What’s In Your Fridge?
This past Saturday night marked the end of “daylight savings,” which meant we had to turn our clocks back an hour, and in the process, gain an hour of sleep on Sunday (score!). Although, subsequently, it also means it will start getting dark by 4:30 in the afternoon (bummer).
Anyways, Lisa and I are huge fans of getting up early(ish) on Sunday so that we can get a head start on “life” and all the fun activities we have in store: namely – laundry and grocery shopping. But, just so we’re clear, “fun activities” can be interpreted in any number ways, because doing laundry is about as fun as knitting a sweater or passing a kidney stone in my book. Nevertheless, it’s stuff that needs to get done, and I’d rather do it early and get it over with than procrastinate and wait until later in the day.
You know, when football is on. And naps need to be taken.
So, I turn over on Sunday morning and look at the clock and it says 7 AM, which is really 6 AM because like an asshat, I forgot to set my clock before I fell asleep.
We’re awake, give each other a high five, and with that we both get out of bed, and decide to strip it and gather up all the laundry and trudge down the street to the coin-operated laundry mat.
We have it down to a science, and it’s really impressive when you think about it. While I still haven’t quite grasped on to the whole concept of separating the colors from the whites, Lisa and I are able to load the machines and are out the door within five minutes. Knowing that the timers are set for 25-30 minutes, we hop in the car and drive to Whole Foods, which is roughly a mile away.
There, we like to buy some of our high(er) commodity items, or stuff that we only have to purchase once a month, or maybe every other week. Things like: chia seeds, cacao nibs, ginger, various spices, soy and/or coconut milk, unsweetened coconut, Larabars (when on sale), or various fruits and vegges that are in season (yet on sale). And, too, Sundays tend to be sampler days, so if I’m lucky there are several platters of free cheese out in the open. #Winning!!!
Once we leave the Whole Foods parking lot, it’s back to the laundry mat to switch the clothes from the washing machines to the dryers. I slowly approach the building, Lisa sniper rolls out of the car, and I wait as she does her thing. We have thirty minutes until the clothes are dry.
……and then it’s off the Trader Joe’s to do the bulk of our weekly grocery shopping.
The doors open at 8 AM, and I think we were there by 8:45.
I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice it to say, we heart Trader Joe’s, and we’re lucky to live in a neighborhood which has one within such a short distance of our apartment.
We head back to the laundry mat, pick up the clothes, and we’re back inside our building by 9:30 AM – laundry AND grocery shopping done. What’s up!?!
I say all of this, because we’ve made it a routine. It’s part of what we do. Laundry aside – seriously, I’d rather drink battery acid – getting the grocery shopping done for the week is important to both of us, and it’s something I feel more people need to try to make a habit of doing.
I mean, if’ the (right) food is there to eat, you’re less likely to be tempted to eat for convenience, or worse, order out.
Of course, you then have to take the time to prepare those foods – which is exactly what we do for the next 2-3 hours once we’re home.
I made some homemade apple-cinnamon protein bars from the Gourmet Nutrition cookbook.
Lisa went for broke and made spaghetti squash, roasted butternut squash, apricot squash soup, delicata squash (I guess someone likes squash), roasted carrots, brussel sprouts, and sweet potatoes, and roasted chicken to last us the week.
She then prepared meals for the week and placed all the containers in the fridge.
In fact, I’m pretty sure we have the most diesel fridge in Boston right now:
So, I ask, what does your fridge look like? Is it full with fresh produce (eggs, yogurt, milk), veggies, fruits, and meat? Yes, there’s some bad stuff in there, too – I just made sure to place it in the back (HA!). Or, is it filled with nothing but processed crap?
I say all of this not to showcase my laundry doer prowess (although, it served as a nice segue)….
…..but rather to demonstrate that food prep is kind of a big deal.
Taking the time to buy and prepare foods a head of time speaks volumes for setting yourself up for success throughout the week.
The inside of one’s fridge says a lot. What does yours say?
