Blame it on Aunt Flo

My boyfriend says I shouldn’t blog about this. He says it’s TMI. Perhaps, but so are a lot of things on the Internet. And if this is the most intimate thing I ever reveal about myself online, then I think I’m doing OK. So here goes: PMS hijacks my life every month. It’s true. I get irritable. I lose my patience. I curse at drivers. I roll my eyes at strangers who walk slowly in front of me at the grocery store. I sigh a lot. And I CRAVE junk food. Ice cream. French fries. Buffalo chicken anything. And in the case of Day 15 — Popcorn.

Or Blame it on Me

So, half way through my project, I slipped and had some popcorn. But it didn’t stop there. It opened the flood gates. I stuck to my Farmers’ Market breakfasts and lunches on Day 16 and Day 17, but for dinners I caved. On Thursday, I convinced my boyfriend to take me out to dinner. On Friday, I ate my restaurant leftovers. On Saturday, I stuck to my farmers market diet for breakfast and lunch, but after riding 10 miles in the Bull Moon Ride in Durham, NC, I noshed on some free BBQ. Sunday rolled around and I cheated again.

I was semi-back on track Monday (Day 20) eating farmers market granola for breakfast. But I had soup from my work cafeteria for lunch because I was too lazy to prepare a meal that morning. For dinner, I made a tomato and zucchini casserole and it was excellent. Here’s the recipe (given to me by one of my blog readers, Judy).

Majority Farmers’ Market

I didn’t go to the Market this weekend because I had plenty of leftover grass-fed beef, cheeses and pork sausage in the fridge and tons of tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers and onions remaining. But, last night I found (much to my disgust) that my meat had spoiled (is this a side effect of buying meet with no preservatives?) and my cheese tasted funky enough to make me throw it all out.

So today was Day 21 and I’m not too proud of what I ate. So tomorrow I’m going to stock up on some supplies at the Durham Farmers’ Market and try to do a majority farmers market diet for the remaining nine days.

And then when this project is over I’m going to eat chocolate and cake, maybe even some chocolate cake. Because, I’m really, really craving it!

Lunch: Peanut butter and apple butter sandwich. Pork sausage burrito. (Gross combo, I know, but I was hungry and they were both easy to make).

Dinner: Bread and garlic butter. Cucumber salad. Popcorn (not from the Farmers’ Market … will explain in upcoming post about PMS).

You see normally, my boyfriend and I play the dishwasher game. You probably play this game too, although the rules require that you never admit it, so your secret is safe with me. You pretend not to notice as the racks fill up with dirty dishes throughout the week. Instead, you rearrange plates, bowls, mugs and glasses to squeeze just one more sticky container inside. You reason so long as there’s enough room to put one more cup inside, then technically you don’t have to be the one to fill up the soap and run the dishwasher.

Come on Down, You’re the Next Contestant on the Dishwasher Game

And then the game intensifies once one of us breaks down and drops the soap in the compartment. How many days can we go without one of us breaking down and emptying the dishwasher so we can refill it again? Since neither of us is about to accept chore assignments, and since we eat out so much, we usually only need to run the dishwasher once a week, sometimes less, occasionally more. But now, since I’m clearly the one making the mess, I have to take responsibility and load and unload the dishwasher every time and it really sucks.

The present state of my dishwasher.

Hello, Kitchen, It’s Nice to Meet You

But since I’ve started this project, I’ve been cramming the dishwasher with Tupperware containers, knives, forks, spatulas, plates, bowls, colanders and pots almost every day. I’ve never done so much chopping, slicing, dicing, marinating, mixing, sauteying and stirring in my entire life. If I want to eat, I have to prepare something. No pulling a box out of the freezer and popping it in the microwave. No takeout. No downtown dining. The Farmers’ Market Project requires spending a lot of time in my kitchen for food prep and clean up. And that leads to a lot of dirty dishes. I hand wash many of them, and still I’m filling up my dishwasher constantly.

Now Serving: Surprises

Is it worth it? Yes. I’m remembering that I love cooking. I cook so rarely, that I don’t think I’ve ever truly known that cooking is something I love to do. I’m also learning that, like my mom, I’m good at whipping up tasty concoctions with whatever ingredients happen to be in my fridge. I’ve followed few recipes since I’ve started this project. I just add a dash of this and a spoonful of that and it always turns out delicious.

I’m certain some of my shopping, cooking and dining habits will change at the end of Day 30. But I know what’s not going to change, once this project is over, I’m going back to playing the dishwasher game. And I plan on winning, over and over again.

Snack: Granola from Sari-Sari- Sweets in Chapel Hill. AMAZING! I wish I had bought 10 bags.

Lunch: Bacon, Tomato and cheese sandwich. Extra sliced tomato.

Snack: More Granola!

Dinner: Pork sausage, green peppers, zucchini, onion and cheese omelet with toast.

Lunch: Grass-fed beef burger on bread.

Dinner: Fried potatos, zucchini, onions, green peppers and grouper (from the fish stand across the street from the Carrboro Farmers’ Market). Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella salad.

