I’ve fallen off the Menu-Planning band wagon which hurts all kinds of things in our house, mainly our wallet.
Also? My blood sugar, the kids’ allergies and Aaron’s patience.
Stupid organization skills.
So I’m trying REALLY hard to get back to where we were with budgeting for food and eating at home. It’s so tough. I’m so sick of last minute food decisions and restaurants. And I feel like I’m standing in the middle of a really huge field and I have no idea where North is.
We all eat differently in this house, I don’t like a lot of meat – everyone else does. I’m the one buying and making the food, so it tends to go towards my preference. We don’t buy bread or snacks, we DO buy a TON of fresh fruits and veggies and take full advantage of our local Farmers Market twice a week.
So I’ve come up with a never-fail list of things I should always have in my house, for the way we eat … not sure if it’ll work for your family, but please share your tips!!
Produce:
Carrots
Romaine Lettuce
Tomatoes (I’m not growing my own this year yet)
Fruit:
In Season, lots of it
Apples
Nectarine or peaches
Meat:
1-2 Whole and happy chickens
Frozen breasts for skewers
Cubed beef
Nitrate free lunch meat
Chicken Sausage
Nuts and Grains:
Brown rice
Quinoa
Peppitas
Oats
Almonds
Flax seed
Oils:
EVOO
Coconut
Canned Goods:
Apple sauce
Tomatoes
Garbanzo beans
Coconut milk
Dairy:
Rice milk or Almond milk
Butter, the real deal
Goats cheese (from Farmers market, once a month)
Herbs I have on hand, potted:
Sage
Chives
Mint
Oregano
(Basil and parsley to be planted)
My garden will yield Kale all year long, broccoli, peas, carrots, lettuce, spinach, strawberries and a small (very baby) orchard will carry pears, apples and peaches this year. I’ve got blueberry bushes but no fruit yet (2nd year) and am hoping to see some flowers this harvest season.
Now … from all of this I can come up with all kinds of fresh meals without having to think too hard. It’s lovely that it’s summer and the grill is ready almost any time. We’ll be doing skewers like our life depends on it for a while, until I get my sea legs back. Snacks are fruits and veggies or …
Homemade Clif Bars
Chocolate Macaroons and Power Balls
Garbanzo Bean Brownies
Sweet Potato Fries
You can always browse Kitchen Stewardship for recipes as well.
How have you been doing it this year?
Lovely list, we do a lot of fresh fruit and cheeses during the summer and skewers are a lifesaver! You can do hawaiian style one night (hawaiian marinaded chicken) with pineapple and green peppers and another night you can do teryaki marinated chicken with red and gree peppers, onions, mushrooms and try to switch it up.
I am in a rut as well cooking wise, it is so hard to make nasty meals that are quick and on budget!
When I first moved into my own place (all by myself) I had a go to recipe that prepped in less than 20 minutes, and cooked in the amount of time it took for me to shower.
Grillable veggies (peppers, onions, zucchini, summer squash, etc) on the flat iron skillet drizzled with oil & a shake of seasoning, along side leftover diced potatoes on the skillet, or rice on the stovetop. I could slap down a piece of meat (butterflying chicken breast, so they cook quicker) along side it and pop it in the oven @ 375.
It wasn’t the most exotic, but I was completely responsible for myself for the first time and tired every night after work.
I could prep the veggies and place them in storage containers so I could grab handfuls of whatever I wanted that night. My meat was bought by what was on sale, and portioned into individual servings so I could pull it out in the morning, add marinade if I wanted, and it was defrosted by night.
Later when I moved in with a roommate, we had a grill, and a little tin foil made this a summer time staple.
You are so good. Super mom!
i’ve been loving chard! we all like spinach but can’t grow it most of the growing season b/c it doesn’t like the heat (and even our soil, i think)… but chard grows so well and i can use it in place of spinach all season long. š
oh, and it’s also the prettiest thing in the garden. š