I love this kid.
Tonight was pizza night in our house. I’ve never made pizza dough from scratch before but I’m pretty pleased with the result and we will definitely be doing this more often! I used this recipe if you’re interested in trying it out for yourself. My food processor didn’t handle the dough quite like I was expecting and I ended up doing it more by hand, so I’m sure the low-tech route would work as well :) Kurt had a chicken and green onion pizza (with cheese, obviously) while I did a dairy-free barbecue sauce pizza with pineapple and artichoke. I know, I’m weird.
Recently I got inspired by my cousin Carrie and her husband Randy to start planning meals in advance. Kurt and I decided we would do our plans every two weeks to minimize our drives to the store, and our first two weeks have gone really well. Knowing exactly what I was making everyday made our shopping list really simple and we had the most painless trip to the supermarket ever! Plus, it gives me a chance to think about the nutrition that goes into what I make a lot more carefully and to minimize snacking so I feel like we’re eating a lot healthier. Not to mention that we’ve both dropped ten pounds since we started – just in time to give us both a little buffer before Thanksgiving and Christmas! I put on WAY too much weight around the holidays last year, for several reasons, so I’m really trying to be more mindful this time around.
Our holidays this year are going to be very different from what we’re used to. Kurt has to work the day after Thanksgiving so we aren’t able to go back to Illinois to be with our families. Instead, we’re heading there over the weekend to have “Thanksmas” with my mom and Don – so named because they’ll be in Spain over Christmas and therefore we’re doing Thanksgiving dinner/Christmas presents all in one shot. Kurt also has to work the day after Christmas so we’re not sure what exactly we’re doing yet this year. Adjusting to a proper work calendar rather than a school holiday will be a bit strange but it’s all part of adult/married life I suppose! I’m just grateful for the time we will get with family, and especially for the few days off that Kurt WILL get that we’ll be able to spend together.
So that’s the latest scoop here. There isn’t a whole lot to report I guess, but I’ll be sure to do a post after Thanksgiving or at the latest after the New Year to do a whole holiday wrap-up. In the meantime, American friends, enjoy my favorite holiday next week, and everyone else enjoy the end of November and try to stay sane amidst all the holiday advertising!
we love pizza night and yours sounds tasty! i’ve even used vegan cheese on mine before; it’s ok, but rather stringy. i’ve been eating cheese again, but making sure that it’s at least vegetarian (no yucky animal enzymes).
glad to hear planning meals is going well for you! 10 lbs – wow. wish i could say that for us :) i like your idea of planning 2 weeks in advance so you’re going to the store even less. would love to hear some of the things you plan.
wish we could see you at thanksgiving or christmas. you and kurt are always welcome to stay with us in montana!
Your pizza sounds delicious! I still need to buy an oven to my new flat before i can start making my own pizzas..
Meal planning is not only a great way to eat more wisely but also save money :)
You can also make a skillet pizza on the stove top which is the perfect little size for one person :) And yeah, we were surprised at how little we ended up spending. We had a bad habit of buying a lot of yummy things but nothing that really went together, so we weren’t always very satisfied with our meals… now it feels like all our problems have been solved!