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is a blog and resource site about learning to live sustainably and organically for LESS THAN $5/day in a big city. Look around - check out recipes, shopping lists and tips, other resources, and money saving ideas!




Saturday, September 11, 2010

Burning Man 2010: Oh! I'm not a caterpillar! I'm a Butterfly!

A free-write on my metamorphosis: warts and all


there's just so much to write, she thought.  she was paralized by the enormity of it.  this was one of those things she could easily file in her "whoa that was cool" folder, talk about too much, get too redundant with it, and negate it's importance in doing so.  but she wouldn't.  she might not even be able to, come to think of it.  she, for the first time ever, was simply, kindly, and absolutely... herself.  and the unbelievable part about it was that she LIKED herself at its core.  She liked who she was, she liked her intentions, she liked how she related to people, and she liked what she did.  She respected that person and enjoyed how it felt.  She was proud of her core self.  She wanted to be more like it in her everyday life.

She loved her body.  It wasn't perfect, but that's what made it charming.  She was a nerd in all the sexiest ways.  She exuded her sexuality through her brains and she was powerful.  She was a giver.  She was a receiver when she wanted to be and she didn't feel guilty in doing so.  She was open and attentive, a multi-tasker, and a doer.  She wasn't afraid to say no, and she was certainly not afraid to say yes.  The little bumps in the road didn't phase her, and when they did; well, she dealt with those hurdles as though they were beautiful babies who needed a bath.  

She realized the things she didn't love about herself in everyday life were all symptoms of the past that no longer held importance.  They were protective walls for empty rooms that had long since lost their necessity.  She realized she could knock those walls down.  

She needed walls, here and there.  But they didn't have to be permanent, and they certainly didn't need to be made of steel.  Some of the ones she'd built were in the direct way of her creativity flow, her trust, her desires, and her strength.  She was much too fearful of pain to hold any proportionate meaning.  She was also much too adaptive emotionally, and much too unadaptive, professionally.  

But, she could let these things go - tear down those walls - if she finally came to terms with those demons from her past.  She was the baggage carrier of someone else's baggage.  It was not her identity at all - just the mirrored perception of someone else's pain.  Nothing but droppable baggage!  Not reality, at all.  

So, she dropped it. 

She dropped it by first opening up.  Being herself, even when it felt obtuse or invasive.  Realizing it never was obtuse or invasive - simplycalled obtuse and invasive by the reflectee; a perception from an person on the extremely sensitive side of the spectrum.  She had always been good-intentioned, and she had always been intelligent.  High energy, but not invasive.  

And in her past, she'd quickly learned to control these "outbursts".  And she'd stopped being creative so she would stop being annoying.  She stopped searching for answers when she realized she'd been asking too many questions.  And she silenced herself.  And she asked the questions in class, instead of in life.  She asked when she knew the rules of asking, and could control herself.  She explored emotions and characters on the stage, instead of the living room.  And eventually, on the page, instead of the stage.  

And she was sensitive to rejection.  

But her ears were blind to praise.  

She was trying not to make a "blip" on that radar, 'cause "blips" are ridiculously annoying sounds.

And all of those constructions,  Those adaptations,  Those negative evolutions, and Those Walls were created to protect herself from something that wasn't hers to protect.  She was Free.

She had to let it go.  So she did.

It wasn't her fault.  It wasn't her baggage.  It wasn't her puzzle.  It wasn't her responsibility.  It wasn't hers.  She was free.

So she proceeded exploring this brand new world with the person she now was.  This bare-boned, strong-but-too-skinny rucksack of a woman.  She was a tiny, weak, beaming ray of sunlight that exploded with all that good in her that was being stifled by the now-combusted baggage.  Here she was, the second-to-last step in the Hero's Journey.  A resurrection - skeletal-but-standing.  Light in the darkness.  She knew she could nurture this good in her, and grow strong with light.  She needed to flex those muscles and keep the baggage from stifling her again.  She could let it go - instead of carrying it, she could help others burn it for themselves, or at least help them drop it.  

She smelled the dusty air.  She belonged here.


Okay, so I understand that this is a little off-topic for my blog... but I just had to post this little free-write I did upon my return to NYC from the playa.


Plus, consider this: Burning Man is an entirely commerce-free environment, and I spent about $20 in total for food during the week; the rest was gifted to me.  How's THAT for cheaply green??

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Prepping

Well, hello again!

I've had a couple months of splurging, but the nice thing about this blog is that when I need to come back to it, it's still here, full of recipe and shopping ideas. 

At this point, it doesn't even really matter to me if anyone else is reading it - I was in need of some meal inspirations, and my old self has provided exactly what I needed.

As I expected, August is a tight month for me.  I'm heavy into prep for Burning Man, and I need all the extra cash I can get.  I'm in a little bit of credit card debt right now (nothing I can't handle), and still have all those pesky monthly taxes and student loans to be dealing with.  I bought my plane ticket last month (finally), which put me in the hole.  Plus, my buddy Andy is staying with me while he looks for an apartment and a job, so we're both in a "the-less-we-spend-on-tasty-food-the-better" situation.

So, what else can a cheaply green girl do, but make BURRITOS!  I altered the recipe a little and made 8 fine burritos using short grain brown rice (with lime), 2 cans of black beans, finely chopped onion and red pepper, and some nice fresh organic garlic.  This time I layered some guacamole in, and topped it all off with cheese.

 Yum Yum!

Monday, June 28, 2010

What a Difference 2 Months Make

Almost 2 months ago, I posted my last blog entry on this site.

In the last 2 months, I've managed to let go of many of the good habits I'd acquired during my time blogging.

My bank account today is in negative numbers.

I've been eating foods that don't make me feel good.

I've become, once again, addicted to sugars, fats, carbs, and other unnecessary foods.

I've felt depressed and bogged down.

I was thinking seriously about going vegan, but realized this weekend (over a plate of bacon) that this was not in my foreseeable future.

In a nutshell, I've succumbed to everything that big food business wants me to  succumb to.  My body CRAVES things that cost a lot and ultimately are not only unnecessary, but harmful.

So, tomorrow I will go shopping.

I will overcome cravings.

