Preparations Part 2: Shopping List

Today I am going to share the rough draft of my shopping list. These are the things I am planning to need for the Real Food Challenge. The challenge is perfectly timed to be a few days after I begin living full-time at my new apartment. This means that the shopping list is basically going to be all the food I will have in the house (which will hopefully keep some temptations at bay).

This is also food for a single person who happens to be a vegetarian so if you’re cooking for more people or eat meat your list would probably look a lot different. I also didn’t break it down into completely logical shopping categories but went more with types of food since that’s what makes the most sense to me. Also, some of the things seem very specific but it’s because they are ingredients for particular recipes.

 

Fruits, Veggies, and Herbs

–       Bag of frozen berries

–       Grapefruit (3)

–       Apples (3)

–       No sugar added organic applesauce (if I can find it and it’s not insanely over-priced)

–       Strawberries

–       Grapes

–       Maybe a mango or some clementines

–       Lettuce

–       Spinach

–       Cucumber

–       Pepper

–       Carrots

–       Maybe some celery

–       2 minced scallions (Do they sell them minced? If not, just 2 scallions)

–       Minced garlic

–       Dill

–       Chives

–       1 or 2 russet potatoes

–       1 onion

–       28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes

–       ½ lb of Yukon Gold potatoes (may or may not do this recipe)

–       Vegetable broth

 

Dairy and Eggs

–       Large container of plain Stonyfield Yogurt

–       Dozen eggs

–       Organic milk

–       Organic cream cheese

–       Mozzarella cheese

–       Other organic cheeses for sandwiches and snacks

–       Ricotta cheese

–       Cream

–       Sour cream

–       Butter

–        Buttermilk

 

Grains and Nuts

–       Whole wheat pasta

–       Special bread my mom found that they sell at market

–       Pita bread (have to be careful, not sure I will find any that will actually follow the rules)

–       Popcorn kernels

–       Triscuits

–       Other safe crackers to look for: Wasa Rye Crispbread, Ryvita Rye, and Finn Crisp

–       Rice cakes that are safe: Lundberg, Koyo, Real Foods Corn Thins

–       Organic peanut butter

–       Steel cut rolled oats

–       Raw sliced almonds

–       Raw cashew pieces

–       Raw sunflower seeds

–       Raw sesame seeds (can you tell I’m making granola bars?)

 

Baking and Toppings

–       Honey

–       Canola oil

–       Whole wheat flour

–       Baking powder

–       Rasberry vinegar

–       Walnut oil

–       Almond extract

–       Balsamic vinegar

–       Oil

–       Hummus

–       Sea salt

Preparations Part 1: Meal Ideas

So following the 10 Days of Real Food challenge is going to require some preparation (big surprise, huh?)

First off, I needed to figure out what the heck I was going to eat. The website offers a lot of ideas with full instructions on making things that need to be made like crackers or granola bars or even full meals. I also found some ideas on other blogs and am also planning to just tweak some of the things I already eat. I would imagine that is a key to succeeding in this challenge, you don’t need to completely change your diet, just start by adjusting some of the things you already eat (like switching to whole-wheat flour and whole-grain pasta).

Anyway, after planning out food options I made a list of all of the things I would need in order to make these things as well as what will need to be made before the challenge starts.

Today I’m just going to share my meal ideas list but if you’re interested in the shopping list or schedule, be sure to check back.

Breakfast:

–       Homemade whole-wheat waffles with strawberries (I plan on making a batch and then freezing them so I don’t       have to make them in the morning before my 8am class)

–       Organic yogurt with homemade fruit syrup (for flavor) frozen (because I love it frozen)

–       Grapefruit

Packed Lunch Ideas (I’m sure there will be many more variations):

–       Hummus, pita (or crackers), veggie pieces (cucumber, pepper, carrots), and grapes

–       Soup with a piece of toast or crackers and fruit

–       Cheese, crackers, apple slices and celery with peanut butter

–       Peanut butter sandwich, homemade potato sticks, salad (with homemade dressing), and fruit

–       Pasta salad, nuts and fruit

–       Salad, fruit, and cheese

–       Salad, fruit, and a hard boiled egg

At Home Meal Ideas:

*add a veggie and a fruit as sides to the ones that need it

–       Homemade soup with grilled cheese

–       Toasted bread with hummus and cheese

–       Veggie cream cheese (may have to make this) on bread or crackers

–       Pesto grilled cheese

–       Pasta salad (some yummy ones: cucumber dill and caprese)

–       Pasta with pesto

–       Pasta with homemade alfredo sauce

–       Pasta with butter and garlic

–       Homemade quiche

–       My mom’s mac and cheese

–       Tortellini (Buitoni has one that fits the criteria) with pesto or alfredo (Ooo or maybe even pesto alfredo?)

–       Ricotta mashed potatos (more of a side but they sound yummy!)

–       Potato skins

–       Peanut butter sandwich

Packed Snack Ideas (to bring to class since I generally can’t make it more than an hour or so without getting hungry):

–       homemade granola bars

–       crackers

–       cheese

–       popcorn

–       fruit

–       homemade potato sticks

–       nuts

Not-necessarily-packed Snack Ideas:

–       smoothies

–       crackers and cheese

–       fruits and veggies with hummus or peanut butter

–       popcorn

–       homemade breads

–       potato sticks

–       nuts and seeds

–       hummus and crackers

–       toast

–       hard boiled egg

So there you have it, what I will be eating for ten days. Doesn’t look so bad to me!

Think of something I missed? I would love to hear if you have any other “real food”, vegetarian meal or snack ideas!

Hello and welcome…

…to the beginnings of my blog! I have been reading blogs for the past year or so now and thought I’d finally jump in and make my own. The only reason it took this long was the thought that no one would read it. Then I just decided, who cares? If nothing else, this will be a nice way for me to document the things I’ve made, places I’ve gone, and thoughts I’ve had. If you’ve decided to join me, thank you. I hope to entertain, inspire, share with and learn from you!

On the off chance some people reading this don’t know me (and even for some of those who do), I thought I’d leave a little introduction of myself for you. My name is Becky and I’m a senior in college majoring in Elementary and Early Childhood Education. If everything were to work out exactly as I’d wish, after graduating I’d like to pursue a certification (and better yet, secure a job) in Montessori education. Don’t know what Montessori is? Check out these websites for some more information: http://www.montessori.edu/, http://www.amshq.org/, http://www.michaelolaf.net/. As a matter of fact, one of the reasons I started reading blogs was to learn more about Montessori.

Aside from school, I love to make things! From sewing ,

to sprucing up old furniture,

to making pumpkin pie from scratch,

there are times when my hands are quite literally aching to make something. That being said, I am a COMPLETE beginner in any and all of the things mentioned. I didn’t really begin my sewing, refurbishing, cooking sprees until the past year or two, when my first apartment offered me a “blank canvas” so to speak and of course, a need to cook my own food. Since then, I have moved to my second apartment, from a five-bedroomer  (with 4 other roommates, mind you) right off campus to a two bedroom, two-story apartment in the city. I’m also very interested in using and creating natural, organic, and environmentally friendly products.

I think that’s a pretty decent introduction and I’m also pretty sure I will make some posts that go into better detail of most of the things I’ve mentioned so if you wanted to hear more about something (and even if you didn’t 😉 ), keep checking back!

Also stay tuned for more information on the event/project/craziness that inspired me to finally make a blog (hint: It has to do with the blog’s name).