Meatless Mondays -- Baked Spaghetti

So hubby and I are initiating Meatless Mondays.  We're traditional Iowans in respect to our meat and potatoes.  Trying to go meatless is to help us balance our meat intake with more fruits, veggies, and fiber.  

I totally respect people who have an ethical dilemma about eating meat.  Unfortunately, meat is just too tasty to stop eating.  I also wish we could purchase cage-free, grass-fed, hormone-free, farm-raised happy meat, but the markup is waaay out of our price league at this point.

In the meantime, the best I can do is be thankful that an animal died so I can eat, portion control so we're mindful of our consumption level, and prepare it so we waste as little as possible.

This week's venture was Baked Spaghetti

13x9" pan

8oz wheat angel hair pasta (1/2 box)
14-16oz jar pasta/pizza sauce
14.5oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup grated Parmesan
 

Prepare pasta according to package. Rinse and cool enough to handle.

Create three sets of layers starting with
1) sauce + tomatoes, then 2) pasta and 3) cheese.  Just like assembling lasagna. 



Bake @350 25 minutes covered with foil.  Uncover last five minutes.

This recipe creates 6 generous sized pieces.

Cost based on Walmart purchases:
$0.78 cents for tomatoes (Hunts)
$1.08 for jar of pizza sauce (Ragu)
$0.89 for half box of angel hair (Barilla)
$1.00 for half bag of shredded mozz
$0.60 cents for 1/2-1c Parmesan

______________

$4.35 or 73 cents a serving


Nutritionally, this is a fantastic meal.  Lots of vitamins from the infusion of tomatoes, Barilla's wheat pasta has tons of fiber and added Omega 3's, and this recipe can easily adapt to lower amounts of parmesan and adding 2% cheese.

Nutrition Profile per serving:
306 calories (15% based on 2,000 cal)
11.3g fat (17%)
6g saturated fat (30%, and based on a full cup of parmesan)
815mg sodium (34%)
5g fiber (20%)
59g carb (19.5%)
18g protein (36%)
8g sugar 

This is pretty good considering we can do about 1.5 servings (plus veggies) and we're full.  

Paired the meal with a spinach salad.  We really like Brianna's Dressing.  It's a little more on the expensive side (around $3-4 a bottle, depending on where you're at) but there are no preservatives and the taste is restaurant quality.


This is one of those foundation recipes that's simple and quick, but has room to jazz up or down based on your preferences.  We also had enough leftovers for both Mike and I to have lunch the next day, making this a double punch for healthy and economical!

Question of the Day: What's your favorite vegetarian dish?

Free Entertainment Series: The Des Moines Art Center

This past weekend I went to visit a good friend in the Des Moines area.  When Mike has his drill weekends, I tag along and spend the weekend doing fun stuff.  It's actually a good money saver since we're both headed the same direction.

Des Moines, for all of its boringness, actually has some interesting stuff tucked here and there.  We decided to check out the Des Moines Art Center

Admission: FREE

If only it would have been summer when we went

For as small as our state is, they have a pretty decent collection.  You could easily spot major artists (albeit some of their minor works) like Warhol, Picasso, Matisse, Monet, Cassatt, and O'Keeffe.
 

Merci Google for above and below!

This is a Georgia O'Keeffe we particularly enjoyed.  It's an abstract, Cubist, deconstruction of wind blowing over a lake.  I read the plaque to get all of that :)  We just liked the bold colors and lines, lol

This guy is made from corrugated metal roofing, the stuff you see on farm sheds.  Apparently he's a staple of the collection.  

He was the last piece of their temporary exhibit "Bad Dreams" and I like this context.  He reminds of the horses the Nazgul or the Headless Horseman would ride.

These guys made me laugh.

It's titled "Animal Pyramid" and I love the balance of traditional animal forms
with the overall whimsical feel. 

I was totally thinking of Fantasia while looking at this and "Le Carnaval des Animaux" by Saint-Saens was playing in my head.  

Oh yes, I just got cultural on you.  Amazing what side disciplines you pick up when you study literature :)

Working on my photo skills for the above three ...

