weekly meal plan

I have saved quite a bit of money since I started planning meals and doing a focused shopping once a week.
Plus, meals tend to be a little more interesting, since there is time to think ahead to when in the week I will have time for cooking, prepping, and baking after-school snacks.

We had fallen into the lazy habits of many parents around the world, catering to speed and the bottom line in meal planning. Many, many years of meals such as plain pasta, raw carrots or bell peppers, a glass of milk, and an omelette or handful of nuts (all the males in my family are vegetarian--I am not). So, so, so boring.

One of my boys is a very picky eater. Very picky. As in, plain foods not touching kind of picky. Luckily for his health, he loves tofu, nuts, and fruit and will eat many types of raw vegetables, including (when pressured) salad. The other boy used to be a fairly picky eater, but has developed a more sophisticated palate in the last few years and also dislikes too much repetition. These boring meals were driving him (as well as Minou and I) crazy.

So....I have added a few more dishes into our regular rotation. These include:

• bean and cheese enchiladas or enchilada casserole
• vegetarian curry with tofu, carrots, and potatoes (YUM)
• lentils cooked with sauteed onion and garlic
• pureed vegetable soup with whatever I can throw into it for the adults (my boys will not eat soup), usually carrots, potatoes, turnips, leeks, tomato sauce, & leafy greens like chard or kale
• basque skillet beans, made with spinach and tomatoes
• orzo pasta with sauteed vegetables and parmesan

I try to always add a salad or sliced raw veggies, plus a vegetable soup, to the main dish for our evening meal.

I buy fruit, milk, yogurt, and vegetables during the weekend shopping trip, and then pick more up as needed during the week (or ask Minou to do so).

We mostly eat rolled oats for breakfast, sometimes with brown sugar and raisins added, so I make sure that we have those on hand plus brown rice, peanut butter, whole wheat sandwich bread, jam, and whole grain pasta. 

I bake muffins for after-school snacks, and add as many fruits and nuts as I can (plus a few extra eggs) for nutrition.

I think this system has helped me be more organized and avoid the dreaded "What in the world can we have for dinner?" or frustrating last-minute 5:30 pm grocery shopping trips (or plain pasta for dinner). I can also try to plan meals around what we already have in the cupboard, just looking at what needs to be added to make a dish, which lets us spend out and save money. My goal is to keep our monthly food budget under $450, which is a challenge with hungry teenage boys in the house.

This morning I made: vegetable soup, vegetarian lasagna, and walnut-chocolate-chip muffins.

Do you pick things up day to day, or do a big weekly (or even monthly) shopping trip?

Call Me

Hooray, after a week of no phone communication, today I was able to talk with my boys!
They are back from housesitting at a beach house at Cap d'Agde, and from all accounts it sounds like everyone had a lot of fun. There was swimming, walking, exploring, kayaking, snorkeling, trying new foods...ah....

I'm so, so happy that they can have this time with the French side of the family. Happy that I can help make this possible. I wish I could be with them (of course), but it feels good at the same time, in a grownup way, to be supporting them...I 'm an only child, after all!

So today, my heart is full after talking with Minou and both G1 and G2. And smiling: by the end of the phone call, I heard the familiar sounds of domestic chaos & brotherly conflict on the other end...never thought I'd say it, but I miss it!!

On the July Food Stamp Challenge front: nothing new. I have chili, garden kale and lettuce, blueberries and cherries from my garden and the neighborhood, and my friend R. brought me some good bread...I won't need to grocery shop for a while yet. Still at $27.00 for the month. I might go strawberry picking to freeze for the winter this weekend, though!

New News is Good News

Sorry for the silence! I have been busy with 4th of July socializing, my big downsizing project, and dealing with...dog digestive issues (was the last description delicate enough?).

The July Food Stamp Challenge is going well. I am not above mooching, and I took home some very nice leftovers from the neighborhood potluck I attended on the 4th. Yesterday I worked at the the coast, and my mom came along with two friends. We had a great seafood dinner, despite a very long wait which just meant more time to talk (or in my case, listen to inspiring travelling tales). Also, on my morning walk today I again scored two large recycling bags of beer bottles from the recycling box across the street, which should pay for my weekly gallon of milk. And I found two beautiful Queen Anne cherry trees in an alleyway near my home and picked a couple of pounds on the 4th. Hooray! So no new expenses.

