Spring Cleaning....the pantry

With the kids wrapping up their spring semesters, I've decided I'd better get my act together and dive into spring cleaning.  This is especially important to me this year because I have spent the last several months recognizing some things that we as a family, really need to improve upon.  The thought being that we all need to start some better habits that will hopefully go with the kids back to college, as well.  Dare to dream!

Yesterday, I started with the pantry.  I have to preface this by saying, I do clean out my pantry at least once/year....I really do!  That being said, for the life of me...I cannot figure out how we would have had things that expired well over a year ago.  It was awful!  I can't even tell you how much food we threw out because frankly, it's embarrassing.  Needless to say, it was quite an emotional experience for me.  The amount of money I was throwing away made me sick.  Knowing that I couldn't donate the food to someone who really needed it, made it even worse.  Oh yes, the days of going to Whole Foods with my youngest - without a list, are behind us!  This family needs to make changes - real quick.

no...this is not my pantry!  ;)

Perhaps it would not have impacted me in such a way, had I not thrown away so many trash bags filled with food.  I decided to take a deep breath, forgive myself and vow to make changes.  I'm now looking into all the things we can do to stop being so wasteful.

I'm not saying I'm now a  different person but I do think I will look at things much differently.  Do you have any tips?

On a happier note, it's FRIDAY!!!  Happy Friday to you!  

Meal Planning at it's finest

While I was so excited to get those 3 Paleo cookbooks in a previous post, I must admit that I hadn't gotten much farther than postmarking pages and highlighting some recipes.  I am ready to embrace this new way of life but feel like I've been floundering a bit (no pun intended) as I've been traveling and have had college kids home visiting.  I've come to the realization that I need to get some sort of meal planning system down.

Enter Plan to Eat!  This app is a fantastic meal planning tool.  You can upload recipes from your computer with PTE's bookmarklet.  You can drag the recipes to the PTE calendar and PTE creates a shopping list per the week or dates specified, according to your menu plan.  This is EXACTLY what I've been looking for!  There is a small fee, however they give you a free 30 day trial so if you don't like it as much as I do, you don't need to purchase.  There is no app (yet) for iPad or iPhone, however you can pull it up on Safari and then set the site on your home screen.  Give it a try!  I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Paleo or Bust!

My latest amazon order arrived today...a box filled with 3 Paleo Cookbooks.  I'm practically jumping up and down!  Okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but they look fabulous!

Against All Grain, The Slim Palate Paleo Cookbook, Well Fed Paleo Recipes

After hearing a number of Paleo success stories, I feel that I'm ready to take the plunge.  To give you a little background, I have been dealing with various auto-immune diseases for the past 19 years.  Approximately 4 years ago, I was (finally) diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease - having had symptoms for approximately 15 years.  Since then, I have had treatment from a Lyme specialist but between my thyroid disease, Lyme disease & treatment and the fact that I'm over 40 yrs old, I have gained much more weight than I'm comfortable with.  For me, it's not just about how I look (though I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me) - I know that I'm not in good heath and continue to experience joint pain and fatigue.  Anyway, I've heard a lot of great things about the Paleo Lifestyle and am hoping I can add myself as a success, as well.

I'm a very visual person, and I must say, if these books aren't inspiration to go Paleo, I don't know what is!  The pictures are beautiful in all 3 books.  Here's a sampling from two of them:

rosemary fried eggs with garlic-lemon spinach
The Slim Palate

asparagus soup with crispy shallots
The Slim Palate

chocolate berry granola
Against All Grain

I think the 3 books I chose will provide a nice education on Paleo and a variety of good recipes to eat that will help me take "baby steps" into this new lifestyle.  (I really think I'm going to end up eliminating nightshade veggies as well but let's not get too crazy!)

Speaking of crazy - I'm heading down to South Carolina to see the ballerina this week, so I believe it would be a little crazy to begin my new "lifestyle" before Saturday, once I've returned home.  Still, I will try to order Paleo-friendly options when we are out & about.

Between that, and my DoTerra oils protocol, I think I should be in good shape by May!  Fingers crossed!

Whitney English Day Designer

I guess it might be obvious by my lack of blogging lately, that things have gotten a little cray-cray in my life.  So many projects up in the air and so much to keep track of.  I can usually handle using my icalendar for keeping track of things, but lately I have been feeling like I need a little something more.  I decided to go back to a traditional planner to use in conjunction with my Apple icalendar.

I considered the usual suspects: Filofax, Kate Spade,  Lilly Pulitzer,  Erin Condren...and settled on Whitney English.  I have been a fan of Whitney English stationary for years and have seen some great reviews on her planner.  

While I would have liked the pages to be a tad thicker, I have to say I am pleased with the layout, size and heavy duty cover.  The sweet velveteen ribbon with the packaging is a lovely touch.  (I'm all about presentation!)  In addition, Whitney English gives tips in a webinar to help utilize the planner to the best of your abilities.  If you are interested in purchasing one, you can find them on Whitney English on Etsy

I'm excited to give it a try!  How do you keep yourself organized?