Overall, I recommend the museum for casual and serious art lovers alike.  It does have an emphasis on modern art, so you may raise your eyebrow quizzically from time to time, but I feel it's good to have your perspective challenged.



Question of the Day: What free (or dirt cheap) entertainment would you recommend for your area?

2011 Financial Goals (pt 2 of 2)

Ok, first of, sorry for the lengthy delay between posts.  It's hard to be at work for 8 hours reading and writing and want to devote any time at night to the same thing :)

So a while back I did a post detailing part of our financial goals for 2011.  The second part to our goals is focusing on my health, particularly lowering my weight.

It may not appear that weight loss has much to do with one's bank account, but it has everything to do with one's future financial stability.  This is an investment so the Me-Down-the-Road won't develop diabetes, heart problems, high blood pressure, and a host of other things that cost money.  Crude, perhaps, to frame one's health in the context of the almighty dollar, but it's no secret that people can become financially crippled from medical bills.  

Anyways, the last couple of years I've done a lot of talking and thinking about getting healthy.  But given my fluctuating work schedule coupled with high levels of stress, I could never get the ball rolling.  Sometimes you have too many things in your life competing for your energy.  I made the call to let work and keeping us financially afloat take precedence over my health.


So at the beginning of last year, I decided to make 2010 the year of me.  I was subjecting myself to the mercy of an adjunct system that was never designed to or could ever accommodate steady work, I had had terrible troubles getting a PhD application out the door due to depression, and was suffering from overload in all senses of the word.

It was time for things to change.  Once I got my rejection letter (which, side note, I think was maybe a good thing ... I don't fuss over it at least ...), I set up 4 very specific goals:

• Find a stable income 
• Move out of the area
• Decrease stress, which was dependent on the first two
• Lose weight, which was dependent on all three

I achieved all three within the first six months of the year, and did manage to trim a little by taking a water aerobics class.  Once we moved, it took a long time to adjust from academia to publishing and weight loss got lost in the shuffle.  I did take advantage of the bike trail near our home for evening walks and started getting in lunch walks downtown during the summer and fall.  Once winter set in, goodbye maintaining weight and hello going up a few belt notches. 

I really do feel that sometimes, you just have to clear out space in your life to improve your health.  It's like tackling a messy room.  You can clean it and move things around so it looks like you've got space.  But that's a big difference from cleaning and actually moving things out.  I feel like I've purged a lot of negativity from my life and now I'm left with this one battlefield left to tackle.

I was reading a blog on fat activism and body acceptance the other day. Something the author put her finger on really perked up my ears: 

Forgot about how you look, but how you feel.  

So many people emphasize the aesthetics of their body over how it actually works for them.  They want to look a certain way or be a particular size. But what about how their body functions?

This is the mantra I want to focus on, not my looks.  However I feel when I look in the mirror, it pales in comparison to how painful my body feels.  I am 5'6" and in the mid-180s.  My body aches from the extra weight, I don't remember the last time my shoulders and back didn't hurt, I have plantar fasciitis that will not heal, and I find asthma pops up during high-intensity cardio.

Aside from minimizing future medical costs, there's also the present toll on my wardrobe. 

 
It's kind of hard to see from the picture, but that is 104L container of clothes that are too small.  This has been added to for several years now and represents hundreds of dollars.  I would have a fantastic professional wardrobe if I could use these.

At this point, I refuse to buy anymore clothing at my current size, which ranges from a 16-18.  That's officially plus size, which in my mind = unhealthy.  There's also no point in purchasing clothes at a size that isn't sustainable, that I don't intend to keep for long, and that might encourage me to keep being complacent.

On the upside, most of these clothes are only a size or two away.  I have no illusions of being a skinny as I was in high school.  I want to be a figure 8, something reminiscent of Hollywood glamor girls of the 30s and 40s.

But the important thing is for the function.  I want to be that crazy couple that goes on hiking trips, goes canoeing, plays basketball or tennis.  Mike is a runner, and it would be great to do that together.  Or even to remotely have a compatible fitness level.

