10 reasons you don't want to menu plan

Last week, I had to take a class for work. Believe it or not, it was on Menu Planning. I guess that means even people who are supposed to know a lot about planning still have a lot to learn. I certainly don't consider myself an expert so I learned lots of things in the class. Like the good friend that I am; I am going to share them with you.

Here are 10 reasons that I learned you don't want to meal plan. 

1.  You don't like saving money.  You can spend almost twice as much at the grocery store if you go without a list of things that you need.

2. You like forgetting things. This one is a no-brainer, but if you shop without a plan and therefore a list, you are always going to end up back up home thinking, " Crud! I totally forgot the (insert essential dinner ingredient here)".  - which could lead to another trip to the store and cost you even More money.

3. You enjoy paying 20$ for a gallon of milk. What! you say, no you don't. If you are in the store to pick up that one thing you forgot chances are very high you are going to be caught by an impulse buy. That bag of chips, those cookies on the end, hot bakery bread, Oh! Look! Brownies!! And there you are, 20$ for that gallon of milk.

4. You enjoy that stressed out "end of your rope" feeling - especially around 4:30pm.  It is getting late in the day, dinner time is just around the corner, do you have a plan? Do you have ingredients that you shopped for from a list you made? No, because you are a fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants kinda girl, you like to walk on the wild-side. And besides menu planning is just so much work. Let's see what we can make for dinner. Hmmm, we are missing this, and we don't have enough of that, oh wait, nope, we ate that last week. Boy! This adventure does NOT feel awesome.

5. You don't want to eat or feed your family healthy food. Do you enjoy grabbing fast food through the drive-thru? Having a menu plan let's you pick meals that are in season, that meet special dietary requirements if necessary, or that are just the best of the food that is available to your family. Despite how fun they make it look in commercials commercial fast food is one of the worst things that you can be feeding yourself and your family.

6. You don't want to try new foods. Menu planning is a great way to try new foods and recipes. Plan one night a week (or just a month if you aren't so inclined) to try out something new and different. This is the way that family favorites are made. My kids absolutely love curry, but I would never have guessed this unless we decided to try something new together.

7. You don't want to spend your grocery money wisely. Perhaps you are the 1% of the world that doesn't need to be careful with your grocery budget. If you are, good for you. The other 99% of us have to watch out pennies very carefully. I can't afford to shop without a list and a plan. (and a full stomach!) Menu planning can help your dollars go much further because you are able to buy things that really are a good deal (which you discovered by reading all the grocery ads while planning your menu), things that are local and in season, and things that you really need, instead of the things that you don't. 

8. You enjoy wandering aimlessly through the grocery store. The very best food for you (and your budget) is at the outside edges of your local grocery store. The middle is full of processed, high priced and unhealthy foods, but that is where you end up spending a lot of your shopping time if you don't know where you are going.

9. You enjoy saying, "I don't know".  C'mon, as a parent we like to know the answers, I think most adults like to know the answers. "What's for dinner?"  Do you know?!

10. You really don't like saving time, money or your sanity. I know at first menu planning can seem like a Mount Everest kind of task, but it really isn't. You can make it as simple or complicated as your personality wants it to be. If you are a simple kinda gal, get two pieces of paper and write a menu on one and a shopping list on the other. If you like things complicated then get out your recipe books, your colored pencils and anything else you can thing will make this a pleasant experience for you.  And just do it, write down that is for dinner.  Ask your kids what they want, Ask you spouse what they want, Make something you especially want. - and Look!  You're done!!

I am still what I consider a newbie to this Menu Planning stuff. I don't always get it done "on time" and lots of times it is on the backs for scrap pieces of paper; but I am realizing that if I am going to stay within my budget and feed my family the way that I want to feed them, then I have got to spend the time to do this.  And I always remind myself, menu planning now is going to save me 1000 headaches during the week (at least) and I am all about saving my sanity when I can.

You can make What with Quinoa?!

Since Food $ense introduced me a few months back to this fantastic grain, I have fallen even more in love with it and the amazing things you can make with it.

