The Cleanse Factor--January Menu Plan

So every January (and by every January I mean once two years ago in December and maybe last year in January, but I can't remember for sure) my DH and I do a week-long cleanse.  Sort of.  Because I am an avid rule follower--if I like the rules, or if I made the rules up myself.  Anyhow, strict cleanse or not, it just seems like a good idea to get a handle on food choices after all of the holiday junk treats.

To be honest with you, we don't do a cleanse in the strictest sense of the word (depending on whose variation you choose.)  Our personal experience was that focusing on eating primarily vegetables and on reducing and being selective about grains and proteins was a better option than eliminating them all together.  (We also allowed ourselves one cup of coffee each morning because we are total wimps. I think we may have used a little honey from time-to-time as well.)  However, we did eliminate dairy and refined sugar, which is how I came to drink my coffee like a real grown up--black.

Our "cleanse" looked something like this:

(Oh yes, I am not a doctor, and all that jazz. This is not medical advice, consult your doctor, etc, etc.)

Wake: water with lemon

Breakfast Options: fruit-only smoothie (no dairy or soy milk), steel cut oats with apples, fruit salad with almonds/pumpkin seeds and a little plain yogurt, cooked millet

Snack Options: veggies with hummus or almond butter, yogurt (plain) with fruit, raw pumpkin or sunflower seeds, almonds, vegetable broth

Lunch Options: vegetable soup, salad, beans, veggie sandwich (can use portabello mushrooms instead of bread)

Dinner Options: Lentils, beans, brown rice (in moderation), chicken or fish (every other night), lots of vegetables, quinoa, salad (every night)

Beverages: Green tea (limited), water, herbal teas, vegetable broth

***Note: I prefer to make my own broths, as commercial broths can have unexpected ingredients or additives, and homemade just tastes better.  Beans are also even more economical when purchased dry, and can be left alone to cook in the crock pot.***

Since we only have the discipline to last about a week, below is my Winter Menu Plan which will get us through the rest of the month and possibly into January.  This being our coldest month, you'll see quite a few soups on the menu.  I love soup because not only are they warming, but they are also economical and extremely forgiving, easily modified to fit whatever fresh ingredients you have on hand.  I've starred recipes that could be eaten on the cleanse or slightly modified to fit.

Week One

Saturday: Pot Roast with Veggies/Steak with potatoes (or potato soup) & veggies

Sunday: Sweet Potato stuffed with Roasted Veggies*

Monday: Quinoa Chili* (I don't use TVP.) / Vegetarian Chili*

Tuesday: Spaghetti (with noodles or spaghetti squash)

Wednesday: Swiss chard and chickpeas*/ Hummus (with less lemon juice) & Veggies*

Thursday: Bean burrito

Friday: Chicken & Dumplings/ Chicken Soup*

Week Two

Saturday: Lasagna/ Lasagna Soup

Sunday: Lentil Rice Casserole*

Monday: Winter Vegetable Soup*(without Parmesan) / Holiday Soup For the Soul* (leave out vegetable bouillon and replace all or part of water with vegetable broth)

Tuesday: Parmesan Chicken/ Roasted Chicken*

Wednesday: Rustic Cabbage Soup*(without Parmesan)/ Nutmeg and Honey Carrot Soup

Thursday: Crock Pot Roasted Winter Veggies with or without Salmon*

Friday: White Bean Chili*/New England Clam Chowder

Hope your New Year is off to a great start!

Fall Menu Plan

The bug may have finally hit me.  Decorate for Fall has been on my to do list for the past three weeks, but this week it may actually get crossed off.  We took the kids to the pumpkin patch this weekend, temperatures are about to get cool(er), and I've been pinning winter squash and apple recipes on Pinterest.  This menu plan was hard to write because there were so many recipes I wanted to include. (Since I started this post, I have found even more recipes. *sigh*)

Pumpkins on death row

Also, we joined a new coop this month that offers local food during our growing season!!!  So excited about this.  I'll update you on our progress on the Pantry Challenge at the end of this post as well.

Since seasons range quite a bit around the country, I wanted to give you a quick how-to for menu planning so that you can adapt to where and how you live.

1. Start with what's in season.  If you shop at the grocery store, start with what produce is on sale. (This will save you money and you will get better quality.)