And I will get back on track.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

New Format!

I realized recently that with all the extra jobs I've been taking on, I've had much less time to be dedicating to blogging.  For this reason, I'm going to try a new format.  Instead of blogging everyday, I'm going to reduce the number of blogs I post and make each one a little more concentrated and focused on the essence of Cheaply Green NYC - the best tips, ideas, recipes, shopping suggestions, coupons, etc that I can muster.

So, I'll still be posting about specific days and how much I spend, but I will also add a mix of just simple ideas and thoughts.

I'll also try my best to recap each week's finances and meal breakdowns.

More soon!!!

Friday, April 30, 2010

Day 32: Making Home

Just a quick note to say Mike and I had a nice Bed Bath and Beyond trip to get sheets, window dressings, and some small furniture for the apartment in anticipation of doing some subletting.

We're excited to start subletting his place because we just love hanging here so much that it'll be nice to share.  Every time our friends come over, someone says "This place has such a good vibe".  And the fact of the matter is, it does! We're psyched about putting in the new window dressings, and glad that the $$$ we spent on making this place even better is going to come back to us!

We'll be packing up for my apartment (Lenny and all) for our first weary travelers, who are arriving on Wednesday and seem really cool.  Yay!

On a CheaplyGreen note... I need to go shopping in a BIG way - I've managed to scrape the remnants and eat just fine, but last night I buckled and bought a $7 sandwich.  Not good to be busy and broke, 'cause busy tends to win out when it comes to food.  I'll be in Baltimore until late Saturday night on a gig, and babysitting all Sunday, but Monday is about to be a CRAZY shopping day.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Day 31: Oceans

Money Spent: $22
Total in food eaten: $6

Breakfast: English muffin with peanut butter and jam ($0)
Lunch: Pizza burrito ($0)
Dinner: Tilapia w/ couscous and asparagus ($6)

I've definitely reached a point now where I'm starting to need to buy some groceries.  I've been eating a lot of these cheese burritos in varying form for lunch and I'm getting a little sick of them.  I went almost 2 full weeks on one $36 grocery trip, but a lot of that was because we've had free lunch at work.

What is a pizza burrito, you ask?  Burrito wrap on stove. Sprinkle with garlic powder.  Cover middle with pizza sauce (or tomato sauce), cover sauce with grated cheese.  Put hot sauce on cheese.  Cook for 4 or so minutes.  Wrap.  Eat.  

Anyway, after a day of running around at work, my friend Rachael and I met up and went to see Oceans.  It was pretty amazing and much less Disney than I expected (though the credit song is full-on Disnastic: teenagers - presumably with too-nice hair - creating loose metaphors between nature and inspirational motivation: "make a waaaaave".  Ahem.  Back to food...)
When Rachael and I lived together in Queens in 2007, we were both living a little cheaply green.  This was around the first time I started hearing about freeganism and the whole "low impact" movement, so we used to eat this amazing little meal like... 4 times a week.  It was just a filet of tilapia (which is usually around $3-4), couscous (back then it was from a box - $1.29) (, and asparagus ($2.50/bunch).  We used a lot of lemon and garlic and salt and pepper .


as per usual, my photos suck... I'm working on it.

Rachael and I went to Whole Foods and spent a collective $14 on dinner (plus a bottle of olive oil, which I didn't count).  We got 2 cups bulk Middle Eastern couscous, 4 fillets of tilapia, a lemon, a clove of garlic, and a bunch of asparagus. This made dinner for both of us (could've fed 1-2 more) and left a cup of couscous.  

Rachael took the couscous prior to boiling it and sort of fried it up a little in some olive oil.  It gave it this really nice browned look and it tasted almost buttery.  Really good plan.

I'll post the recipe soon.  Working on some confusing html stuff... 


Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Day 30: A Month of Cheaply Green!

Hey everyone!

It's been a month today of living on less than $5 a day and eating organic (or at least extremely wholesome) foods.

I've spent a total of $114.31 on groceries this month (see my shopping lists)
This comes out to $3.81/day.  AND I still have groceries leftover!

I've been a little MIA thanks to an extremely busy weekend - I was in Allentown/Bethlehem on Saturday with Mike doing a kid's festival, then back in NYC working a bar mitzvah.  Sunday was spent working media for the Wagner Society of New York, and I worked my regular job and a babysitting gig (for the bar mitzvah people) on Monday.

Needless to say, I've been making a little extra dough and sleeping REALLY well.

Just a few highlights:
  • David (who I did the Wagner thing with) handed me $35 in gift cards to Applebees and Coldstone at the end of the day.  While neither are exactly healthy, free food is free food.
  • Today I received a nice free sample of Kashi Go Lean Crunch! (I went to their website and signed up for it about 3 weeks ago)
  • Last night I used a bunch of random freezer food and pasta to come up with a lovely little garlic and olive oil pasta dish.  I cooked frozen broccoli with garlic and olive oil, then added a little chopped organic chicken thigh until it was just undercooked.  Then I added some fusilli noodles to the saucepan and cooked the whole thing for a few minutes.  YUM.  and CHEAP!
  • Mike and I have had a few responses about subletting his apartment for weekends!
  • I've made approximately $450 in EXTRA work this month, which has been fun and challenging, and doesn't feel like too much extra time.  I'm feeling better about myself and my abilities in general.
  • Shannon, my cousin, gave me a big bag of really cute clothes that she is getting rid of (since she'd moving in with me and downsizing)
  • I was able to pay my step-dad my monthly student loan repayment in cash from my extra work this month!

Friday, April 23, 2010

Day 25: America's Got Talent. Well, sort of.

Money spent: $20
Amount in food eaten: $.15

Breakfast: English muffin with peanut butter ($0 - free from work)
Lunch: Cheese wrap ($0 - free from work)
Dinner: Tuna on crackers ($.15)

After work, I met up with Mike and my friend Julie to go to a taping of America's Got Talent.  I described the experience after we left (5 acts in) as "grape gum".  It was fun and artificial and sugary sweet, but ultimately it lost it's flavor and I realized it was probably going to someday cause some sort of cancer...  It was awesome to see Julie, and the tickets were free!

