28 Days Later...

Well, I can officially say that it's over! I can't believe a month has passed...but secretly, I'm really happy. It often feels like a lot of pressure to always make something, write down what I'm putting in and then blog about it. Don't get me wrong, I have really enjoyed myself. However, I'm going to enjoy being able to look at a recipe again! I'm excited to go back and compare the recipes I made to what they typically are. The good thing: it totally got me out of my eating rut!

I bought groceries yesterday for the whole week, so tonight was no different than any other night this past month. I cooked...did a lot of dishes...and did some calculations. Tonight I made a loft of bread, another batch of the tofu dill salad and a little thing I like to call "Summer Salad". I was kind of wanting it to be summer...the warmth of the sun combined with the great produce at the farmers market...made me think of this salad. It's so versatile depending on what veggies you like. Mix up a little vinegrette and you are golden. Here's what I used:

Seedless cucumber
Green squash
Red onion
Carrots
Broccoli

For the dressing:
1/2C olive oil
1/2C champagne vinegar
1/2t black pepper
1t salt
1/2t chili oil
1/4C fresh chopped cilantro

Mix all ingredients together and pour over sliced veggies. Let sit overnight and enjoy!
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I need to go give it another stir in a few minutes, but from what I tasted, I liked what it was selling. This combined with the super tasty tofu/dill salad on some homemade bread...perfect lunch for a nice summer day! Hopefully it will be here before we know it!

I took some time to sit down and crunch the numbers. I compared my grocery cost in February to the cost of grocery and eating out in January. I was also curious about the months prior (November-January) because I wanted to see a wider range of numbers. I'll give you the overall details, but let me just say...I am ASHAMED of what I spent in November. I willingly admit that I had a lot going on in November (Thanksgiving, a few special things and visitors)...but whoa. That was an eyeopener! OK...so here's the good stuff.

January Eating Out/Grocery cost: $402.16 ($12.97/day)
February Grocery cost: $261.33 ($9.33/day)
Total Savings: $140.83

And just for the heck of it, if I averaged the cost of eating out and groceries from November-January, my per day cost was: $14.75! Now you understand why I am ashamed to even admit that.

In thinking back over the month, I think one of the biggest things I have realized is that I wasted SO much food before. Because I was eating out in addition to buying all my normal groceries, I ended up just throwing food out. I can literally count on one hand (and recall) all the items that I threw out in February. This is a good thing to change and it makes me feel good knowing that I'm putting my money to better use.

For me personally, this was a huge success. Not only do I feel so much better (going to weigh myself in the morning...but my guess is that I lost 6lbs...and I didn't work out at all), but I am thinking about food differently again...and getting back the passion I have for cooking. I love being in the kitchen and creating something that is all your own...just seems that sometimes we need a little kick in the butt to get back on track.

Thank you so much to those that followed me though this. Your encouraging words really mean so much to me...and helped me get through some tough days.

Not sure what direction this blog is going to take...but stay tuned. I'll think of some way to keep this rodeo going! :)