2. Look at your family calendar and decide which nights you would benefit from a quick and easy meal or a crock pot dinner.  Do you want to eat out one night?  I like to put more time consuming recipes on the weekend.

3. Consider spreading out costly items such as meat and dairy.  We only cook meat 2-3 nights a week. If we eat it other nights, it's leftovers added to a new dish.  Some people have chicken on Monday, pork on Tuesday, etc.

4. Think about grouping meals together that share ingredients or can be used to make the next meal.  I'll give you an example in my menu plan in week two with the Cilantro Lime Chicken.

That's about it!  So, without further ado, my fall menu plan:

Week 1

Saturday- Sweet Potato Burgers/Quiche
Sunday- Chicken & Shrimp Gumbo (freeze leftovers in small portions for lunches)/ Chipotle-Glazed Roast Chicken 
Monday- Curried Quinoa/ Creamy Quinoa Primavera
Tuesday- Crock pot Meatloaf/ Pineapple Teriyaki Burgers
Wednesday- Grilled Sweet Potato Medallions/Sweet Potato Quesadillas 
Thursday- Spanish Tortilla/ Twice Baked Potatoes (crock pot)
Friday- Homemade Pizza

Week 2

Saturday- Steak & Baked Potatoes/ Chili & Cornbread
Sunday- Butternut Penne/ Pumpkin & Sage Ravioli 
Monday- Crock pot Tikka Masala/ Crock pot Cilantro Lime Chicken (Serve with lots of veggies & cook extra rice to go with it. If necessary set aside about two cups of chicken before serving for Friday's recipe.)
Tuesday- Crock Pot Lentil Soup/ Crock Pot Bean Soup (Serve with leftover rice from Monday.) *Both recipes came from mothering.com, but they've changed their site, so I will share these recipes later.
Wednesday- Homemade Pita stuffed with leftover lentils/ Roasted Veggie and Black Bean Burritos
Thursday- Kale Risotto/ Roasted Butternut Squash with Kale
Friday- Chicken Tortilla Soup/ Mexican Chowder (Use leftover chicken and cilantro from Monday's recipe.  If you're worried about food poisoning, you can freeze the chicken Monday night.)


Lunches

Last time I included lunches in my menu plan, and we didn't really use the recipes I posted.  This time I'm just going to assume we will either have leftovers, sandwiches, or will eat one of the meals we didn't end up eating during the week.  And of course, there's always Butternut Squash Soup. :)

Pantry Challenge Update

Ummm, yikes.  I am way behind posting.  I started this post last week, didn't have time to finish it and then life happened, including starting back to work part-time, and it's a week later.  Oh well.  I will try to remember as best I can and hope my menu on the calendar is accurate.

Day 12
Eggs; leftovers; Out


Day 13
Yogurt & Granola; Quinoa Salad; Vegetable Tian

Day 14
Out; Eggplant Marinara Flatbread; Simple Stuffed Peppers

Day 15
Zucchini Muffins; Leftovers; Salmon & Crock Roasted Root Veggies

Day 16
Apple Pie Breakfast; Out; Chicken Sausage, Red Cabbage & Apples

Day 17
Smoothie & Toast; leftovers; I don't remember. 

Day 18
Eggs & Zucchini; leftovers; Chicken Wrap

Day 19
Zucchini Muffins; Out; Homemade Pizza

Day 20
Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts; Out; Paella

Day 21
Baked Oatmeal; Community Lunch at Church; Caprese Lasagna

Day 22
Zucchini Muffins (so glad I made a bunch and froze them); leftovers; Cilantro Lime Chicken, Rice, Sweet Potatoes

Day 23
Yogurt, Frozen Fruit, & Granola; leftovers; Black Beans & Rice

Day 24
Make-your-own-cereal; leftovers; Roasted Veggie & Black Bean Burritos (This recipe made 6, so I froze the extra ones for future lunches. :) )

As far as spending goes, at this point we are at 506.79 total for the month.  I also highly doubt I will spend absolutely nothing at the grocery store in the next 7 days, considering that we are almost out of salt, vanilla, and something else which escapes me at the moment.  I still think we've done pretty darn good, overall, though. 

