Utilizing Space

One thing about trailers is there are a lot of storage compartments. The benches at the kitchen table are hollow and have lots of room inside. Lift up the bed and underneath is plenty of room to store all our bedding and extra blankets. The couch has a pull out drawer for more storage. Most trailers have lots of nooks and cranies for you to be able to store all of your things. But living in a trailer sometimes those nooks and cranies just aren't enough.

When we first moved into the trailer I had a hard time figuring out the best place to put our bread. I had already used most of the cabinets and needed a good place were the bread wouldn't get squashed. Our solution was to use heavy duty staples and attach a wire basket I already had to the bottom of a cabinet. Essentially we added an extra shelf.

Our trailer comes with two bathrooms. The main bathroom (that I have shown in a previous blog) has the shower and is next to the bedroom. The extra bathroom is a tiny room that has a toilet and a cupboard behind it. We never have used that toilet and don't intend to ever use it so we made that room into a closet. I use the cupboard for extra storage and we put hooks in there to hang our coats. We also have a step stool, vaccum cleaner, shop vac, and clothes drying rack that we store in there. The extra bathroom is such a convient closet.

We have also discovered some extra storage places. Underneath our utility sink is some room for storage, very much like any sink. Not too long after we moved into the trailer Meric was exploring to see what was behind some panels. He removed the panel from under the utility sink and discovered that basically nothing was behind it. We completely removed that panel and now have even more storage space under that sink.

The panel that we removed went towards another "storage tweak". By the TV in the back room there are shelves on either side. Since we hook our TV to the computer we removed one of the shelves and put the computer in its place. Meric put the panel on the bottom of the shelf and hung it up next to the front door. Now we have a shelf for my purse among other things. This shelf has come in really handy to keep some of the clutter off of my limited counter space. We also added the hooks under the shelf to keep our keys organized. (We ended up with an extra hook and I thought it was the perfect spot for my lovespoon!)

We have a few more ideas for adding extra cubby holes and storage to our trailer and are figuring out everyday the best way to utilize our space.

SUPER Foods

Meric and I have really been trying to get healthier over the last few years. It has been an interesting journey with good parts and bad parts. Eating right and exercising doesn't always come easy. It seems like we start, do well for a while and then something happens to get us off track. I can definitely say that good habits don't come as easily as bad ones. Lately Meric and I have been doing better and are getting back into those good habits.(knock on wood)

There are a few "super" food that I have found along the way. I thought I would share them with you. I talk a lot about protein but I want to clarify that Meric and I aren't doing an Atkins high protein style diet. We do a 40-30-30 style diet (at least sort of). That means 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% good fat.

GREEK YOGURT

I love regular yogurt and it is good for you but Greek yogurt has a little more oomph to it. The way that it is made gives Greek yogurt two times the amount of protein as regular yogurt. It is also thicker and creamier. Greek yogurt is also very versatile. Just add garlic and cucumber to plain Greek yogurt and you have tzatziki sauce to go on your Greek wrap. (Really yummy BTW). Also you can use it in cooking and baking. It is really easy to substitute sour cream with Greek yogurt to add a little bit more protein to your recipes. I am loving that Greek yogurt is becoming more popular because it seems like more companies are coming out with Greek yogurt options. I am loving the variety of flavors and brands that are coming out.

FLAT OUT WRAPS

Flat Out wraps are a food I discovered on a whim. Meric and I were shopping ate Costco when I first saw them. I had been wanting to do more wraps, so I thought I would give these a try. Boy am I glad I did! First of all they taste really good and are soft. I really hate dry wraps. Lately I have been trying out all of the flavors and I love all of them so far. These wraps are also high in fiber and protein. Comparing two pieces of bread to one wrap, you get at least twice as much protein (sometimes more depending on the flavor) and less carbs. Also I love anything with a good fiber content. The majority of people do not get nearly enough fiber in their diets and these wraps are a delicious and easy way to get some. These wraps are also versatile. I use them for all my wraps including Greek. I have used them as pizza crust too. Also if you go to their website you can find recipes for several things including desserts. There is a recipe on there that has you cook the wrap like french toast and layer it with berries and yogurt. I cannot wait to try it!

FLAX SEED

I love this stuff! Adding a little of this stuff to your diet gives you so many health benefits. Flax seed has wonderful nutrients and antioxidents. Also you get a good dose of the ever important fiber and omega-3 (good fat). And like the other foods I have listed, flax seed is versatile. I add this to protein shakes and smoothies and you can hardly tell it is there. It is easy to add to yogurts and cereal. Also throw some into anything you bake for an extra kick of nutrition. I love this stuff! Using flax seed makes it easy to get the fiber and "healthy" fat I need in my daily diet while adding antioxidents and other essential nurtients.

 COTTAGE CHEESE

I need to start by telling you that I don't like cottage cheese. I don't like the flavor and hate it plain or even with fruit. With that said, I love it and consider it a super food. I love cottage cheese as long as I can't taste it alone. When Meric and I first started our diet we discovered that carbs are easy to get but protein can be a little difficult at times. Cottage cheese is high in protein so I started experimenting on ways to use it. I discovered that cottage cheese is very versatile. I love mixing cottage cheese and yogurt for breakfast and blending it with some berries makes a wonderful dessert. I also love adding cottage cheese to pasta sauce. There is a "healthy" cheesecake I make with cottage cheese that is super delicious. So even though I don't like cottage cheese after experimenting a little I have come to love it.

So there are four of my favorite "super" foods. As you can tell versatility is a big factor for me as well as health benefits. What makes them super to me is all the different things you can do with them to add variety to your diet without sacrificing nutrition. Also anything with extra protein or fiber wins my heart. Food can be so delicious and nutritious!

Camping in the NC

Over Labor Day weekend Meric and I went camping with some friends in western North Carolina. It was a 7 1/2 hour drive to get to the campground but well worth it because we got to see some of our Fort Bragg friends. The camp sites were nice and surrounded by trees. We were far enough away from the other campers that having the dogs loose wasn't a problem.The only odd thing about the camp ground was the cemetery. We had to pass by it on the way to the bathrooms. I understand that the cemetery is old and was there long before the campground, but it is still a little odd. Also it was surrounded by a fence that had barbed wire on top. You would think it was to keep people out of the cemetery except the barbed wire was pointed inward instead of outward. It was like they were keeping things in instead of out. Spooky!  We were camping with two other couples and one of the couples had two boys and a dog. The boys were funny and would always move their chairs so that they were either sitting next to Meric or me. The youngest boy (about 3 years old) kept referring to Meric as my dad. He would ask me where my dad was or what was my dad doing. It was really cute. The dog that they had was actually a 6 month old puppy. It reminded me of how old my dogs really are. It was nice to go drive-in camping. It has been a long time since I have done that. Usually when we go camping we go backpacking. Of course there are some people who would consider the way we live to be camping.(Sorry no pictures. We took our camera but forgot to take pictures.)