You can eat it for breakfast!
Try Food $ense's own Banana Walnut Pudding, this Mediterranean Breakfast Quinoa, or Blueberry with Lemon Breakfast Quinoa.

You can eat it for lunch.
You can use it in salads and soups, or substitute it for other grains like in this Quinoa Tabbouleh. Try it as a substitute for pasta in your favorite pasta salad recipe - Why not!? Quinoa can do anything.


Use it for making dinner!

But don't just use it as a side dish instead of rice, make it into into you main dish - try this amazing Turkey and Quinoa meatloaf or Quinoa and Black Bean Burgers.

You can bake with quinoa two ways, you can cook it and add it to your baked goods like our Pumpkin Quinoa muffins or you can grind the seeds into a flour and use it as you would a whole wheat flour.

You can use it for Dessert!

What is not to love about a grain that can do all these amazing things and is fantastic for you! Quinoa is a super source of plant protein, it has B vitamins, iron, phosphorus and calcium.

Summer Squash

 It is time for delicious summer squash to be ripe and ready and available to you. I happen to love summer squash - especially zucchini, but you can run into some problems creatively with how to make it.

 Food $ense has a great idea that we tried that gives it a spicy southwest flavor. I have to admit to you, the baby at so much of this stuff it kinda make me wonder where she was putting it all.

The corn that I added was even southwest style corn that had red and green chilies and black beans in it. It really made the boring summer squash zippy.  I don't know if we will go back to just eating it plain ever again.

 Where I live peaches are grown quite a bit. Lots of us have peach trees in our yards or the local "fruit highway" is just a skip away with every variety of peach you can imagine. The ones pictured are a Harken Peach.  It is a sibling to my favorite peach to eat Canadian Harmony. And it ripens early in the season, another reason to love it!

But lots of people and for most of the year, we don't have access to fresh peaches. So what is the next best thing? Canned peaches of course!

The other night I had peaches on my mind, but the kids had eaten us out of fresh peaches...what's a a girl to do? Well, crack open a can of summery goodness. 

This Peach and Spinach salad with Pecans is a Food $ense recipe and it is sure to delight you. 

Yellow Plum Pectin Free Freezer Jam

So we finally moved into our house this weekend, only a month late, but better late then never, right?  My parents were helping us with the move, but they also were responsible this weekend for checking on my sister's four-legged children who were home alone. 

 On one of their trips to her house they picked these gorgeous yellow (golden) plums from her tree. My kids had never seen yellow plums (which they love in the purple variety) and so they were in heaven.  I am probably going to be finding pits "stashed" in places for quite a while because they enjoyed grabbing one while they were walking through the kitchen carrying boxes. (What a great energy source! Even if I am going to have to pick up pits that got spit out on the garage floor - don't be bitter, self, don't be bitter)

But Sunday night, I still had plenty of plums and three of my kids returned home to their mom. Monday morning another one started school and that leaves me with just myself and the three youngest here. There was no way we were going to make it through these plums before they went bad - and so, we decided to make them into jam. Because nothing says, "I'm crazy" like instead of unpacking boxes you make jam. 

First I had to find a recipe. That isn't too hard nowadays with the internet. There are a billion recipes for just about anything and you can tell whether people liked them or not too.  I just googled "yellow plum jam" and there were so many choices. But as I got reading, I discovered that I had neither pectin to add to my jam or a canning system to seal the jars for long term storage. That leaves me looking for a pectin free recipe of freezer jam. (At least I was looking for something specific, right?)

Here and Here are the two recipes / instructions that I used. Especially the second one from Savory Sweet Life.  So.... Let's get started.

The first thing to do was wash the plums really well and then remove the stone inside. This was the most time consuming part, but this is also the part where I had the most help.

I would cut the plums and then have the kids pull the slices of fruit off the pit and put the slices into the pyrex we were using. 

We added the fruit to a large pot and cooked it on medium for about 5 minutes. Then we added the sugar and a bit of lemon juice and cooked it some more. 

After about 20 minutes, it started to get really foamy and so I turned the heat off and scooped as much of the foam off as I could. 

