19 Dec Inside the Fridge welcomes TurnUpTheEat's Liz Lamson!

Liz Lamson is the voice behind TurnUpTheEat, a healthy living blog focused on using whole, natural foods for healthy recipes with an emphasis on leading an active lifestyle. You can connect with her via Twitter @turnuptheeat or email at turnuptheeat@gmail.com. 

ITF: Where do you shop for food?

LL: Market Basket mainly which is my area’s most affordable store, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods.

ITF: Do you love food shopping or dread it?

LL: I actually love it except for when I go between 11-4 on Saturdays and Sundays – wayyy too crazy for me.

I think part of my love for grocery shopping stems from my love of spending money (it’s bad!). The other part comes from loving to find new products and making healthy choices.

ITF: What is the single most important thing on your mind when you are shopping for food?

LL: What’s new and what looks new and fun that’s not too expensive?

ITF: How often do you shop?

LL: Once a week at Market Basket and then I usually supplement that with a trip once or twice a month to Trader Joe’s and/or Whole Foods.

ITF: How many do you shop for? Ages? 

LL: Just me and the Boy. 28 and 29.

ITF: What is your weekly food budget? 

LL: I try to keep it at $100 and usually do a pretty good job.

ITF: How many times a week do you eat out? (based on 21 meals/week)

LL: Too much lately – this is something that seems to happen around this time of year! Too much eating out due to long hours at work and crazy shopping trips at night, meeting friends for dinner, etc. It can get up to once or twice a week but we always scale back big time after the new year and eat all of our meals at home again.

ITF: How do you plan your weekly meals? Create a spreadsheet of fly by the seat of your pants? 

LL: I sit down each Saturday or Sunday morning with the flyer from Market Basket and try to plan my shopping list and meals around what’s on sale for that week. Going to the store without a list totally knocks me for a loop.

ITF: What is the most coveted food in the fridge right now for each member of the household? Why?

LL: Me = Raw, Unsalted Crunchy Almond Butter from Trader Joe’s , the Boy = Budlights and Cheese,  I would bet.

ITF: What is the oldest item in the fridge right now?

LL: One of the condiments. Probably the Frank’s Red Hot Sauce from the Buffalo Chicken Dip I made for the Superbowl…last Feb. Ew.

ITF: Do you believe in leftovers?

LL: I do! I freeze whatever I can and love having it as an easy dinner option. Fridge leftovers tend to freak me out, though. I generally don’t eat anything older than 3-5 days old.

ITF: What convenience product can you not live without?

LL: Pre-packaged yogurt. I love how convenient they are to bring to work for breakfast.

ITF: What brands do you swear by? Why?

LL: I love Olivia’s Organic Greens. I buy their spinach and mixed greens almost every week and it’s always fresh and stays fresh up to 5 days. Also, Cedar’s brand hummus. They are the best!

ITF: What cooking utensil/piece of equipment/appliance do you live for?

LL: The fall and winter just wouldn’t be the same without my crock pot! I use that thing once a week to make big batches of soups, stews or chilis. Anything we don’t eat, I freeze for another night.

ITF: What food/s are important when recalling food memories?

LL: For me, baked goods like cookies and breads. Anything that reminds me of a cozy snow day from when I was younger.

ITF: What was the last meal you cooked from scratch?

LL: This! So healthy and delicious.

ITF: What was the last meal you cooked from convenience products?

LL: Grilled cheese and Campbell’s Heart Healthy Tomato soup.

ITF: If one person could cook for you tonight, who would it be? 

LL: Jenna from Eat, Live, Run. This was one of the first blogs I started reading. Her food always looks amazing!

ITF: What words of wisdom or advice do you have for other folks who are doing their best every day to fill the fridge?

LL: Take advantage of sales at the grocery store. If it’s something you use every week or two weeks, buy it in bulk if you see it go on sale. Otherwise, don’t be tempted to buy something you are not sure you’ll use just because it’s on sale.

ITF: What are you working on these days that you’d like to tell us about?

LL: My blog, TurnUpTheEat. It’s a healthy living focused blog that I started earlier this year.  I also work full time and write for Local In Season which is a blog that focuses on local, sustainable foods in the New England area.

ITF: Anything else?

LL: Come check me out and say hi! And Happy Shopping!

Thanks Liz!!

 If you’re interested in contributing to Inside the Fridge, please email intern Leah, Leah@robinplotkin.com.