Lessmeatarian Week Four

This week I will direct you to this article by Mark Bittman. I was struck by the same statement Michelle Obama made, “You can begin in your own cupboard,” she said, “by eliminating processed food, trying to cook a meal a little more often, trying to incorporate more fruits and vegetables.”
I also have to say that all this organic stuff bothers me, I have never purchased an organic product deliberately and I won't. To me it just seems like marketing. Many farmers actually are natural or organic or whatever but apparantly you have to pay to get a certification which seems like such bullshit. An apple from an orchard rather than an apple flavored treat has to always be better right?
I am glad the White House chefs Cristeta Comerford and Sam Kass have made the decision to put a garden on the grounds. I do not really see it making any sweeping changes in the economy which is where I would prefer the Obama White House were focused. I am not really concerned about the freshness of their vegetables.

I have made a commitment to myself to stop buying processed foods. Back when my kids were small and I struggled financially I never went into the center aisles of the grocery, only around the outside as all I could afford were meat, dairy and produce. Now it has shifted, those items are practically cost prohibitive and you can get 4 boxes of mac and cheese for $1. A gallon of milk is $4 and yogurt that used to be 4/$1 are now nearly $1 apiece. Some things are cheap like white rice but brown rice is 4x the price, plain white pasta is cheap but the whole wheat or high protein kind is ridiculously high. I am all for eating better but I am surely not going to make my own pasta, I do not have time for that anymore but then again maybe homemade pasta should be a treat, maybe a person really should only have something like that once a week or month instead of 3-4 times from a box.
In Holland we eat a vegetable and a small serving of meat all week long for dinner, lunch is bread with one thin slice of meat or cheese or peanut butter and maybe soup, breakfast is grains of some sort. Only on Sunday do we have something special . I never eat like that in Texas. I try sometimes but I never last long.

I think I might try to stop saying "I don't have time" I really don't have time to recover from a stroke either.

Dr. Oetker Comes to America via Fabio Viviani

Serious Eats has an article about this. I was first excited and then thought no, it won't be the same, won't taste as good so why even try? I have said here before that the mushroom pizza may be my favorite food in the Netherlands along with the cheese. Well and maybe the chili spice. Look, it is even on sale this week at my Plus!

Shower Puffs, Kool-Aid and Sun Tea Oh MY!

I used to just throw some crap in a bag, run out the door, hop on my jet, watch a few movies that I wanted to see anyway, eat some fab BA food and boo-ya, 12 or so hours later I was ringing the bell on B's flat. If I forgot anything I would just pick it up at HEMA or Kruidvat. Not this time, with the dollar as weak as it is I will be stocking up on that crap here. Paying the equivalent of $15 for shampoo, conditioner and what would have been a 50 cent shower puff nearly killed me in April.

I am sure I will not be as fabulously organized as I want to be but there are a few things I really want to remember. I drink a lot and I try not to drink sodas or anything carbonated too often and water gets sooo old. I can make iced tea but mine is never as good as Sonic's so I drink a lot of KoolAid or other powdered drink mixes that are sweetened with Splenda or something. You know, I never even noticed if we have Splenda in the Nl, I am sure there is something like that. I would love to take a Sun Tea jar but that seems a little crazy even though I found one for $7. Maybe I will, I really love tea and B drinks waaay too much Pepsi.

The other thing I don't like to buy in the Nl is shoes. I have a hard time finding shoes that are comfortable and cute so I will be taking several pairs. I usually take three but this time I am taking a lot more. B jokes that he will need to buy the flat next door to hold my clothes. That would be true if I brought them all. I am so used to having tons of clothes, shoes and bags, it is going to be really hard to change.

McD's vs the Dutch Snackbar

I was reading a post at Sam's about McD's and thought about the fact that the Dutchman refuses to eat there. Supposedly this is because it is unhealthy but he will eat this mess from the snackbar on the corner and thinks it is a fabulous treat. Those are patatje oorlong which are actually not quite as disgusting as one would think, fries with peanutsaus and mayo. Dutch mayo is different from American mayo but still not quite what you expect on your fries. I sort of like it but not enough to justify the calories. That long skinny thing is sort of a Dutch hot dog, mystery meat that no one really wants to know about, but I would bet as tight as the Dutch are that it uses every leftover part of the pig including the squeal.

There are foods offered at McD's that are not so bad, the grilled chicken sandwiches or even a Big Mac are surely better for you than a Fricandel Speciaal.

My Dutch Kitchen

Jenn and Marloes posted photos of their Dutch kitchens. Our kitchen is pretty small by American standards but quite roomy enough to get the job done. I would like to add some more shelves on one wall, there is a lot of wasted space there and I do not have a proper oven. The Dutchman has baked some fabulous things in the convection/microwave thingy but I have not been brave enough to figure it out yet. I would probably not consider baking cakes or pastries because the fresh items for purchase are much nicer. I have never tried to make a Thanksgiving dinner anyway, I am always in the US for that. Aside from not having an oven the only thing I don't really like is the small sink. I would love to remove the wall between the kitchen and the living room as well but the Dutchman assures me that is not going to happen lol, however he does agree that some small changes should be made.
I am very lucky to have a beautiful large stainless steel dishwasher, a combo washer and a wonderful balcony. We have two actually, one off the kitchen that we use more for utility reasons and the one off the dining room that is our small suspended garden. The kitchen is on the sunny side of the flat which works out perfectly as the other balcony is shaded by one of the largest trees I have ever seen. It is magnificent.