After the taping, we ate some of Mike's famous tuna and headed across the street to our friend Lindsey's birthday party.  I was proud of myself for all the money saving I've been doing, so I had a few beers and racked up a tab of $20.  It was worth it.  I had a great time.  I talked about my freegan dive with a bunch of people - not sure if they thought I was insane or not, but everyone was really interested.







Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Day 24: Final Cut Pro

Money Spent: $0
Amount in food eaten: $0

Breakfast: Yogurt, English muffin with peanut butter and jam, and COFFEE ($0)
Lunch: nada
Dinner: Egg sandwich on English muffin and rice pudding ($0)

Work was a little nutso today.  I started it off well, though, by making a really nice breakfast when I arrived (it only took about 5 minutes to prepare and kept me going until 6:00).  I even brewed some coffee that I found in the cupboard from months ago.  It was still totally good, but would have otherwise just been chucked.  

It's crazy how much food I've wasted, thinking back... 

Anyway, my day at work was incredibly busy for various reasons, so by the time 4:30 rolled around and I had to get going, I realized I hadn't eaten lunch (and was still fine)...

I went to Queens to work for David again.  When I arrived, I made a nice organic egg sandwich with cheese on a whole wheat English muffin (which was free to me, of course :) ).  I did some data entry stuff for David, and then he finally pulled out the big guns.  He decided now is the time for teaching me Final Cut Pro (finally).  David and I have worked together on a slew of movies and film jobs through his production company, Match Productions.  We've always said that I should be learning to edit through FCP, and now's the time.

I had a tutorial and then sat for about 45 minutes and went through some very funny footage from a cooking show they have been filming.  I'm psyched about finally learning this - definitely something I can use in future jobs.  I walked away with a hunk of cash and a dark chocolate Easter bunny.  Not exactly organic, but totally FREE.

When I left, I found an e-mail from a college student in Florida asking to interview me about my Freegan Dive.  How cool!  We had a phone interview and I'm looking forward to reading her paper :)

Mike and I are about to tuck into The Devil and Daniel Johnson which just got Netflix'd to us. 



Day 23: First Freegan Dinner

Money spent: $0
Amount in food eaten: $.20

Breakfast: Bagel ($0)
Lunch: Cheese burrito ($0)
Dinner: Quinoa w/ white beans, roasted parsnips, and roasted kale ($.20)

That's right, folks.  The only thing I ate today that came out of my pocket was the quinoa, which was fluffy, delicious, and only $.20.  

My morning bagel, scavenged from last night's freegan dive was only a tiny bit less than perfect - just a day-old bagel.  I put a little jam from Mike's fridge on it and was good to go.

For lunch, I used the work groceries to make a yummy cheese wrap - I put a burrito wrap on the skillet and covered it in some shredded cheese, and added half an organic tomato, chopped.  I topped it with a little hot sauce and cooked it up for a few minutes.  Sorry I didn't take a picture - it was great, though!

After work, I headed to Queens to work for a few hours for my friends David and Michael.  I hadn't seen either in a while, so it was great to catch up.  Michael joined me when I left and hung for the rest of the night.

We were hungry, so we munched on freegan grapes (I had SO many).  Mike had the brilliant idea to cover them in water and put a few drops of citrus essential oils on them.  The oils made their flavor pop like no grapes I've ever eaten.  Whoa.

For dinner, I made Mike, Michael, and myself a whole meal from my freegan dive!  I'd NEVER made parsnips before (I had to look them up by searching "white carrot" to even know they WERE parsnips).  I chopped them into fry shapes and arranged them with the kale on a baking pan (yep, I confirmed it to be kale... this is the problem with shopping out of a dumpster.  If you're not educated on your greens, you could wind up with a mouthful of dandelion leaves...). 

I drizzled them with olive oil and garlic Season-All, and then put a little ume plum vinegar on the kale.  I baked them for about 15 minutes while I cooked quinoa and beans on the stove (the beans were something I scavenged from my apartment's "not gonna eat this" section).

Parsnip fries, kale, and beans on quinoa

The kale was tasty, but I don't think I cooked it quite right - the tips were delicious and crunchy, but the middle was kind of tough.  I'll have to look it up.  Anyone have any good recipes?
The parsnips were SO good - definitely something to pursue.

We had a great night hanging, and Mike's friends Bradley and Matt stopped by later.  We all took a nice stroll around Times Square and laughed our asses off pretty much the entire time.  It was so great to reconnect with Michael (it's been a long time since we've hung out).  

Great, great, great day.



Monday, April 19, 2010

Day 22, (con't) - Freegan Dive!

Update!  

Derrick and I just returned from our first successful freegan dive! (What is Freeganism?)


Brother Derrick von Derrick, with a tray of carrot sushi

We walked around Hells Kitchen for about 15 minutes scoping out places we figured we might find some dumpsters.  Food Emporium and The Little Pie Company didn't have anything on the curb, so we spun around and headed uptown to another Food Emporium on 48th.  We'd seen dumpsters there when we were scoping out sites last week, and a lot of the freegan blogs say it's a great site.

We got there to find another person foraging, who, upon realizing we were fellow foragers, pointed to the last dumpster and told us "there are some good grapes over there."  There was a huge bag filled with all kinds of fruit.  I grabbed two bags of grapes, a slightly bruised organic apple, a perfectly good non-organic apple, and a bruised orange.  Down the line, there was a closed bag full of nothing but pastries and breads - sealed.  We got a bunch of bagels, a jelly danish, and some bread.  It was all perfectly good - only one or two of them were a little stale; the rest were perfect.  

Along the line, another sealed bag was full of veggies.  I got 2 parsnips (which are looking pretty droopy, but I'm looking forward to finding some parsnip recipes) and a really fresh, nice piece of kale or something.  There were a TON of leafy green veggies in the bag, but some of it looked a little slimey so I didn't really want to dig too far.  There are lines to draw... The piece I got is beautiful, though, and I'm hoping to cook it in some olive oil and garlic, etc tomorrow.

