How I've Been Avoiding Fast Food
I think one of the hardest parts of my no buy is not buying fast food. I made this decision both for my health and for my wallet. When you're out running errands and you get hungry it's easy to just pull into a drive through and get some lunch. I always think, "Well, it's fast and it's cheap." But all those cheap meals really add up over time and so does that cholesterol.
Since I tend to plan out my week it's easy for me to know which days I'll be running errands and plan accordingly. I try to do most of my errand running between the hours of 9 AM and 12 PM so that way I leave after breakfast and get back home in time for lunch. This tends to work really well with the kids too because they tend to be at their most agreeable in the morning. Well, my daughter is a grump before breakfast but once she's fed she's fine.
If I can't do my errands during that time period, like I have a doctors appointment or something that got scheduled during lunchtime or something like that, I'll take something with me. One of my favorite portable meals right now is a green smoothie.
I tend to use coconut water or milk and then add protein powder, almond butter, a banana, some chia seeds, and a handful of baby spinach. The one in the picture is coconut water, vanilla protein powder, almond butter, a banana, chia seeds, and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. You can barely taste the spinach and the protein powder and almond butter help keep you full. I'll make one right before I walk out the door and drink it on my way to wherever I'm going and it usually keeps me full until I get home.
I also tend to keep snacks for myself and my daughter in the diaper bag. I typically have a granola bar or some crackers in there for myself and some Cheerios, goldfish crackers, or a fruit bar for my daughter. Things that are easy to grab and eat but that will squash hunger pangs long enough to get the errands run and get home for something to eat.
I'm still doing well on my no buy. Today I saw a post about a Harry Potter knitting pattern book on one of the knitting pages I follow on Facebook. It made me remember that I preordered the book in October. Amazon doesn't take payment on preorders until the item has shipped so I cancelled the order today because I'm not buying books during my no buy. I put it on my wish list so that, if I still want it next year, I can think about buying it later. It'll most likely be available in the library prior to that so before my no buy is over I'll be able to check it out and see if it's something I'll actually use or something I just want because it's Harry Potter related.
This is something I really should do with all pattern books because I find that typically there's one or two things in them I'll actually knit and the rest is just a waste. This book is $25, I'd hate to find out I've spent $25 on one or two patterns. In the end I'm glad that I'll get to preview it at the library before I decide to purchase it. Prior to my no buy I wouldn't have even thought about that.
Since I tend to plan out my week it's easy for me to know which days I'll be running errands and plan accordingly. I try to do most of my errand running between the hours of 9 AM and 12 PM so that way I leave after breakfast and get back home in time for lunch. This tends to work really well with the kids too because they tend to be at their most agreeable in the morning. Well, my daughter is a grump before breakfast but once she's fed she's fine.
If I can't do my errands during that time period, like I have a doctors appointment or something that got scheduled during lunchtime or something like that, I'll take something with me. One of my favorite portable meals right now is a green smoothie.
I also tend to keep snacks for myself and my daughter in the diaper bag. I typically have a granola bar or some crackers in there for myself and some Cheerios, goldfish crackers, or a fruit bar for my daughter. Things that are easy to grab and eat but that will squash hunger pangs long enough to get the errands run and get home for something to eat.
I'm still doing well on my no buy. Today I saw a post about a Harry Potter knitting pattern book on one of the knitting pages I follow on Facebook. It made me remember that I preordered the book in October. Amazon doesn't take payment on preorders until the item has shipped so I cancelled the order today because I'm not buying books during my no buy. I put it on my wish list so that, if I still want it next year, I can think about buying it later. It'll most likely be available in the library prior to that so before my no buy is over I'll be able to check it out and see if it's something I'll actually use or something I just want because it's Harry Potter related.
This is something I really should do with all pattern books because I find that typically there's one or two things in them I'll actually knit and the rest is just a waste. This book is $25, I'd hate to find out I've spent $25 on one or two patterns. In the end I'm glad that I'll get to preview it at the library before I decide to purchase it. Prior to my no buy I wouldn't have even thought about that.
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