 Then I let it cool for about 45 minutes. I don't know if this is an actual official step, but I made putting it into jars a little easier with little ones around.

 And here is our beautiful finished jam. One jar is sitting in the fridge waiting to be eaten and the other is in the freezer. Because I did not use a canner and heat seal the jars these have to be stored in the freezer for food safety. I could have used plastic containers to put the jam in, but it looks so much nicer in the glass jars.

I made biscuits for lunch today and so we had biscuits and jam for lunch. It was a hit and both of the boys declared it to be the very best jam they had ever made!

Tomatoes

 There is nothing in the summer that makes me happier and feel sunnier than a fresh garden tomato. I have never been able to grow much in the way of this sweet red (fruit) vegetable. But oh how I love them.

We bought some really delicious ones the other day. I sliced them up and ate them plain.

I have a post to share with you but today has been so crazy busy with the new house and moving in and other things, that I am just sharing with you some photos of lovely tomatoes.  Head and buy some today from your local farm stand or farmer's market.

Watermelon Fingers

I am so glad that here are Food $ense August's fruit of the month is watermelon. It gives me an excuse to keep buying them. 

At the Farm Stand this last week, we bought a "personal" watermelon.  It was so adorable and looked so good, I just couldn't help myself.  It was also our first watermelon this season with seeds. The kids were very excited about that. 

The other day on Pinterest, I saw a mom that cut her watermelon into long sticks. This only really works with the small ones, so I decided to try it out.

Here are four more fun ways to cut up and serve your watermelon this summer. 

Tomatillo Salsa

We went to the Fruit Stand yesterday.  I love taking my 4 year old because everything is so new and exciting there for him. We usually find something that is new and exciting for me too. 

Yesterday we found Tomatillos and I remembered that my cousin has posted a recipe on Facebook for green salsa. It was kismet and I needed to try it. 

15 tomatillos
2 Anaheim chilies
1/2 large onion
1/2 tsp salt
handful of cilantro
juice of 1 lemon
The secret is to dry roast the tomatillos, chilies and onion in a pan until they're soft then puree everything together in the food processor.

The first thing we did when we got home was watch the YouTube video on what these things even were and what the heck I was supposed to be doing with them. I didn't even know how to peel or clean them; let alone cook them into a recipe that was going to be edible. They were very strange to me.  It turns out that I picked some that were over-ripe and some that were bad because I didn't know what I was looking for.  Chalk it up to experience and being hungry and feeling adventurous while shopping.

We began by running them under warm water and pulling the husks off. They have a sticky residue on them and the warm water seemed to remove it pretty well.

 We had to them cook them for our salsa. We decided to dry roast ours. There is a cast iron skillet here at the house that we used. But you could do it in the oven if you would like. It was fun to see them get all hot and wiggly and steamy inside.

 Once they were all nice and blackened, it was time to roast the peppers and the onions. I did them the same way.

 Then I tossed the whole mess into a blender, because I don't own a food processor. I added a handful of cilantro and a teeny bit of salt - and spun away.

 Oh it turned out so good. We practically drank the stuff. We had taco salad for dinner and most of us used it for our dressing. This is definitely going to become not just a family favorite but a staple around here.

And the best news is that we are just getting ready to start tomatillo season. We have months to look forward to eating this!

Kid Chefs!

Do you have a kid chef?  I have a couple of them. I really like to encourage their creativity in the kitchen.

Epicurious recently had their annual contest for kids healthy recipe submissions.  Here are the winners in a cookbook you can print and give to your own kid chefs. Here is the link to last year's contest winner's recipe book.

Weekly Goals and Why They are Good for Me. (and you too)

I have mentioned before my system of setting a goal of making one change a week towards a healthy lifestyle and eating real food. I have told about our changes to give up sugary cereal, to eat food made with 5 ingredients of less, and to have a green salad with dinner every night.

Since we are getting back on the band wagon of taking care of ourselves we are going to be reinstating all the goals that we had previously accomplished as a family as well as setting some new ones.