There was also a whole box of sushi trays with a "Made on" date of today.  Derrick found an all-veggie one and ate it as we walked home.  It was sealed in it's box and it's very cool tonight, so it was still totally fresh.  Amazing.  And way less gross than I expected.  In fact, not gross at all... (see picture above)


The bounty

It's so cool to know that these stores throw their garbage out this way - all the yucky garbage was at the bottom of the three dumpsters. Then the store places the food they can't sell in sorted, clear bags on top of the real garbage.  This way, people can easily access them and "shop" for what they want, as it were.  I read about this on the blogs, but didn't think it'd actually be like that very often. It's obviously a little haphazard, but there is definitely a method to that garbage's madness.

The other cool thing was that the dumpsters are on a pretty non-busy, dark corner away from passers-by.  It doesn't feel awkward - and this could definitely be a little awkward.  


We headed back to Mike's.  Derrick hung for a little while.  I washed and sorted the bounty - froze some grapes and put the rest in appropriate containers.  Then I cut up an apple (chopped the bruise out to find an otherwise delicious organic apple).  We ate it while we hung out, and DvD made himself a bagel with some jelly.


Derrick suggested we do this every night.  Alright.  Let's see what happens.
 
What's better than CheaplyGreen? FreelyGreen.  Which kinda sounds like Freegan. 


Awww yeah.

The apple surgery was a complete success

P.S. Be on the lookout for Brother Derrick von Derrick's live shows all around NYC.  He's an amazing solo performance artist with some serious stuff to say. 

Day 22: A Little Extra

Money Spent: $8.75
Total in food eaten: ~$6.50

Breakfast: Yogurt, 1/2 a Luna bar ($0)
Lunch: Bagel with strawberry cream cheese and organic soda ($4.75)
Dinner: Spaghetti and salad ($4)

So obviously, I spent a little more today than usual.  This was for a few reasons - first, I spent a total of $5.75 on food eaten last week.  That's $.75/DAY.  Second, I worked my first of many Monday's at the office, and I spent the evening babysitting, so I made a little extra money.  Lastly, my friend Derrick (or Brother Derrick von Derrick, his stage name) and I are going on a dumpster dive this evening.  Let's hope this time is more successful than the last.

I got my breakfast food for free because it was leftovers from the gig this past weekend, and I needed to kill some time on my way to babysitting so I stopped at Lenny's bagels on 98th and Broadway (they have AMAZING bagels and are NOT part of the chain).   For dinner, Sam and I (the girl I was 'sitting for) ordered some spaghetti and salad from the pizzeria around the corner. 

Today, I set up my payment plan with the IRS (45 minutes on hold...).  My bank account is looking a little better these days, and I'm slowly paying off my credit card debt.

I'm running out of groceries, but I have a lot of food at work and I think I can get through this week with little to no shopping, especially if this dive goes well.  Fingers crossed.

Happy 4/20 Eve!  Hows about we stop this ridiculous drug war, eh?

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Day 21: Hiatus

 Money Spent: $0
Amount in food eaten: $.35

CG Tip of the day: Make ice cream in a bag in 5 minutes!  Simply put 1/2 cup milk, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla in a small ziplock bag.  Then put a tray of ice cubes and 6 tbsp salt in a larger ziplock.  Place the small bag in the larger one (be sure it's completely sealed), and shake for 5-10 minutes.  Rinse salt off the inner bag and serve!  You'll be amazed.

Breakfast: Cereal ($.25)
Lunch: Dough pockets ($.10)
Dinner: Organic chicken fingers at work ($0)

Phew!  Sorry about the 3 day hiatus... I had a gig yesterday and the prep for it wiped me out, so I've been a little MIA.  I'll hopefully not go missing like that too often.  A brief overview of the last few days:

Thursday - ($0) We received our grocery delivery in the morning at work (see Wednesday's post).  I had some yogurt and a banana, which was free to me since we got the groceries with the reimbursement from the gas shut-off.  Around 2, I got a call from Mike saying to meet me downstairs.  He showed up with the news that he'd received a great tax refund and he was treating me to lunch and dinner.  I got Whole Foods sushi for lunch and we went to my favorite restaurant for dinner.  Awesome!!

Friday - ($.60) I brought dough pockets to work for lunch.  I made myself a smoothie for breakfast at work with with a banana, vanilla soy milk, a vanilla yogurt, ice, and peanut butter.  It was delicious and very filling  After work, Mike and I went to a small concert Mike was doing down the street.  We had the last of the pasta salad for dinner, and went to bed at 8:30 because we both had to be up at 4:45am the next day for our respective concerts (ahhh, early morning children's shows.  Just nothing like 'em)

Saturday - ($0) I worked from 5:45am-9:00pm doing a show in Princeton, NJ.  All my food was free and organic (the gigs are catered), and I snagged as much food as I could at the end of the day.  Some highlights: organic ketchup (I'm making yam fries this week finally), organic mayo, organic dressing (2 kinds), bagels, lemons, and lots of drinks.  During the gig, I got a call from Chris asking for me to babysit again, as well as a call from another mom to inquire about my 'sitting services.  Linin' up the jobs... woot.  Mike and I had a nice evening watching Weeds and hanging out.

Oh, and found the most amazing video/story I've ever seen: Watch It

Today! - I babysat for the kids I used to nanny for again in the afternoon.  The kids' mom, Wendy, made me organic chicken fingers (I'll have to post the recipe soon - it's chicken coated in crunched up cornflakes... so good) 

I got home around 7:30, at which point my friend Julie called me to invite me to a taping of America's Got Talent this Thursday.  She got free tickets from work.  Ask for free entertainment, and you shall receive.  I'm pretty excited - I've NEVER, in all my time living in NYC, been to a taping of anything.  I still have a decent amount of groceries from last week to make meals with this week.  I'm also so happy that we got all this lunch food at work - not having to shop for lunch is like a miracle.  Things are lookin' up!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Day 17: Luck and Spirits

Money Spent: $0
Amount in food eaten: $1.90

Breakfast: Cereal ($.25)
Lunch: Mac and Cheese ($.40)
Dinner: Spinach salad (~$1.00)
2nd Dinner: Rice and Chickpeas ($.25)

I think I've mentioned that the gas in the office was off for like a month and a half.  It sucked.  We couldn't cook anything, except in the microwave (and as you may have noticed, I'm not much of a microwave cooker - Mike doesn't even have one).