I feel confident that with this frame of reference, I'll be able to really make an impact this time.  My current plan is to start out small:

• Walk during my lunch breaks.  I get an hour, and 10 laps around the office is 30 minutes.
• Use my workout DVDs several times a week: Tae Bo, Stripaerobics, and Biggest Loser.
• Take advantage of the mall for additional walking
• Do weightlifting with my medicine ball, resistance bands, and weights.

I contemplated taking classes, signing up for a gym membership, participating in a weight loss program, or purchasing quality exercise equipment.  But at the end of the day, those cost more than we had room for in the budget.  So I'll stick with what I have available that's free :)



Here's to a body in motion for 2011!  


Question of the Day: What are your health or fitness goals for the next year?




 

Movies on a Budget

Hi kids!

For my latest post, check it out on a fellow blogger's site!  It's all about getting in your movies habit without busting your wallet.

http://www.livinginiowa.net/2011/01/99-guest-post-movies-on-budget-by.html

Bargain Deals!

Quickie post on some fabulous bargain finds from this weekend.

Headed to Walmart to check out the after-Christmas sales.  Since making all of our Christmas gifts was such a success, we wanted to see if we could get some good holiday-themed containers in advance.

We made off like bandits!

Everything was half price, so we got the red containers for $1.50 (there's 3 of them with lids), and the boxes for $2.50 a pop.  That's less than $10 for all of them!

The boxes are awesome because you get 3, they come with lids, and they're fairly sturdy cardboard.  These will be so perfect for whatever candies and cookies we do next year.  And with what we spent, they turned out to be 83 cents a piece! (plus tax, but whatever)

I also like that the holiday decoration isn't too obnoxious or ugly.  I'm not a fan of stuff that is too heavily tied to one season because it's hard to reuse.  These are good for the whole winter, and easily be regifted to someone else.

We also hit up Goodwill.  I was in need of some more sweaters as our office is a bit drafty.  No success with pants, but I did find two nice shirts.

Neither of them are a perfect fit, but I think a good washing will help.  At any rate, these were $3.38 a piece.  Boo-yah!

While I was having some difficulties with sizes (that's for another post ... sigh ...), I was impressed with their selection.  If brand names are your thing, you will find them all at Goodwill.  There are some truly hideous gems from the 80s and 90s hanging out, but overall, you can get good basic items.

I also grab a set of dishes to take to work.  Our place has a few ceramic dishes, but I usually have to clean them for my lunch.  Figured my own set would ensure I'd always have a dish, lol.  Both are microwave safe and were 88 cents a piece.  Just need to hit them up with a little bleach and soap and off to work they'll go!

Part of being financially strapped is knowing when to lay down some money and when to hang on to it.  Bargain deals always make me feel good about where my money has gone.  

Question of the Day: What bargain deals have you found lately?

Closet Challenge Update

Tackled the closet today.  Was surprised how little there actually was to do.  Not so much of a challenge!  But what we did need to do was productive.

First Mike had fun dragging out my memory tub from high school.  

  

Every so often, I go through and purge stuff like this.  You get less sentimental as the years go on.  I once had 4 containers!  This one, as you can see, is mostly full of photo albums and yearbooks.  Stuff to save, but not keep out on the shelves.  We did find a never-worn shirt, now destined for the washer, and an antique lace table cloth, now back in the "hosting" tub it belongs in.

A cousin and I, circa 1987

Rosebud Indian Reservation -- helped with a kids' camp in 2001

Mike enjoying my embarrassment as he pawns through my dorky past

 Anyways, several successes came out of the closet challenge:

• Found an unopened copy of Office Mac 08, now up on Craigslist for $50
• Decided to put our 6' artificial Christmas on Craigslist for free
• All of our stackable luggage is properly put away
• Repurposed an empty trunk to hold our smaller games.  Now all the board games fit in their original tub, and these games are more accessible.

