Delicious, Real Food!

Snapped a picture of all the food I bought Thursday on our trip to the Farmer's Market and Publix to re-fill our refrigerator. I felt so...GOOD, knowing that our family will be eating all this nourishing food. I'm really working to fill our pantry and fridge with whole foods as much as possible - though, certainly, we buy our fair share of ketchup, the occasional bag of chips or cookies, and canned or staple items. I try to get those at the Commissary once a month, as it's a good hour trip there.

This just looks good, doesn't it? :) I think we'll have a bowl of peaches for breakfast...Happy weekend-ing!

Tweaking my Menu Planning: Part 2

The second part of my menu-plan tweaking is switching to a two-week rotation (shopping and planning) instead of weekly.

Honestly, it's happening naturally, so I figure I ought to "get the clue" and go with the flow!

1. We go through staples in about a two-week time-frame (cream, butter, milk, flour, juice, eggs). All of these items keep for at least two weeks.

2. We're switching to using all-cash as a budget method (Dave Ramsey), and Mark gets paid on the 15 and 31 of the month, so it would fit perfectly to go ahead and alot all of the money at the beginning of each pay check.

3. I'm locating local sources for eggs, milk and produce, and if I end up driving to purchase those, it would obviously be wise to limit the trips, so I'm thinking every 2 weeks would work well.

4. If I enforce this for myself and the family, it would encourage both careful planning and frugality. For example, if there are yet 3 days until the next grocery trip, we must make-do with what we have, as opposed to an extra trip to get the things for what we *want*, not necessarily what we need.


Do any of you shop/plan by a 2 week schedule?

Tweaking my Menu Planning

I'm sitting here finishing up my grocery list for shopping this afternoon while the boys take naps ("bap" as Graeme says).

I've come up with something that has been working for me for a few months now, so I think it's been tested enough to share it. I often have great ideas that don't pan out after giving them a good testing for a few weeks, but this one seems to be a "keeper".
We've been married for almost 5 years, and I've never gotten into a real groove when it comes to menu planning. It's probably because I get bored easily, and I always think the grass is greener - always trying a new thing!

So this plan gives me some flexibility, but here's what I love about it: It gives me a place to start. Procrastination is one of my top-three flaws, I'd say, and so many times I'll sit down to make my grocery list/menu plan and feel lost, alone, and afraid! (Sounds exaggerated, but not by much!)

Here it is: planning by category
Monday - salad (change to soup in the winter)
Tuesday - stir-fry
Wednesday - spaghetti, lasagna or pizza
Thursday - fish
Friday - fun/family (grill-out, hot dogs, have people over...)
Saturday - sandwiches (easy, flexible in case we're low on groceries)
Sunday lunch - crockpot/roast
Sunday dinner - breakfast



Then I have a list of breakfasts and lunches to work off of on a regular basis. This makes stocking my pantry/cupboards simple.

Lunches:
pasta salad/rice salad/green salad (throw in leftover meats if desired)
burritos
quesidillas
PB&J
tuna sandwhiches
mac n cheese

Breakfasts:
smoothies
pancakes/waffles/french toast (great for using up that almost-stale bread!)
oatmeal
bagels
muffins
fruit

There are a couple things that I do weekly/semi-weekly:
Pot of beans to soak Sunday evening - this gives us beans for lunches, snacks, dips or whatever
Roast a chicken on Monday - sometimes use the chicken for a chicken or pasta salad that evening, to use in lunches or my Tues. stir fry, and then I make chicken broth for the week. Read more about the health benefits of broth here.
Baking - Once a month, I'm using this recipe for homemade bread. I'd like to bake a weekly batch of muffins/bagels or whatever, as well as a weekly batch of rolls (potato rolls, french bread, eventually I'm going to experiment with sourdough).

