November Meal Planning

 I always find things I want to make.  But, then I look in my pantry and I am missing stuff.  Sometimes, when I work on my weekly plan there just isn't room for a few ingredients.  In September, I started planning for October. I made a folder to save the new recipes for October.  When it started looking a bit too much, I think around 20, I started November.  This worked so well for me.  I looked through them all and added those staples to my first shopping list.  I was able to do most of them for October.  It really helped to mix up my normal go to recipes like chili, enchiladas, tacos, homemade pizza, pasta and sauce.  So, here are my picks for November. 

 Breakfast

If I can actually get up in the morning and make something for breakfast.  SURPRISE!  My crew will wake up early, too.  They are so much happier with something to eat.  If I remember I will set out stuff the night before. I can mix up dry stuff and put them in the mixing bowl.  The bright green one that has it's own lid.  The one that used to seem so big before I had a teenager. 

Mocha Coconut Banana Bread

Orange Glow Muffins

Protein Porridge

Soup
It is starting to get cold.  I love soup. It is cheap.  I can usually make it in the crockpot.  When put in the crockpot at breakfast time, it is usually read for lunch.  Hot lunch makes homeschooling just a little bit better.  Already prepared hot lunch makes me feel like I almost have a maid or cook or mother's helper.  
 
Gluten Free Goddess's Mulligatawny soup with Jasmine Rice

Humboldt Soup

Dinner

For some reason dinner is the hardest meal of the day for me.  I don't really like dinner.  Everyone in my house likes something different for dinner.  My husband and the 14 year old man er boy...whatever he feels like that day...think they need meat and man food.  My 11 year old is a staunch vegetarian. My 8 year old wants to eat and run.  My toddler wants to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The baby wants to slap my spoon and nurse at the same time.  I could eat chili and rice or stir fry and rice EVERY SINGLE NIGHT.  If I was feeling warm I might eat a smoothie. Oh, and the budget. Our budget is tight.  My compromise?  They don't get to complain unless they help. I buy meat maybe once a month and it is usually I really good sale.  Our local store often has B1G1F.  I can usually get nice chicken or roasts in a family pack.  So, I can get a lot of meals out of those.  I am totally digging on the lentils, too.  

Lentil and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers.

Crockpot Pizza Potatoes

Eggplant Veggie Burgers

Spaghetti and Red Lentil Balls

I made the lentil balls and they were awesome.  No one complained.  Well, at least not the annoying kind. But, everyone ate.  No one said they had a stomach ache.  I even made some Vegan Parm.  I used half raw almond and half nutritional yeast. I whizzed that up in my vitamix very carefully.  I was afraid of making nut butter.  I ended up adding salt to taste. I felt like it needed some saltyness.  I feel like such a dummy mummy for waiting so long to make Vegan Parm.  It is so expensive and the jar is so little.  I think I spent maybe 2 or 3 bucks and the jar is huge.  It is so yummy and full of protein and B12.  What isn't to like about that?

From the Joy of Vegan Baking

From the Joy of Vegan Baking, a photo by OakBlossoms on Flickr.

These were delicious bars. I doubled the recipe, used canola oil instead of Earth Balance, and Marionberry preserves instead of raspberry. These would be a great breakfast bar for on the go mornings. The jam gets a bit gooey, but it sets up nice by the next morning. Of course, I only had one bar left to enjoy by the next morning. So, you might consider making them after the kids go to bed.

This weeks Menu

Well, this week starts up on Friday.  I plan to shop early on Friday morning.  We usually visit with friends that day.  But, that will have to wait to see how shopping goes. I am using my printable shopping list again.  We follow the menu from my last week for the entire month.  We were able to really stretch our budget and fit in some goodies, as well.

Breakfast 

F-Muffins or Granola Bars

S-Waffles or French Toast

S-Cold cereal or leftovers

M-Pancakes

T-Hot Cereal with honey

W-Eggs or breakfast burritos

T-Oatmeal

Lunch

F-Fruit, Crackers, Cheese, deviled Eggs

S-Quesidillas or leftovers

S-Leftovers/Fend for yourself OR English Muffin Pizza & Salad

M-Chickpea or tuna salad sandwiches/melts

T-Grilled Cheese & baked beans or soup

W-Peanut Butter and Jelly on bread/tortillas

T-Mac and Cheese & frozen veg

Dinner

F-Pizza

S-Snackies, pizza leftovers, poppers

S-Dad's Birthday...Fish Burgers, Coleslaw, Avocado, Homemade Fries, german chocolate cake

M-Bean Burritos

T-Chicken, tofu, cornbread, salad or frozen veg

W-Church, leftovers or spaghetti

T-Chili and baked potatoes

Halloween and Mummy Dogs

I thought I would share the mummy dogs the kids made for Halloween.  We don't usually do anything regular for Halloween.  Depending on where we live, we Trick or Treat.  A few years ago we did a big festival with our church and that was crazy. Smack dab in the middle of our towns Halloween Trick or Treating event.  This year one of the boys and Dad went out for last minute Trick or Treating.  I'm sorry I have no pictures of their makeshift costumes.  But, I told everyone that I'm too pregnant and tired to go out.