Well, today when I walked into the office, one of the administrative people in our building stopped me to tell me we'd be getting a "compensation check".  And it was pretty generous.  Um, ok.  My boss told us to go ahead and use the money to buy groceries for the office for lunch.  Ummm, ooookay!

My coworker, Corinne, is also looking to save some money and enjoys cooking, so we had a great time thinking up new cheap recipes for things we can make for lunch and freeze.  Corinne made burritos using my recipe (though she added LIME to the rice... which was perfect) and brought them to work today.  We ordered groceries at the end of the day, which will come tomorrow. Could we have had better luck?  One less meal to worry about for a while... 

I cashed my babysitting check.  I decided I'm going to use all the extra work I'm doing to pay for my food, and my regular job will be for bills and rent and paying back my taxes.

Okay, so now for the spirits...

Lenny, our cat, randomly started acting VERY freaked out about the bedroom in the last few days.  He wouldn't come in there and he would stare intensely at the bedroom before yelping and running away.  Consistently.  And if I was hanging in there, he would sit at the end of the hallway and cry until I came to him. I'm very much an existentialist and don't really believe in spirits, but for the first time since I was a kid, I felt some kind of spiritual presence.  Last night, when falling asleep, I had this really strong sense of a man named David who had a daughter, Emily - those were the only facts I was feeling.  I donno.  It just happened. Mike decided to call his friend Diana, who is a healer, to come check out the space.  

Before she came, I made dough pockets.  This time, though, I did it right.  I used the bottom of our Slap Chop (we got it for $1!!!) to cut out the dough into round disks, and made them with tomatoes, spinach, onions, and Australian cheddar (which I used the garlic press to grate).  I made about 15 and froze them.  They're such a good snack/meal.

Diana sensed the presence in the bedroom (who she said was name David... ahem) and asked him to leave.  She said he told her that I reminded him of his daughter, Emily (yikes...) and he wanted to stay because he liked being around me.  The whole thing was incredible and very interesting, and thus far, Lenny seems totally at peace.  As soon as it was over, he fell asleep. 

 Isn't he cute?

I made some chickpeas and beans (cooked with pepper, onion, and garlic in a frying pan) for Diana after the apartment cleanse, and Mike and I shared some as well.  I don't know if I really believe all this spirit stuff, but it certainly feels much more peaceful here (not to mention that we both felt the same thing).  Whether it's all psychological or there is actually something to it, this space is definitely better. 

And my tummy is FULL!!!!


Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Day 16: Back to Work and Brooklyn

Money Spent: $5
Total on food: $1

Breakfast: Cereal ($.25)
Lunch: Burrito ($.75)
Dinner: Wine?  ($0)

Okay, so I had wine for dinner... it happens.  The good news is that the burrito filled me up so well that I was only hungry for snacks in the evening.

Mike and I went to my friend Jamie's house in the evening (after a nice nap...) I finally got to meet her husband Christy and we had a GREAT time playing the Joke Game and talking.  We brought some snacks (grapes and popcorn and chips), which is what I spent the money on. 

Very simple day. Work's been busy but it's all good.


Monday, April 12, 2010

Day 15: Gospel Choir

Money Spent: $0
Total amount in food: $1.40

CG Tip of the Day: Cook your meals for the week in two spurts - make 2-4 dishes one night, and 2-3 extra dishes a few days later.  This will help you stay on track (you'll always have food in the fridge), but won't overwhelm you (you can plan your second round of meals after you assess what/how much you have left.

Breakfast: Cereal ($.25)
Lunch: Macaroni and Cheese ($.40)
Dinner: Burrito ($.75)

I had a lovely lazy Monday since I will now be working Mondays at the office.  Mike and I got to laze around in the morning.  I watched a ton of Weeds (Buy Weeds - Season One)...

The macaroni and cheese is incredible - I heated it up in the oven for about 15 minutes on 350 degrees.  I think I should have baked it covered 'cause a few of the top noodles are unacceptably crunchy/dried out, but otherwise I'm incredibly happy with it.  The onions and garlic cooked in the milk seem to have made all the difference - it's rich and incredibly flavorful.

Tonight, Mike and I went to see the Broadway Inspirational Voices gospel choir concert on 64th st.  Three of our good friends were in it.  I was pretty nervous about the cost of the tickets ($20-40), but when we got their, our friend Bradley's mom paid for both of us.  I don't always know how we get so lucky, but it's awesome...  The show was great (we couldn't hear the words very well, but the music was awesome)

I have a busy week.  A bunch of my friends have found me some odd jobs (greeting at a bat mitzvah, cleaning apartments, fixing a prop for work, and babysitting).  I'm also meeting with my friend Rachael tomorrow because she's getting rid of a bunch of clothes, and I just happen to really love her style :)  

Jason's coming to hang with us in a little while - I live in his apartment and he's simply an amazing person.  A great day, overall...

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Day 14: Concert and Macaroni

Money Spent: $0
Total amount in food eaten: $1.82

CG Tip of the day:  Make 1-Ingredient Ice Cream!  Freeze a banana.  Then smoosh it into a custardy smooth pulp. Freeze again.  It will amaze you - super creamy, mild, delicious flavor, and oh so satisfying ($.20).  Try adding some cinnamon!
Breakfast: Yogurt ($1.42)
Lunch: Sandwiches, fruit, Coke and orange juice, provided by concert venue ($0)
Dinner: Mac and cheese ($.40)

Mike's band (The Dirty Sock Funtime Band), had a concert today, so I tagged along to see the show and help out.  It was amazing - their show is so tight and it was so much fun to see them play at a huge venue with a really big crowd.  I hadn't been to a show in a while, so I had a total blast.  AND I got fed for free - it wasn't organic (and I had a Coke, which doesn't help the whole "big business" thing, but it satisfied my caffeine cravings and I guess once in a while is okay?)