Comments for This Entry
Marco
That fridge is the boss of all bosses.November 7, 2011 at 9:33 am |
Anonymous
True story. True story.November 7, 2011 at 12:39 pm |
Damon
My fridge looks about the same.... Gotta love a productive Sunday! http://www.flickr.com/photos/69535881@N03/6322612934/in/photostreamNovember 7, 2011 at 9:56 am |
Anonymous
Nice! And, just to be clear, I'm not ALWAYS up by 6 AM on a Sunday, but it always feels damn good to be done with most of our errands by 10. And, it just goes to show how a little planning a head can go a long ways as far as setting yourself up for success for the week (in terms of meals, anyways).November 7, 2011 at 12:40 pm |
Wordsmith42
@Tony: Mine is loaded with veggies, some fruit, Fage yogurt, almond milk and sundry other items. But, if I might be immodest for once, mine trumps all right now since I have 13.4 pounds of pork butt that will be thawed by noon and will then be slow-cooked for 9 hours. But I ain't bragging. #meatfortheweek RSNovember 7, 2011 at 10:26 am |
Anonymous
Ronell: if your fridge and my fridge arm wrestled, yours would win.November 7, 2011 at 12:41 pm |
John
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23090994@N05/6322304871/ #dieselfridgeNovember 7, 2011 at 11:10 am |
John
Note: those eggs are all free range grass fed from a small local farmer.November 7, 2011 at 11:11 am |
Claire
Chickens eat grass? ;PNovember 8, 2011 at 8:28 am |
Barath
hahahaha!!November 8, 2011 at 9:38 am |
Saoirse Lee
They actually do, my chickens love grass and gobble loads if in addition to their other food.November 24, 2011 at 8:44 pm |
Anonymous
Whooooooooooa. Now THAT's a fridge.November 7, 2011 at 12:42 pm |
J.B.
Mine looks simiar except for a big crock of homemade pickled okra and a big ole bowl of leftover smoked ribs. What can I say, you can take the boy out of Missouri...November 7, 2011 at 11:11 am |
Dean Somerset
Payday is on Tuesday, so right now I only have a small kiwi in the fridge. It could also be a lime for all I know.November 7, 2011 at 11:27 am |
Collin
EGGS galore in there Tony. Mine is very similar except very bare. 2 cases of free range omega 3 eggs, 2 gallons of organic milk, and some apple cider made from honey crisp apples! It's all I need for breakfast usually. I eat lunch and dinner at my job (meat cutter at Fresh Market). I just cook up some form of steak/chicken/fish there each time. And grab fruit from the produce guys.November 7, 2011 at 11:51 am |
Scott
what?? no beer?November 7, 2011 at 12:41 pm |
Anonymous
I know, MAJOR man-card violation, but I don't drink. My girlfriend loves wine, so there plenty of that in the pantry.....;o)November 8, 2011 at 8:26 am |
Gwen
I, too, have an affinity for squash. Therefore, not only is my fridge stocked with 4 dozen organic free range eggs, OFR chicken, grass fed beef and enough fruits and veggies to keep everyone in my neighborhood "moving smoothly", I also have a counter top covered with pumpkins and a variety of squash.November 7, 2011 at 7:36 pm |
Anonymous
Yeah, I was going to take a picture of our kitchen table, too, with the HUGE bowl of squash, pumpkin, onions, etc, but thought it would have taken away from the fridge. I LOVE how the bowl looks, though. It's kinda cool looking to see so many different colors.November 8, 2011 at 8:28 am |
Rees
Respect to the sniper maneuver out of the carNovember 8, 2011 at 8:46 am |
Maki Riddington
I'd like to see some fridges with people who have kids.November 8, 2011 at 10:00 am |
Lauryn Cessar Sacha
Right now our fridge has two cartons of eggs, milk, yogurt, lots of veggies, and...... two large stainless steel bowls containing a butchered front and hind quarter from a deer. Free range protein!November 8, 2011 at 1:47 pm |
Will
My fridge says "I am Will: Cow Hunter"November 8, 2011 at 7:14 pm |
Hunter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UFc1pr2yUU Just one of the benefits of getting up and knocking it out early.November 9, 2011 at 9:21 pm |
Overdue Distractions for your Friday | Hey Joob
[...] Gentilcore What’s in Your Fridge? Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to [...]November 18, 2011 at 7:51 am |