Food and Stuff

Postcard from my brother, with slight modification! :)

Intentionally took a rest day from CrossFit yesterday, and I didn't make it in this morning either. I'm hoping to boogie-tunes out of work early though and hit up the last class for today at 5:30, although I heard that the WOD is "Hope", and she sounds like a real piece of work. 

Last night as I was doing that whole "look at yourself in the full-length mirror and wonder if you can see any changes since you've been working out" thing. I have done 1300 weighted sit ups this month already, but have only been sporadic with my CrossFit, thanks to finals. With the exception of thinking that my biceps are looking slightly shapelier, I can't see a difference. 

I know that I'm not at the gym to get good looking, but it's become a sort of personal vendetta with myself now: how to defeat that layer of cupcakes and booze standing between me and my abs (I know they're in there somewhere.) It will take time and dedication and major changes in how I eat. 

The main thing keeping me from the healthy nutritious plant-based diet I want to be on is poverty. (I know it sounds stupid, since I pay a ton of money for CrossFit, but that place gives me more than a workout. Those people are integral to my success.) I hate that good food costs more than bad food. Rice and beans are cheap, and I can make a loaf of bread for like a dollar, maybe less. 

I've been looking for solutions to this however, and I thought I'd share some since I believe that the way I fuel my body has a huge impact on my mood as well as how much exercise I get and all the other things that upset me. If I eat crap, I feel crappy. 

Solutions to the food problem:

CSAs:
Last year a friend of mine and I went in together on a 1/2 farm share from a local CSA we found at www.localharvest.org. We were really happy with it, except that the drought and some insidious moles at the farm caused our deliveries to be cut short (they returned a part of our money though, so it's cool). My investment of $250 for the season seemed reasonable to me when things began, and when I got an added 2-3 dozen farm fresh eggs with each order and a delivery of 8 POUNDS of asparagus one day, I was delighted!  We chose the farm we did because they would deliver to my office, which was very convenient, but N and I both agreed that we wouldn't be using that farm again. 

I've been kicking around getting in on another CSA this year since I haven't managed to convince my boss to let me put in a garden next to our building. It is hard to come up with the up-front investment though, so we'll see. Maybe I'll ask for it for my birthday  :)

Friends With Land:
Coworker B purchased a house earlier this year. With that house came a yard. It is shady, to be sure, but she wants to attempt to grow a few things anyway and suggested that if I help with the planting and care of the garden, I can reap some of the benefits (literally). Hopefully we can get something to grow, so that way I can eat it. Yesterday, all I wanted all day long was a friggin' vegetable. Can't wait until the winter broke-time passes. 

Apartment Farming:
This is not as simple as it seems where I live. I had all these big plans when I moved in, since the complex doesn't care if you do stuff to the grounds as long as it's not making things look ugly (uglier. I live in the ghetto.) It became apparent immediately after I moved in that the area in front of my apartment in particular is where ALL the neighborhood kids like to play. They routinely play so close to my walls that I can distinctly understand every word that they say, and a soccer ball hits my window at least once a day in the spring/summer/fall. 

Growing indoors might be a viable option, except that having people right directly outside my windows makes me inclined to keep the shades closed and the curtains drawn. Living alone is scary, and I don't want people knowing when I'm in the house or not, or being able to see me at all. I guess I can just leave the sheers...

Changing Gears:
I've been doing fairly well this year of not buying prepackaged crap food, and I don't keep much in the house that isn't perishable, but I think I could do better. I also think that I need to clean my freezer out (How do I have 30 pints of jam in here?!) so I have more room to do make-ahead crock pot meals and quick lunch options.  I really liked it the few times I made ahead a bunch of stuff, I'm so strapped for time during certain seasons that it's really the only way I'll have decent food to eat. It's not fresh though. I also need to make some deals with myself for 2013:
-Make my meals at home, all of them.
-Keep veggies and such already cut up in the fridge to reduce spoilage.
-MANAGE MY TIME BETTER so I don't live at the lab, and can be home for dinner every day.