Trying new things.

Yesterday I went out to lunch with a friend. She suggested a couple of things and I decided on Thai food! I always get the same two things though, so I decided to change it up a bit.



I ordered Cashew Chicken.



It came with one crispy & crunchy eggroll. I love eggrolls!



And a rice heart. This won me over. I was going to avoid the white rice but how could I resist this?



I mixed it all together like "londy-londy wanna go down." (Yes, I am listening to Fergie's-London Bridge right now.)

After lunch and an impromptu shopping trip at Tar-jay, I came home and busted out my 30 day shred video. I haven't been running since I hurt my knee. Luckily 20 minutes of the Shred video + 20 minutes of pilates burns the same amount of calories. (Keep it mind, I wasn't running very fast or far.)

Jillian Michaels is intense. I barely made it through this one. I also did side planks. Why didn't anyone warn me? Side planks are officially the devil. My body hates me today.

I'm sticking with planks though. They get the job done. And my abs are purely flab. I could use some strong muscle under there.



Dinner last night was sushi.



I don't really love sushi, so I ordered tempura for Andy and I to share and some veggie rolls.



These asparagus and shrimp rolls were out of this world good. I actually ate them!!! I split this with a friend.



mmm tempura asparagus. These rolls are good because it's just a tiny piece of tempura. And it's surprisingly not too greasy.



Andy got spicy tuna.



An eel roll. Which he tried to convince me to try, but I refuse to have any of it!



I'll stick to my veggie rolls thank you very much!

Challenge total so far- $70.34. Not too bad. Not too good. I still have tons of samples and a few celebratory meals left but still. I have made quite a few excuses-"oh this doesn't count because (insert lame excuse here.)"

Overall, I have learned a lot from the challenge. Restricting my spending forces me to be creative with dinner. I've learned to try new things and to keep an open mind. Next month I'll probably cap our spending at $300. Keep in mind we were spending up to $500-$600 a month on meals out, coffee and groceries. I know we won't get back there. I enjoy cooking way too much and making dinner at home is SO much cheaper than going out.

I'm not disappointed in how we are doing with the challenge because it was designed to teach us to make due with what we have. I think the point of the challenge was not to focus on the number so much but to limit the spending. I can't even tell you how many times I used to impulse shop. We still have way too much in our pantry and we are going to use it all!

$29.66 for 12 days? Yeah, not gonna happen. Should I raise the number from $100 to $150? Or should I just see how we do?

Also I miss greek yogurt. I had some coupons which were great but now I have none! SAD. Guess I'll have to wait to December.