Extended Summer Menu

I know, the title is disappointing.  You were hoping for great "fall recipes" weren't you?   But I live in Texas, and although the temperature has dropped considerably (85-95 feels like heaven after 100+), it won't be fall here for a while.  So far we've gotten off pretty easy this year, though.  Last year at this time we were in the middle of a drought and trying to keep first graders from falling into huge cracks that had formed around the school playground, never to be seen or heard from again.

In spite of the multitude of fall decorating ideas and recipes on Pinterest, I absolutely refuse to decorate my house for fall until after October 1st, usually closer to mid-October.  One year I dutifully hauled out scarecrows, pumpkins, and hay September 22nd as the calendar dictates only to be ready to rip it all down all before Halloween.  When the trees don't even change color (if you can call it that) until November, it feels terribly foolish to have decorations up for over a month prior.  (To all of my friends out of state who are happily making soups and apple-type desserts and decorating their house for fall, just wait until March when that snow has long lost it's beauty, and we're close to enjoying the first tomatoes of the season.  Texas rules. Winter drools.)

But enough of all that.  Below is what's cooking in my kitchen for the next month--some of which I precooked and stashed in the freezer over the past few weeks. (Those recipes are linked to onceamonthmom.com which has links to the original recipes as well.)  I realize I provided two different options per night.  I like to have a myriad of choices so that I don't get bored with the same old-same old, and so I can pick and choose from what I have on hand and can buy at the Farmer's Market.  Although these recipes still include summer veggies, there are some "warmer" recipes for the cooler days.  Enjoy!

Week One

Saturday- Veggie Panini/Eggplant Parmesan

Sunday- Simple Stuffed Peppers/Chipotle Burgers

Monday- Ginger Peach Chicken/Sweet and Sour Chicken (I would use arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch.)

Tuesday- Chickpeas and Tomato Basil Salad/Summer Veggie Pasta (Use less pasta or more veggies than the original recipe.)

Wednesday- Calabacitas/Zuni Stew (Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook)

Thursday- Veggie Stirfry/Frittata

Friday- Homemade Pizza 

Week Two

Saturday- Steak Fajitas/Chicken Caprese Sandwich

Sunday- Caprese Lasagna with Spicy Turkey Sausage/Grilled Pork Chops

Monday- Vegetable Tian/Quinoa Salad

Tuesday- Teriyaki Chicken Thighs/Orange and Honey Chicken Drumsticks (Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook)

Wednesday- Heirloom Tomato Tart/Tomato Basil Soup (both new recipes to try!)

Thursday- Chicken Wrap/Chicken Pesto Pasta

Friday- Ginger Cilantro Baked Tilapia/Out

Weekend Lunches

Our tradition is to eat out for lunch on Sunday, and I typically eat leftovers during the week.  However, I am adding weekend lunches to my meal plans because somehow lunchtime on Saturday rolls around (as it does every week), and I am consistently shocked and surprised that we need to eat lunch.  Of course I have absolutely nothing at all planned, and all leftovers have been consumed as of the night before. Somewhere out in Chicago my husband is cheering and possibly dancing a little jig out of sheer joy as he loves my lack of planning for Saturday lunches.

Okra Cornmeal Cakes

Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta

Hummus (I use less lemon juice.) and Pita Bread (I used all whole wheat pastry flour.)

Sweet Summer Corn Chowder

Any others have a favorite "not quite fall/end of summer" recipe to share?

Not so "once a month" cooking

I’m not even going to mention the fact that I haven’t blogged here in a while.  (Oops, I just did.)  I have come to accept the fact that I am an inconsistent blogger.  We all have our shortcomings.

A blogger friend of mine is doing the “500 month” on her blog--100 dollars per person for food for the entire month.  I have seriously considered joining her, but alas, this is not the month to do it.  I need to order both beef and salmon and place a large order to Azure as I am not sure how often I will be able to order from them when I start working part time.  Sooooo, we’ll try it next month.  I think.

School Lunches and Snacks :)

Here is what I’ve been up to lately.  I haven’t been blogging about food because I’ve been in the kitchen making food—a. lot. of. it.  And the kids started school.  And I’ve been painting while the hubby put together IKEA furniture for two kids rooms.  Which means I’ve been living in a black hole for the past month.

