I love… glass containers

I did it! I finally got rid of my last plastic food containers. Yay! Now all our lunches are packed in glass. My boyfriend winced when he saw me chuck them but after I showed him the insides and the melted plastic film, he understood it was time for them to go.

These glass containers make for heavier lunch bags, yes, but boy do I feel better knowing I won’t “potentially” be contaminating myself with Bisphenol A (BPA), Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Brominated flame retardants (PBDE) and other garbage chemicals leaching into my food.

I found these containers at Canadian Tire by Anchor. They are made in the USA (I believe by the same company that manufactures for Pyrex, as I’ve seen the exact same containers but with different coloured lids sold under the Pyrex brand). A set costs about $20 but they are often on sale. Well worth the cost in my opinion.

Glass containers by Anchor

Is it time to remove that “no junk mail” sticker from the mailbox?

Yep, seems official now: Clipping coupons is on the rise again. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

It is said that you can cut your grocery bill by over half, just by redeeming discount coupons. That reason alone should be enough to get anyone to open-up that weekly specials bag that’s delivered to our doors, no? Well, I believe in this figure. I haven’t hit that percentage yet, but I do love the feeling of presenting my coupons at the checkout. I feel zero embarrassment, or shame in doing so. Nope. I actually feel really smart and savvy. Although the flyers in the bags don’t contain nearly as many coupons as the weekend newspapers do, I also scour them to find the best deals for the stuff I need. There are a few supermarkets in my area and so going to 2 or 3 to get the best deals is sometimes simply a matter of walking across a parking lot.

Image source: Flickr mandaroo63

The bag contains flyers for more than just supermarket specials, obviously. These come in handy when shopping for the home, or for gifts. I’d normally add “for myself” too, but I haven’t gone for some good ol’ retail therapy in a long, long time. To be perfectly honest, I only started doing some hardcore bargain hunting since the recession started. I had to. Every penny mattered. They mattered before too, but I guess I just wasn’t as conscientious about where my money went as I am today (the upside to this recession). It was kind of weird at first but now, it’s a full-blown habit. And because it is so worth doing, it’s become something fun to do while sipping a coffee. The idea is not to make you spend more money, but to stretch every dollar. And for me, it all starts with my weekly specials bag.

Image source: Flickr Creative Commons NatalieMaynor

Another reason why I look forward to getting my weekly bag of goodies is because of the bags themselves. When they first began distribution over a decade ago, they came in the bad kind of plastic. The non-biodegradable-forever-in-a-landfill kind of plastic. Just out of principle, I had a “no junk mail” sticker on my mailbox for years and years because I hated the whole concept of these PubliSacs. They were such a huge waste of environmental resources, regardless of the savings found on the pages within the bags. But fast forward to today, these bags are now biodegradable and most of the flyers are recyclable and made from recycled paper. Considering that most supermarkets still don’t offer biodegradable plastic bags and these guys do, was kind of cool, I thought. Why? Because I keep them to pick up after my dog Maya. They are the perfect size for this. I normally purchase bio-bags to pick up after her but now I can reuse these before reaching into my stash of store-bought PoopEase bags.

When I’m done writing out the specials of the week that interest me and when I’m done clipping whatever coupons I need, the flyers go to the recycling bin and the bag goes to my bag of bio-bags. I just wish that everyone would systematically recycle and that the Printers would use recycled paper or make sure that their end-products were recyclable. There is still far too much waste in direct mailing.

What about you? Do you find yourself spending more time looking over your weekly flyer-bag? Do you still have a “no junk mail” sticker on your mailbox?

Don’t forget your reusable shopping bags when you go out!

Living simply in suburbia when there are no sidewalks

I don’t get it.

You leave the city, for vaster and greener spaces and a greater quality of life. Whether you accept it or not, when you live in the burbs, you live near malls, plazas and shopping centres. When you lived in the city, large surface stores were a rarity. Even a novelty as you’d have to make a “special trip” out to them, sometimes borrowing a friend’s car or going with a friend who had one.  When you lived in the city, you lived near commercial streets, lined with all the businesses you could possibly need and more. You knew exactly which business you had to hit to get everything you needed. You’d sometimes walk 15 blocks, carrying groceries and shopping bags, and you’d even haul them on the bus to keep going, or to go home. Man you we a trooper, eh? But now you drive everywhere, even to the corner shops… And BTW, by you, I also mean ME.