We did manage some fun dinner though.  We made some vegetarian and some with meaty dogs.



Threw in some broccoli for good measure.  All the kids like broccoli and it comes in very big bags at Costco.

Kitchen Organization

I have a good size kitchen with a slightly strange layout.  I haven't figured out how to use it yet.  And, this is the second time I have lived in this house.  You would think I would have it down.  But, you must remember with me.  Back then I was newly married and a new mom.  I had only a husband and little baby to feed.  Seriously, I didn't need any room.  My cupboards were barren because well....I didn't need pots and pans and piles of dishes.  It took us forever to fill up the dishwasher.

Now I have four.  I am tired.  I am homeschooling.  We come and go.  Everyone is always hungry.

A real live action break

Enters oldest son....why is there nothing to eat...I hate curry....I am complaining because complaining is fun.

So, I am looking for some inspiration.
Down to Earth talks about her pantry here.

So, I made a menu.  Which I plan to repeat to boredom every week.  I need to put something on auto-pilot. I, also, created a shopping list for said menu.  So, I can just check off what we need/want and not spend forever shopping and guessing and wishing and wondering.  Cooking is no fun right now.  I will let you know when it is.  Right now, I don't want to think about it.  I don't want to hear how there is nothing to eat.

Breakfast 

M-Pancakes

T-Cream of Wheat

W-Eggs

T-Oatmeal

F-Muffins or Granola Bars

S-Waffles or French Toast

S-Cold cereal or leftovers

Lunch

M-Chickpea or tuna salad sandwiches/melts

T-Grilled Cheese & baked beans or soup

W-Peanut Butter and Jelly on bread/tortillas

T-Mac and Cheese & frozen veg

F-Fruit, Crackers, Cheese, deviled Eggs

S-Quesidillas or leftovers

S-Leftovers/Fend for yourself OR English Muffin Pizza & Salad

Dinner

M-Bean Burritos

T-Chicken, tofu, coleslaw, cornbread, rice

W-Church, leftovers or spaghetti

T-Chili and baked potatoes

F-Pizza

S-Curry Beef in crockpot, tofu, rice, frozen veg

S-Leftovers/Fend for yourself or Fried Rice

A link to the actual Shopping List

An Autumn meal...

I checked out some books from the library. One of them was....


I am making Sage, White bean, and Sausage soup from it. I am going to use Tofurkey Italian Sausages to make it vegetarian so everyone can eat it. Plus, greasy foods aren't sitting well with my stomach lately. Did I forget to mention it uses dry beans and my crockpot. I love the crockpot. I am planning on making some rice because we have a bunch of limes leftover from yesterdays dinner. a squeeze of lime is really good on rice. I am going to make pumpkin muffins, too. I am going to double up so we have enough for tomorrow's breakfast. I love muffins for breakfast.

The start of some gluten-free vegetarian meatballs.

The start of some gluten-free vegetarian meatballs.
Originally uploaded by OakBlossoms

I've been working back towards GF. There are definitely some health issues around this house. I don't know if they are all deemed mysterious. But, they can all be symptoms of Celiac disease. I know I can do it. I know I can do it.

I know I can do it and not end up eating meat again.

My kids love pickles. So, we always have the pickle jars from Costco.  I'm hoping they are GF.  They seem like it, but I would be bummed if they aren't.  Really bummed.  Also, I do know that cast iron is porous.  Right now I'm doing my best.  Getting rid of Grandma's cast iron pan is not on the list.  I'll think about though.  I'll consider it.  But, first let us see if this GF thing lasts.  

Here is the brown rice cooking.

Veggies cooking a bit in the cast iron pan.

All of the goodies after I Vitamixed them.

It was a bit runny still. So, I did add some brown rice flour to get it to hold together better. I need to remember how well the vitamix works. It created a lot of juice from the veggies. I probably should have drained my beans more.  

Frying them up.

Eating in June

This month I decided to start freezing foods.  I really wanted to do it before our last baby was born.  But, I never got down and did it.  I wish I had.  

