carakirkey Member

Eggs. cheap, good source of protein, easy to prepare Grow a garden for fresh produce. If you regularly purchase fresh herbs, even having a container herb garden could save a lot of money. Freeze excess garden produce Cut back on drinks- juice, pop, alcohol.

I love the soups with whatever I have on hand too. A quick saute of garlic, ginger, bit of onion or celery. Carton of broth. Add rice noodles or frozen wontons. Frozen edamame or other veg. And I like doing a greens or cabbage sauté, plus whatever other veg I have on hand, add in a turkey sausage, and maybe a poached egg.…

I plan to this year. I have so much leaf and wood debris on our property that this seems like a great way to start dealing with it. I'll make them as mounds/hills, rather than in raised beds. Seems like a good way to grow different sized plants, and ones that need room to spread out like squash.

This is where regular exercise has helped! I can take a break from being worried about calories, but the exercise tends to balance it out. Earn those beers ;)

Me three! First I've tried Adrienne (I usually follow Kassandra yoga) and at first her casual style caught me a bit off guard, but the day 1 practice had me vibrating and achieved its goal of helping me to let go, so I think I'll stick with it.

This is what I love about working from home, can simmer a soup all day. Or I make a big saute of various veg, cabbage, greens, add in some turkey sausage or egg, and I can have a big, warm, filling, low calorie, bowl of nourishment for lunch.

I've typically just drank coffee with milk (rather than cream) so already that makes it easier to transition to black coffee, and you could try that to transition. But honestly get a good coffee, fresh ground, and brew it right. I like a good medium roast, Costa Rica source is often good, and we use an cone filter with…

Cauliflower Rice. Don't really like cauliflower and seems like a lot of work. If I didn't want rice I would just skip it

Cabbage. Cheap, filling and low calorie. I add to lots of my dishes to bulk it up

I have no fancy tools like a sous vide or air fryer, but rely on my Cast iron pan, chef knife, and crock pot. And a micro planer/grater is a great tool for a small portion of grated cheese.

Fitness Blender is excellent. Highly recommend. Simple, easy to follow format, genuine, none of the fake tans and cheerleading of other fitness videos. You can follow a program or follow their free videos.

I have many favorite teas, but I found a blend from ChaiBaba tea (Canadian online supplier) I love called Solstice that has Honeybush, Lavender, Vanilla, and peppermint. Its divine. Also a big fan of Earl Grey, made Blueberry tea for Christmas, Earl Grey tea with Amaretto and Grand Marnier. No not calorie free, but a nice…

Raspberry leaf tea is very soothing for females. Try also Chamomile tea, but cold, for cramping. Its more of a sedative when served hot, but an antispasmodic (anti-cramping) when cold. Still one of my best remedies for PMS cramps

I agree on all points! Love earl grey tea. Never been a fan of fruity teas, apple spice etc. Smell better than they taste. Turns out I'm now allergic to apples and cherries so have to avoid those anyways.

I love tea! Looseleaf you'll get better quality and varieties, and get small amounts to sample. Find a local shop if you can. Rooibos or honeybush tea is lovely, like a vanilla flavour, not caffeinated but high in antioxidants. They often come in a chai or spice blend too. Green tea I find you have to be careful about brew…

I think this has been my approach too for flower gardens- primarily focus on native perennials but also wanting some abundant blooms. Larkspur I've heard that too, and added to my seed list for the spring. I also usually plant cosmos, calendula, and zinnia. This year will also try Liatris and scented stock

Yes! I always thought I'd never get my heels to the floor in downdog but I'm there now! My goal continues to be getting that transition down.

I was a once a week yoga class girl, and now I too am rediscovering yoga, as a daily practice. I follow Yoga with Kassandra and did her 30 day morning routine plus more, though hearing all the great feedback for other youtube yogis like Adrienne I'll try others. The principle of setting up a routine of daily practice,…

As others have said, best to adapt your normal way of eating gradually by adjusting portions and adding in more veggies, but if this helps- these are some of my "go -to" foods- Spinach, Bell peppers, Yams/sweet potatoes, Eggs, Thin rice cakes, salsa, low calorie yogurt dressing, Chicken, ground turkey, white beans, tuna,…

Potato Leek Soup

Papaya. Usually way too expensive to be a regular purchase for me, but they are in season now and a great price and taste so good. I get 4 servings out of a large one.

I read this and feel like I'm on the right track. I walk every day rain or shine and its something I hope to do as long as I'm mobile to do so. And yoga everyday, for the flexibility, strength and mental clarity. And eating fresh vegetables. That can be my foundation, with recreation like skiing or kayaking added in as I'm…

Didn't know you could do Paneer in the slow cooker... Trying that!

Soups. I usually make batches and freeze them. Chicken Veg, Borscht, Potato leek, minestrone. I freeze them in yogurt containers and heat up for lunch. I also like quinoa with whatever veg and protein (tuna, chicken, beans) and a balsamic vinaigrette, or tex mex style with peppers, beans, hot sauce, can be eaten cold or…

I just had allergy testing and positive testing for walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, apples, peaches etc and allergy to birch pollen. The birch pollen allergy is what creates a reaction to the nuts and fruits- oral allergy syndrome. It somewhat makes sense that garden produce could have a more extreme reaction, and I've noticed…

Same for me. I had known that cherries and peaches would make my throat scratchy and itchy, but then suddenly had a severe reaction to apples, and I often eat apples. And also had a reaction to zucchini. Oral Allergy syndrome. I'm not really allergic to apples but my body thinks I am. If they are peeled or cooked its less…

I'm loving vinegars and mustards- low cal, low sodium flavor. Red wine vinegar is one of my favorites, and used in lots of dressing and Greek salad.

We went from gardens and flowers growing to a big and very early snow fall. I had a fall garden planted of peas, greens and carrots and parsnips were still in. I'll see what I can recover once this snow melts!

Pita bread Pizza. Build your own with the family. Mine will have roasted peppers, spinach and goat cheese.

MFP gave me 1200 cal. and its too low. Hangry! I adjusted it to 1400, that 200 cal is an important difference and meant I could have a snack or glass of wine. Get in exercise where you can. I try to eat lots of vegetables (soups, saute, salad) and eggs for nutrient density w/ lower calories.