Source: Flickr Creative Commons - Caribb

Why are the suburbs so axed on driving when everything is also close-by? Shops, schools, sports and recreation areas, even the dog park.

For a while there I’d become exactly what I deplored the most about suburban dwellers. I could not believe that people were that lazy and dependant on their cars. I told myself that I would be different, that I’d keep walking everywhere like I used to when I lived in the city. Well that didn’t last long.

It finally occurred to me that the main reason why I don’t, despite the fact that I’m hyper sensitive about the environment and normally deplore laziness, is because I don’t feel safe. And two pet peeves of mine are bad urban planning and bad driving. I bet you anything, if you live in the suburbs, where you shop the most, there’s no cohesive sidewalk system, right? Or worse still, there are no sidewalks at all, even in front of your home?

Source: Flickr Creative Commons - Steve Brandon

At the end of my block, that’s where the sidewalk ends and the shops begin. I live near the middle of a shopping mecca it would seem (I don’t think so but whatever. The locals do). To the North, I have Pharmaprix (that’s Shoppers Drug Mart for you non-Quebecois), Blockbusters, Walmart, Zellers, Super C, Winners and HomeSense, and a bunch of factory outlet stores that sell brands I wouldn’t buy anyway and to the South I have a so-called “Smart Centre” that includes a Dollarama, Future Shop, Bureau en Gros (a Staples, again for you non-Quebecois), Reno-Depot, Canadian Tire, a bunch of other shops and restaurants and a supermarket. All separated by their own parking lots. Not connected in any way. Tell me this, what is so “Smart” about that?

Source: Smart Centres

When my boyfriend and I do walk to the shops (and we have been doing much more of that lately) we end up walking behind the buildings where the loading docks are, as long as we can, before popping up in the front again. People are so absentminded when driving into parking areas: They look for a spot to park first, the pedestrians second. Here, where we live, it’s just safer to walk behind the shop than in front. But I would never do that alone, much less after dark. Nope, not for me.

While doing research for this post I came across so many articles about this issue (Google “no sidewalks in suburbs” and see for yourself ). This one from the Globe and Mail, titled Are the suburbs a health hazard?, is reporting on newfound correlations between living in the suburbs and obesity of all things! Well, I’m not gonna throw in the towel and move because of the sidewalk issue, but my boyfriend and I do want to move to a neighbourhood that has less traffic and that is further from the highway as soon as we can.

I just wish I knew what the rationale was in building neighbourhoods and forgetting about sidewalks, especially when these neighbourhoods are so close to shopping centres, schools and parks.

When I do walk at night around here, and I have to walk in the street:

• I  make sure not to wear all black
• I make sure there’s something reflective on me
• I never ever listen to my iPod

And during the day:

• I walk on the opposite side of the street, in on-coming traffic
• Make eye contact with drivers, to make sure they see me
• Never listen to my iPod

Turns out, my city-street-smarts serve me well here in the suburbs, but instead of walking smartly to not attract weirdos, I’m walking smartly to not get hit by cars… What about you? What do you think about this issue? I want to know.

Walk safe!

Just one thing: Home made organic exfoliating scrub

So, since I can’t afford to restock on my usual (and expensive) skin care products, and also because I’m trying to get back to the basics in regards to what I eat and put on my body, I decided to take a stab at making my own. I’ve hesitated for so long because I could never see myself putting non organic products on my already sensitive skin, so I waited. Organic products are now readily available everywhere so the timing was perfect.

Adzuki Bean Scrub

When I was a teen, I was hooked on The Body Shop’s Japanese Washing Grains. Remember those? They came in a really neat cardboard package, kinda like a salt shaker. You’d pour some into the palm of your hand, add a bit of water and mix it with your finger until it created the desired consistency. You would then apply the paste to your face, and using your finger tips you’d gently scrub your face, and then rinse it all off. The distinct smell is what comes to me now. It was such a natural and organic scent… Well, I remembered that the only ingredient was adzuki beans (also spelled azuki). That’s it.