Over the summer  onceamonthmom.com has been our go-to for cooking and menu-planning.  For some reason effective summer menu planning escapes me, so it has been nice to have someone else kind of tell me what to do.  I also used their back-to-school mini menu to put some food in the freezer for school lunches, which the kids have been loving!  Variations of peanut butter, cream cheese, and tuna sandwiches/roll ups gets boring after a while.  I’ve been loving the daily simplicity of lunch-making, too.

Homemade Spaghetti-O's and Mac and Cheese

In this process of giving once a month cooking another shot, I have discovered some things about myself, which I will share with you for your reading pleasure:

1. I love making bread, chicken broth, breakfast items, school lunches, snacks for the freezer.

2. I am thrilled to make a double batch of whatever I’m making for dinner on occasion to put in the freezer as an “emergency” meal.

3. I hate once a month cooking, because somehow or another one day turns into three, and as much as I really do love to be in the kitchen and cook, I don’t want to live there all day every day.  (I’ve tried to break it down into a few recipes per week, and that hasn’t really worked out so well either.)  I also think I prefer using my favorite recipes and adding in one or two new ones per week.

That being said, I’m not gonna do the once a month thing.  I still like the website for the school lunches, and I’ve enjoyed a lot of their recipes.  I’m thinking I’ll still use them, just not for a whole day-long cooking session.  Maybe someone with a different personality type could do it in one day and be done and would love it.  And maybe I will end up using it in the future when I know a busy season is coming up, and I want to have some meals prepared in advance.  As for right now, I’m going to spend the rest of my day putting together the August meals as I have already bought all of the ingredients for them but I'm not even going to worry about doing the September cooking session.  Be on the look out for a new menu plan for September/October next week!

Freezer Meals: AKA Curbing the Craziness

Wow. I just realized my last post on this blog was March 29.  Yikes!  The last few months have been oh. so. busy.  We are in the process of buying a house which we are planning to move in to in June.  Add in to that gymnastics, small group, tee ball, Ben's travel, wrapping up the school year, and other family matters, and it's been pretty crazy around here!  I myself have been trying to find balance between getting food on the table, running here there and everywhere, and not losing my head in the process.  (You can read more about that on my other blog here.)


In the midst of all the madness, I had stumbled upon a website through Pinterest onceamonthmom.com.  This website offers several different freezer meal plans per month, including a "Whole Foods Menu" which offers recipes for the freezer using only "real" ingredients based mostly on what's in season.  SCORE!  Oh, and did I mention it's free?  (BTW, I am not being paid to write this post. I could only be so lucky.)


I had noticed this website in April and glanced at it, but didn't actually take the time to try it.  This month with all of the craziness in store, I decided to bite the bullet and carve out some time to try it out.  I have experimented with once a month cooking, or freezing cooking, or whatever-floats-your-boat-to-call-it cooking before.  I can't really carve out that kind of time to cook and don't really want to right now either.  That being the case, I did some tweaking to the plan and did not do a full-fledged cooking day.  


Out of the menus they posted I baked a double batch of the Pecan Maple Breakfast Cookies (yum) one weekend and we ate those for breakfast the next day and I froze the rest.  Later I looked at the rest of the recipes to see which ones I wanted to cook as it lined up with the food we were getting from our produce share, and made a list of what meat I needed from the meat market. (I stored the meat in the freezer for later use.)  The weekend we got our produce I picked up any remaining ingredients needed from the grocery store.


Out of the other recipes for May, I decided to cook all of the dinner recipes, except for Pan Roasted Chicken with Lemon Garlic Green Beans.  I didn't have time to cook all of the recipes, and those recipes fit my produce items better.  The website has a downloadable spreadsheet for recipe cards, instructions, and grocery list, which allows you to input the number of people you are cooking for in order calculate the amount of ingredients needed.  I found myself referring back to the original recipes (which are all linked on the website) frequently as there seemed to be some glitches on some of the recipe cards.  Also, since I wasn't using all of the recipes listed, I put the recipes I chose into Pepperplate and created my own grocery list.