When we got home, I boiled some macaroni while I sauteed 1/2 a chopped onion and 2 large cloves of garlic, minced.  Once they were tender, I dropped in about a cup or so of milk and cooked them together 'til the milk smelled like garlic and onion (I'm so specific...).  Then I drained the pasta (al dente) and mixed it with the milk.  I popped the whole concoction into a baking pan ($.50), mixed in about 1.5 cups of shredded cheese, and topped the whole thing with the rest of the cheese and some pads of sharp cheddar.

I popped it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes (the top was nice and brown and bubbly).  I made this whole recipe up from reading about 50 different versions of mac and cheese recipes.  It's awesome.  Just doooo it.  (~$3.10, makes 8 servings)

Tonight, we're joining some friends for a Star Wars screening.  Mike's eating my pasta salad for dinner, which he said the following about: "You know, when you said 'pasta salad', I was really hesitant.  All I can think of when I hear those words is goopy drowning noodles.  But this is awesome!!!"  Awww yeah.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Cheaply Green Saturday Tip 1

Money Spent: $0
Amount in Food Eaten: $.45

Breakfast: Cereal ($.25)

Lunch: Dumplings at work ($0)

Dinner: Pasta Salad ($.20)

Today is Mike and my 1 year anniversary - whoa!!

I babysat the kids I used to nanny for today - had a blast hanging with them at the park.  Just a short blog today so I can spend time with Mike, who is sadly a little feverish (and not in the disco kinda way...) 

So, I'll leave you with a tip:

Cookies in blender.  Mix with pack of cream cheese.  Form into balls.  Coat with melted chocolate.  Put in fridge.  Eat when set. You’re welcome.

(Joe-Joe's from Trader Joe's are perfect - like Oreos but not full of chemicals and filth)

Friday, April 9, 2010

Day 13: Shopping Part 2

 Money Spent: $48.12
Amount in food eaten: $1.25

Tip of the day: Buy bulk!  Items like flour, sugar, lentils, couscous, quinoa, beans, and dried fruit/nuts are ALWAYS cheaper if you buy bulk - you can take as much or as little as you need, and you'll use much less packaging!

Mike is in DC for work, so this morning I had a nice cuddle with the kitty before grabbing some breakfast (bowl of Kashi honey puffs - $.25) and packing some food for work.
I brought the rest of the chickpea snacks and some bread to snack on.

I spent a lot of time thinking about my grocery list this week - last night I brainstormed what meals to make and wrote myself a little grocery list.  Corinne, my co-worker and cousin, gave me the recipe for her pasta salad - she'd eaten it for lunch all last week and  said it was awesome.  The ingredients fit perfectly in with what I was already making, so I just added a few things I didn't have to the list.

For Halloween, my mom had sent me a bunch of random food to the office.  I never really touched it, but I remembered that she'd sent a box of couscous, so I made it with some garlic powder and iced tea for lunch. ($0)

After work, I went to Whole Foods.  Nothing I needed was a coupon item (I'd bought everything I had a coupon for on Tuesday), so I just gave a quick glance at the store coupon booklet and went on with my shopping.

My list:
Organic chicken thighs (boneless - 1.16lb) - $5.79
Burrito wraps (4)- $2.59
Organic black beans (2 cans) - $2.18
Organic garbanzo beans (2) - $2.18
Australian cheddar cheese (>1/4 lb) - $1.30
Organic shredded cheddar jack cheese (12oz) - $4.29
Organic bulk flour - $2.11
Organic bulk spinach - $1.08
Plum tomatoes (3) - $1.39
Balsamic vinaigrette dressing - $3.99
Organic fusilli pasta - $2.99
Whole peppers (1 yellow, 1 red, 1 chile) - $4.40***
1 large organic yam - $1.88

Total: $36.17

I'm in the middle of a cooking fiesta as we speak.  True to my word, I made burritos - I ate one for dinner and froze the other 3.  I just cooked brown basmati rice while I sauteed peppers (red, yellow, and chile), garlic, and onions in a large sauce pan.  When they were tender, I dropped in 2 cans of drained black beans and cooked for about 10 minutes.  I layered rice, beans/veggies, and grated cheese on a tortilla and wrapped it up.


I wound up with about half the beans left and at least 2/3rds of the rice... I guess I need to get more burrito wraps.  These burritos are way better than the frozen ones I always get for 5 times the price.  I'm interested to see how they cook after they've been frozen.  The chile pepper gave the beans a good kick - cooking with them is an art I'm looking forward to exploring more.  When they're sauteed, they're not too spicy but so delicious. Burritos/dinner: $.79/each.
T
This lighting kinda sucks but the burrito was incredible

I also made Corinne's pasta salad - it's cooling right now, but I had a few bites and WHOA, she was right.  I used spinach penne that we've had around for a while so Mike would be able to eat it (much less gluten, apparently?)
Pasta tossed with garlic season-all and balsamic vinaigrette, then mixed with sauteed chopped/minced veggies: yellow and red pepper, 1/2 a chile pepper, onion, and garlic.

Between these meals, I realized I didn't have a few essentials for cooking bigger dishes.  I also wanted to get some individual containers for meals so I can bring some of my fancier chefery to the office.  I strolled over to the home store on 42nd St. and got aluminum foil, 2 large baking dishes with lids (just $1!), 4 individual containers (like middle eastern takeout containers), some paper towels, and a large bowl (for the pasta salad).  The whole thing cost me $11.95, which I felt was well worth the investment.

I'm thinking of making some homemade baked mac and cheese tonight, but I think season 1 of Weeds and Mike's homecoming might stop that from happening...  Stay tuned for tonight's recipes to be posted.  

Other meals to be made from the ingredients I bought today:
1) Spinach, onion, tomato and cheese dough pockets
2) Spinach salad with tomato, onion, peppers, and cheese tossed with balsamic vinaigrette and topped with grilled chicken
3) Chicken and roasted red pepper over quinoa
4) Chicken salad
5) Chickpea snacks
6) Yam fries (just cut a yam into fry shaped straws and season with garlic season-all, cumin, salt, and pepper.  Bake til golden brown at 400 degrees, or freeze for later!


