This should be riveting, ay? Ok, maybe not. Maybe there are more exciting things than reading grocery lists and meal plans...in fact I'm certain there are more exciting things, but to me, this CAN be just as exciting because it makes the rest of my household life a lot less frantic and we feel better when we eat better. So, here is the list that i took with me for the meals i have planned this week: (and a side note that helps me tremendously, I write my list in order of where it is located at the store. this not only shortens the shopping time, but it also makes me less likely to impulse buy anything while getting side tracked)
spinach (organic)
carrots (organic)
avocado
tomato
mushrooms
spaghetti squash (not planned, but i needed another vegetable for the pasta bake, this also cuts out carbs and the need to add more pasta, or BUY more pasta even, i have a small amount of orzo and a small amount of mini pasta shells, remember USE EVERYTHING, even small amounts count!)
onions
broccoli
mixed frozen veggies (organic)
chicken (nature place)
kidney beans
mozzarella (2)
50/50 cheddar
wheat pizza dough (3)
organic tomato paste
pasta sauce
naan (1 package that has 4 in it, takes care of 2 meals)
laughing cow garlic and herb
there was more that we bought, organic apples, bananas, rice cakes, spices that needed replenishing. our total bill for everything was about $130 and we used 2 WIC checks which bought us about $10 worth of milk, beans and wheat wraps, and $6 worth of fresh produce. So, without that, it would have been around $145. Not bad in my book. We have 5 meals for the week, my love has lunch for the week, many of the vegetables i bought will go towards next weeks meals. i splurged this week and got a few more bananas and some caramel almond butter to make some special snacks for me and the boys! yay!
You don't have to buy organic, i just choose to when i can. You don't have to buy the all natural chicken, again, it is just our preference. You CAN eat well, ALL OF YOU for not a lot of money. I swear it's possible. I hope to take some photos this week of the food we make and do some posts on my recipes i create in my head. Any questions at all? I'll answer them! I'm off to pick up the tornado that has been sweeping through my house. All you local readers, come check out Gibb and I at Mainely Meat on Main tonight! 6pm-9pm!
xo Suz
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Friday, January 18, 2013
foodskees
Ok. So, a subject that is more and more becoming important in my life and the lives of others: food. or as any of my pinterest board followers know "Foodskees". Truth: i eat too much, i eat a lot of bread and cheese BUT as usual, i'm trying, trying trying all the time and have changed other habits here and there that might counter balance my obsession with extra sharp cheddar. All in all, i feel like we eat really well. I have eliminated foods with high fructose corn syrup, (which is in things that you wouldn't think of, read read read!) colors (also mind boggling! pie crust??? are you kidding!?!? yeah, i know, i know "make your own pie crust suz, what the hell are you buying packaged pie crust for anyway?" because i don't freaking bake, ok?) and MSG. I try my hardest to buy organic vegetables whenever possible. I stick with The Dirty Dozen when it comes to produce, farmers markets when the season is right of course, we don't eat white bread, snacks are pretty limited and are usually pretzels and hummus, cheese, fruit, nuts, leftover whatever whatever in the fridge. We don't drink soda (my love does on occasion, but myself and the kids do not, i used to though, GROSS, i'll tell you all about THAT catastrophe some other time). You get it, right? I'm not perfect. Not a bit. I could always find a way to improve this process, but for now it works. I pride myself on making sure what we eat is good, is homemade whenever possible and doesn't contain crazy scary ingredients. I also pride myself in my meal planning and budgeting. It's something that, in my opinion, is the only way you can truly eat well when you have a strict budget to follow. It takes time, but after a while you get the hang of it and can be really efficient when planning. Wanna know what I do?
1.) I brainstorm all the time since my head is ALWAYS spinning, but for the most part, I pick a day. Usually it's Friday because i do food shopping on saturdays. I take note of everything i have in the fridge and pantry. EVERYTHING, even that half of a half of a red pepper, i will make use of it somewhere. We are at the end of our 2 weeks so today is pay day (yay!) but the fridge and cupboard are very very sad. so, this week is going to be a bigger week money wise but we will be spending less in others (see how this is going to work, ay???).
2.) Dirty secret time: i open up the paint program. yup. that dinosaur that we all used to think was the coolest thing ever 20 errr more years ago. It's my go to. i use it for EVERYTHING. I love it and i don't care who knows. anyway, trusty paint program and my foodskees board on pinterest open, i start a list. sometimes i have not added to my board so i need to search for some new ideas, but i get a list of six meals Sat~Fri. Then, i check my calender: yay! we are playing at mainely meat this weekend! that means i don't cook on saturday! whooooo hoooooooooooo! the boys will eat at my mum's (the greatest woman on the planet. no joke. everyone says that about their mum, but really, she is a freaking saint and i would be lost without her and my dad). The only thing we have going on this week is visiting a potential school for mr. oliver so that night i make sure it's something that is easy (like a crock pot meal). It's important with meal planning to adjust it to your life. If you make a meal plan solely based on what you like to eat, you might find yourself screwed, or preparing a roast at 8:30pm. If you know that tuesdays are crazy and hectic, plan accordingly, save the roast for a day you have time to prepare it. You can still eat well and eat with your family, even if you are all only at the table for 20 minutes.