This month my plan is to at least double all our meals.  I made up a plan and I'm trying to add to my grocery list as I go along.  I'm hoping I might at some point get enough energy to do it all at once.  But, don't hold your breath.  But, maybe one of my readers will get all excited and give it a go.  I have been getting really frustrated at the end of the night.  I do not like having a dirty kitchen.  We just all get tired and no one wants to clean up.  It feels good to have a clean kitchen in the morning.  There are other dinner snafus that are driving us crazy.  So, I took all of it into account.  I realized I need to be able to throw something in the oven or have things my husband can heat up when he is hungry.  

We are not casserole eaters.  We hardly ever have meat and some of us are vegetarians.  I never wanted to do this because I hate using plastic.  But, my husband will spend 25 bucks at Papa Murphy's and get a cheese loaded, greasy pizza covered in plastic wrap.  I can make a whole lot of cheese light and cheese less pizza and put them in plastic bags for a lot less.  A good freezer bag can be rewashed and reused.  I'm not planning on doing any meaty items. 

So far I made frozen pizzas and a batch of white chili.  It wasn't any harder than making my usual dinner or pizza or chili.  Next time I'll just have to heat those up when we need them. 

I figure on days I'm busy I'll have frozen food.  On the days when I feel like baking or cooking I can stock the freezer with foods or baked goods.  I asked my husband what he thought.  He said he didn't care what it tasted like. He just wanted food he could cook.  My husband was a baker in a rustic bakery.  He used to cook when we were first married.  But, somewhere along the line he got tired.  I started to teach myself how to bake and cook.  But, somewhere along the line I got burnt out on being an excellent cook.  I hope the things I make don't taste too bad.  I figure they will taste better than mac and cheese.  

Meals and Money or Money and Meals

I'm not doing so bad when I enter our income into the Global Rich List.  That's a fun little tidbit worth checking out if you are feeling a little down and out about your yearly income or your mediocre food bill.  

Some of those cheap meals we have been eating (and in no particular order):

• Spaghetti with two types of sauce & garlic toast.  A family member gifted us with some pantry staples from their overflowing pantry.  Spaghetti was one of those.  My kids are eating a ton of bread lately.  I made garlic toast out of all the leftover pieces of bread my children refuse to eat.  They always leave a few pieces in the bag.  I just spread with butter or Earth Balance and some garlic and Italian seasoning. 
• Chickpea salad spread melts.  We were out of pickles and relish (egads what will we do), so we used jalapeno olives instead.  It was delish.  This was spread heavily on pieces of bread, topped with thin slices of fresh tomato, sprinkled with cheese for those who eat it, and sprinkled with Italian Seasoning (from one of those nifty McCormick Grinder thingies).
• Teriyaki Tofu, Brown Rice, and salad with Goddess Dressing.  Trader Joes has a private label dressing that is so delicious.  I used to hate this stuff,  but it's the only salad dressing I like now.  I ate the leftovers at the gym the next day.  Just piled it up and put more dressing on the top.  
• Lasagna is on the menu currently.  A giant pan came from a family member.  Unfortunately for me, it contains lots of meat and cheese.  Both of which I vowed to give up after Mother's Day.  (I feel better by the way!) I'll probably grab some salad to go with it tomorrow.
• White Chili is on the menu for those not eating lasagna.  I made two pounds of beans, so I'm hoping that lasts 3 days because of that lasagna.  Made it in the crockpot, too.  Can't beat cheap and crockpot and doesn't make me sick when I eat it.
• I had planned on pizza after the chili was all eaten up.  

April Grocery Recap & May Meal Planning

So, we did skate through April just fine.  You can read about some of our meals from this previous post mid-month.  I'm trying to not have too much variety.  Mostly because it's easier to eat around leftovers.  If we have some cilantro left, what can I use it for next.  I really do think I did better by having less around the house.  It's just difficult.  I like having lots of food around for the boys sake.  It was good for my waistline though.  I got back on my weight loss track.  I'm not hugely overweight, but watching all the diabetes happening in my family is making me realize I, personally, need to get my health (and body) back in better shape.  Less sweets and enjoy some fruit.  Having less food around caused me to not grab something like bread or a sweet thing because I knew it was needed for the next meal or for the kids to take for lunches when we leave the house.

Today we are eating up bits and pieces.  Eggs tacos with some salsa verde. I love those little cans of sauce (I know it's sick, but if you look to the left you can see that amazon has it) you buy in the mexican section.  You can usually get them for a little over a buck.  Not bad if you consider what they can add to a few eggs and some corn tortillas. I bought a couple when they were on sale.  They aren't bad at all.  They are easy to grab and add to a simple meal.  You can mix the green one with some avocado for a really great avocado salsa.  There is a bean soup on the stove.  And, I will probably makes some chickpea salad sandwiches to go with that.  Tomorrow we are off to a family function and we only need to bring chips. 

