Reduce, reuse, recycle

Now that food waste recycling is mandatory in the city of Seattle, we're actually doing what we should have been doing years ago (since most of the currently allowable foods could always be thrown in with the yard waste).

This turn of events is somewhat surprising to me, since I tend to rebel against authority in small ways (i.e., not in any way that might land me in jail). For example, I started reading when I was 3 and don't believe it's possible to own too many books, yet just have an English teacher dare to tell me to read a certain book on a certain time frame, and you'd think I would rather eat dirt than read.

But food waste recyclers we have indeed become, mostly because J spearheaded the change and nags me like a fishwife if I happen to throw so much as an apple core or the seeds from a bell pepper down the disposal! Neither of us is very fond of taking the bin outside to be emptied, but we suck it up.

While part of me would love to have one of those cute little countertop food scrap receptacles, I'm really pretty satisfied with our cheap (well, free) solution of using one of those clear plastic tubs that the mixed salad greens come in at Costco. I love these tubs so much, I should write a book about their many varied reuses. Here are my personal favorites:

• Cloches (mini-coldframes) for tender seedlings in the garden during the shoulder seasons (see Sunday's post for a photo of this).
• Mini-greenhouses for indoor seedling starts.
• Organizers/dividers for lightweight craft/sewing supplies, toolshed/greenhouse odds and ends, pantry items, toiletries, small linens (like washcloths).

Brilliant!

As of today, I'm adding a "new feature" to my food/exercise log. I'm putting any items that I should not have eaten (because I wasn't really hungry, or I was giving into a craving, I didn't plan to eat it, or it was just too many calories) in red. Honestly, this is more a tool for my benefit, but it also plays nicely into the accountability thing.

Tuesday, March 24
Morning workout: "Next Level" DVD (warmup and hip layering drills)
Breakfast 1 (at home): Cafe Americano; 1/3 c. fresh pineapple; 16 oz. water.
Breakfast 2 (at work): 12 oz. nonfat latte; banana bread; 16 oz water.
Snack: Apple + 10 almonds; 1 Girl Scout cookie; 16 oz. water.
Lunch: (Bridal shower for a co-worker, so no walk today)* 1 2X3" turkey wrap; 2 tortilla chips with shrimp dip; 1/2 c. tortellini salad; 1/2 c. broccoli salad; 1/2 c. fresh fruit; 1 piece spice bread; 1 3x3" piece chocolate cake; ginger tea.
Snack: 1 2x3" turkey wrap; orange; 12 oz. Americano; 16 oz. water.
Post-work activity: Practiced drum rhythms; "Killer Ziller" DVD (drills section); dance class (With more talking than dancing AGAIN. Sigh.).
Dinner: Mixed green salad with oil and vinegar and 3 oz. turkey breast; banana bread; 16 oz. water.
Snack: 2 oz. mixed tequila drink; caramel corn; pumpkin seeds.
* In retrospect, should have bagged the drum/zill practice to fit in a workout.