What Day Is It Again? Meatball Monday?

It's been a public holiday today and so my week is already screwed!

I was going to start doing my Meatless Monday meals again but forgot and then when I finally remembered I realised to make the pumpkin & ricotta cannelloni I would need pumpkin and ricotta.

Did you know that I am blonde?

Anyhoo....we had meatballs and spaghetti instead and I shall do the cannelloni later in the week.

Stay with me...there is a story in this!!

I don't make my own meatballs. I used to in the past but it costs the same to buy them already rolled and ready to cook if not less because I like the pork and veal ones that Woolworths make. AND they are half the fat of the beef Italian or their normal beef ones (they do 3 varieties) so I feel better when buying them.

ANYHOO....about a year ago Woolworths had a special buy two packs of meatballs for $8 (they are normally $4.99 a pack with 12 meatballs) which was only a saving of $2 but hey, save where you can. I picked up my regular P&V ones and went through the checkout. After checking my docket I realised they hadn't taken the discount off. So off to the service counter I go...$2 I know but it's the principle.

Upon waiting 15mins and them checking with the meat department I was correct and so thought I would just get my $2 back.

But no.

Their policy is that if something is scanned incorrectly it's free! So I got one pack for free and the other cost me $4 because of them being on special for $8!

Woo hoo.... bargain and I skipped away knowing that I beat the big guys.

I know...please stay with me there is a point!!

So about a month or two later I see the same special... "coolio" I say to myself and pick up the two P&V ones. Again go through the checkout, check my docket, no discount! Off to the service counter again, get one pack for free and only $4 for the next one.

What a fluke...imagine it happening twice!

Well imagine it happening FOR A WHOLE YEAR!!

Yep, for some reason the P&V ones were never scanned to be on special but were always included (believe me I asked the butcher and always checked).

Every time I they were on special (every month maybe?) I grabbed them, waited till I went through the checkout and then went and got one for free. About 6 months in they went up to $9 for the two but I still bought them. I shop at a couple of different Woolies depending on what shopping centre I am at and it was always the same at all of them. Every time I bought them I sooo expected they would be scanned correctly and each time I was surprised!

Well finally in last weeks shopping it came to an end. They scanned with the discount. I was a bit disappointed but was still stoked that It would take a while for me to catch up with all the ones I got for free and I will still buy them because I like them and that was the beauty of it!

So there was my meatball story...riveting wasn't it! LOL!

Be sure to tune in later in the week when I discuss cuts of lamb!! (joking...no really I am!)

So what little bargains have you picked up while doing your food shopping?

Commitment Phobic

In July I wrote a post about how I was a Quirky Little Gemini. It was before I had stalkers..ahem I mean Followers as can be attested by the amount of comments left...er that would be zero!

Go ahead I will wait here while you read it.......

Can't be bothered? OK then....

Well in the post I touched on the fact that I am scared of commitment. Not the marrying kind of commitment (obviously as I have been happily married for 5 years...wow that went quick) but of committing to 'doing' something at the same time every week. I think it is why I never joined any clubs as a kid or did extra curricular activities that required me at 'training' or anything similar.

There are exceptions to my weird little quirky rule.

1. Relationships - I am committed to all relationships in my life to a fault sometimes.

2. Mum's Group - I relished meeting the mums every week and have made some awesome friends. We don't meet as an entire group anymore which is a shame but still keep in touch via Facebook or meeting more on a one on one basis!

3. My kids commitments - Well the only commitment Buglalugs has at the moment is sleeping through the night for mummy, but Grotbag does have commitments like school and Tae Kwon Do which is 3 times a week. I have only ever missed TKD a few times but that was due to illness, a storm and once when my brain was it's usual sievey self.

Now I am talking about regular commitments at the same time every week. Not social engagements or appointments (although I did cancel my dentist appointment two weeks ago) and I do not cancel one engagement because I another better one comes along. No, I am talking about regular commitments....like say....Meatless Monday.

Two weeks ago I started Meatless Monday. To much fanfare, I blogged about it and really love the ideology behind it. It was decided much to Hubby's annoyance, but I made a lovely Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni.

But...

Last Monday I forgot.

This Monday I have remembered but have suddenly gone all commitment phobic on the idea. Is this something I want to do F o r e v e r? It's hard enough figuring out what to have for dinner at the best of times let alone a decent vegetarian meal. And I do love a variety of veggie meals but have had salad with my meal for the last three nights and am a bit over it. I do not I feel like a veggie meal tonight.