Monday I'm going to hit Costco for burritos makins.  We will probably subsist on those for 4 or 5 days.  Everyone really wants burritos...so I'm going to stretch that meal out as long as I can.  I figure it's a good start to May.

Ani Phyo Makes Baja Fresh Taco Boats at Mom Tri's Villa Royale Workshop ...

Talk about yummy raw food. We love anything mexican and I came across this today. It doesn't seem too complicated. I like raw foods, but I hate it when it seems complicated.

A capful of oil, Food in April, meal planning, stretching the pantry,

So, I mentioned that we had another budget cut.  I can't see our budget getting any smaller.  Ouch...it really does hurt.  I did go and get on WIC.   That was a bit difficult for me.  I don't want to be dependent on services.  It has helped quite a bit.  I'll venture to say it's going to be the thing that helps us get through.  I have $100 a week for food plus WIC.  I have to be out of the house most days for things like the YMCA classes, taking my Grandma to her classes, friends, or church activities.  So, I'm not really menu planning.  I'm just buying enough groceries to get us through a few days.  Then, I try to stretch that food another day or two.  I have a pretty meager pantry currently and almost nothing in the freezer.  But, I just don't feel right stocking up on stuff.  We need to eat what we have.

A few months ago I was watching TV.  There was a woman doing her shopping in an open market. I want to say Africa, but I can't recall.  I just remember she got oil in the capful.  Just enough for that meal of cooking.  And, all I could think of was how I had been complaining about being low on oil.  And, yet I had so many capfuls of oil in my fridge.  

Thank you God for your abundant blessings.  

Food is on our table.

Food is in our bellies.  

Breakfasts we have eaten: 

Cold cereal with soymilk

eggs and toast

baked beans

smoothies (blueberries from Costco, flaxseed, soymilk, banana, and raw oatmeal)

Lunches and snacks we have eaten: 

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Chickpea salad on bread

leftovers

ramen

hard boiled eggs

deviled eggs

fruit

peanut butter cookies

Bread pretzels with mustard

Dinners we have eaten 

(I offer salad, fruit, and/or frozen veggies on the side.  We have had some canned veggies this month.  I don't usually do that, but it's one of those things I'm willing to do now.):  

We ate out a friends house once. 

Orange chicken, Peanut Butter Chicken, cornbread, rice, and spinach. (This was a clean out the freezer meal.)

Salmon Burgers with tater tots and canned green beans.

Veggie Burgers (got a big box at Costco).  

Soup and bread

Grilled Cheese, salad, and tater tots.

Taco Soup with all the fixins.

Tacos with all the fixins (I fry corn tortillas.  It's really tasty and much cheaper than those boxes of taco shells.)  We top ours with refried beans, shredded cheese, cilantro, onion, radish, finely sliced lettuce, salsa, pico pica sauce.  Rice with fresh lime juice on the side.

Homemade pizza.  We usually make personal size pizzas.  We top with a variety of stuff from whatever was on sale or I have around the house.  This time we had red sauce, pepperoni, black olives, green onions, black refried beans, cheddar cheese, mozzarella, chopped tomato.  I like to make pizza on Friday and use our leftovers from the last few days.  You can use barbecued chicken, curried meats or veggies, the list goes on.  It's amazing what's good on pizza.

Meal Planning

We recently got another budget cut.  God willing he will bless us and we will get through each month.   I thought I would share some good links I'm using for meal planning.  Since, I'm actually out of the house a few times a week for the YMCA or to drop my Grammy off at her Tai Chi classes, I'm going to start doing smaller shopping trips.  My goal is to see how stretchy I can get.

I'm sure the next week will be full of deviled eggs.

Vegetable Pakora http://www.ManjulasKitchen.com or her youtube channel  If you are looking for an excellent source for Indian recipes this is the best.  I love Indian food.  It's comforting and can be very cheap if you can get spices in bulk and use produce common in your area.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cake I admit it.  I do like sweets.  I find if I make a sweet thing once a week, I don't feel deprived.  I usually make a sweet after a simple meal.  It encourages the kids to eat a meal they may not be excited about.

The Duggar recipes are big.  These are not foods I got to eat growing up.  I remember the first time I had tater tot casserole.  You can make tater tot casserole vegetarian and even vegan.  I never had casseroles growing up and I've never made them for my kids.  They aren't that fond of them.  But, sometimes it's nice to have an all in one dish.  My kids do like enchilada casserole and lasagna.  I usually make both of those in the crockpot.  They work well.

