waste not, want not

on friday, i went to the grocery store and spent all my allocated money buying things that are decidedly good for me. the items i was unable to purchase there, i went and picked up today from trader joe's. i am currently all about their whole wheat couscous, which i cook in broth with some raisins and toasted walnuts thrown in for kicks. this afternoon, i made a salad of creamy yogurt-dressed couscous (with above-mentioned nuts and raisins), braised chicken, sprinkles of bleu cheese, and dried cranberries on top of mesclun greens with a balsamic vinaigrette. it was very delish.

it's kind of a fun prospect to make food out of mostly fresh ingredients. it motivates you to cook every meal so that your newly-bought veggies don't go bad sitting in the specially designated drawer in the bottom of the fridge. i did try some fish last night, but in my carelessness, i kind of ruined it. i was thankful, though, that it was only me that had to suffer through the pile of mush on my plate. eww.

for those of you who do not know (that would be most people, i would guess), i am weaning myself of white flour and as much sugar as i can reasonably give up at this stage of the game. i am also cutting WAY back on red meat [read: i didn't buy any this grocery expedition] and going for the high taste/high nutrition way of cooking. i am not, however, giving up cheese. or nuts. i can't stop eating the breads and pastas i love and then not have cheese. that would be too much to ask of myself. it would depress me, and then i would have to eat some ice cream. i don't need to stack the deck like that, so the cheese stays.

tomorrow, i think i'll eat a lot of spinach. i'm really in the mood for spinach. plus, i've got this whole big bag in my fridge of...you guessed it....fresh spinach. must! make! spinach! (note to self: repeating the word 'spinach' may actually promote the eating of said spinach.)

in other news, i watched 'two weeks notice' today. very fun and cute. must add to my amazon wishlist.

and speaking of WHICH:), for any of you keeping tabs, my birthday's july 1. and, just in case you were wondering, i LOVE presents:).

enough of the gift propaganda and talk of greenery. happy mother's day, everyone. i hope you spent yours with someone special:).