Food Stamp Challenge: Mid-Week Check-In

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Food Stamp Challenge: Mid-Week Check-In

This Food Stamp Challenge, called 3SquaresVT here in Vermont, to live on $38/week of food was not at all easy. I blew it in so many ways.

Day 4 (Wednesday) was a relative good day. I ate half an apple for breakfast, with coffee, cream and sugar. I ate the beans, rice and veggies that I’d prepared in advance for lunch. I skipped snacks and sodas at work, and then had sesame tofu for dinner.

Unfortunately, I had a coffee pot malfunction in the morning and lost a lot of coffee. I looked at the bag of grounds and looked at what was left in the pot of coffee. I decided I couldn’t really waste the coffee, so I filtered the grounds out of the pot and drank what I could.

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Food Stamp Challenge: Days 1-3

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Food Stamp Challenge: Days 1-3

This Food Stamp Challenge, called 3SquaresVT in Vermont, has been an unique experience.

Here’s a check-in from the first few days on the Challenge:

Day 1 (Sunday) was pretty easy, considering that I (unwisely) blew money on a coffee shop visit, did the grocery shopping for the week, and then enjoyed beans and rice for dinner (actually, one of my favorite meals).

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Food Stamp Challenge: Planning

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Food Stamp Challenge: Planning

Today is the first day of the Food Stamp Challenge, known as 3SquaresVT here in Vermont, in which I live on $38/week, the average weekly food benefit of a single person.

It took me about an hour yesterday to plan my recipes and grocery list for the week. Not surprisingly, it didn’t take me long to shop for the grocery items pictured to the right. Here’s the start of my menu for the week, along with costs.

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After A Vacation: Fight the Back-to-Work Blues

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After A Vacation: Fight the Back-to-Work Blues

Many of us are returning to work today or tomorrow after some vacation time.  We’re probably also facing a horrendous number of e-mails, voicemails and a stack of work to start right away, despite still having “vacation brain.”

Simultaneously, you may ask if the vacation was really worth it. But not me. The vacation is always worth it. Let me tell you why and it might help your Monday go a bit smoother.

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Quantum Wellness Cleanse: Week One

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Quantum Wellness Cleanse: Week One

Week One of this Quantum Wellness Cleanse is behind me. I spent about the same amount of money on groceries that I would have for junk food or restaurant dinners, so the fact that I’m 3 pounds lighter and feeling pretty darn good is rewarding.

To recap:

I’m working off of Kathy Freston’s 21-Day Quantum Wellness Cleanse.

I’ve eliminated the Big Five from my diet: sugar, caffeine, alcohol, animal products (meat & dairy) and gluten.

On Days 1-3, I had a growing headache and was very, very tired from the caffeine and sugar withdrawal.

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21-Day Quantum Wellness Cleanse

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21-Day Quantum Wellness Cleanse

I’m doing a 21-day cleanse based on Kathy Freston’s The Quantum Wellness Cleanse.  This is a BIG cleanse, eliminating the BIG Five:

  • Caffeine
  • Alcohol
  • Gluten
  • Animal Products
  • Sugar

Essentially, my entire diet! These five components clog up any system, though: decreasing blood flow, diminishing memory, muscles and natural energy, increasing my risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancer and getting me out of touch with the natural needs of my body.

Tonight, I sorted out the fridge and determined what needs to be finished, given away or thrown in the trash. (Yes, I recognize the irony of: “Hi, friend. Have some of this food that I’ve deemed unhealthy.”) I also planned my menu for the week and the grocery shopping I’ll do tomorrow.

I decided to do this cleanse because I’ve been feeling stiff, sore and tired in the past six months. I haven’t had the energy I’d like and my weight has plateaued, despite changes in my diet. Let me outline what I’m actually saying Yes to:

  • More energy
  • Increased strength and flexibility
  • A leaner look and, possibly, better skin and hair
  • Sharper memory and better creative juices
  • A longer and fuller life

The cleanse is 21 days. Just 3 weeks and, for the first 11 days, I’ll be on vacation with a little more control of my time. The cleanse has me getting off of the Big Five all at once, right from the get-go, so this may be difficult. On the other hand, I think I may respond well to the big-changes-all-at-once approach. Regardless, I know I need to take a quantum leap in regards to my diet. I do not eat well and yet I know I’d like to live past, oh, say, 65.

Tomorrow I’m meeting someone for coffee and will likely have the largest latte I can buy, pre-cleanse. I’m also finishing the last can of Diet. Mt. Dew in my fridge tonight. Then, around noon tomorrow, the Quantum Wellness Cleanse plunge!