09 Aug 10 Tightening The Belt
Many people are looking for ways to save money in this lousy economy.
There are a few quite simple ways to do it.
- Walk to the store. If it’s within a mile or two, consider walking in fine weather, or riding a bike. You’ll save gas, and wear and tear on the car, and you’ll burn some extra calories too. Most of us don’t get enough exercise!
- Continuing with cars, why not organize a carpool with some of your fellow workers? Again, you’ll save gas, and wear and tear on your car, and you get to relax a little instead of doing all the driving every day. Another point to think of – if more people carpooled, there would be fewer cars on the road, which means less pollution, so that’s a health benefit too.
- While we’re talking about work, why not pack a lunch, instead of eating fast food every day? That burger and fries can be 1,000 – 1,500 calories a day, and a sandwich made at home can be less than a third of that. Also, even that fast food lunch can be $7 $10 a day, and for Around $10-$12 you can easily buy enough for that homemade lunch to last a whole week.
- What do you drink with that lunch, or indeed throughout the day? Do you really need those expensive lattes, that can come in around 600 calories, and up to $4 each? Why not invest in a thermal mug, and make coffee at home, drink one before you leave, and take another one with you to the office, or drink in the car on the way there, if that’s what you usually drop into the coffee shop for. That alone can save you $15-$20 a week. Even better drink tap water! It’s better for you, has no calories, and doesn’t contain that dehydrating caffeine that 90% of Americans consume each day in either coffee, tea, or soda.
These few simple things can save you up to $50 or $60 a week, which is $250 a month or $3,000 a year! Heck, you could get that new car sooner, move to a bigger house, or have a great vacation instead!
Tags: burger and fries, calories, carpool, coffee shop, fast food, fellow workers, great vacation, health benefit, heck, new car, pollution, sandwich, soda, tap water, ways to save money, wear and tear
18 Sep 09 Slow Food
‘Someone asked the other day, ‘What was your favorite fast food when you were growing up?’
‘We didn’t have fast food when I was growing up,’ I informed him.
‘All the food was slow.’
‘C’mon, seriously . Where did you eat?’
‘It was a place called ‘at home,” I explained. !
‘ Mom cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn’t like what she put on my plate I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.’
Tags: dining room table, fast food, Mom cooked
28 May 08 Get Fresh, Get Flavor
Regular readers amongst you will know how much I enjoy my coffee, particularly first thing in the morning.
Now, cynical old me doesn’t take too much notice of advertising claims, and that includes food, and some of the claims for “organic”.
However, for me, food and drink is all about taste, and I’ll buy what I consider has the best flavor, even if it’s not always the healthiest or most environmentally friendly choice.
I feel that so much food and drink these days comes under the category of “bland”. That’s the main reason I avoid most fast food – not that I’m on a huge health kick – although I do try to be more sensible than I used to be – but that most fast food, is basically ruined. It’s processed beyond almost all recognition – tastewise at least.
Bacon and ham often taste of little more than salt; sharp or strong cheese – oh please, it’s more like a bar of soap. It’s also the reason why I avoid most beer from the megabreweries around the world, particularly the “lite” ones. I don’t care if it’s got less carbs, it’s got no flavor!
So, having said that when I do find something that stimulates my taste buds, I go and get more. Some recent examples, I’ve found in Publix. OK, so you pay more for their “Greenwise” chicken, but it really does taste like chicken used to taste years ago, before they will pumped full of who knows what, and lived in a few cubic inches from egg to slaughter.
Of course, anyone who’s grown their own vegetables knows the difference that really fresh really brings. Alas, we can’t have a vegetable patch in the condo community here, but when we move, we’ll certainly start one up again.
However, some of the roadside stalls dotted around the lowcountry have some excellent produce, and can be worth stopping by at.
Some things you can’t feasibly grow yourself, even in your own patch, which brings me to coffee. I found out many years ago, when I bought my first electric coffee machine, that there is a vast difference between different beans. I have been lucky enough to have tried Jamaican Blue Mountain, and it’s wonderful. If you’ve ever got the money (yes, it’s very expensive) then go to a good coffee roasters, and buy some – even a quarter pound. It’s has a mellowness, smoothness and roundness you’ll never forget.
However, most of us, can’t afford such luxuries for everyday drinking. Many of the coffee beans on sale at Starbucks make a good brew. I tend to prefer a stronger, darker roast, most of the time, but I do like to get something that has a good flavor, without the rough edges – like some of the cheaper coffees can have.
I prefer to buy beans, and grind them as required, as ground coffee quickly loses oils, it’s aroma, and flavor. A grinder is only a few dollars, and takes but a few seconds to use, so there’s really no excuse not to use one.
Last evening, we were getting low on coffee, so Kathy dropped into Publix, and got some more. She picked up some Paul Newman’s Organic French Roast, and so this morning, I had to try it. It’s robust, but smooth, and just what I like first thing. I take my coffee with a little milk, but never ever any sugar. Anyhow, I recommend it. It’s about $7.50 for a 10 oz bag of beans.
Tags: bacon, cheese, coffee machine, condo community, cubic inches, egg, fair trade, fast food, food and drink, health kick, lowcountry, organic, organic coffee, paul newman, slaughter, soap, taste buds, taste like chicken, vegetable patch, vegetables
