Meal Planning

School starts this week and it's time to get back on track with meals!

Saturday we set aside time to go through our cookbooks and pull some recipes. We looked for:

• recipes with overlapping ingredients
• freezer options
• 1 soup
• 1 salad type dish
• inspiration!

I also pulled up the ads for the local stores to see what meat was on sale. In the end, we went with chicken as we could get the best price on both chicken breasts and thighs at our natural market.

This 7"x9" composition book is where I've begun recording recipe titles,  the book it's from and the page number. We don't have a ton of recipes books so this is our main way to consolidate the ones we want to try. I plan to add comments once we've tried these meals. If it's a total flop, it will be crossed out. We like repetition and having standard meals we know how to make and can count on. Just hoping for some new dishes to rotate into our meal planning! These post-its are a must! I use them to flag the page in the book, write a quick note or list. I just keep them inside the cover so I always have them handy.

Arrow Post-its are from a list organizer I bought last year.

After pulling recipes we did a major overhaul on the kitchen. I don't plan to do this every time we meal plan, but it worked well because I knew what we had on hand!

Italian Antipasto Ingredients Prepped and Gathered

Sunday I made a list and went to 2 stores: our natural market for meat and produce and a general grocery store for the rest of the ingredients (mustard, vinegar, frozen fruit, etc.). When I got home, I put the ingredients onto the counter into group according to the recipe and we both got to it!

Seth picked a Split Pea and Carrot Soup from a book we're borrowing from a friend. We found a one we both love, the Italian Antipasto salad from our Make Ahead Paleo Cookbook, and I found a new one from the same book called Mango Cilantro Chicken.

Seth made the soup while I prepped the other two meals. I made the dressings first. This saves a ton of time during the week. The salad ingredients are now in the fridge ready to be tossed together, and the chicken is marinated and in the freezer ready for later this week. I'm in love with washi tape as a labeling system for the fridge. Things are labeled making it easy to put the recipe together.

After this, I had 4 chicken thighs left over I decided to search for a crockpot recipes. I came across one from Iowa Girl Eats, and it looks yummy! I love her simple but yummy style. I didn't have a peanut vinaigrette, but I found one from Martha Stewart and I had all the ingredients. I put the chicken into a glass container and dumped in all the other ingredients and now it's in the fridge for over night and can go in the crockpot any time.

Delicious Split Pea & Carrot Soup

Here's to a great week! Happy eating.

care for a refreshment?

I've been working hard since february to drink more water. It's hard for me when I'm at work because I'm moving around all the time and inevitably I lose my water bottle or leave it in a strange place. I've been slowly collecting glass bottles which originally had kombucha in them - I think I'm up to 10 now. They are great because they each hold 16 ounces, are leak proof, and can go though the dishwasher.

My usual routine is to take them straight from the dishwasher, fill them with filtered water and a teaspoon or two of apple cider vinegar, then load them straight into the fridge. So many perks to this method. Number one: I didn't have to find cabinet space to hold them! Number two: it is easy to grab one at any point during the day or in the morning when I'm packing my lunch. Number three: I don't feel so bad if I misplace it since it wasn't pricey and also because it has a cap and won't spill before I DO stumble upon it under the passenger seat of my car (for example).  I usually grab two for my workday aiming to drink one before and one after lunch. Then I grab one in the evening and sometimes even a fourth on my way to bed.

This week I was feeling a bit fancy and decided to spruce up my beverage by adding frozen cranberries. I put them in and then used a fork to pop a few open so that the juices with flavor the water a bit. Such a simple way to fancy up my beverage and to entice me to drink more water.

Here are a few of my favorite infusions:

• cucumber slices and lemon
• frozen blueberries and cucumber
• pineapple, lime and cucumber
• basil and cucumber
• pretty much anything with a slice of cucumber :)

What's your trick for drinking more water? Here are some recipes for different water infusions and blend that seem yummy and fun!

cucumber basil puree / lemonade raspberry puree / varied recipes / this one look yum

march goals (in review)

Somehow it's April and while I'm thrilled, I'm a bit surprised and uncertain about where March went! So let's see how I did on my goals...