Probably the best thing to come of this exercise was deciding to sell my first wedding dress

Yes, I have two wedding dresses.  The simplified story is that Mike and I got engaged in 2002, I bought the first dress in 2003, had a 5-year delay,  figured out in spring 2008 that I would never fit into it again, and got married in dress #2 three weeks later.

Isn't that awesome?!  I still love this dress, the bodice was my favorite part.  But alas, since we've already done the wedding, and almost 3 years ago to boot, there's no point in keeping it.

So I've got it up on Craigslist for $150.  I figure this is pretty reasonable as it's never been worn, still has the tags, is still in style, and was stored in a smoke-free environment.  It's minorly wrinkled, but 7 years in a closet will do that.

Hope someone bites, particularly when they're getting such a good deal!

 








 

That was a good start to weekly challenges but too easy!  Off to go brainstorm some more potentials :)

2011 Financial Goals (pt. 1)

I know some people think New Year's resolutions are hokey, and to some extend, I agree.

However, my life revolves around a calendar.  If you go to my work, there are three calendars that sit in front of me: the current month, the next month, and the editorial calendar.  My life runs on deadlines and a set work schedule.  I am hyper-aware of time passing.

So I'm going to take advantage of this and apply it to our finances.  They, too, run on a very specific schedule.  We have 12 months to work on financial stability.

Mike and I have determined it will be the credit cards.

Not our actual cards - thanks Google!

We took the time to add up our exact debt.  I thought we had a good ballpark figure, but let me tell you, ballpark and finances aren't a great combination.  Things can take you by surprise.

Here's the rundown of our debt:
$3,680 owed
4 cards (one for each, one joint, one department store)
76% owed out of total credit card limits

These are hard numbers to admit.  Are we as in bad of shape as other people?  No.  Is the total owed bad compared to how much we make?  Yes.  

That amount represents 15% of Jennie's total salary, or 23% after taxes/heath insurance.  That's $10 a day!  

That is WAAY too much for two people at our income level.

Frustration is tied to this figure in three ways:
1) I should have been better.  My parents, to my knowledge, have always carried tremendous credit card debt my whole life, reaching into the 5 digits.  I vowed to never go down this path.  I'm over a 1/3 of the way there.
2) In the past six months since moving, we've had to use the credit cards as supplemental income.  It's not like we've been blowing them on useless items, trips, or shopping sprees.  Nope; groceries, gas, and supplies. 
3) The above habit, of course, is what leads people into 5 digit debt.  Thank goodness our total limit wouldn't allow us to, but it's the habits that count.

There's a lot of different perspectives out there about debt.  The ol' some-debt-is-good-some-is-bad advice.  At the end of the day, I say debt is debt.  

We have thousands of dollars tied up with banks who are collecting interest off it.  We have four separate credit card payments each month.  This is a limiting situation that needs to be remedied before we become one of those dismal couples on the Today Show lamenting about our debt.

So Mike and I have resolved to get rid of our credit card debt.  All of it.  In 12 months.

This is going to be daunting task.  To do this, we need to get around $300 a month onto the cards.  This is impossible with just my salary.  Luckily, Mike is going to be getting his GI bill for going to school, which is going to double our monthly income.  We won't see that until mid-January, so we're proceeding cautiously for this first pay cycle.

The overall approach we're taking is a sliding scale.  We're tackling the cards with the lowest balance, giving them an extra large payment, and putting minimums + $5 on the rest.  

For us personally, spreading equal payments across the cards hasn't been helpful.  You never feel like you're getting anywhere.  So the goal is to feel better by knocking out whole cards swiftly.

First card up is the department store.  I just slashed the balance in half by putting $100 on it.  Hopefully we will get it to zero either by the end of the month or start of next one. 

And to really emphasize our commitment to this plan, we're also locking up the credit cards.  Literally.  All four reside in our lockbox.  There's no point in having them in our wallets when we're trying to eliminate them.

 

I do know people who have literally frozen their cards.  We get in our freezer too much for this to be practical :)

We'll let you know how we do as the months go on!

Question of the Day: Out of your total credit card limit, what percentage do you owe?  Are you comfortable with this number?