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Saturday, May 22, 2010

Eating Poorly, Cheaply and Gaining Weight ... It's Taper Time!

I'm one week out from my marathon next weekend. Which means taper time. I am running 10 miles on Sunday, but I feel like that's nothing at this point and my six miler around neighborhood yesterday afternoon was just a short jaunt around my 'hood. It's amazing how it doesn't seem like much of a commitment to head out the door for a one hour run right now.

While running less .... I'm eating more. I can't stop myself. I'm constantly hungry and craving sweets. I never bring sweets into the house, but baked chocolate chip cookies last night and cinnamon rolls this morning. I've been buying ice cream and cones to make our own ice cream cones at home instead of our 2-3 week indulgence for $1 cones at McDonald's.

We've been eating cheap processed foods like Mac-n-Cheese (which we mix with broccoli or peas for Mac-n-trees or Mac-n-peas -- gotta get the kids their veggies somehow), grilled cheese sandwiches and soup. This is a far cry from our usually healthy veggie-loaded, low-carb, unprocessed meals from the past few months. And, I feel bloated.

Why are we doing this? Well, hubby lost his job last week and we are scrambling to make ends meet. I work part-time and stay home with the kids 2 days/week. His income is double mine and we are really trying to budget ourselves; food obviously included. We will be going to our small town farmer's market today to get some healthy veggies at dirt cheap, but otherwise, we've stocked our pantry with tons of processed foods. You do what you have to do. At least I'm carb-loading this week!!!!

One great CHEAP recipe we've tried in the past and the kids enjoyed last night, Cornbread Casserole ... under $2 for the entire casserole! I only buy generic!
1 can corn
1 can creamed corn
1 can jiffy cornbread mix
1 egg
Mix and bake at 425 degrees for 45 mins

I had only gained 2 lbs when I last stepped on the scale, but fear that this taper and budget crisis is going to bring on the pounds this week. Heck, I'll work it all off next Sunday!! Right?!

26 comments:

  1. That can be rough and I've been in a similar situation. My advice... coupon - if you don't already. Buy stuff when it's on sale and STOCK UP. Watch the ads because they go in cycles. Buy the store brand food too.

    And you will be surprised what "healthy" foods you can get for cheap. Like my hubby and I get the huge cannister of store-brand rolled oats for $2.39. That can be breakfast for two of us for weeks.

    Peanut butter is also a great go-to healthy yet cheaper food. And don't forget about whole grain pasta -- sometimes as cheap as 99cents a box or buy brown rice in bulk. All healthier options for you and your family. I hope that helps if you want any more ideas send me an email! For real!

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  2. I'm sorry you're going through such a rough time! I think things improve soon. Sometimes life gets in the way, try not to be too hard on yourself!

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  3. Hope your husband finds a new job quickly! Hang in there! At least it's the time of year when cheap veggies should be accessible at the farmers' markets.

    Do you have a costco membership or a friend who does? You can get a lot of decent stuff in bulk there pretty cheaply.

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  4. I'm sorry to hear about your hubby's job loss. You're an awesome, positive person and I know you'll make it through tough times and come out stronger.

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  5. I FEEL for you, girl! Hang in there and nice job heading to the farmer's market for some healthy stuff...especially if you're running a marathon next week! I hope your husband finds a job quickly, have faith!

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  6. Hang in there Jamie! You are such a positive and inspirational woman, you will get through this!
    Good luck on the last run :)

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  7. Very sorry to hear the hubby lost his job; but I'm sure things will work out fine and he will be back in the saddle in no time!

    And I so understand about "processed" food (been there done that) BUT it won't last forever and I'm sure you'll find ways to alter the processed so that they aren't so processed..

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  8. So sorry about the hubby's job. We are in a scary situation too with the BP Oil mess. Hope he finds a job soon.

    Hope you find the marathon to be a nice break from reality.

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  9. I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's job loss. Hang in there and keep doing your best. I know your family will be back on track soon.

