Almost everyone wears at least two changes of clothes a day (unless you don’t wear pajamas and then we’re down to one). And let’s assume, because it happens with alarming regularity in my world, that on some days its just one change of clothes (it’s really hard to get out of my pajamas on Saturdays). Either way, that’s seven pairs of clothes a week, at approximately four pieces of clothing per pair. Do you know how much laundry that is? A lot. I’d show you how much but the photo is frightening. Instead of doing laundry I decided to make green bean bundles. Makes perfect sense, right? Instead of washing clothes let’s make another apron dirty.Update: Mount Laundry has been tackled with enough time to make Green Chile Muffins.
I got this recipe off of AllRecipes.com, which I’m on all the time. And, being that I’m in the Middle East, there’s no bacon around here. Instead I used carrot strips (cut with a carrot peeler) to wrap the green beans and I think the result, while not necessarily as delicious is really pretty (the other substitution I made was no salt and balsamic vinegar instead of white wine vinegar). The green and orange looked great on a plate next to homemade whole wheat rolls (follow the recipe exactly and these are perfect, don’t worry if they look too wet) and a nice piece of sirloin.
On top of being pretty, my incredibly filling dinner was under 600 calories. And fit in perfectly with my under 1500 calories a day diet. And there wasn’t but one teaspoon of salt in the whole thing(don’t tell my husband, he’d have a salt lick for dinner if I’d let him) . So there you have it. Maybe I should have called this one “How to avoid the laundry and an expanding waistline".
Next time I’ve got a chickpea salad that I hope is delicious and just maybe that embroidery project I’ve been working on… and maybe a folded pile of laundry (that’s a pretty big maybe though).
I'm glad I'm not the only one who distracts herself when she should be doing other things. You mention that you are in the Middle East. What's that like?
ReplyDeleteThe Middle East is fantastic. But I'm able to say that because we're in Qatar and not somewhere like Saudi Arabia. While they aren't entirely tolerant of all our heathen Western ways, being able to experience their culture is worth a few compromises. The spices and shopping over here are fantastic, and its just so beautiful in a way that is so different from the States.
ReplyDeleteI'll bet. I'm guessing that the food is super local, like nothing like shopping at a big box store like Wal-Mart. Do you enjoy your food more?
ReplyDeleteIt's really weird but because we're in Qatar hardly anything is grown locally. The only "fields" they have are in huge greenhouses and the one "farm" that is in Qatar is a gigantic airconditioned warehouse for cows! Almost all of our produce comes from India and Sri Lanka (the cheap stuff), or Holland and France (the really expensive, but more western looking stuff).
ReplyDeleteI don't know if that translates into enjoying our food more but I think we really enjoy the variety. There are so many foods that I had absolutely no idea about that the Nepalese people eat everyday! On the other hand, variety comes at a price. If you see something in Doha.... buy it. NOW. Otherwise you won't see it again for months. Sometimes that makes me really miss the consistency of a Wal-Mart. :)