Thursday, April 8, 2010

Day 12 - 'Sitting

Money spent: $0
Amount in food eaten: $4.89

Cheaply Green Tip of the day: Whole Foods posted new coupons today

I was psyched about a whole new week of fresh bread.  For breakfast, I had 2 slices of it with organic peanut butter and an apple, washed down with some nice Honest Tea ($.98).  I sort of nibbled on this throughout the morning, which works well for me - I spent a big part of my morning uploading things, so I had nibble time.  I feel like my brain works better if I eat a meal slowly over the course of an hour or two.  It also meant that I wasn't hungry for lunch until around 3:30.

 Loved it.

I was running late this morning, so I grabbed my Amy's burrito and ate that for lunch with the rest of my morning's tea ($3.99).  I really love these burritos, and it occurred to me that I can definitely make these for really cheap and freeze them.  I think I'll add some black beans, cheddar cheese, and burrito wraps to my shopping list.

My cousin, Shannon (who is also my co-worker) and I went to my apartment after work so she could check it out - she's thinking about moving in.  My friend Katy called me just as we were leaving to say she was in the neighborhood, so she joined us.  Katy and her boyfriend stay at my place every so often, so she asked me if she could grab my keys tonight (I'm staying at Mike's).  

She got me a coffee and a gelato as a thank you - wooot!!  It kept me full for the rest of the evening.



Mike's friend Chris texted to see if I could babysit his daughter.  Psshhh... of course.  She's a doll and, as we all know, I can always use the money.  We had a really fun night reading and writing ghost stories together, and I'm writing this sitting on their couch.

The gelato and coffee filled me up enough to make it back to Mike's tonight and make something small for a late-night dinner. 

I think I'll try to grab some groceries tonight and make Mac and Cheese and/or burritos.  I need some food for lunch this week!!!!


Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Day 11 - Sick Day 2: Bread

Money spent: $31.23
Total in food eaten: $4.08

I woke up feeling awful again, so I took the day off.  We've run out of edible-on-their-own groceries, so I dragged my sick ass to the grocery store (Food Emporium) when I finally stumbled out of bed.  I got a nice amount of organic groceries and saved $4.60 in coupons, but I didn't do nearly as well as last week.   The cashier was a little huffy about the coupons and kind of rude, which I found a little weird (especially in my icky state), and Food Emporium's prices are pretty high for organic foods.  I think I'll avoid them when I can, but I was in a pinch.

Organic Milk* - 3.79
Almond Milk - 3.99
Blueberry yogurt* (3) - 4.27
Cereal* - 3.99
Amy's Mac and Cheese* - 2.99
Chickpeas* - 1.94
Apples (2) - 2.14
Burrito - 3.99
Tomato soup* - 2.69
Chocolate milk - 1.69
Total: $31.23

When I got home, I had some yogurt and passed out for a while.  When I got up, I was feeling like I had a bit of energy, so I mixed up some oatmeal bread dough (Click here for recipe) and let it rise while I napped some more.
 dough after 1 hour of rising
YUM

I also made some easy chickpea snacks.   Just rinse and dry chickpeas and lay out on cookie sheet.  Then heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil, garlic powder, rosemary, fresh garlic (diced), and salt in a small pot and heat until it smells amazing.  Pour the mixture over the chickpeas, coat well, and bake on 400 for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so. ($2.09, though you can make this cheaper if you use cheaper chickpeas... I wasn't happy with the price of mine)

Any spices you like will taste great!  Get creative.

Uncooked chickpeas, covered in seasoning
Crunchy and zesty - such an amazing snack!

I took it easy for a while, and was starting to feel better. I made Amy's mac and cheese for lunch ($2.99) They sent me a bunch of coupons, so it was nice to have a cheaper frozen meal around.  I can definitely make mac and cheese myself for significantly less, but not when I'm feeling icky.

I wanted to get outside for a little while because it's been a BEAUTIFUL day, so I escorted Mike to Fordham, where his friend Katy came to play him piano for his birthday.  I'd arranged the whole thing, so it was nice to be able to go (I didn't think I'd make it in the morning).  When I got there, my friend Derrick wanted to go check out some Freegan dumpster dive sites we'd found online.  While Katy played for Mike, Derrick and I took a walk to find the dumpster's we'll eventually go on freegan dives to.  Nothing was out yet, but we got a good idea of where to look.

When we got back to Fordham, we got wind of a benefit where there would be food.  Donations were optional, but since it was for Haiti we each gave a few bucks.  Though my Hatian dinner wasn't organic, it was free!  
Rice, beans, potatoes, plantains, pasta, cookies, and some Coke

We even got to stay for a few of my friends' performances, which was awesome!


 Owen and Nadia
 

 Mike Fabano's fabulous guitar


 I'm glad to be feeling better, and I feel like I had a pretty good day for my mission.  Even though the grocery shopping wasn't the thriftiest, I do feel like I've learned where NOT to shop.  I also think I got a few things I didn't need because I had coupons - it's all stuff I'll use and enjoy, but I'm not sure it was necessary.  We'll see how long I can stretch it :)  I do still need to get some veggies, so I'll see if there's any good deals at WF tomorrow.

It'll be a busy day at work since I missed today.  Glad I have oatmeal bread to start my day!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Weekly Statistics, Week 1

Last week, from Monday-Sunday (not including the birthday festivities)

I spent a total of: $55.04 (this includes groceries that I still have)
And ate a total of: $21.11 (or $3.01/day on average)

I spent $75 for this special weekend - I'll hopefully take some babysitting jobs to make up for it.


I have lots of random groceries from the last shopping trip, so I should be going shopping tomorrow if I'm feeling better! 

Looking forward to Week 2!

Day 10: Sick

Money Spent: $0
Amount on Food: $.45

I'm not feeling very well today.  I didn't eat any breakfast (except for an Honest Tea)

I came home early from work after our morning meeting and had some of last night's leftovers ($0).  Then I crashed for a while.

When I got up, I made myself an English muffin pizza ($.45).  I just grabbed a muffin from the freezer, popped it in the oven to thaw it for 10 minutes, then cut it open.  I smothered it in my pasta sauce and then topped it with cheese and Garlic Season-All, then put it back in the oven for 10 minutes.  So easy, even a sicky can do it.  Check out this blog for more info: Pizza Friday

Okay, back to sleep :(

Monday, April 5, 2010

Day 9: Mike's Birthday!

