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Here’s a challenge for everyone.
I’ve been gaining weight and I hate it. What’s worse is that I know exactly where I’ve been going wrong and I’ve been too boring to fix it. I need my 5 to 10 servings of fruit and vegetables every day to maintain a healthy weight. Filling in hunger gaps with cheese and yogurt is delicious, and convenient, but too fatty for someone whose exercise time has been taken up by blogging (the truth still hurts). The rest of the family is going to do it with me.
Inspired by the children’s book above (click on the image to go to Amazon), we are going to eat the alphabet this week in an effort to get back on the healthy diet track.
Here are the rules, every day eat at least five servings of fruit and vegetables whose names begin with 4 different letters of the alphabet (for two days, you only need 3 letters). By next Friday, you should have all 26 letters eaten. I’ll update this post daily to let you know how we’re doing. Use the comments below to update your own progress. You do not have to eat in alphabetical order! You just have to cover all the letters.
Any other families up to doing the challenge with us? Progress Report under the cut
A – apple
B – blueberries (frozen), broccoli, baby pineapple
C – carrot
D – daikon (a/k/a horse radish)
E – eggplant (a/k/a aubergine)
F – figs
G – grapes, garlic
H – herbs (various)
I – iceberg lettuce
J – Jerusalem artichokes
K – kholrabi
L – lychee, lemon (juice)
M – mango, mushrooms
N – nectarine
O – onions
P – peppers, pomegranite seeds, potatoes
Q – quince (jelly)
R – raspberries (frozen)
S - spinach
T – tomatoes (canned)
U – ugli fruit
V – vine leaves (stuffed)
W – watermelon
Y – yams
Z – zuccini
1729 days ago
[...] Eating the alphabet was one of the most interesting experiments I have ever conducted on my family. Even though it didn’t work as a diet…and we never did get to X and Z, everyone had something interesting to say about it! [...]
1911 days ago
[...] Quince Jam (or Jelly) was one of my culinary discoveries during the Eating The Alphabet Challenge that captivated the mommy blogging world (or, you know, Kerri). [...]
Lisa- For you and everyone else!
What a great idea. I think I might have to try that. I try to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, but sometimes convenience out weighs what I should be doing.
1922 days ago
[...] For those of you who have been following the Eating the Alphabet Challenge, one of its successes was root vegetable casserole. [...]
1926 days ago
[...] We’ve had a little set back on the Eating the Alphabet Challenge. [...]
1927 days ago
[...] If you couldn’t find Jerusalem artichokes for J, but just happened to have a can of Green Jackfruit, what would you do with it? [...]
1927 days ago
[...] Yes. We ate stuffed vine leaves from a can. You have to understand, my husband was born in Bulgaria. Vine leaves, aren’t just part of our eating the alphabet adventure. They’re part of our family culture. If my mother-in-law knew about this, she’d have fit. (Ah, we miss you, Nadka.) She could make beautiful sirme, taking care to fill each vine leaf with the same amount of delicious filling, shaping it perfectly. I don’t have that kind of time on a work day. I also don’t have access to the quality, farm grown ingredients Nadka did. [...]
Sarah-
Quince jelly was amazingly easy. The second table at the Saturday farmers’ market had come.
I have emails out to our African friends to find a potential source of Ximenia Fruit as a visit to the Asian shop today did not turn up and Xigua!
I have one more shop to check for Jerusalem artichokes before I open the can of green jack fruit, which was such a find, I had to have it…even though I have NO IDEA what to do with it and B took one look at the picture on the can and told me he doesn’t want any jack fruit.
Kate this is SUCH a good idea – but it will take some serious stick-to-itness to find all thsoe things! I am amazed at your Q and X finds!
1931 days ago
[...] Did you eat your alphabet today? Christina | January 27th 2007 – 12:51 Posted in Mothering, Child health, Healthy choices, healthy diet, cooking [...]
1931 days ago
[...] Kate over at Babylune has done it again. She has issued a challenge to us all to eat healthy by sampling our way through the alphabet’s fruits and vegetables. [...]
1931 days ago
[...] Can you guess which one is the ugli fruit? Not especially challenging, is it? We’ve gotten a bit carried away with the “let’s try new things” spirit of the Eating the Alphabet Challenge. So much so that going grocery shooping today was, well, expensive. [...]
LOL Kerri! I hope Kate finds it at the Asian market and lets us know. Unfortunately, it takes two hours to get to my favorite Asian market. Grrr.
Here’s my post: http://www.playlibrary.com/2007/01/26/what-vegetable-starts-with-x/
Christina, I promise I already had the title written before I saw your comment, ha! But I still haven’t thought of an X produce, either. ;)
Yes, Kate, it was low-fat. But with the strawberries and granola, I realized that I consumed more calories than if I’d had my usual one egg, 2 pieces of turkey bacon, one piece of toast and coffee with creamer!! Though, so far, it is about as filling. And it was way yummy. :)
1932 days ago
[...] Kate must’ve known that I waited a day to go to the grocery, and that I’ve been thinking that I really must do a better job of bringing healthier foods into the house. Over at Babylune, she’s presented an eating the alphabet challenge. I’ll be joining her, in part because my hindquarters could use the help. [...]
Christina – Tomorrow I am going to the Asia Supermarket to buy Qs and Xs.
I think so, Brain, but where are we going to find a Quince this time of night?
I’ll be cheering you on. I’m not stocked up for an A – Z eating fest, but I’ll eat my Salad with Peppers and Celery and shoot. all my favorite salad veggies are C’s — carrots, cucumbers, celery.
How about Hearts of Palm? Artichokes? Daikon, eggplant, figs grapes NOT Iceberg…
what’s an X vegetable? A free space on the eating board?
Kerri- Is it low-fat yogurt?
I guess I should mention that I have been eating yogurt or cheese about 5 times a day.
Of course, I had to laugh b/c as I start reading this I’m eating my “healthy” breakfast of a yogurt parfait! :) (Vanilla yogurt, strawberries and a little granola). Okay, it is a bit fatty, you’re right. But, hey, there’s my S!