3.) So, i have all my meals on one side, i have items i have on the other, i have my calender handy. i decide what meal will be on what day, then i go one by one and just write down what i need for ingredients with each meal. This helps me know what i need to buy, or if i have it already, what i DON"T need. It also helps me figure out what i can use the ingredients for. example: i'm buying a bag of carrots because we are having vegetable soup this week, but Wednesdays dinner needs vegetable side too, whats left can be used next week, etc.
4.) this isn't really a step, but the rule is, we don't eat a lot of meat. i make it a point to only eat red meat once a month, maybe twice. when i buy chicken, it's nature place and it almost always, one package is for 2 meals. I do this for health just as much as i do it for cost. i like to get our protein elsewhere and it saves money so that i can buy things that cost more. give and take mama's, give and take.
That's pretty much it. Really. It does take time. I won't lie. It takes a lot longer than just heading to the store and grabbing whatever whatever, but i guarantee you it costs less, you know what you are making for dinner every night, and you eat pretty gosh darn well to boot.
I'm lucky. My kids eat really well. They eat foods like broccoli, and devour whatever fake meat i decide to experiment making. They eat leftovers in crazy combinations. My husband will eat anything (even the fake meat, bless him!). I get that kids don't like certain things. I do. Hello? I was one of them. I didn't like to eat half of the things i eat now until my late 20's. I wouldn't even TRY some of the things i eat now not even 5 years ago. it's a learning process. but the sooner you start, the sooner it will just become the norm. my kids didn't always eat all their vegetables, but i always put them on the plate.
So, what's for dinner this week at the Woods'?
Saturday: Gig night! Mainely Meat on Main!
Sunday: homemade pizza
Monday: Veggie and cheese pockets (avocado, broccoli, spinach, sprouts, etc.)
Tuesday: Spaghetti and salad
Wednesday: avocado chicken pasta bake
Thursday: homemade vegetable soup and sandwiches
Friday: chicken dagwoods
As i get more familiar with all this computer jargin i'll fiddle with links to recipe ideas (though a lot of them exist in my crazy brain). tomorrow, i will post a grocery list.
I want to leave this post with a disclaimer of some sort. is that even the word? i don't know. anyway. what i want to say is this:
I am a really lucky mama. I am lucky enough (as crazy as some of you know i can get) to stay home with my kids. We qualify for the WIC (women, infants and children) program and have been apart of it for almost 4 years. This is a tremendous help. Some might scoff and turn their nose up at it. Whatever. I worked for 10+ years and put my dollars into the system, and i shall leave it at that. This program is incredible and has changed the way my family eats and buys food. I get checks for milk, cheese, beans, grain items, eggs, cereal and fresh produce. every year we get vouchers for a dollar amount that we can spend at local farmers markets. this helps my budget tremendously and i am very thankful for that. it maybe makes it easier to buy the more expensive items because we save elsewhere, but dollar amounts aside, the WIC program has helped me teach myself about the basics of meal planning, and i believe that even when we are no longer eligible, we can still eat this way, paying very little extra. i believe it is possible because of the knowledge i now have, and the awareness. I wanted to make it very clear about my budget and that i take these checks into account.
Much love to you all out there in this crazy little universe, muah!
<3 Suz
1.) I brainstorm all the time since my head is ALWAYS spinning, but for the most part, I pick a day. Usually it's Friday because i do food shopping on saturdays. I take note of everything i have in the fridge and pantry. EVERYTHING, even that half of a half of a red pepper, i will make use of it somewhere. We are at the end of our 2 weeks so today is pay day (yay!) but the fridge and cupboard are very very sad. so, this week is going to be a bigger week money wise but we will be spending less in others (see how this is going to work, ay???).
2.) Dirty secret time: i open up the paint program. yup. that dinosaur that we all used to think was the coolest thing ever 20 errr more years ago. It's my go to. i use it for EVERYTHING. I love it and i don't care who knows. anyway, trusty paint program and my foodskees board on pinterest open, i start a list. sometimes i have not added to my board so i need to search for some new ideas, but i get a list of six meals Sat~Fri. Then, i check my calender: yay! we are playing at mainely meat this weekend! that means i don't cook on saturday! whooooo hoooooooooooo! the boys will eat at my mum's (the greatest woman on the planet. no joke. everyone says that about their mum, but really, she is a freaking saint and i would be lost without her and my dad). The only thing we have going on this week is visiting a potential school for mr. oliver so that night i make sure it's something that is easy (like a crock pot meal). It's important with meal planning to adjust it to your life. If you make a meal plan solely based on what you like to eat, you might find yourself screwed, or preparing a roast at 8:30pm. If you know that tuesdays are crazy and hectic, plan accordingly, save the roast for a day you have time to prepare it. You can still eat well and eat with your family, even if you are all only at the table for 20 minutes.