 Last week felt very easy because it was exercise with you child week, and I found that very motivating. When I put playing and being active with my kids in the front of my mind it was much easier to do. And it felt very easy to say, "we already made this healthy choices, we are going to make them again". There was little resistance to the changes because it was just us getting back to the way of doing things we had already been living.

This week has been a little more difficult because I have had to add new goals and changes to our lives. The kids have been faced with enough big change and so I chose goals for myself. I love swimming and so I have chosen to get up early in the morning and go swim some laps. Loftly goals like this feel like they are made when you are absolutely bonkers; when the alarm goes off at 5:15am and I look over from my pillow at my swimsuit I think... "are you insane"? But I said I was going to do this for myself and so I do. The very hardest part, at least for me, is pulling myself out of the warm bed. Once I do that, the rest is auto-pilot. We all know the hardest part is that very first step.





Getting started can be hard, no wait, it IS hard. But if you stick with it, you only have to start once.







What changes have you been wanting to make in your family?  What changes have been wanting to make for yourself? Decide on just one of them, write it down on a post-it note and put it on your fridge; then do it. You have already made the hard decision to change, now you just have to do it. We can do it together. I will think of you at 5:15am when my alarm goes and remember that you are doing hard things too. 

Tap It!

One of the reasons that I am not a good road traveler is that I miss drinking all my water. Bathrooms are few and far between on the road; and nothing is worse than that last 100 miles when you already "gotta go"! It always takes me what feels like a few days to get re-hydrated again after travel.

TRIVIA TIME: What is the recommended intake amount for water? How much water do you need each day?

Answer: Let your thirst be your guide. Water is very important for the body inside and out, but most of us are getting enough from the food we eat and the beverages we drink. 

But getting "enough" water isn't the same as making sure the beverage choices that we make are the best ones for our body. 

August happens to be National Water Quality month. They encourage people to drink the water from their tap to save money, create less bottled water waste and of course for your health. Most public water also contains fluoride which is good for your teeth. If you are interested in finding out about the quality of water at your house, you can call the water quality hotline.

Here is an excellent article if you are interested in learning more about the pros of drinking tap water over bottled water.

If you don't like the taste of your water why not flavor it? Instead of using sugary mixes and powders with artificial colors and sweeteners why not try flavoring your water the natural way. With Fruits! (and even some vegetables.





Or try some fresh herbs
 in your water.




How delicious do these recipes sound?

on the road again.....

I am road trippin' tomorrow.  I make the 300 mile drive to pick up my kids from their dad and then turn around to come home. We meet halfway so neither of us had to drive the full distance. It isn't a perfect system, but it works. 

As I was making a grocery list for "snacks" I would need on the trip I remembered that not too long ago Food $ense posted a link about road tripping, so I looked it up. 

There are lots of healthy and fun ideas out there to make your car trip one that doesn't sabotage your week of healthy habits. 

Exercise with Your Child Week.

This Monday marked the start of Exercise with Your Child Week, August 4-10. What a great way to kick off my start to new healthier habits. I am feeling a general sense of the world around me helping me to want to change. My continuing education this week was on Energy Balance and how important physical activity is to our overall health.

So I am starting to get the message: not only do I have to be sure my family has healthy eating habits, but I need to be establishing healthy lifestyle habits too.

Some of the greatest things we can do for our children are to be a good example, to live the life we want them to be able to live. For most of us adults we are going to be trying to get our physical activity from that dirty word "exercise", but as far as our kids know they are just Playing. Isn't it much nicer to look at it from your child's view and just Play? 

We gathered everyone off the couches Monday night and headed out for walk through the campground. One of my older sons thought it was pointless so we said we were going to check and see if there was an open camping spot for us to cook dinner there. Not only did we have a very nice walk, but we did find an open spot and we were able to cook dinner there, which resulted in lots of playing in the stream and on the rope swing while we waiting. With just a little bit of encouragement to get off the couches, my family spent the entire night out of doors playing and being active.




Last night my husband just opened up a blanket in the backyard and took the baby outside to sit. We ended up playing on the swing and throwing the football around. Before we knew it, all the kids had joined us outside, some had even willingly turned off their computers and phones and come outside to be with the family. 

