Thursday, August 25, 2005

Making Some Changes

Molly over at Our Three Pennies begins a new series about eating healthfully. I'm looking forward to learning how her family switched to a whole grain diet. We got rid of daily sugar three years ago when my husband became diabetic, and in the last year, have used whole wheat flour almost exclusively. I'm not to the point of milling my own flour, juicing, or sprouting grains, mostly because of the cost. I'm worried I won't stick to it long enough to justify the investment in tools/supplies.

This morning I finally reached one small goal: to be awake and conversant with my husband before he walks out the door at 5:45 am. He is working so hard in his new job, putting in long days and not complaining. I want to boost his confidence as he starts his day. I want to show him how much I respect his hard work by giving him a happy send-off. Today was a great start!

A week's worth of laundry is piled up behind me, and the refrigerator is almost bare. Last night I paid bills and picked up yet another wedding gift. Why didn't I have the foresight to buy multiples of the one beautiful pitcher I found last week? Luckily, a sharp-eyed saleswoman at Dillards helped me find a Wusthof knife set that included items on the bridal registry--only this set was on the 75% off clearance table, with an additional 30% off. I think I will miss the peace of our deserted little mall when Walmart moves next door. With almost no traffic, Dillards has much to choose from in the clearance racks. It's the one department store I visit regularly. I mostly visit and rarely buy.

5 comments:

mothersong said...

I really wanted to grind my own grain, but was also worried about the expense of a grain grinder. I bought an attachment for my Kitchenaid mixer for only $89 (compared to $175 or more for a freestanding grinder.) I really do use it, and I love it, and may invest in a freestanding model later. However, it does a great job on it's own, and I will probably just keep using it.

I also bought a Vitamix and an Omega juicer at yard sales. My husband makes the best fruit smoothies out of packages of mixed fruit that we freeze ourselves. We just put melons, berries, etc into ziplocs. Pull them out, toss in the Vitamix with filtered water and they are wonderful. If it's been a long day, he might even toss in a little rum! :0

If you are interested in juicing (I highly recommend it) you can get a Juiceman Jr. new for under $100, less on eBay, often at yard sales. It does a credible job and will help you decide if you should invest more in a juicer.

Meredith said...

Mothersong, maybe you can help me out here. I found a Cuisinart juicer at the Salvation Army, but it seems like most of the fiber stays filtered out, like pulp. I'm wondering if the Vitamix blender is powerful enough to juice things like greens and carrots without having to lose the added fiber?

Anonymous said...

I have a Vitamix and I believe it will pulverize anything.

We make fruit smoothies and throw in carrots and cabbage and you'd never know.

mothersong said...

My Vitamix is at least 15 years old as far as I can tell. It really does pulverize anything. You can grind wheat in it, then put everything else in for bread and knead it.

Personally, I like less pulp usually, and there are ways you can use the pulp in recipes, etc that I use. I also feed the pulp to my dogs, because we do BARF. I have appreciated having a juicer along with the Vitamix for that reason.

I have had Freakonomics on hold at the library for a month, and haven't gotten it yet. I am so jealous! Instead I entertained myself with Living With Sheep. Since we have .25 acre in town, that entertains my husband.

Meredith said...

I really enjoyed Freakonomics--I was 90th in line to get a copy, but that only took about a month.