And this is where the problem in my head starts. Having made the 'commitment' I then want to rebel and feel that I shouldn't have to do what I don't want to do. I start resenting the 'thing' I have to do so walls start to go up. It was the same with Weight Watchers and really any kind of diet (apart from when I had gestational diabetes I stuck to that diet but really that was a form of a commitment to my child not me). If you tell me I have to do something my initial reaction is to run the other way. It's a form of self sabotage I know and a flaw in my personality I am readily able to admit.

So how do I over come it and stop listening to the voices in my head? How do I really commit to something and stick to it without resenting and hating it?

I really would like to start doing some exercise. I need to do it. And that word need in itself is making me procrastinate and not start. Oh yeah, procrastinating is another personality flaw that I currently possess. Like I should be putting clothes away and not blogging.

What am I scared of in committing? Especially when there are benefits involved.

OK yeah I know I might need some therapy on this one because I really would like to figure it out. And it is probably more deep rooted than I think. But in the mean time I will just have a veggie meal when I want one not just because of the day of the week. And I better go and fold and put the washing away!

Well at least Hubby will be happy!

Are you commitment phobic about anything? Do you feel burdened by having to do the same thing, at the same time every week/fortnight/month?

Meatless Monday (a day late)

Sorry this is a day late, this was going to be posted yesterday but I got a bit excited about my first blog award so had to blog about that first!!

I have been following Tamara over at Mad Boastings of a Cheapskate Mom since she was a Blog of Note and look forward to reading her daily posts. She was also one of my first followers who didn't actually know me personally! One thing that struck me as interesting on her blog was that she has made every Monday, Meatless Monday and drops meat from her diet on that day.

I was intrigued and as a bit of a cook and foodie I thought it would be a great way to challenge myself in the kitchen. And then like the sieve that my brain is it went straight out of my head. (this happens quite a lot!)

That is until I purchased the launch issue of Prevention Australia Magazine. Right there on page 52 was a half page article on the Meatless Monday initiative. Here's what it said:

"One meatless day per week may reduce your saturated fat intake by 15 per cent, which can mean improved wight and heart health, report researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of public Health in the United States. The Meatless Monday initiative claims to save about 70,000,000 litres of water in the US each week (producing meat requires huge amounts of water). Try these part-time-vegetarian strategies (once a week or more) from dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner:

1. TRADE MEAT FOR HEARTY LEGUMES Substitute 3/4 cup of cooked beans, peas or lentils for each 100g serve of meat in recipes; try it in pasta dishes, soups and casseroles.



2. REDIRECT SAVOURY CRAVINGS The Japanese call that rich flavour you crave umami, which means 'savoury'. Umami is common in meat and fish , but you can also find it in aged cheeses, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes and walnuts.



3. REINVENT OLD FAVES Exchange the meat in your burger for a black-bean patty, replace diced chicken with cubed tofu and substitute edamame (soybeans in their pods; at Asian-food stores) for seafood in a stir fry"

You can go to the Meatless Monday website which is in association with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the United States HERE. They have loads of recipes and articles so pop over to find out more.

So with that in mind I declared that Mondays, including Grumpy, Middle and Happy, be Meatless Mondays in our household.

OK. Hubby was none too pleased. Monday's are his last day at home before flying back to work and usually (if I am not too grumpy) I will cook him up whatever he wants. After 2 weeks of mine site food he loves his home cooked meals so this was going to be a tough sell.

I think he thought I wasn't going to go through with it (sucker) but then saw those dreaded ingredients come home in the shopping bag.

I thought I would start with something that I knew Hubby would like, that Grotbag would not turn his nose up at and something I have cooked before. So yesterday's Meatless Monday recipe was 'Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni'. Not the most original vegetarian meal but a start. I served it with garlic bread and side salad.

Hubby went back for more and Grotbag ate all his so it couldn't be that bad!

Now, I would have a photo for you and I did actually take a few but to tell you the truth, although in person it looked lovely, it didn't look that good in the photos so I won't post the photo.

So now I have to think of something for next weeks meal. I am thinking Vegetable Frittata because I know Grotbag will love it. Meatless Monday is certainly going to be a challenge for me to come up with new and exciting meals every week but I am up for the challenge!

So let me know if you have any good Meatless recipes. What do you think of the Meatless Monday initiative? Do you think it is something your household could adopt?