Taste of Home (which my Grammy insists on getting me.  I hardly use it because it's always so meaty and cheesy.)  had a section on layered salads this month.  They showed a taco salad.  We haven't had taco salad for a long time and I think that sounds yummy.  Either that or this yummy looking taco salad and cilantro, cucumber, and avocado dressing.

Greenish Tofu Curry.  My husband loves green curry.  I normally buy the jar at Trader Joes.  But, I would like to come up with my own recipe at home.

January Terra Organics Order 1

This is my first order for the New Year & One Small Change. I'm hoping it will get more fresh produce in our tummies and keep me from the grocery store. I'm hoping I can get in on the CSA this next month.










It weighed in at just about 22 pounds.  We never buy fresh Mango, so that is a plus.  We have never had a Crenshaw Melon, so that should be a fun new thing to try.  We are studying plants for homeschool and  the boys like to plant seeds from our fruits.  So, we will see if we can get anything to grow.

Bulk Tea

Bulk Tea
Originally uploaded by OakBlossoms

When we moved here, I couldn't find bulk tea anymore. In Seattle, I just walked up to the store and bought what I needed for the week. I liked getting different ones each week. But, my husband purchased me a tea set this Christmas. It has a tea container for bulk tea. See the cute little wooden scoop!

I'm trying to trim our food budget down this year, as well as build up a pantry for lean times. I'm not sure how long one pound of tea will last me. The container holds about half a pound.

Hip Mountain Mama has a challenge that most people could complete.  Make one change till Earth Day.  That is 22 April 2010.  Go ahead and give it a try.

My change for January was already planned.  But, I'm going to share it again.  I'm ordering from Terra Organics.  Once the CSA season starts in June I will be ordering a share from Tahoma Farms via Terra Organics instead.  I'm excited and look forward to our first delivery next Friday.

Meal Planning in 2010

Monday-Soup and Sandwiches 

Tuesday-Burritos or Mexican Food 

Wednesday-Leftovers or Church Meal 

Thursday-Tofu/Chicken, rice, frozen veg or salad 

Friday-Pizza 

Saturday-Finger Foods and leftovers 

Sunday-Crockpot or Breakfast

Along with some changes in our budget, I am making a plan for meals. I don't want to have to be a slave to it. But, I've found it helps to make outlines for myself. I'm going to keep myself out of stores. I've already set us up for our first Terra Organics order. I'm working on finding a local drop point for Azure Standard. Then I can shop at Costco once a month and Trader Joes every other month. That should keep our budget low while still building up a stockpile. I don't want to go through another hard time without a pantry. That was really hard this last time. I can go without a lot of things. But, not being able to feed my family well is so difficult.

Christmas 2009 Tea Set

Christmas 2009 Tea Set

Since, I no longer live near loose leaf bulk tea...well a place that sells it...I ordered some today from Republic of Tea. It's the kind I used to drink in Seattle. I got just a small bag every week or so and kept in one of those magnetic tins on the fridge.

My husband got me a tea container for Christmas, so I want to fill it up. I'm curious to see how long the tea lasts for me.

Muffin Tin Monday

I haven't used a muffin tin in ages (for snacks or muffins). But, then I found the Muffin Tin Monday and I new I had to give it a try. So, E got out the muffin tin and everything he thought would be tasty. He ate on it twice and shared some with me. It worked so well he has asked for it again.

row 1: Trader Joes Jalepeno crunchies, pimento stuffed green olives, carrot stickes, blue corn chips
row 2: crackers, cheddar cheese, little organic tomatoes, guacomole.
row 3: Life cereal, trail mix, peanut butter, apple slices.

Plastic shampoo

I really have been looking more at the plastic we use.

Shampoo does come in plastic bottles. It's just one of those things you know.

I guess you could buy a big bulk container of shampoo. I have to use more expensive shampoos because my scalp (heck all of my skin) is really sensitive. I'm on vacation and the store here has big plastic containers of shampoo and you just pump what you want into a small reuseable bottle. But, I bet your local store or a salon store could get you those large bottles. The fill your own is cool though isn't it?

I know I use way less shampoo and NO conditioner since I cut all my hair off, but I realize a lot of women are not comfortable with that.

I did buy applesauce in a glass container instead of plastic this week. I would say it's probably more enviromentally friendly to just buy the apples. Speaking of which I hate those dumb little stickers they put on the apples, but I'm not so sure I like the tattoothing they are coming up with now.