I have noticed that I am running out of packaging items such as paper grocery bags (I use them for the trash) and plastic bags (for cleaning up after the dog) because I am shopping so much less. I need to seek some green solutions for those items.

And on that note: two sources of inspiration this week:

Zero Waste Home blog. I saw an article about this family in Sunset magazine in January and was intrigued. The blog is full of great ideas and inspiration!

Friends told me about an online local farmer's market, bringing suppliers and customers within a 100-mile radius together. A little different from a CSA because buyers can select fruits and veggies that their family will actually use regularly, but more convenient than a farmer's market at times...though less social. But the pickup spot on Tuesday nights has woodfired pizza night with local ingredients! I think it's a fantastic idea and it strengthens my resolve ( and the convenience of) local eating...

Have a great rest of the week! Hope it's sunny in your neck of the woods...I am loving these summer days and evenings.

July Food Stamp Challenge Day 2

Starting out the month, a shopping trip was called for. I like to go into the workweek knowing that I have food on hand. I know that Katy over at the Nonconsumer Advocate often shops at Safeway. I usually don't--there is a large locally owned grocery store closer to my house, as well as a small neighborhood natural foods store (love it!), and I find Safeway prices to be expensive. If a big stocking-up trip is called for, I will usually tag along on a Costco run with my mom or make the 6-mile drive out to a huge 24-hour deep discount grocery store in another part of town for staples. However, a co-worker offered me a coupon to Safeway for $10 off $50 purchase last Thursday. First I refused, thinking no WAY would I need that much food while my family is away, but then rethought...what if they had a good deal on dogfood?

Turns out they did (I checked first), so I surveyed the kitchen.

The food that I had left in the house at the beginning of July was heavy on grains (LOTS of brown rice, some quinoa) and low on protein. I have lettuce and kale in the garden, and a friend in the neighborhood still has winter squash from last year, so I felt pretty good with veggies. My blueberries are starting to come on and I've seen some early cherries in the neighborhood as well, so I figured I can glean most fruit (it's amazing how many fruit trees go unharvested! Disclaimer: ask the owners first). I ended up buying:

• peanut butter
• ground turkey, red beans, black beans, onions & canned tomatoes for chili
• carrots (a staple for lunches)
• peaches (couldn't resist)
• locally made yogurt
• oats for breakfast or bread
• a giant bag of dogfood
• canned salmon

All that took me to $49.00 after the coupon and applying for the Safeway Club Card. A bit expensive. Or maybe I just bought too much--it's been hard to adjust to shopping and food preparation for one after years of shopping for a family of four! This is why it's a good thing that I'm paying attention to shopping, saving, and food waste. It wouldn't be a pretty picture otherwise.

Minus the dogfood, I spent $27.00 so far this month.

Yesterday afternoon I made a huge pot of delicious chili. I can freeze a little, eat it all through the week, and take some to a 4th of July potluck.

Here's the recipe:
1 lb red kidney beans
1 lb black beans
1 large yellow onion
1 head of garlic (or less if you aren't a garlic fan)
16 oz can of tomato sauce
16 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 lb ground meat or tempeh
seanoning to taste: cumin, tumeric, red chili flakes, oregano, salt, black pepper

Rinse, soak (4 hours) & cook the beans until soft in a large kettle. Save the cooking liquid.
Saute the finely chopped oniion in olive oil on low heat until soft and slightly browned. Add the chopped garlic, the ground meat, and the spices. Saute until the meat is cooked through. Add the diced tomatoes and simmer longer (if you cook acidic foods in a cast iron skillet it's a great way to absorb some extra iron). Add the tomato sauce and the ingredients of the skillet to your kettle. Stir and simmer. Check flavors and add more seasoning to taste.

Now today: it's time to work in the garden!