Fritzy 22's Journal, 12 Apr 22

Stay warm. We are in the same cold front here on the Canadian praries. It was a big one. Wow on your grocery list... very healthy... I wrote mine today.... peppers, chese avocados, fish, pork, frozen veggies, greek yogurt, ketchup, yam, rutabega, celery, green beans, I am planning on making a turkey this weekend with some veggie sides. The proteins are optionals and will depend on sales. Groceries are getting pricy.  

Liv - I bought some frozen corn because I think you mentioned it in a response to one of my posts. I also bought frozen green beans, but they are for Bobby. Groceries are getting expenses. I was going to buy a yam - I love to slice and roast them but if I buy too much produce a lot of it gets wasted. Next trip to the store. Hope you can stay warm! I think I am going to pull my flannel comforter out of the closet and put it back on the bed for the next week at least. 

Yes gradual change will be better for your digestion! You do need to add some fat when you eat vegetables too, so I roast most veggies with a splash of olive oil and they keep better as well as can be frozen. Maybe add some beans - canned ones, add them to anything including stir fries or salads. I cooked a can of baked beans with a can of diced tomatoes and a half pound of ground beef. No spices really, because I do just like the taste of the baked beans. Makes a really mild chili dinner. 

Abba - I think I'm going to make sure that plants are the biggest part of my diet by having them at every meal. It will take me awhile to get there all the time, but today was a good day. I get fat in my diet - not necessarily added to vegetables. I have eggs and some meat and there is fat is most salad dressings I use. Sometimes I use olive oil when I stir fry. The extra fruit I've been eating is where so much fiber is. I've always liked blackberries and raspberries for that reason but I just over did it the first couple of days. 

Wonderful work. 

Love your haul from today, Fritzy! I end up shopping every 4-5 days so that the produce stays fresh -- especially the red raspberries, blackberries and strawberries. When cherry season arrives, I buy my weight in them 😄🍒. Spring & summer are the easiest seasons to adopt healthy eating habits. 

I got some blackberries from Sam's Club a while back that were huge and Soo good. I remember you talking about the berries you bought!  

Just a note about bok choy - you can slice it in very thin strips and use it as salad and you can use it in stir fry - it is good every where. When I have more fresh fruit or veggies than I can consume - I prepare them and freeze them on a cookie sheet and then bag them up for future immediate use.  

Blackberry jam is SIMPLE to make — only takes a few minutes, seriously and seriously good. I was in Oregon a couple of years ago where they use blackberry bushes as freeway deciders and street deviders. The vines were climbing over the guard rails on bridges, entire old barns completely covered with fruited vines from bottom to roof. I lived in Salem for seven years as a kid and we picked berries every summer for the farmers. My mom made every kind of food/dessert imaginable with blackberries. Cobbler with heavy cream over the top.  

I really must cheer you on with the changes you're making! Yes, groceries are getting expensive. I keep telling myself, though, that I can pay my grocer or pay my doctor. I'd rather pay the grocer 😉 

Thank you Judy! Thanks Bananas - I agree that spring and summer make it easier to eat healthy. I'm less likely to want to turn the oven out and heat up the house and love watermelon and peaches. I have 2 cherry trees. This year I didn't even get blossoms on the tree because of the weather. Usually I see the cherries and I keep watching for them to be ripe enough to pick. The birds get them the day before I go to pick them! Diana - I bought 3 smaller containers of blackberries yesterday. They weren't as good as the big container (from a different farm or orchard) but still good. Thanks Jergens - I didn't know whether to eat the leaves or stalks. Assume I need to eat both although it kind of reminds me of celery and I don't eat those leaves. Thanks Kenna - I looked up blackberry jam recipes after you commented on it before. I had blackberry vines all over my yard when I first moved here. The deer ate most of them before I had a chance. Later a new yard care service removed all the vines. I notice some growing back and may tell the guys to just leave them alone. I love the blackberries from the store but they are so expensive. I'd rather eat them than cook with them - I assume it takes more than one $5 container to make jam so I'm okay, for now, with the jar of jam from the grocery store. I really don't use it often. Writingwyo - I like your comment that you'd rather pay the grocer than your doctor. I'll remember that next time I get upset about the cost of food! 

In the not to distant future it is not going to be just a matter of the cost of food but the availability of a lot of foods  

Kenna - That's why my pantry is full. I've noticed plenty of time some shelves are empty at the grocery store. And some of the produce is ugly. I had a hard time finding a yellow onion that didn't look like I would only get to use about half of it. They are often out of milk and half and half at my little grocery market close to home. I found out it is only delivered twice a week.