LENT UPDATE

OK, so how is Lent going?  As you may or may not know, I’ve given up processed foods for Lent.  By processed foods, what I mean is foods that are broken down beyond recognition.  Cheddar cheese is NOT processed.  Sure, it’s milk that’s been “processed” into cheese, but cheese isn’t processed (in my world).  Taco shells dance along the border of processed.  Boxed mac and cheese?  Processed.  Home made bread?  Not processed.  Wonder?  Processed.  These may or may not fit into the classic definitions of processed food, but this is my resolution and I make the rules.

That doesn’t mean I can make the rules easy.  I just want to make them realistic.  So, how’s Lent?  My biggest issues come from snacking.  The kids had some Lunchables (not that they get these often) today and I found myself stealing a bite of Chicken Dunks (don’t ask) or Katie’s Nachos – all very processed and a definite no-no.  Lunches have been a small issue, too.  On Wednesday, I was scrambling to make a salad dressing and Friday’s lunch was just bread I had (I made it a few weeks ago – I took it out of the freezer) and an olive oil/herb dipping sauce.  I seem to forget I can’t buy lunch until the last minute and run around the house, looking for something to bring to work.

So far, so good – but, snacking is an issue.  I get hungry at work and….nothing.  I can’t eat anything from the snack machine, I have to hope I brought an apple.  BUT, that’s a VERY good habit to form. 

BAGGING BLUES

I’m one of those people you see in the grocery stores who bring in their own canvas bags.  I don’t do it to save the environment; I don’t want to say I could care less, but it’s not one of my priorities.  I do it because I’m lazy.

I do a lot of things I do because I’m lazy.  And I use canvas bags for the sheer amount of stuff they can hold, meaning less trips out to the car when I get home.

I shop at my local Hannaford’s most weeks. It’s a good store, locally oriented (somewhat) and I’m very happy to shop there – right up until it’s time to check out.  At that point, I must deal with the bagger.  I usually scan the baggers to see if I can recognize one who I remember is good.  I will wait in line to get a good bagger, because a bad bagger can ruin the whole canvas bag experience.  Case in point:

Today, I may have had the worst bagger ever.  She was a young girl and if the store wasn’t such a madhouse, I would have skipped the line.  You see, young kids are more likely to have just been taught the basics of plastic bagging (don’t mix anything, put no more than six or seven things in a bag, etc) and applying that mindset to canvas bags is like applying the basics of a microwave to a convection oven.  She asked me if I wanted them packed “heavy or light” and I said heavy.  It went downhill from there. At one point, I added more items from the belt to a bag she had just packed.  But, nothing compares to how much she put in this bag:

I understand the turnover rate at the checkout lines in a grocery store.  I understand everybody wants everything different from everyone else.  But, there’s got to be something grocery stores can do about training baggers.  The baggers at Whole Paycheck and Trader Joe’s know how to bag in canvas, surely the people at Hannaford’s can learn, too.