Meal Plan - check (sort of)
This was hit and miss throughout the month. My husband got a cold and illness is always a game changer when it comes to eating. At the beginning of the month I stuck with my new cookbook and found great success. In the middle of the month it was a mixture of standby faves and comfort food for the weary. The last week of the month I decided to let the produce section inspire me. This was a really great choice! I chose a variety of veggies and picked up some chicken and salmon. When I got home I prepped the veggies for either sautéing or snacking. After packaging them into serving containers, I stored them in two bins in the fridge for easy access. I also chopped the chicken and cooked it all the same day using half for a curry dish and the other half for salads during the week. Lunches were mainly veggies, fruit and hummus, and dinners were chicken or salmon based with a side of more veggies. So easy and so fresh and delicious.

Finish Two Books - check!
I started to fiercely on this goal and then suddenly it was March 30 and I had 15 chapters left. With a little motivation from my third graders I powered through just before midnight. Phew! I finished Still Alice and Delancey, both of which I recommend. Delaney is a memoir that inspired you to pay attention to the ingredients you put into your cooking but also made me want to take on a new challenge and chase a passion or dream. I also want to go visit the restaurant now, even if I can't eat the pizza. During the month I also started two new books, however neither are quite inspiring so my spring break goal is to find a new book or two that I can dive into.





Sew Once a Week - check!
This did happen, I just forgot to blog about it! I made the bloomers and pieced the backing of my tree quilt. The next weekend I went on a quilt store tour with a friend and we picked out fabric for a baby quilt for her little boy and I got some warm tones to make a new quilt for the living room. Each week I made time to cut triangles or stitch a few together. It was slow going, however I'm looking forward to diving into the baby quilt over spring break. Nothing like a deadline and a few days off to motivate!



Blog Three Times a Week - umm...
Well... let's see the breakdown:

• Week 1 - 3
• Week 2 - 4
• Week 3 - 2
• Week 4 - 2

That almost averages to 3 times a week, and if we're focusing on the writing part, I did draft two more posts, just never got around to finishing/editing. March felt so fast and busy that I'm actually surprised I even blogged that many times! Of course "scripture sunday" helps a lot :)

I'm currently look at the calendar for April and working on some goals. This has been a fun way to push myself creatively, especially in the fiber and book arenas.

meal planning

This week was a success! I used my new cookbook to make 5 recipes,
Here is what the week looked like:

Sunday evening I spent cooking for the week these three entrees: Pecan and Basil Crusted Chicken, Grilled Chicken Antipasto, and Thai Meatballs. The last step of the Thai Meatballs is to slow cook them in a sauce. Instead, we browned them, then placed them in the freezer until Thursday. Here is how it all worked out.

Sunday
Breakfast - Lemon Scones (I had everything on hand!)

Monday
Lunch - Grilled Chicken Antipasto
Dinner - Pecan Crusted Chicken

Tuesday
Lunch - Grilled Chicken Antipasto
Dinner - Breakfast for dinner (We always have omelet fix-in's)

Wednesday
Lunch - Grilled Chicken Antipasto for the hubby and Pecan Crusted Chicken for me
Dinner - we'd planned the meatballs for this night but had a surprise evening free and went out

Thursday
Lunch - Soup Group at school
Dinner - Thai Meatballs

Friday
Lunch - Pecan Crusted Chicken
Dinner - Thai Meatballs

Saturday
Breakfast - Chocolate Pancakes
Dinner - Thai Meatballs

If we'd not gone out Wednesday evening, the Thai meatballs would still have lasted through Saturday so this was a success! This week we're trying a few new recipes and adding in some of our go-to recipes as well. While it's fun to dive into a new cookbook and have such tasty results, it was exhausting cooking 3 meals at once over a two hour span of time. I'm going to try and spread out the cooking over the course of Sunday this week.

march goals

February was a successful month for choosing small, manageable goals. The goals were meant to keep my creative side active.