So, yesterday I picked up a bag of organic adzuki beans at my local health food store (Tau – Marchés d’alimentation naturelle). I also stopped at the dollar store and got a really great glass canister with an air-tight stainless steel lid. Total spent? 4$ (Don’t you love that?)

At home, using my coffee grinder, I ground about a 1/4 cup of beans finely and transfered it to the washed canister.

I used it for the first time this morning and I swear to god it worked exactly like I remembered. Such a great smell. My skin felt smoothe and clean. Adzuki beans have been widely used in Japanese skin care for centuries. They clean, exfoliate and clarify the skin, leaving a natural glow. This is a definite hit for me!

Workin’ on my fitness – for real

I have been working on getting healthier and losing weight for so long. I’m talking years. And as of today, I have 20 more pounds to lose than I did back then, when I was struggling to lose 10 lbs. Inconsistency has been the order of the day…er… years. I’d get the nutrition right but then wouldn’t have time to go the gym. Or I’d get to the gym but was really busy socially and missed the nutrition component. It’s been a vicious cycle and every time I think “ok, this is it”… But it isn’t. Sound familiar?

I went through this before. I lost 35 lbs about 6-7 years ago. I was doing so well too. I had such discipline. I’ve been racking my brain trying to recollect the frame of mind I was in and why it was so natural and easy to be so disciplined. I’ve been trying to remember the details of my life back then. What was the same or different, to try and duplicate that this time around or at least learn from it and adapt it for today. What occurred to me was that:

• I was working long hours back then
• I didn’t workout at the gym at all
• I was very, very careful about what I ate and how much alcohol I consumed
• I didn’t eat red meat or pork
• I ran almost everyday on hilly, mountainous terrain for an hour minimum, rain or shine, in daylight or darkness
• In the winter, I snowboarded, snowshoed and cross-country skied regularly, almost every weekend
• I saw results immediately and that kept me motivated
• A chick’s metabolisms at 29-30 yrs old is different than at 35 yrs old

So now, fast forward to today, and after having analyzed my findings, I came up with this list that I keep close by (it’s on my laptop and on my Blackberry)

1. Stop hitting the snooze button: Just friggen GET UP and do it! Write it everywhere if you have to! Once I’m up and out of bed, I’m always happy I did. I have to keep reminding myself that.
2. Always measure portions, get a scale (got mine for $12, works perfectly well) and measuring cups.
3. Be aware how much sugar you consume and cut waaaaaay back. It’s in everything, it drives me nuts.
4. Educate yourself on metabolism and how your body works. Understanding how the body processes and metabolizes food and nutrients is essential when you are on this path. How the body loses weight then makes more sense. I picked up Jillian Michael’s Master Your Metabolism. I’m learning so much about how the crap we eat messes with our systems and why. A great source of information and advise on how to turn things around.
   

   Jillian Michaels: Master Your Metabolism

5. Write everything in a food journal. Choose a journal you actually like. My faves have always been Pocket Moleskines. They’re the perfect size and even have an inside pocket.
   

   Moleskine Notebooks

6. Cut out or print pictures that inspire you and use them wherever you think you might need some inspiration (I have a few in my iPod and food journal. I created a screensaver for my laptop that loops my inspiration pictures. This picture is the home screen on my Blackberry:

   

7. Create a check list of what you want to keep track of, print it and put it on the fridge, as a visual reminder, for motivation and for consistency. Mine follows P90X’s 13 week program, 6 workouts per week. The Extra means any additional physical activity accomplished beyond P90X and taking my dog Maya out for extended walks. I check the Food box if I feel I had a good day food-wise. I weigh myself every Sunday morning and indicate by how much my weight went up or down. At first I didn’t think this would help but it has. Even Peter takes a peak at it and comments on my progress. It looks like this:

Source: MelissaCT's nutrition and activity tracking sheet

So those are my tips. Are they helpful? I’m still in the process of absorbing a lot of information from research and trying different things. It’s a daily challenge. Especially since I live with someone who lives to eat and is so passionate about cooking and grilling… Sooo hard to resist sometimes.

Are you having difficulties too? How do you stay motivated? How do you stay disciplined? I’d love to know.