All of the recipes we have tried have been delicious.  These recipes have also helped us get our of our dinner-time rut.  The kids devoured the Shredded Beef Tacos we had for dinner a couple of weeks ago along with Black Bean-Goat Cheese Dip.  It has been refreshing to find freezer meals that do not call for cans of cream of chicken soup or dried soup mixes and the like.  Whatever little kinks there are with the spreadsheet are well worth working through, especially considering the fact that it is free.  Tonight I just pulled out the other half of the Shredded Beef Tacos to thaw.  With Ben out of town and tee ball tomorrow night, it is going to be a life saver to come home to the smell of shredded beef warming in the crock pot. *sigh*

The best part of waking up...

is already having a plan for breakfast.  I had a conversation this past week about my breakfast meal plan.  And, yes, it may seem a little uptight to some. I have used some variation of a breakfast plan for years, tweaking it as my family's needs and our nutritional awareness has changed, and it has made life so much easier in the mornings.


What's wrong with Fruity Pebbles?

Our cultural norms for breakfast tend to be bread-based.  Navigating bread, crackers, cereals and the like is a path full of landmines of food substitutes, additives, trans fat, and high fructose corn syrup.  Studies performed on lab rats have shown breakfast cereals to be at best extremely limited in nutritional value compared to whole wheat and at worst (when eaten exclusively) to cause organ failures from insulin shock.  Even the "healthier" options for cereal are not that good for you.  Not to mention they cost a pretty penny.


"But I don't have time to fix breakfast!"


Mornings are not my thing, so let me tell you I am NOT up at the crack of dawn cooking up breakfast.  Plus, we have four children (and ourselves) to get ready and out the door on time for work/school.  I looked at our family's schedule and nutritional needs and created a weekly breakfast plan.  And it works for us.  I don't have to try to think at 6:30 in the morning, and the children like knowing what's coming which makes for smoother mornings. One night my son asked me what was for breakfast in the morning. When I told him I wasn't sure, he said, "Look at your calendar, Mom."


Below is our family's breakfast meal plan. I included links to some of the recipes mentioned.  Feel free to use it as a starting point to plan for your family.  Keep in mind that nutrition isn't one-size-fits-all, so you may need to adjust accordingly.


Mondays- Baked good and fruit-I make some kind of quick bread or muffin on Sunday for breakfast the next day.  I vary it by the season or what we have on hand, such as banana bread or muffins, pumpkin bread, blueberry muffins, or cinnamon rolls if I made bread over the weekend.  Another option is to make a large batch of muffins or bread once a month or so and freeze it for later use.


Tuesdays- Cereal and fruit-I know I just said boxed cereal isn't good for you.  It isn't.  And we don't eat it.  We eat homemade granola, oatmeal, or we make a muesli-type breakfast that we call "make-your-own-cereal."  Granola is one of those things I make on the weekend.  Although, it doesn't take a whole lot of effort so I do sometimes throw it together during the week.  If you're not a fan of oatmeal, try making your own from raw oats or steel cut oats in the crock pot overnight.  I never liked oatmeal as a kid, but love the stuff I make myself with pecans, apples, cinnamon, and honey stirred in.  I had to play with the amount of water and the cooking time for both kinds of oatmeal because I do not like my oatmeal mushy. Yuck!


Wednesdays- Yogurt and fruit- I start my own yogurt in the crock pot on Sunday nights (can you tell I love my crock pot?)  It is soooo easy and soooo yummy.  If you don't want to make your own, pick up a large container of the plain organic yogurt in the store.  We stir in fresh or frozen fruit and honey or make smoothies and serve it with a half slice of toast or leftover bread from Monday.


Thursdays- Toast and fruit- I make my own bread most of the time, which I'll cover in a later post. When buying bread from the store pick one that is 100% whole wheat without partially hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup.  


Friday- Eggs-This is kind of my Friday treat.  The kids aren't here so it's a little easier for me to take care of breakfast, although I could probably cook eggs on a kid-day occasionally.  Eggs actually are healthy and good for you, believe it or not.  Normally I make an omelet or a breakfast burrito to get some veggies in with it.  (Salsa counts, right?)  Breakfast burritos can be pre-made in a large batch and frozen to be reheated later. Supposedly you can mix omelets in Ziploc bags, freeze them, and then cook them in boiling water, but I'm not really comfortable with cooking my food that way. It takes me maybe five minutes to cook up breakfast, so not that big of a deal. It can take some searching to find tortillas without the yucky stuff. Whole Foods is the only place I have found healthy flour tortillas at a decent price.


