I can’t believe it’s already the last month of the year! In a couple months this blog will be celebrating it’s one year birthday…which is crazy and awesome. I did pretty well with my November goals and I like having them in the back of my mind as a reminder of things I want to accomplish. Before making some new goals, let’s check on those old ones!
Go meatless one day a week. Ehhh, I give myself probably a B+ with this one. I did several meatless days of my own, but Jason is on a low-carb, high-protein diet right now and I just have not been able to find high protein vegetarian dinners that he enjoys that fit his diet. We did try tempeh in November, though! I can’t tell you that I loved it. It was okay. I liked the texture and nutty flavor but it has a bitterness and aftertaste that I can’t stand (maybe it’s just the brand we bought?). If you’ve never heard of tempeh before, it’s a firm fermented soy product that sometimes has grains mixed in, and it’s really high in protein and very good for you. I think I’d like to try another brand and give it another try because I really want to like it!
Focus on eating seasonally. I’ve been doing SO GOOD with this one, y’all! I have made so many strides in this area of my life. I make much more of an effort to try everything that comes in our CSA box, and I have gotten a lot better at only picking seasonal produce when I’m in the grocery store. The berries and peaches in the store are tempting, but when I remind myself that they’re from a gajillion miles away and and probably pumped up with chemicals, I’m able to resist the temptation. I LOVE relying more on our local farmers and less on the grocery store for our food! I feel like I’m sticking it to the Man. And I love that.
Try new ways of preparing veggies. Triple check! We ate lots of kale in November, so I tried my hand at preparing it several different ways. My favorite ways of eating it are in chip form, braised, or creamed.
I think my favorite veggie discovery of the month was arugula pesto! So delicious!
So now its time for… my DECEMBER GOALS!!! December is full of stress and craziness because of school, so there’s a lot of things I want to make sure I focus on to stay sane and happy.
Practice Yoga Daily
Back in high school, there was a summer when I woke up every single day at 7am to do a morning yoga show that came on the Oxygen network. I became so much stronger that summer, and started every day feeling refreshed and grounded. I LOVE the way I feel when I practice yoga, and it definitely needs to become a part of my routine again. It will definitely help relieve some stress.
Bake lots of holiday treats!
(Source)
I’m totally serious about this one. I know that with finals and everything I won’t be able to bake a new type of Christmas cookie every day, but I’ve got to remind myself to take the time (when I have it) to make the delicious treats that make this time of year so special.
Keep my immune system strong.
As you might remember, I keep getting some bad throat infections and it’s really not fun. I don’t know what the cause is, but I’m assuming it’s bacterial because they always respond immediately to antibiotics. I don’t want to take more antibiotics and I don’t want to get sick again this season. I’m going to do everything in my power to build up my immune system and avoid getting sick again! I’ll do a post later about my plan of attack, but I think it will include taking more probiotics and increasing my intake of antioxidant rich foods.
And last but not least…. Don’t let final exams cause a nervous breakdown.
Thanks for reading, and I h0pe your December is getting off to a fabulous start!
-Lauren
16 Responses
Food for Todd
Good luck with finals!!! So much less stressful second year, right?
Lauren
Thanks! Good luck you to too with yours!!! Do you really find second year less stressful?? I REALLY do not. I’ve heard people say that before but I guess it just depends who you are because I find it way more stressful than first year! Haha! Maybe I just need to chill out, but the pressure of job hunting and externships on top of classes is making this year tougher for me.
Lee
I don’t like tempeh either. I’ve tried it several times and…bleh.
Lauren
Haha I’m glad I’m not alone!
Helen
Great goals for the month! I use to do monthly goals back before I blogged. I did them mainly or training purpses and such. I should probably start doing monthly goals agian.
First birthday coming up soon….how exciting 🙂
Lauren
I love making goals! I’ve been doing it all my life I think, though my “goals” when I was a kid were very different, haha!
Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga
Good luck w/ finals and that creamed kale..I’d call that cheesy kale and it looks FABulous!!
Lauren
Thank you! You’re right–kale and cheese make such an awesome combo!
Allegra
Don’t give up on tempeh just yet! The best way to ‘ease’ yourself into it, I think, are Turtle Foods brand marinated strips. They’re pre-marinated, pre-sliced (but with healthy ingredients) and taste amazing. Honestly. You can check out their site here: http://www.tofurky.com/tempehproducts/marinated_strips.html
I love tempeh now. More than tofu. It’s unbelievably versatile and the texture is so interesting!
Love the Dec plans. My goal is to keep baking & listening to christmas carols, all the way through exam paper hell here in the UK 🙂
Lauren
I won’t give up! Thanks so much for the recommendation–I’ll be on the hunt for that kind of tempeh! Good luck with your exam papers! 🙂
Lauren
I have that creamed kale on my “to make” list for next week! I definitely did not like tempeh the first time I tried it. Try the orange pan glazed tempeh from 101 Cookbooks, it’s a full-proof tempeh recipe! Here’s to not being consumed by end of the year stress 😛
Lauren
That was the recipe I tried! I LOVED LOVED the sauce, we both did, but the tempeh was just eh. I really want to try that recipe with tofu actually, I think it would be so awesome!
Monique Koch
Hey Lauren!
Don’t give up on tempeh. I didn’t like it the 1st time either because of the aftertaste. Try it again and steam it for about 10 minutes before normal preparation…that made the taste so much better. I hope that helps.
Good luck with finals. 🙂
Lauren
Yeah it’s the aftertaste that bothers me too. Thanks SO much for the tip–I’m going to try it next time! 🙂
Monique Koch
Hey Lauren,
What’s your Twitter name? I tried the pink monster smoothie and want to give you credit. The link above didn’t work.
On Goals and Resolutions for the New Year | Lawfully Wedded Wife
[…] I don’t have a list of things I want to accomplish in 2012 or a number that I want to see on the scale before this time next year. I just want to continue being happy and finding ways to live life to the fullest in the way that God intends me to. I’ll keep making goals to try and better myself, and I’m sure I’ll continue to succeed with some and fail with more. Speaking of failure goals, let’s see how I did with the goals I made back in December! […]