Enjoy!

I have been making a conscious effort this year to reduce the amount of stress in my life. As silly as this may sound, a crazy all-over-the-place desktop brings  me some serious anxiety. There is nothing as frustrating as squinting all over my desktop trying to find a photo or document I'm working on. 

I heard a very discouraging fact today: in some areas, nearly 50% to 60% of the food produced goes to waste, yet, 800 million people go hungry each day. Food is a resource that is far too important to waste. Not only that, but groceries can be expensive!

How can we change this?  Thankfully, there are some really great organizations out there that are urging for macro-level changes, but I'm a firm believer in making changes in our own homes.

Think back to the last time you cleaned your fridge... honestly, how much food did you throw away? I am often embarrassed when I find unopened containers of expired yogurt, untouched left-overs, and bags of soggy spinach when cleaning my fridge.

This year I am planning on taking photos of all of the food I throw away. A little weird and perhaps a little drastic, but I really think in order to see what a HUGE issue it is for each of our households, this is the way to do it. I would encourage you to check out the documentary Wasted! The Story of Food Waste (produced by Anthony Bourdain). You will never look at food waste the same again.

One day, I would love to be able to say I grow my own fruits and vegetables and create compost with food waste, but that will take some time to develop.

So what is is the simplest and most practical step we can take to eliminate some of our own food waste?

Create a meal plan and grocery list!

 This is probably the single, most effective thing we can do. It not only eliminates the daily stress of "what's for dinner"  (hello automation), it saves time by requiring fewer trips to the grocery store, it saves money by eliminating those unnecessary items we always purchase at every trip and come home to find we already have 5 of,  AND it's healthier than eating out!  If you are not super excited about creating a meal plan, start with making a list of as many of your favorite dishes as you can, and then writing those onto a calendar. See. Easy.

After creating your list, make a list of the groceries you need at home to make these items. Then check your fridge and pantry for items you already have and cross them off!

Lastly, when you are at the store, try to eliminate (or at least limit) the number of items you purchase not on your list. Time yourself: try to get in and out of the grocery store as fast as you can! This will help you stick to your list and not spend time aimlessly looking at items on the shelf, or finding snacks that you "must have." Another option: use a grocery pick-up or delivery service like Wal-Mart. (use this link and save $10) - it not only saves you time, but helps eliminate purchasing impulse items!

If sitting down to plan a week's worth of meals and groceries doesn't sound like tons of fun for you, give a planning service like emeals a try.  I am a huge fan of services that make my life easier, and if you've talked to me more than five times, chances are at least one of those times I have brought up eMeals.  Emeals is one of those services for me and it is super affordable (like less than the carton of expired yogurt I just threw away). Even better, the app coordinates with your grocery pick-up service, so you don't have to set foot in the grocery store!( Click here to get a free two-week trial and $10 off!)  Seriously. Try it.



What are some of your favorite food-saving tricks? Have you watched Wasted?

If you've followed my instagram account, you know that I try to make Sundays as family focused as possible. Part of that is also getting organized for the week ahead to avoid chaos, panic, rushing and forgotten items later in the week (which usually seems to result in mom losing her sh*t at some point). I've found taking a few minutes on Sunday to prepare for the week ahead eliminates at least some of the chaos... Here is a list of some of the things on the Sunday-to-do list around here:

• Menu Plan --- I am SOOOOOO lucky that my husband does all of our family's grocery shopping! We use emeals* around here and let me tell you what a huge time saver it has been for me. They have a ton of different meal plans available, I like the items on their "Clean Eating" menu. Simply pick out which meals you are going to be making, and it creates a grocery list FOR you! You can add to it, or cross off items you already have. Combine it with a grocery pick up app -- like Walmart's* -- and it's almost as quick + easy as paying for a meal delivery service!

• Purchase any online items -- I always buy things like dog foot, toilet paper, laundry soap, and diapers online: it saves me a trip to the store and ultimately saves me money because I am not aimlessly wandering around Target finding treasures I suddenly cannot live without. (You could also combine these with meal planning if you are using a pickup service)

• Weekly schedule: I keep a monthly calendar on our wall, along with my planner and a google calendar, but I have recently also started writing a re-cap of our upcoming week which we hang on the garage door as it is easier for my kids to use/see. 

• This is also the time I sort through my kids' backpacks to see if there are any forms that need to be returned that may have gotten missed previously 

• Clean sheets: because every week starts a little better with a fresh pair of sheets!

The American Heart Association recommends that we all eat five servings of vegetables per day, and four servings of fruits -- how many of us can honestly say we do this consistently? Yes, fruit and veggie juices count, but when is the last time you checked that label of even the healthy store bought juice?

The quickest way I have found to get in a couple of extra servings of fruit and vegetables (and protein too) is with a green smoothie. By now, I am sure you have heard of all of the benefits of these magical elixirs - more energy, better skin, feeling sick less often, etc. Thank all of the antioxidants in fruits and vegetables for this!

They are so simple to make, and so easy to build-your-own!

Here is my absolute favorite, it's so delicious, my kids love it too!

• 2 c. spinach (I just put in two handfuls, I'm guessing it is probably a little more than 2 cups)
• 1/2 cup orange juice or 1/2 peeled orange
• 1/4 cup frozen mango slices (or use fresh)
• 1/4 cup frozen peach slices (or use fresh)
• 1 cup water (a little more if you are using an orange instead of orange juice)
• 1 scoop plant-based vanilla protein (optional)

Place all ingredients in blender and, you guessed it.....blend!  I prefer using frozen mango and peach slices just because there is no additional prep that way (and rumor has it, frozen fruits and vegetables maintain more of their nutritional value than fresh).

Ideally, the vegetable to fruit ratio is at least 2:1 or 3:1, but if you are just starting out, you may find you will enjoy them better with a 1:1 ratio (equal parts fruit to vegetable).

Do you have a green smoothie recipe you love? I'd love to try it out!

H E L L O --- I'm Amber. You have the entire internet at your fingertips yet somehow stumbled upon this blog of mine.  I'm so happy you are here.

Most of my life I have been interested in all things health and wellness. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I have seen or tried the good, the bad, and the ugly as well... from green smoothies (good!) to all kinds of expensive shakes with sub-par ingredients (bad) and even wraps and pills promising to burn fat (ugly!) and everything in between.