Money spent: $39 (dinner for Mike for his Birthday!)

Today is Mike’s Birthday!!!!

We had an amazing day in the park with lots of friends.
Mike left at 10 to go get a colonic and have a healing session with his dear friend, Diana.  With no gluten-free boyfriend around to cook for, I made pancakes!  I had all the ingredients in the house, and even used the chocolate Easter bunny Mike got me to make them chocolate chip pancakes.  YUM!  Best part?  All the ingredients were from my stock of “freegredients”

I made caramel popcorn for the park to share with our friends.  If you’ve never made this, all I can say is MAKE IT.

We had an awesome day of music and friends in the park.

For dinner, I treated Mike to vegan dinner at this cool place called Peacefoods CafĂ© on 82nd St and Amsterdam.  The prices were REALLY affordable, the food was amazing, and we got to spend the evening with his close friends and family.  When it came time to sing "Happy Birthday", one of the waitresses was an opera singer and sang to Mike.  The people next to us had a birthday, too, so Mike pulled out his guitar and sang to him.  We got free cookies because of it... hee hee.  7 of us ate for $115! ($39)

Now I need to make up for all the money I spent on my wonderful boy this weekend!  He deserves every penny of it, but I do need to get back on track!

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Day 8: Sunday Edition

(Sunday's posts will not be as long or detailed)
Money Spent: $18
On food: $9
Another splurge day, in honor of Mike’s birthday.

We had sushi.  Sigh.  I know.  Terrible.  I paid for Mike, so it was around $18 (YEESH!!!).  I enjoyed it more than  I think I’ve ever enjoyed sushi, if that means anything.

For dinner, we had quinoa with my pasta sauce and the rest of the chicken. Yummmmmm!! ($2.39)

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Day 7: Liberty Science Center

Money Spent: $20.93
Total amount on food: $3.93

This turned out to be a really bad day for my mission and a really good day for me.  I hope this correlation is a coincidence.

Breakfast was potatoes sliced as thinly as I possibly could, seasoned with garlic Season All, and cooked on a frying pan with a little olive oil.  I also had some of those delicious crackers with almond butter and jelly. We woke up a little late, so this tied us over.  I also got a coffee for $1.50 (I’d been craving it harddd). 

I really need to buy a coffee maker for Mike’s – I think it will be a worthy investment so my coffee cravings don’t take over.  I have, as you may have noticed, cut coffee out of my diet during the week.

Since it’s Mike’s birthday weekend, I decided I’d splurge a little to make sure he had the best weekend possible.  Our friend Caryn told us about the Hubble movie playing at the Liberty Science Center IMAX Dome, so we went to Jersey.  Transportation was about $3.00, admission to the museum was free (Caryn had passes), and the movie and simulation we did was $14.00.  WORTH IT. 
Yup, we're dorks

When we got home, we made couscous with my pasta sauce (I smothered mine in cheese, Mike had his plain).  I was VERY unhappy to find that the chicken breast in the fridge went bad (I had one in the freezer, too).  I’ll have to remember to keep my chicken in the freezer and just thaw it in the morning when we’re going to eat it at night.

Mike made some more smoothies for dessert (or “poop shakes” as I like to call them, thanks to the fiber powder)

It was one of the best days I’ve had in a LONG time, so I’m feeling like the cost was worth it.  Hopefully I’ll be able to find better ways of entertaining myself for cheaper.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Day 6: Smoothies Are My Downfall

Money spent: $4.65
Total amount in food: $5.25

TGIF. 

We ran out of bananas, so for breakfast I had oatmeal bread with peanut butter. (.$15)

I was hungry for lunch pretty early, so I made myself an awesome open-faced sandwich.  I had organic pepperoni in the work fridge from about 3 weeks ago that seems to never go bad (the sell by date is sometime in late fall... which kind of freaks me out but it tasted GREAT).  My co-worker had some tomatoes in the fridge that were a little soft, so she said she didn’t want them.  I cut them into thin slices, put some olive oil and garlic powder on the English muffins I brought, topped them with some cheese from a week or two ago, and sliced pepperoni to put on top.  I then popped it in the microwave (our oven in busted).  MMM it hit the spot. ($.41 – I’m only counting the muffin since I would have thrown everything else out!)

I walked from work to meet Mike in the park on 59th Street, which was great except that I was really hungry by the time I got there.  There’s a Whole Foods in the Columbus Circle mall, so I went in there to see if I could find any free samples.  No such luck. 

I was so hungry that I caved when I saw Jamba Juice, I bought a Peanut Butter Moo’d for $4.65.  I felt pretty guilty, but I kind of justified it because it’s Friday and it was seriously the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted.

Mike is making me some of my dough pockets from the other night (flour, water, and salt for the dough shaped into thin disks and filled with chopped onions, tomatoes, shredded mozzarella, mushrooms, and a little garlic)  You can fill these delicious little suckers with whatever you have in the fridge (my favorite is spinach, feta, and onion).  It’s a lovely little package of flavor and they fill you up nicely. They also freeze well, though you should wrap them individually since the dough gets sticky when frozen.  If you make extra dough, you can throw it in the fridge, too, and fill it with anything new you acquire. ($.04)

It’s Mike’s birthday weekend, so tomorrow we’re going with some friends to the Liberty Science Center in Jersey.  We’re getting in to the museum for free (our friend Caryn has free passes), but we pay to see the movie and for the train ticket.  It will probably be about $17.  I’m going to make it my goal next week to make up for the extra $$$. I also need to find a good birthday present for Mike!!!  Yeep.

I realized I’d totally forgotten about the crackers I got, and I was feeling kinda munchy so I checked them out.  It turns out they’re these like airy little breadcrackers (Wasa Crisp 'n Light).  They were the cheapest crackers at Whole Foods, and they’re kinda crazy amazing.  I ate one plain, and then covered one with some preserves from Mike’s fridge.  I then tried one with almond butter and honey.  Our honey is starting to crystallize, so I spread some of that on the almond butter.  Holy shit.  Just get these crackers and take my word for it.  I also feel like I just ate a mini-sandwich, so I’m a lot more full than I expected to be from eating some crackers!!