3.) So, i have all my meals on one side, i have items i have on the other, i have my calender handy. i decide what meal will be on what day, then i go one by one and just write down what i need for ingredients with each meal. This helps me know what i need to buy, or if i have it already, what i DON"T need. It also helps me figure out what i can use the ingredients for. example: i'm buying a bag of carrots because we are having vegetable soup this week, but Wednesdays dinner needs vegetable side too, whats left can be used next week, etc.
4.) this isn't really a step, but the rule is, we don't eat a lot of meat. i make it a point to only eat red meat once a month, maybe twice. when i buy chicken, it's nature place and it almost always, one package is for 2 meals. I do this for health just as much as i do it for cost. i like to get our protein elsewhere and it saves money so that i can buy things that cost more. give and take mama's, give and take.
That's pretty much it. Really. It does take time. I won't lie. It takes a lot longer than just heading to the store and grabbing whatever whatever, but i guarantee you it costs less, you know what you are making for dinner every night, and you eat pretty gosh darn well to boot.
I'm lucky. My kids eat really well. They eat foods like broccoli, and devour whatever fake meat i decide to experiment making. They eat leftovers in crazy combinations. My husband will eat anything (even the fake meat, bless him!). I get that kids don't like certain things. I do. Hello? I was one of them. I didn't like to eat half of the things i eat now until my late 20's. I wouldn't even TRY some of the things i eat now not even 5 years ago. it's a learning process. but the sooner you start, the sooner it will just become the norm. my kids didn't always eat all their vegetables, but i always put them on the plate.
So, what's for dinner this week at the Woods'?
Saturday: Gig night! Mainely Meat on Main!
Sunday: homemade pizza
Monday: Veggie and cheese pockets (avocado, broccoli, spinach, sprouts, etc.)
Tuesday: Spaghetti and salad
Wednesday: avocado chicken pasta bake
Thursday: homemade vegetable soup and sandwiches
Friday: chicken dagwoods
As i get more familiar with all this computer jargin i'll fiddle with links to recipe ideas (though a lot of them exist in my crazy brain). tomorrow, i will post a grocery list.
I want to leave this post with a disclaimer of some sort. is that even the word? i don't know. anyway. what i want to say is this:
I am a really lucky mama. I am lucky enough (as crazy as some of you know i can get) to stay home with my kids. We qualify for the WIC (women, infants and children) program and have been apart of it for almost 4 years. This is a tremendous help. Some might scoff and turn their nose up at it. Whatever. I worked for 10+ years and put my dollars into the system, and i shall leave it at that. This program is incredible and has changed the way my family eats and buys food. I get checks for milk, cheese, beans, grain items, eggs, cereal and fresh produce. every year we get vouchers for a dollar amount that we can spend at local farmers markets. this helps my budget tremendously and i am very thankful for that. it maybe makes it easier to buy the more expensive items because we save elsewhere, but dollar amounts aside, the WIC program has helped me teach myself about the basics of meal planning, and i believe that even when we are no longer eligible, we can still eat this way, paying very little extra. i believe it is possible because of the knowledge i now have, and the awareness. I wanted to make it very clear about my budget and that i take these checks into account.
Much love to you all out there in this crazy little universe, muah!
<3 Suz
oooops!
Ha....well this is embarrassing....
The other night I was talking to a friend about kids and having them and how i like to try and tell new mothers about the not so fuzzy part of parenting and bringing babies into your home (a topic i shall get to at a later date) etc. Anyway, she said "you should write a blog, i think that a lot of people would want to know what you have to say about that sort of thing" and i said as usual the list of reasons why i want to do so but can't/don't, blah blah blah. Aaaaaaaaaanyway, here i sit and think, let's just try it out, shall we? As i look up different blogs i see that i have already started one... ha! it's funny all that you forget in a year (or more). all the more reason to document, ay? ay. so, do not judge me for taking so long to write in a blog i forgot i ever started. i must say, i like my first entry a lot. yay for babes. lets try and not let a year go by before we meet again....
The other night I was talking to a friend about kids and having them and how i like to try and tell new mothers about the not so fuzzy part of parenting and bringing babies into your home (a topic i shall get to at a later date) etc. Anyway, she said "you should write a blog, i think that a lot of people would want to know what you have to say about that sort of thing" and i said as usual the list of reasons why i want to do so but can't/don't, blah blah blah. Aaaaaaaaaanyway, here i sit and think, let's just try it out, shall we? As i look up different blogs i see that i have already started one... ha! it's funny all that you forget in a year (or more). all the more reason to document, ay? ay. so, do not judge me for taking so long to write in a blog i forgot i ever started. i must say, i like my first entry a lot. yay for babes. lets try and not let a year go by before we meet again....
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