Lunch: Pizza, french fries and Dippin’ Dots at Carowinds.

Snack: Doritos

Dinner: Pasta, bread sticks and salad from Olive Garden.

Yes, I caved for the Fourth of July.

Sure, I could’ve packed a Farmers’ Market lunch in a cooler and joined the families picnicking on the patches of lawn surrounding Carowinds’ parking lot. Heck I spent Day 11 at the Festival for the Eno in Durham, where I packed a tomato and cheese sandwich so I wouldn’t be tempted by the funnel cake batter and grease wafting through the park.

My boyfriend fakes a nap for the camera on the Intimidator at Carowinds.

But for Day 12 — the Fourth of July — I ate a piece of pizza, French fries, Dippin’ Dots and drank several Cokes at Carowinds. It was disgustingly delicious, overpriced arcade food. Prior to Day 12 I had not cheated once — not a single morsel of nonmarket food entered my body — and I haven’t caved since.

It gets worse. On the way home I ate some Doritos and then we stopped in Greensboro at Olive Garden, where I had pasta, bread sticks and salad.

On the bright side, I think this intentional slip helped give me enough will power for the home stretch. And it helped put my Farmers’ Market budget in perspective (my pizza slice, fries and a large Coke cost me $18 at Carowinds). I’m back on my market diet though, so stick with me for these final 16 days. And if you want to ditch my blog because of my slip, I totally understand. But just know I’m still committed to this project. It’s been incredibly difficult, but I’m trying hard to stay true to my quest.

Frequently Asked Questions

The most common question I’ve received is whether it’s more expensive to shop at the Farmers’ Markets. I’ve been saying that the veggies and fruits are about comparable (in some cases noticeably cheaper) and since they’re so much fresher and taste better than most of what I would get at the super market — totally worth it. A great example is fresh basil. I spent $1 for a heaping sandwich bag of fresh basil at the Durham Market. I’m sure at Harris Teeter I would need to buy two pre-packaged plastic containers of basil to equal the same amount and both would probably cost around $4.

This sweet farmer let me take a picture of his great marketing at the Carrboro Farmers' Market Saturday.

But the meats are more than what I personally would pay (and understandably so). The cheeses also cost more than what I personally would pay, though they’re not out of line for what you would spend on gourmet cheeses from the cheese case in the grocery store.  (I tend to buy bagged, pre-shredded cheeses for convenience, which is cheaper and less flavorful). And yet, the meats and cheeses are some of the best I’ve ever had. So, in a way, it’s totally worth it.

Regardless, I am definitely spending more on Farmers’ Market food than I would on typical grocery trips.

Flaw in my Process

I think the flaw in my Farmers’ Market Project, as well-meaning as it is, is that I’ve literally only been eating food from markets. And, with one exception (which I will reveal in a separate post) I have not cheated once. I have used condiments from my cupboard, but I wrote that exception into my initial rules. So when I go to the market, I have to stock up or go hungry. I think that alone is forcing me to spend more than I would prefer for this project.

The Pasta Example

For example, I spent $7.50 on 10 raviolis from a vendor at the Durham Farmers’ Market on Wednesday. Granted, they were more flavorful than anything I would have ordered from Olive Garden and definitely cheaper than a dish at Olive Garden. And if you remember my attempt at making home made pasta sauce, I spent about $8 on four pounds of tomatoes and then after hours of labor, only managed to get about a cup and a half of sauce.

I paid $7.50 for about 10 raviolis. I had to make the sauce myself, so that adds up too.

But, if I were making my own pasta-based meal at home, I would spend about $1 or so on a box of pasta (which would last me more than one serving) and then spend about $4 on a jar of sauce. Would it have tasted as good as the homemade ravioli or pasta sauce above? Definitely not. But I would still have enough leftovers for another couple of meals, which means I would save at least $7 and as much as $15 if you consider other ingredients I needed to finish the Farmers’ Market pasta dinners.

It’s Going to Be OK

So, for me personally, yes, the Farmers’ Market is definitely more expensive than the grocery store. But that’s because every ingredient I need is coming from the market. If I were just incorporating some of the food from the market into existing dishes, it would be a wash, or in some cases a savings.

But, I know if I had not forced myself into eating only from the market for 30 days, I would not have learned so much about where my food is coming from, about my eating habits and about how to fight personal urges for chocolate and fast food.

So, I’m going to continue on my quest. Today is Day 13, I wonder what I should cook for breakfast?

Breakfast: A cinnamon roll and coffee from the market.

Lunch: Leftover Ginny Hash (just what I need is a bunch of Google search results for Ginny and Hash) with a fried egg on top.

Snack: Granola from Sari-Sari Sweets. So Good.

Dinner: Grass-fed beef burger from Sunset Farms in Burlington. Corn on the Cob.

Lunch: Leftover steak; mashed potatoes; mozzarella, tomato, basil salad.

Snack: Oatmeal Raisin Cookie.

Dinner: Ginny Hash.

Snack: Oatmeal Raisin Cookie. Cheese sandwich.

Yes, I ate two cookies today and they were totally worth it.