So that's what a week in my kitchen is looking like, and I'm feeling very comfortable with this type of planning. Especially since we are really cutting back on processed/commercial foods, trying to eat locally and healthfully, and working to pay off our debt (Dave Ramsey anyone??!!), careful planning is not a luxury, it's a necessity! The few weeks of our move were crazy, and we were amazed at 1) how expensive it is to eat out, 2) how much we noticed feeling draggy and just tired of eating-out-food, and 3) how generally hard it is to find healthy food at mid-range restaurants and fast food. It's wonderful to get back to real food made by my own hands in my own kitchen! :-)

A question - what do you all do on the weekends to keep meals simple? Do you have a standard Sunday dish you prepare every week?

Get-Outta-the-Rut Lunch Ideas

As promised, my list of ideas for my husband's lunches. I spent an hour or so Saturday thinking about it and looking online for good ideas. I truly appreciate it when people share what they do, because often I either forget about a good idea, or I've never thought about it!

* Veggie Sandwich (I always zero in on whether we have meat...well, a nourishing sandwich doesn't require meat!) Lettuce, sprouts, pickles, cucumber, tomato, cheese, even some beans, wrapped in bread, tortillas or pitas

* Homemade Meatballs - either in a bun or with some pasta. Easy to make in advance and freeze.

* Meal Salads - while these do require preparation, getting more vegetables in my husband's body is worth it! He needs those nutrients! Lettuce w/ or w/out meat (leftover chicken, salmon, tuna) cheese, eggs, nuts, dried fruit, and an assortment of veggies.

* Crackers w/ meat and cheese slices - I hadn't thought of this, but with a big fruit salad, this would be a satisfying lunch.

* Burritos - Beans, cheese, sour cream, salsa and lettuce. These are great b/c I can wrap them the night before and there ya go!

* Leftovers - I find that if I actively think about whether this leftover would work as a lunch helps. That way I can make extra, or go ahead and pack some in containers for the week, or whatever.

* Fruit - My husband won't eat a piece of fruit on its own except a banana, mainly due to time constraints, so I peel the orange for him and slice the apples (add some lemon juice) ahead of time.


What are your favorite lunches to send with your husbands or to pack for on-the-go?

Menu Plan 4/20-4/25

Here are my goals for the kitchen this week:

1. Use up pantry/freezer stuff. I've accumulated. Now it's time to use all the food I've gotten :)

2. Up our intake of fresh fruits, veggies and whole grains. (I got two HUGE zucchinis in my last Quail Cove order, hence the zucchini recipes :)

3. Special focus on healthful snacks at home and healthful lunches for Mark, as he's in quarters this week with classes, so he needs a lunch every day.

I went to the grocery store this weekend, stocked up on fresh fruits and veggies, milk and eggs (and a few random purchases ;) and here's what's on the menu, using what we have in the freezer, leftovers, or pantry items:

Breads:
Cheese Crackers
Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes
Whole-grain bread in the breadmachine (still trying to find a perfect recipe)
Bagels - the recipe I tried last week was o.k., but not "it". We'll try this one this week :)

Meals:
Spaghetti Zucchini Bake
Leftover Chicken Sante Fe Salad
Healthy Bean Soup with Kale Yes, I'm trying to sneak in one more soup before the warm weather hits for good. I can't figure out what else to do with a bunch of kale!
Everyday Italian Rice Salad with fresh bread & maybe an apple crisp for dessert - yum!
Hot dogs, baked beans & a pasta salad w/ fresh strawberries & whipped cream

Mark's lunches:
I'll outline the options I'm going to use in another post (hopefully this evening or tomorrow) I spent some time over the weekend looking through this carnival from NourishingGourmet. Some great ideas, and things I don't tend to think of!

For more menu plan ideas, visit Laura for Menu Plan Monday.

Menu Plan 3/23 - 3/29

Monday - Slow cooker Spaghetti, rolls from freezer, fresh salad

Tuesday - Halibut, veggies, rolls

Wednesday - Chicken Biscuit Casserole (Chicken in the slow cooker all day, use leftovers to make homemade chicken stock)

Thursday - Pizza (dough in bread machine, use spinach, red bell pepper, onion, pepperoni)

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - Breakfast for Dinner!

Sunday - no plan yet, Graeme's birthday celebration!

For more menu plans, visit I'm an Organizaing Junkie!

