

I hope you had a lovely weekend and I promise that in the next month (or two!) I will return to the ravenous pig and give you a REAL review with photos of the truffled fries and everything!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anniemole/ / CC BY 2.0

Web content…what a wonderful world…web content ain’t no passing craze!

I’ve been so blog-happy lately. Not only with updating the blog (I am fairly certain this is the most consistent I have ever been with any of my many other blogging-attempts), but with reading other people’s blogs. If you haven’t looked lately, you check out my blog envy list. I even added new categories this week.

I’ve always been one to use the internet to communicate and research. I never thought I would be cyber-stalking complete strangers. I am cooking their recipes and admiring their cute babies. I am being inspired by their fitness goals, envious of their wardrobes and charmed by their…charm!

If I told you that I lurk around following the story of people’s lives, their talents, their successes and sometimes their failures, you would probably think I was a creeper. If I told you I read taza and husband’s blog…not as creepy.

Who are you stalking? Why are you stalking? Who do you think I should be stalking? Do you mind if I stalk you?

]]> http://chasingeducation.com/2010/01/cyber-stalking/feed/ 6 http://chasingeducation.com/2009/12/shameless-loves-and-molly-yeh/ http://chasingeducation.com/2009/12/shameless-loves-and-molly-yeh/#comments Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:18:42 +0000 L http://chasingeducation.com/?p=443

I shamelessly stole Molly's logo...err hope she doesn't mind.

If you’ve checked out my blog envy list, you must have come across the blog my name is yeh under the category “just plain charming.”

And just plain charming it is!

This week Molly featured my list of shameless loves–such a cute idea! So head over to my name is yeh and show Molly Yeh some love!