Saturday & Sunday- Chef's Choice- Homemade biscuits, pancakes, waffles, coffee cake, or whatever we feel like cooking up.


Helpful Tips


-Look ahead at your week on Sunday to see what you might want to pre-make or to see if you need to tweak your plan for some reason.


-After dinner look at your plan to see if you need to get anything started that night for breakfast the next morning. Have a backup plan if you forget. In our house that's usually toast.


-Set a time for waking up, breakfast, and leaving the house. For example: the kids wake up at 6:30, breakfast is at 6:45, we clean up and leave at 7:00.  If they miss breakfast once or twice, I promise they won't starve, but they will start learning to manage their time.

Variety is the Spice of Life

About a month ago we realized that we had fallen into a pattern of eating out or stopping by the store to pick up something "quick." 
It wasn't that we hadn't planned a menu or that there wasn't food in the house to eat.
Tiredness may have been a factor in the dinner-time blues, but after reflecting, we came to the conclusion that boredom was the culprit.
I plan a two-week flexible meal plan that I modify seasonally, and we were overdue for a change.  Following a rotating meal plan helps me to plan for grocery shopping and simplifies my life.  For all it's benefits, sometimes it just gets a little old and it's time to change the disk.
So without further ado, this is our current "fall" (we live in Texas) meal plan.


Week One


Saturday- Kale Risotto
Sunday- Chef's Choice
Monday- Lentil Soup (The picture looks nothing like the actual soup, and I add Spike Veggie Seasoning.), Brown Rice, Salad
Tuesday- Crock pot Meatloaf, Potatoes, Veggies
Wednesday- Sweet Potato Quesadillas
Thursday- Chicken Tortilla Soup (We have homemade chicken broth and cooked chicken on hand in the freezer, which makes this recipe easy to throw together!)
Friday- Homemade Pizza


Week Two


Saturday- Black Bean Salad/Chili
Sunday- Chef's Choice
Monday- Veggie Stir Fry, Brown Rice
Tuesday- Crock pot Chicken (However we feel like making it.)
Wednesday- Curried Quinoa
Thursday- Spanish Tortilla
Friday- Leftover night


This is just a springboard for our menu for a two-week period. As I mentioned with my previous menu post, since we get our produce through a coop, I alter the menus to fit what we actually have on hand. I.e: Butternut Squash Soup instead of Veggie Stir Fry, Black Bean Soup instead of Black Bean Salad, etc.  I like planning in an open night (Chef's Choice) as well to eat out, go to a friend's house, or have company over and plan whatever fits our fancy.  And I will admit that one Wednesday or Thursday night a week often ends up being picking up take out, especially if Ben's out of town and I work late (read every single week). Pad Thai, anyone?

The Lunchbox Edition

Yikes! I haven't posted in a month!  The start of the schoolyear is always a little crazy for me, and this year is no exception.  (In my next life, I am going to live on the beach and teach yoga. True story.)  In the meantime, here is a post to on what real food can look like on the go.


For the kids:

This year I have decided to get the kids involved with making their own lunches. The first time went great. The second time I realized it works better to get them going two at a time rather than four at once.  However, it is way more enjoyable for me to get them in the kitchen helping than be stuck by myself until 9 at night making lunches for four kids.  Plus, they are learning responsibility and taking ownership of what they eat.

I created a table which gives the four of them six options for lunches over the course of a week and placed it inside a plastic sheet protector so that we can cross of when they've taken a particular item for lunch.

Name

Tuna or Chicken Sandwich

PB & Jelly or Honey Sandwich

Cheese & Crackers or Tortilla Roll Up

Soup or Beans w/ Bread or rice

Fruit Yogurt w/ Granola Bar or Trail Mix

School Lunch

They also get to take a fruit or veggies and a "treat" such as homemade cookies or snack crackers. 

Choosing after the first day was difficult for a couple of them, "Why can't I just take (fill-in-the-blank) again?" I decided to provide them a menu of main items that they check off to prevent one kid from taking the same thing every day and using it all up. Plus, it is easy for me to plan ahead to make sure I have enough food on hand for their lunches.  There is enough flexibility built in to where they can each have their individual preferences. (By the way, we pack lunches the night before. Mornings are WAY too crazy.)

