Food Bloggin'

This is my food log for 3/3 - 3/5. It'll be set up chronologically, mostly with ranges of time instead of meal titles (breakfast, lunch, etc.) since my eating schedule varies from day to day. You can find a brief overview of my schedule each day, and that should help explain some of the eating patterns.
I will indicate what food is known to be organic, and anything not labeled so can be assumed to be conventional or unknown. And since I think it is important, I will label things like "bulk" or "local." I don't know offhand which of the produce items are local, though I'm sure some of the are. And though they aren't labeled as such, all of the spices I use save for the sea salt are bulk.
My beverages are pretty much the same every day. I drink mostly coffee in the earlier part of my days, and a lot of water throughout. I'm not even sure what "a lot" means...60-80 oz? If I figure it out I will edit in that info later on.
Location and manner of consumption are indicated, and if not, it means I took the time to cook and eat it at home.
I will do my best to tell the serving size of each item. Most of the items throughout my days are pretty straightforward as to how much I ate, except maybe my dinners. Just know that I eat enough for dinner each night to usually not even think about dessert...

Wednesday, March 3

I work on Wednesdays at a co-op natural foods store from 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. I don't eat while working on a typical day, except while on break. Usually I like to take my break later in the day - around 1:00. I get home around 3:45.

6:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.:

• 1 organic banana (shared in the car with my pal Cathy Wurzer)
  
• 3 organic Murcott mandarins - at work before punch-in time, fraternizing with the co-workers
  
• approx. 1 cup "Pecan Splendor" granola (bulk) - munched on periodically during my shift
  

1:00 - 5:30 p.m.:

• 1 16 oz. smoothie: organic bananas, organic raspberries, organic blueberries, just a bit of organic soymilk (I like it to barely move through the straw) - Wednesday is the world-famous "Smoothie Day" at my co-op: $1.00 off any large juice or smoothie! This is a ritual for me.
  

5:30 - bedtime:

• 1 not-quite-indulgent-sized barbecue chicken sandwich: local free range chicken, Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (from Target), organic celery, organic red onion, jalapeño, homemade whole wheat bread with flax meal
• 1 small salad: organic spring salad mix (bulk), organic Roma tomatoes, organic baby carrots, all-natural croutons, Annie's Organic Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing, organic raw pumpkin seeds (bulk)
• one too many homemade sweet potato fries: organic sweet potatoes, organic extra virgin olive oil (bulk), sea salt, pepper, organic cumin (bulk), Cub foods ketchup

I don't have a suitable table, so I eat dinner in bed with my husband while we watch X-Files on our computer. The truth is out there!

Beverages:

• 3 cups of coffee with organic soymilk and turbinado sugar
• 2 cups Organic Tulsi Green Tea with local honey (Homestead Honey - the best!), organic lemon juice (squeezed), organic cayenne pepper -- This is great when you have ominous cold/flu symptoms. The lemon is full of vitamin C, cayenne pepper allegedly contributes some wonderful benefits to the circulatory and immune systems - along with a tasty kick of heat for a bothered oral/nasal cavity, and honey is said to contain antiseptic (not to mention sweet and soothing!) properties.
• lots of water

Thursday, March 4

Thursday is a school day. I leave for school at 6:15 a.m. and return usually at 7:00 p.m. or briefly after. My backpack is huge with books already, so I just shove a bunch of snacks and leftovers from home wherever they will fit, and eat them when I have the time. After breakfast, I usually don't have time to eat much until after noon because I have 15 minutes to get from my first to second, and from my second to third classes. And for some reason I'm not big on eating in class.

5:30 a.m.- Noon:

• 1 organic red D'anjou pear (perfectly ripe, delicious) - at home before leaving
  
• 1 handful organic roasted unsalted cashews (bulk) - at Espresso Royale around 7:30, gathering my wits for the day
  

Noon - 7:00 p.m.:

• 1 leftover barbecue chicken sandwich (see 3/3) - at Espresso Exposé around noon
  
• 3 organic dried white figs (bulk) - in the class room where my Literary Theory class is held, shared with some peers
  
• 1 snack-sized bag Snackimals all-natural chocolate chip animal crackers - basement of Lind, on a bench reviewing some Linguistics details
  
• 1 all-natural Panda black licorice bar - also in the basement of Lind Hall
  

7:00 - bedtime:

• approx. 1 ½ cups skillet: Beeler's all-natural sausage links (local), organic Yukon Gold potatoes, organic broccoli, organic red onion, organic white button mushrooms, organic green bell pepper
• 6 stalks of asparagus, steamed, with (just a touch of) sea salt
• 1 small salad: organic spring salad mix (bulk), organic Roma tomatoes, organic baby carrots, Annie's Organic Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing, organic raw walnuts (bulk), organic craisins (bulk), local feta cheese
• 1 Tag-a-long and 1 Thin Mint (Girl Scout Cookies)

Dinner is again shared with my husband and special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully from the F.B.I.

Beverages:

• 3 or 4 cups of coffee with soymilk and turbinado sugar
• lotsa water
  

Friday, March 5

On Fridays I work as a receptionist from noon - 5:00 at a tattoo shop on the U of M campus. I will usually sleep in until a luxurious 8 or 9:00, when I take time to actually prepare something for breakfast. During work, this time of the year anyway, it is pretty busy and I do little if any eating at all on Fridays until I get home at 6:00.

8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.:

• 1 organic red D'anjou pear (not as ripe or delicious as my previous day's)
• 1 bowl oatmeal (prepared on stovetop): approx ½ cup organic rolled oats (bulk), water, frozen wild blueberries, organic Thompson raisins (bulk), whole brown flax seeds (bulk)

6:00 p.m. - bedtime:

• 1 bowl of coconut curry soup: Thai Kitchen organic coconut milk, Pacific free-range chicken broth, rice noodles, organic crimini mushrooms, organic red bell peppers, organic broccoli, organic red cabbage, organic baby carrots, organic garlic cloves, organic curry powder, organic turmeric powder, sea salt, pepper, fresh organic cilantro
• 1 small salad: organic spring salad mix (bulk), organic Roma tomatoes, organic baby carrots, all-natural croutons, organic Salad Girl Pomegranite Pear dressing (local), organic raw pumpkin seeds (bulk)
• 7 or 8 stalks of asparagus, oven-roasted with organic extra virgin olive oil (bulk) and sea salt

Assistant Director Walter Skinner of the F.B.I. imitates my best friend Mulder and covers up the death of a woman who was stung to death by deadly bees carrying small pox. Why, Skinner, why?

Beverages:

• 4 cups of coffee
• lotsa water

And that's that. Dinner is the nutritional pinnacle of my day. Most of my food comes from the co-op where I work, but not all of it. Rarely do I eat out or buy food that is already prepared, aside from some of the coffee I drink. I just can't justify it unless it's a special occasion, in which case my husband and I are likely to get Pizza Lucé take-out.
I'm not exactly sure how much we spend on food, but I would guess 60-$100 per week. I'm pretty lucky in that I work at a natural foods co-op and get 20% off my groceries, plus a variety of expired/damaged food stuffs for free: produce, pasta, bulk beans/grains/nuts/whatever people bag up and ditch on the bulk counter, frozen foods, yogurt...all kinds of goodies (we call these items "Buddies")! In addition to that, my husband works at the Franklin Street Bakery so we get fresh bread for ridiculously cheap (not to mention chocolate ganache cupcakes...etc., etc., etc.). So a substantial amount of my diet actually consists of/is determined by free or really cheap food that's available to us.