    Best of luck in the upcoming marathon!!!

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  10. Sorry aobut your hubby's job - hope things turn around soon.

    I am eating pretty bad too, and don't have an excuse. :) All I can say is I think baked goods are a cure for taper madness.

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  11. Thats rough. Sorry to hear about the job loss.
    Soups and chili, although not the right season are very inexpensive and rice is too. You can add all kinds of stuff to rice. Sweet and sour, curry, tropical with chicken, pineapple coconut.

    Have fun tapering and relaxing as much as you can and I don't think 10 miles is a long run for you anymore ;)

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  12. That's the hardest part about eating healthy is that it's expensive. At least I know that's been part of my problem. We eat processed foods and casseroles a lot because we just don't have a lot of money.

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  13. I'm really sorry about your husband's job! I agree with Holly couponing can help a lot and look for bulk deals when you can. It's really crazy that eating healthy is expensive, isn't it?

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  14. So sorry to hear about your husband's job loss. I do hope he finds something else quickly. Good luck with the healthy eating...hang in there. Hugs.

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  15. Sorry about your husband's job loss. I hope he finds something. You will certainly drop any "extra" pounds you might put on next weekend. I agree - coupons can cut grocery bills tremendously. Gentle Hugs and I will be thinking of you.

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  16. Sorry to hear about your situation. Pasta and veggies from the farmer's market are cheap and healthy. When your looking for processed foods, try to watch the sodium.

    Wishing this doesn't last.

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  17. I've made that corn casserole a ton of times. It is so versatile. I've added chopped broccoli to it. As well as things like a can of chickpeas, or a can of diced chilies, or some cubed tofu, or chopped asparagus, or chopped spinach. This dish is a staple in our house and it is different every time. I usually serve with some salsa and sour cream.

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  18. Sorry to hear that. :( I have made that corn casserole before and LOVE it! Some of my other low budget favorites are chili, baked ziti, taco soup, and veggie chili. If any sound good to you, let me know and I'll send you the recipe.

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  19. Sorry to hear about the rough patch. Is there a Costco so you can buy in bulk? I second the veggie chili idea, it's easy to make such a huge amount and you can stock it with canned veggies, etc.

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  20. Sorry about the job loss - that is rough. We went through some hard times and yes, processed food is cheap, but man did I put on the weight. Of course, I wasn't doing any exercise, so that didn't help. I hope things turn around for your family soon.

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  21. I am so sorry to hear about your husband's job loss. You are tough girl and I know you'll be okay. Know that we are all out here pulling for you guys! If I ever get my garden planted, you're welcome to some of the goods :)

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  22. wow, so sorry to hear about your husband's job. :-( i hope and pray that he will find another job soon! i have an idea for a cheap meal for the kids...omg, i cannot believe i am actually going to tell someone this...my sister and I still make fun of my mom to this day about this "recipe." it sounds gross but my sis and i used to LOVE it when we were little...tuna fish in ice cream cones! she used to take us for a picnic dinner at the beach. the cones were the "plain" kind. it was actually really fun to eat, as you might imagine.

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  23. My sympathies. My husband was out of work for several months. He did temp. stuff but it didn't pay much. He is back now but not at his previous salary. Good luck.

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  24. That's tough. We went thru that last year. It actually worked out to be the best thing for him. He was languishing in a job he hated.

    FYI...last summer NPR had a series of articles about meals for 4 people for less than $10. Here's the link. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103470173

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  25. Jamie...I'm sooo sorry for you and your family! I know you will get through this. Keep your positive attitude!
    Also, you may have to resort to calorie counting until you can buy food like you use to. At least this way, you are seeing how many "bad" calories you are putting in, and can limit how much you are eating, so hopefully your weight is affected too much.

    Good luck on your marathon coming up! I can't wait to read your recap!

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  26. I am so sorry to hear about your husband's job. I hope something comes up soon for him.

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