Raw: What Will You Eat?

Right now, I'm in a tough spot both time wise and financially (I'm only working one job and taking a full load of classes, whereas usually I have a second job teaching as an adjunct), but this isn't all that bad. (Particularly in this time of financial recession, I am able to pay all of my bills, pay down some debt, and eat relatively healthfully with occasional evenings out).

Anyway, the other way that this financial/time crunch is a blessing for me is that I have to be honest about what I will do/can do and what I will eat. Even though I do have the time crunch, I am not happy unless I get to cook on occasion--its not just the food, its also the activity and creativity. At the beginning of the semester, I bought a whole bunch of Lean Cuisine's because they were on sale for $1.78 and I knew that I would have pretty much no time for food prep. I HATE LEAN CUISINE AND ANY OTHER FROZEN MEAL (except the occasional Amy's or Ethnic Gourmet). These frozen meals have me craving--eh gad--raw veggies dipped in hummus and fresh salads. So, I'm going to give the rest of my frozen meals away and start to prepare meals that I will eat and I really want to eat more raw food. I had a good start this week by bringing baby carrots and snow peas with hummus to work for snack time. I tried a couple weeks ago to bring a mixed bag of organic baby carrots and broccoli to work, but then after not snacking on them I realized: I don't like raw broccoli! I do love: cucumbers, red or green peppers, jicama, baby carrots, snow peas, sugar snap peas, and celery, but I do not like raw broccoli or raw cauliflower and somehow "making" myself eat them really equals me rebelling and eating a granola bar, cheese, or something from the vending machine (which I rarely do and its not the end of the world, but its funny how doing what you think is healthiest often results in the exact opposite behavior).

So, I'd like to bring a salad for lunch on Monday's and either a sandwich or some other prepared meal for dinner; Tuesday I'd like a salad and bring a sandwich to eat in the car on the way home after class; then Wednesday we go out to lunch in the office, eat dinner at home; then finally Thursday is salad for lunch and then wait to eat my "now" traditional treat of chicken wings and beer with 30 Rock for dinner. I don't have to do the salad routine every day, but for a couple weeks I feel like it because I'm in that groove. I want fresh fruit/veggies as snacks available if I crave them and then salads for lunch for a while--almost to make up for the processed food overload as of late.

Stayed tuned to read about "pimpin' your salad" soonly.