In an effort to get back in shape, shed some weight and save money, I’ve been eating really well the last few weeks and have been consistently taking my lunch to work after a period of consistently NOT taking my lunch to work!

Last Thursday, I bought the following at the local food co-op:

½ local, organic cooked chicken - 5.79 (I’m so happy that I can buy ½ a chicken…I can’t use up a whole one in time unless I’m having dinner guests)
4 peaches - 1.53 (on sale .99/pound, conventional) – absolutely scrumptious!
1 bunch local, organic scallions - 1.49
1.84 lbs organic Yukon gold and red potatoes - 2.53 (no local yet)
Bulk organic walnuts - 2.70 (on sale)
Bulk small container kalamata olives - 1.76 (on sale)
1 large container plain non-fat organic yogurt - 3.49
Bulk organic cornmeal - .64
Bulk organic wheat bran - .08
Bulk baking powder - .03
Tortilla strips - 1.50 (on sale – these are for some yummy tomatillo salsa I have in my freezer)
Total - $22.21 (after 2% member discount of .46 )

On Saturday I went blueberry picking with a friend and got over five pounds of plump, delicious no-spray berries for $15.50. I froze ¾ of them and will take the rest on vacation with me at the end of this week. I also picked about five pounds of blueberries a week ago, but never got around to freezing them. I gave some to a couple of different friends, have been eating them at breakfast, and used some in a cornbread. I love how long blueberries last, unlike strawberries, which seem to mold 23 minutes after I get them home .

Then I visited another friend and went “shopping” in her amazing garden! I picked yellow and green beans, red kale, cukes, beets, zucchini, snap peas, baby leeks, basil, dill, flat-leaf parsley, mesclun mix and a turnip.

On Sunday I made a delicious blueberry cornbread using the yogurt, bran, baking powder, cornmeal and older berries (in addition to baking soda, eggs and maple syrup I had on hand). I cut up and boiled the potatoes, then mixed them with fresh dill, chopped scallions, olive oil and salt. I also cooked one cup each of dried chickpeas and steel-cut oats from my pantry.

All of this will feed me up until Thursday afternoon when I leave for vacation and maybe provide some snacks for the six-hour car ride.

Breakfasts this week are steel cut oats topped with walnuts, sunflower seeds, flax seeds and blueberries. Lunches are salads using the garden ingredients, chickpeas, shredded chicken and a few olives; some of the potato salad plus a big slice of the cornbread for a mid-afternoon snack (in place of my habitual candy bar…). Dinners are lots of steamed veggies, oats and chicken (last night I had the leg, tonight I’ll shred some of the breast meat over the oats and veggies and top with olive oil, chopped scallions, salt and pepper).

I also bought a Snickers bar on Saturday evening, which I thoroughly enjoyed!