***Special Recipes for the week****
Easiest, Healthiest, most Scrumptious Fudge ever
Sweet Potato Bread (I'll post the recipe if it's any good :)
Blender Pancakes

Menu Plan 2/23 - 3/1

Baked Items: Raspberry Muffins, Light Whole-wheat bread (bread machine), whole-wheat rolls (try a new recipe for bread machine!)

Monday - Lemon & garlic Roast Chicken

Tuesday - Chicken Nachos (leftover chx) & Crock Pot Refried Beans

Wednesday - Stir-Fried Beef and Vegetables

Thursday - Chili (this is my standard Chili recipe, and I love it! I double it and make one, freeze one), cornbread (my first time trying soaked grains. I'll probably do a post about this soon, as I plan on experimenting with this nutritious tradition)

Friday - waffles, fruit, frittata

Saturday/Sunday (we have a busy weekend) - Leftovers and/or Grilled cheese/tomato soup

Menu Plan 2/9 - 2/14 (Homemade Chicken Stock Week!)

I just put my Homemade Chicken Stock in the crockpot, and several of my meals will be based on that. I'm using a 4.5lb whole chicken (as opposed to the half in the recipe) that will last us for 3-4 meals. I couldn't pay $16 for a free-range chicken at the grocery store, so I settled for the regular $5 - soon, I hope to have located a farm to get free-range chickens from :)

Monday - Chicken and Biscuit Casserole (w/ corn instead of peas) and fresh fruit salad

Tuesday - Stuffed Green Peppers (with 1/2 sausage to replace 1/2 grd. beef)

Wednesday - Chicken Chow Mein

Thursday - Spaghetti with homemade foccacia and salad

Friday - Chicken and Turkey Sausage soup with homemade whole wheat bread

Saturday - leftovers (and then I'm fixing a surprise for Mark for Valentine's Day...more on that in a future post!)

For more menu planning ideas, visit Laura@OrganizingJunkie.

Menu Plan Monday

For more Menu Plan Monday ideas visit Laura @ I'm an Organizing Junkie! There's a giveaway this week :)

Monday - Blackeye Pea Supperdish w/ homemade bread and salad
Tuesday - Grilled cheese & tomato sandwiches, spinach/onion/mushroom omelet
Wednesday - Stuffed peppers, baked potatoes, cheese biscuits
Thursday - Hot dogs, beans, chips, fruit
Friday - Breakfast
Saturday - Meatloaf (make one, freeze one), mashed potatoes, green beans
Sunday - Chili (from the freezer), cornbread muffins

Menu Plan Monday

(P.S. - I am going to post what baby #2 is, I just have one more phone call to make b/c I want to tell my grandparents personally and don't want them to see it on my blog!)

I actually have all my dinners planned for this week, so I thought I'd share! :) Next up, I'd like to start a "Toddler Meal Tuesday" or something...Graeme eats much better when I plan his meals for the day.

I'll start with last night's dinner b/c that affects the rest of the meals.

Sunday: Ham, mashed potatoes, green beans,Apple pie with homemade pie crust
(check out these recipes - they made the best apple pie I've had in a long time - Mark said it was *really* good, and he doesn't typically get super-excited about food LOL! I used the following alterations for the pie filling: 2T. flour/1 T cornstarch instead of 3T flour, baked at 350 for 50 min. perfect!, added cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves to the sauce, put 2/3 of the sauce over the apples first than the rest over the crust - and next time, I will bake the bottom crust for 10 min. first)

Monday: Portugese Sausage and Kale Soup (I've made this Rachel Ray recipe before, and I highly suggest it as a "staple". I just use regular italian sausage)

Tuesday: Chinese Sweet n Sour Chicken (one of my fav. techniques to make from "How to Cook without a Book"...I can almost cook it w/out the book LOL!)

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Mom's Bean Soup (great northern beans, leftover ham, carrots/celery/onion, molasses - easy recipe and great to freeze...will freeze 2 batches for when baby arrives) with cornbread and salad

Friday: Breakfast (prob. french toast from homemade wheat bread, omelet or frittata - another technique from How to Cook W/out a Book - and smoothies)

Saturday: Leftovers