what's in your freezer?

the contents of my freezer.

(this is a studying for boards study break; thus I make no promises that it will make sense, or keep you entertained. There is no knitting content, even though my striped sweater is sitting on the floor next to where I sit to study. My brain is almost mush, and after a few more question sets I’m headed to bed.)

The true contents of my freezer: (there’s a lot of frozen meat in the back – I buy it on sale and then shove it in for when I “plan ahead” for dinner. (hahahahahahaha!) There’s enough in there for me to get through the next two months, but it probably won’t stop me from buying during future sales…

On the left: frozen green beans. I love frozen green beans, and no matter what my mother says they are 10x better then canned green beans. This particular bag is a bit freezer burned, but when I’m hungry for the beans it doesn’t matter. They’re especially good with almonds, or quickly thrown into a skillet with garlic….

Next up: Frozen crème brulee from Trader Joe’s. I bought these on a whim because I love this simple egg dish, and because during my trips to TJ’s I find myself throwing anything that looks good into my basket. It’s scary that way. These are good, but after I got them I discovered that though my oven has a “broiler” setting it doesn’t actually have a broiler. This makes broiling the top tricky, and instead cooks the whole thing. The actual desert is packaged in a ceramic ramekin – I can’t bring myself to get rid of it. I think it’ll be donated to charity when I start the “Kristen is moving….again” packing.

On the other side of the middle is another TJ’s purchase; these lime fruit things are good, but they sort of melted on the way home and are nearly impossible to eat off the stick. They taste a bit sweet to me, but are truly a “lime” composition. I love limes. I think the box of 4 cost me $2.50.

On the right: my favorite thing about summer. Yes, I love ice cream, and yes there is more to summer then popsicles, but boy oh by these are good. They are so good that I will not confess to how many of them I ate today (though that might have something to do with studying….see below.) Each popsicle has three flavors – sure they are artificially colored, but they are made with fruit juice and don’t taste artificial. They’re small enough that eating two is just perfect. The best part? They have riddles on the sticks. The fancy-smancy ones from TJ’s do not have riddles on the sticks. The box of 28 (4 free!!!) cost me $2.50. I might need to make a run to the grocery store to buy more of them on Monday.

(Q1: What happened to the cow that went for a drive?)
(Q2: Who eats at underwater restaurants?)
(Q3: What’s more dangerous than pulling out a shark’s tooth?)

I think I’ve gained ten lbs in the past week – even knitting while studying hasn’t stopped me from my seemingly insatiable hunger. I’ve tried being outside, drinking tea and always having a glass of water at my side, but that isn’t helping. It isn’t the chewing motion – I tried gum and all it did was give me a headache - and if I didn’t know any better I’m sure I would have started smoking this weekend. (I’m sure some of my classmates who have quit will come in smelling as though they just lit up; I’ve never smoked, and don’t intend to start, but I can see how it would be desirable every now and then.)

Instead of cursing the weight (I tried that, it didn’t really help), I’m taking it in stride, and seeing this as a last hurrah of sorts. When I graduated from high school I was in great shape – I had been active in sports and was swimming regularly to keep my lifeguard skills up. Four years of college added up to a 15-20 lb gain, and I didn’t get it all off before I started med school. This “summer” is the last long break of time I’ll have for the next several years – and it’s time for me to get back in shape. I’ll finally have time to get back on the yoga mat and when the weather is nice I can hit the trails and the beach for walks. Getting into a routine of being active now will make it easier to keep it up when my rotations start, and I’ve found that anything I do always works better when I actually want to be doing it. I really want to be back in shape.

(I’m not great at keeping track of fat/calories, but I’ve gotten rid of the crap food and am stocking my cupboards with food that is good for me. Keeping the processed stuff out is an easy way for me to stop from eating it!)

(A1: He got a moo-ving violation.)
(A2: Scuba diners.)
(A3: Giving a porcupine a back rub.)
see?? They are very much worth $2.50!