healthy mission- progress report

I've been doing food and exercise tracking on Twitter for ten days and I thought it would be helpful to look back on what I've logged and give a little progress report to share what I've learned.

thumbs up:
- I ate way way way more fresh vegetables than usual. My normal diet is bread, fruit and cheese so it was a big change to have a helping of vegetables at least two meals a day.
- I avoided a few impulse snacks in favor of real meals because I was ashamed to spill the truth on Twitter (aka- it's working!)
- I walked to(& from) work every day this week which is about 2 miles.
- I spent a lot of time in the kitchen but started getting better about making extra servings and creatively reinventing leftovers.
- I tried new things! I'd never eaten beet greens before because I always just gave them to the bunnies. I also made an experimental cake using leftover quinoa (above photo). I prepared brussel sprouts that I got right off the stalk. I reduced my sugar intake by stirring homemade jam into plain yogurt instead of buying flavored yogurt. I used fresh fennel too.
- I'm not sure if this is fact or feeling but I think I spent less money on food. I'm doing a solid 75% of my grocery shopping at the farmer's market and I'm less inclined to go out to eat because of the limited healthy options.

Thumbs down:
- Although I walked to work, I meant to do real exercise. I didn't get on my stationary bike even once.
- In trying to reduce my white sugar and white flour consumption, I think I may have upped my salt intake a pinch to make up for it.
- I ate much healthier but it is very likely that I ate just as many calories as I normally would. At this rate, I would probably live longer but not lose any weight.
- I love dessert! I still find dessert to be completely mandatory after both lunch and dinner. I made some healthy whole grain versions of my favorite desserts (banana bread, chocolate zucchini bread, peach kuchen) but I still think I ate too many quick bread type things.

As much of a drag it is to report on every little thing I eat, I feel like it is motivating me to make the right choices. The bunnies are loving all the extra vegetable scraps coming their way too. My big goal for the next ten days is to stay eating like this but add some serious exercising to my daily routine. I'm planning on going in to work an hour later every day to see if I can become one of those incredible morning exercisers I've always been impressed by.

Work Makes Work

I've been in a slump waiting for my next bit of inspiration to strike and (I should know by now) that never works. Sloth begets sloth and work begets work. I am so thankful that Jenn came over today and worked with me because I was forced to actually make something. We ended up completing even more than I'd hoped for! We printed, signed, stamped and packaged over 150 prints in three brand new designs! A burst like this practically makes up for having spent the past two weeks "thinking".

I'm eager to share all three new prints but I'll try to restrain myself and space things out a bit.

I'll show my favorite one first. "Sweet Surprise" depicts a familiar scene in my home. I seem to be a big fan of buying a sweet potato and then forgetting about it until it grows eyes. Well, out of curiosity, I have let a few potatoes continue in their natural progression to sprout forests. Justin thinks they are disgusting, but I really think they have some lovely qualities. The stems that shoot up are often a pale violet transitioning into burgundy color with tiny dark green leaves at the top. I never would have expected such dramatic and colorful growth to come out of an old potato.

These prints are on a beautifully textured pale pink paper and printed in a rich rust ink. Available in my shop for $12. I'm excited about them.

Just Peachy

Justin convinced me to give myself a day off today. I started it off quite well by eating a bowl of fresh peaches and french vanilla yogurt with green tea on my porch. The rest of my day will be spent listening to all the radio programs I've missed, cleaning the home I've let fall into disarray and spending some quality time with my bunny companions who I've been neglecting.

I'm going to try and enjoy my day of recuperation without feeling like I should be working on the cafe. Yes, it's not finished yet. Is anyone tired of me saying it will be done soon? I told my boss that if it isn't completed by September that I'll leave the country and change my name (again!). I think it's going to be super but I am going crazy waiting for things to be done!

Sprout anemone sandwich

I never thought sprouts would be so delicious! How did I manage to get through twenty-three years of life without ever truly enjoying a mouthful of these crisp little strings?

In an endeavor to start earing healthier, I bought a bunch of produce that I don't normally buy to see if they could be incorporated into my regular diet. Sprouts completely rocked my face! I've been eating a huge pile of them between slices of garlic sourdough spread with artichoke hummus a few times a week. I just thought I'd share my enthusiasm and hopefully encourage more sprout enthusiasts. My upstairs neighbor is a wizard at growing things and she wants to help me grow my own in my windowsill. Neat! I feel healthier already (even after accompanying my sproutwich with a big pile of honey dijon potato chips).

Featured Maker: A & J King Artisan Bakers in Salem

Much of my day is spent in this fine establishment working for Andy and Jackie. They are damn good at what they do as you can see. Andy makes most of the breads with help from John and Jereme and Jackie does the pastries with Sarah. I do the selling and displays with Joanne, Mary, Anna, Kayla and Mariel (who is also chief barista). I am embarassed to admit that I often linger around after I'm out of work and even come in on my days off because I like working there so much and have become good friends with everyone.

I have to gush. Andy and Jackie are really the hardest working people I've ever met. They are both talented and care a great deal about what they do. They go out of their way to find ingredients that measure up to their values of buying locally and sustainably and don't take crappy shortcuts in their processes. Everything at the bakery is insanely delicious and aesthetically pleasing too. I am in love with the fougasse which is a ciabatta dough pounded flat, cut to resemble a sand dollar and sprinkled with salt and seeds. Jackie's seasonal tarts are also unbelievable and it's apple season now which is my favorite variety!

They are better at explaining artisan baking and their values than I am so take a look at their new blog!

The last photo is a set of paintings I made for Andy and Jackie on the bakery's one year anniversary. It is of a baguette nosewhal (a narwhal with a baguette nose) and an epilope (a jackalope with epi for antlers). You can see the epi and baguette from the bakery in the photo right above the one of the paintings. I've made a few things inspired by working at the bakery.