School lunches have improved at my school this year.  They are serving whole wheat bread, and the sides options are fruits and vegetables, including a fruit and veggie bar.  Even before they made changes, we decided to allow the kids to buy school lunch one day if they choose for two reasons.  One, we aren't purists.  We still eat out and eat whatever we're served out of the house.  Two, I don't want school lunches (or certain other foods) to become the "forbidden fruit" and turn my kids off to the way we normally eat as they grow up.

     On a side note, we don't buy juice boxes. The kids all have water bottles to take.  Also, we bought small thermoses for hot/cold items and sandwich wrappers and snack bags off of etsy. And no, I'm not worried about them losing them. We told them it's their responsibility to buy any replacement items.

For the older crowd:

Pop quiz, if you're over 10, packing a lunch is still cool because

A. It's healthier.
B. It's more economical.
C. It's less wasteful. (If you use reusable containers.)
D. All of the above.

Yes, it's D. How did you know??? Here are some tricks of the trade (drumroll, please)...

Plan ahead. Unless you are crazy like my husband and jump out of bed ready to start the day and sometimes even EARLY (gasp), pack your lunch the night before.  The easiest way to pack your lunch is leftovers from dinner.  Add a salad and a water bottle, and WALLA, instant lunch.  I also take a piece of fruit and some nuts or the like for a snack.

    Tip: If it's a family favorite or your family will continue to eat until there is no more food on the table, you may want to set some aside for your lunch before you serve them.

Cook ahead. We do this with items like bread, yogurt, beans, hummus, cookies, and brown rice.  Two weeks ago we made hummus to eat on pita bread with veggies for a quick no-reheating-required lunch.  When we make a pot of beans or lentils, we also make extra rice and store it together in the freezer in individual portions for "frozen meals."  Soup can be stored this way as well. Cookie dough can be store in the freezer in batches to be baked up for the week.  Once a month or so I make a large batch of dough which yields four loaves of bread, cinnamon rolls, and pizza crust.  The extra loaves go into the freezer for lunches in future weeks. (No I don't make all of these foods in one weekend.)

Cut ahead. Some of our fruits that we get in the co-op can end up just sitting unused because we don't feel like cutting them up during the week.  We have started precutting fruit like mangos and cantaloupe when we get them.  Sometimes we freeze part of the fruit we get for smoothies or to add to yogurt.  Lettuce keeps longer if you wash it and store it with paper towels.  Other veggies can also be precut to add to a salad or sandwich.  It is totally worth it to take a little time on the weekend to prep your fresh fruits and veggies to make it more convenient to make a quick lunch or snack during the work week.  And you can give yourself a pat on the back for not paying the grocery store the ridiculous upcharge buy it cut up for you!

Have a back-up plan.  Give yourself some grace.  As I mentioned above, the start of the schoolyear is crazy for me.  I try to plan ahead and freeze items, but it never goes as well in real life as it does in my head.  If you're going through a busy time, buy a few healthier frozen meals to keep in the freezer for lunches.  If you're going to grab something out, try to think of where you can go and get something relatively healthy that won't weigh you down. Some grocery stores have salad bars and soup.  The other day I picked up pineapples and mandarin oranges packed in fruit juice, ginger snaps, and healthier crackers to keep in my classroom for afterschool snacks.  It's not organic or fresh or homemade or raw, but it's a better option than junk food or cranky me and cranky kids.

If you're looking for me, I'll be the one with the retro Hello Kitty lunchbox.  *sigh* I wish.

Where's the beef?

Previously I covered various ways to shop for fruits and veggies, this week we’re moving on to meat.   Meat is an item that I plan for differently from my fruits and vegetables.  I have a basic meal plan of which meat I’m going to serve which days and I shop based on that, whereas with vegetables I start with what I have/what’s in season and plug that into my meal plan.

As with vegetables, there are a few different methods for purchasing meat depending on your priorities.

