Chic Eating - How to Start

A yahoo group I've belonged to forever recently had some posts about clean pantries
and more frequent, but less acquisitive, stops at the market. We been thru this before on that group (french chic) and it's understandable as this is one of the cornerstones of a healthy, chic way of relating to food. Lean pantry, eat seasonally,
realistic portions, unprocessed foods - all building blocks of your personal chic culinary lifestyle, one that will satisfy your mouth and your soul. Wow, who knew. Anyway I also love that it is thriftier (yes,despite costlier organics etc) and just a superior way to conduct yourself (earth consciousness, the whole picture).
You've got to clean that refrigerator out. First timers must take every single item out, wipe the fridge clean, and sort and restock, wiping down the condiment bottles as before returning to their shelves. I try to do this a few times a year- seasonally seems right, and once you do it, and you keep a sparse, clean fridge, it's not too time consuming. First timers - for you it is tho, almost certainly. So worth the effort.
As you go make a list of what you need to eat asap and what you need to replace.
You can make some quick menus from these items. Today I had 1 1/2 lemons (squeezed them right into the existing, summer-fridge omnipresent pitcher of lemonade). One cooked chicken breast and 2 hard boiled eggs - made a quick bowl of chicken salad adding some celery and green grapes. Get the picture? "yes, we see".

Don't forget the freezer. And the dry pantry of course.

The pantry basics, well you can find lists everywhere and you will want to make it
'your own' anyway. The flavors of jelly, the particular spices, what sort of mustard you enjoy - this is what not only makes all sorts of delicious sustenance easy for you to prepare daily - it is your way of treating yourself to what you love! Pick what rocks your world! Experiment! What do YOU like? Indulge yourself here. Condiments are the accessories of your pantry and, as we chics know, accessories are essential, fun and can make or break it.

Off to pick some golden raspberries for the yogurt that needs to be eaten up. It was my first attempt in years to make homemade. And it is delicious, thick Greek style stuff. Maybe I'll post about that process...
La

Positively Free!

Lovely for you and free (or very inexpensive)!
Enjoy!

BREATHE
EXFOLIATE (try Baking soda)
MOISTERIZE
WALK
CYCLE
HYDRATE
POSTURE CHECK
DAYDREAMING/VISUALIZING THE CHIC LIFE YOU DESIRE

XO,
LA

Computer Snack Tip

In general "no snacking" is an ironclad rule for chic. Just think about it - food is messy and greasy fingertips do not belong in a soignee world. But my world - the real one - requires me to spend hours at the computer keyboard. I have found the only snack that is now allowed at keyboard: Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans. 5 beans = about 45 calories w/ 25 mg of caffeine that is more absorbed than the same amount of caffeine in an espresso, for example,due somewhat to the presence of the chocolate (according to my research). I can make those 5 beans last 45 minutes! I rarely chew the bean, rather slowly savor the choc layer and then sort of suck the bean (sounds so gross put this way, but I make sure to never lay the bean against any teeth that might get stained etc) - as I said I almost never chew and swallow the bean. Simply toss it into the compost. These can be found at many markets and
the terrific Trader Joe's.
This is a nice treat, low calorie and invigorating, hope you enjoy it.
To my friends, chocolate and caffeine, and you,
La

Me, me, me

Well I apologize for being such a bad blogger. I'm finding that this particular blog is more like an online diary/goalsetting/vetting resource than the traditional blog.
Oh well.
We are ensconced in my favorite month, finally. Warmth. Growth. Kids home from school (2 out of three ain't bad). The potatger is in. Lots of unexpected veggies cropping up due to compost/reseeding. My peonies and first round of Mme.Issac Periere roses were glorious.
My head is on straight regarding work. I've been slaving (yes that is the correct lingo) for the past several years, attempting to make a new career profitable and supplement with part time work, (Jake has too, he's working like a madman). I am seeing the light at the end of that tunnel. Some balance between work and life, and some earning power. Jake and I have been talking/pondering our 8 year goal path - in that time, God willing, all three of our children will be college grads and we'll be total empty nesters. In 4 years we'll be semi-empty, I guess. This is a good timeline/way to look at the future for us.
I've had time to get back into the music scene, working on a couple of projects right now. It's exhilarating to be back working at that passion.

Our plan, in a nutshell: keep the income as low as possible (easy!) - we have bright kids and they will all qualify for college financial aid based on our current/past several years income. Build my primary business. Freelance/under the radar income (pet sitting, music gigs, handyman (Jake)) etc. Optimize our rental property income.

In 8 years our primary residence will also be paid off. We will probably move to a condo downtown that we own (and currently rent out) at that point and sell or rent this house. We loved city living and the condo is a loft style with exposed brick walls, 20 ft ceilings, hardwood floors, rooftop garden - that we lived in as newlyweds. Simply love the space. We could then travel, use the condo as a home base to recharge, take care of our rental properties etc.
sounds good to me.....
xo,
La