There are lots of great sources for information on being more active with your kids. Here are some ideas if you need them. The key to a healthy lifestyle is keeping yourself (and your kids) balanced. Energy in + Energy out = Balanced. Aim for balanced weeks if you are having a hard time wrapping your head around daily totals.  If you are going to a birthday party, plan the day before to take a family walk.  If you are going to have a big holiday coming up, plan on doing some activities that get you and your family moving.

What a great excuse to start today!  Use an activity as a reward for good behavior instead of a "treat". After dinner, turn on some music and show your kids how it is done. (or at least how is used to be done). Play an active computer or video game with your kids. Or everyone throw some shoes on and walk around the neighborhood.

Not only will this make a big difference in your children's lives now, but you are establishing healthy habits that can last a lifetime as well as giving your children one of the things they want most - more of your time.  And who knows...  You might lose 10 pounds in the process of teaching your kids that you were frisbee champ back in the day for a reason.

Ugh... Guilt!

I am feeling a heaping dose of "Mommy Guilt" lately. We started out the summer so good, and I started it out with such good intentions. You know what they say about good intentions, if you don't, They say "good intentions paved the road to hell". they also say, "you know what they say".

But back to my Mommy Guilt and the reasons that it is plaguing me. I was doing so good before summer started with eating healthy and taking care of myself and my family. I had cut out soda, which was an Olympic sized feat for me. I was menu planning and we were on our way to not just eating more fruits and veggies, but to cutting out processed foods of all kinds. Now we are noshing on corn dogs for lunch and boxed mac and cheese for dinner. I am so ashamed! My kids think they are back in heaven, but I feel like crap, I notice their moods are different and our whole lifestyle has changed.  "Ooooh what has brought us to this looooowly place."

It is disappointing to be disappointed in yourself, to know that you can do better and be better, but that you haven't. I guess that is also the good thing about change. You always can.

School starts soon here, in two weeks, but I am ready for the change now. And so that means I get out my menu planning notebook. I have just been doing it in my weekly calendar, or I said I was going to, and then I didn't in my weekly calendar.  I wrote down all the days of the week and then lunch and dinner because I have really been struggling with lunches. Then I double checked our calendar for the week and made any notes that I needed to on our meal plans - nights we wouldn't be home until late or had practices or even things like Dr. appointments during the day that would affect our schedule. And then I started to meal plan. I asked the kids each what they would like to eat and then I only had a few nights to fill in myself.

Now I need to head to the grocery store with my shopping list and I need to be strong with myself. The kids aren't buying those bags of M&M's and they aren't buying those boxes of frozen pizzas or the sugary breakfast cereals.

And then all I need to do is stick to the plan. I am better at sticking to the plan when I actually have one, and I do again. And so here we go. It is a new month, a new week, a new day - no better time than to start than right now.

Hooray! Hooray! It is Watermelon Day!

August 3rd is National Watermelon day, did you know? I didn't until this morning when I read it on twitter. Lucky for me I happen to have a lovely watermelon sitting on my kitchen counter just begging to be eaten!

I love watermelon in the summer, it is the ultimate summer food. It just says hot days and warm nights when it doesn't get dark until 10 o'clock.  I love the ritual of slicing into in and the smell of a ripe one that almost is dark red all the way to the rind.

When I was little we used to put them in the cold creek when we were camping to make it extra icy and delicious. Did you do that too? Back then all watermelons had seeds and we used to have the best time spitting them at each other while the juices ran down our arms and chins.

Now I just need to decide if I am going to eat this watermelon today plain in all of its summer sweet glory or should I make something out of it and try something new.

Did you know there was a National Watermelon Association, and a watermelon queen, even a Watermelon.org! The LA Times has 6 recipes they spotlighted to celebrate National Watermelon Day.
I think the Watermelon Agua Fresca sounds fantastic. I browsed Food $ense because watermelon is one of the spotlight fruits of the month.

I think the Watermelon salad that is first on the list sounds like just the thing to make today.