Method One-Grocery Store

Sketch out a basic meal plan for which meat you will eat over a two to three month time period.  (I have a basic two week rotating meal plan that I change out with the seasons, example below.) Start watching the prices of meat at the grocery store when you shop or look at the ads.  When a particular kind (that you actually eat) goes on sale, buy enough for two-three months (most items go on sale about every 12 weeks) and freeze what you won’t use in the next couple of days.  It will take you a little bit of time to build up a stockpile of meat in the freezer, so at first you might spend more as you are buying what you need for a week or two plus what you will need for three months of what is on sale. Eventually you won’t need to pay full price for meat, unless you’re in a pinch.

Advantages to this method overall is the cost.  However, I don’t use this method because of the quality of meat that you find at the grocery store.  Do your research.  Whether or not you have opinions regarding animal cruelty, I have qualms with eating meat that came from sickly animals because of my own health.

Method Two-Coop

Just as there are coops for produce, there are also coops that you can join for purchasing natural or organic meat.  Normally the coop host places an order every month or two months, and you pick up your order on a set day.  With this method, you also need to plan for your family’s needs over a period of time.  By purchasing with a group of people directly from the farmer, you have the opportunity to purchase higher quality, healthier meat at a lower price than you can purchase it at the grocery store. 

Method Three-Meat Market/ Rancher

A meat market or the rancher himself can also provide the opportunity to purchase higher quality meat than you find at the store.  Some ranchers sell their meat directly to customers via phone or internet or have a store set up for purchases.  You may have to make a drive to purchase as most ranches are not within large cities, or you can ask about their delivery options.  Many farmers have websites where you can read about their products and their story before making the trek.  It is also pretty common for large purchases to receive a discount. You may even be able to get a friend to split a large purchase with you.

Saving $$$$$

Tip #1-Cut back on meat

Higher quality meat does cost more than sale prices at the grocery store.  We help curb those costs by not eating meat every day.  Yes, our kids are healthy and eat very well.  Meat is not the only source of protein and studies have shown that it is healthier to eat less meat than is typical in the American diet.  If eating less meat is scary to you, try eating one meal a week without meat and see how you like it. 

Tip #2-Menu planning

Below is my menu plan which I refer to as my Dog Days menu. It is really really hot here, and I do not want to heat up my house any more than I have to.  Saturday’s and Sunday’s meal can be cooked on the grill. The others can be made in the crock pot or do not require much cooking. Make your own salad night is one of my kid’s favorites. Not included below is that we eat salad and/or other vegetables with every meal. (Monday is the only one I’ve ever made up a name for prior to this post, but I didn’t want the other days to feel left out. And I know the table is off centered, I just don't know how to fix it!)

Sizzling Saturday	Super Sunday	Meatless Monday	Tasty Tuesday	Wacky Wednesday	Veggie Thursday	Fun Friday
Pineapple Teriyaki Burgers or plain burgers on whole wheat buns	Beef Kabobs	Make your own salad night	BBQ Chicken (crock pot)	Southwest Bean Salad (Cold dish made from leftover or canned black beans.)	Hummus & Veggies (Hummus can be made in advance.)	Fruit & Waffles (Waffles can be premade and frozen.  Reheat in toaster.)
Brats & Dogs on whole wheat buns (This is kind of a cheat meal. Pick hot dogs without MSG, etc.)	Chicken Fajitas	Black Beans (crock pot) & Rice (can be premade)	Chicken Burritos (Use leftovers from fajitas and black beans.)	Fish and/or Curried Brown Rice (can use leftover brown rice)	Stuffed Peppers (You can use leftovers or get creative with the stuffing.)	Leftovers/ Out (This is use it up or toss it night before coop pick up.)

Because I get my vegetables from a coop, I tweak it as needed.  For example, if I didn’t get peppers in the coop pick up, I’ll do grilled chicken instead of fajitas, and will cook the vegetable I have in some way instead of making stuffed peppers.  And sometimes we go out or to friends or family one night.  This just gives me a starting point so I’m not recreating the wheel every single week, and I know that I have enough food on hand for the week. 

Tip #3:

Always look ahead to the next day’s dinner before you go to bed in case you need to pull something from the freezer or prep food for the crock pot.  When school is in session, we look ahead at our meal plan and pre-make some items to save us time during the week. It may seem like more work, but once you get in a groove, planning ahead saves you so much time and money in the long run! (Less last minute stops at the store or drive-thru!)