This month I am aiming a bit higher by setting similar goals that stretch me a bit more.

Finish Two books
I'm currently listening to Still Alice and finding it a nice book to listen to while baking, cleaning and creating. The character development drives the plot and these activities allow me enough uninterrupted time to really get into the story. I find that since I am rarely in my car for longer than 10 minutes or so, I have to make space in my schedule for podcasts and audio books that require longer stretches of time to fully enjoy the story.

On the other side, I'm ticking away at Delancey one chapter at a time. They are quick and short but deep and lyrical chapters. This means I can read one chapter before bed or one when I wake up and I don't need a long stretch of solitude to be able to enjoy the writing. I still have a number of books on my stack so perhaps I'll even get to dive into something new this month!

Sew Once a Week
I have many friends with babies on the way and a few quilts I mentioned in last week's fiber friday post. Now armed with a gift certificate to my local quilt shop, I've no excuse! I've decided to make time once a week to get back into fabric. I'm not going to box myself in with a particular project but will instead see where it is these stitch sessions take me. Look for update on fiber fridays!

Meal Plan
I was so into meal planning in the fall but fell off the wagon hard around December. It's time to officially get back into things and I'm hoping my new cookbook will be the main source of inspiration! I received "Make Ahead Paleo" for my birthday and have already made one recipe. Though we do not eat exclusively paleo, I do eat gluten- and dairy-free and all of the recipes meet this requirement. The big-batch style cooking has worked so well for us in the past that this should fit into our weekly routine well but liven up the type of foods we are eating. Thai Coconut Meatballs are on my list for this week!

Blog Three Times a Week
I was all set to do a fitness goal and then I realized that with leading FitClub at school twice a week and having two races this month, I think I have the motivation I need in that department. Instead, I want to continue to be here on the blog. I've been listening to some past episodes of a podcast where bloggers get together and chat about writing and inspiration. This has helped me see how many different approaches there are to writing and posting on a blog. I am working be OK with seasons where I write less but also realizing how much renewal I get from sitting down and planning out blog posts. The process itself helps me to make time for the crafts, hobbies, and activities I enjoy. It helps me tune out the work to-dos and the household chores that are calling my name and focus on how I will BEcreative and really, be myself. I hoping that an extra post a week doesn't because another thing on my to-do list, but something that inspires me to keep at the things that bring me joy.

sorbet obsessed!

As with each summer previous I've been diving full into fresh, local food. I've immersed myself in veggie-filled recipes and become addicted to berry picking.

There is something relaxing and therapeutic about picking berries. And the company has been phenomenal this year :) I am continually reminded of something Michael Pollan said at an author talk about his latest book Cooked. He mentioned the power of a shared meal, where the food on everyone's plate is the same thus making the experience itself shared. I feel that tenfold when I'm gathering my own food. The meal tastes better when you've prepared it yourself and especially if you've acquired the ingredients from a local farm or favorite market.

And that is why I am okay with making so much sorbet this summer. It tastes better than store bought and with each scoop I recall the experience of making it or gathering the fruit.

So far I've used two recipes, both VERY simple. Did you catch that? VERY SIMPLE. I mean, fruit+sugar+cold=sorbet so how hard could it be?

Sorbet #1 - Cantaloupe
Strange sounding, right? Well the melon was organic, fresh, local and seemed like a fun way to kick of sorbet season. I used Mark Bittman's recipe for sorbet from How to Cook Everything, which is basically the same equation as above. I cut the sugar down since cantaloupe is already pretty sweet. I believe the first comment post taste testing was, "It tastes like cold cantaloupe." Stellar review! I mean, that's what I was going for, right? Pure, simple and refreshing on a hot day.

Sorbet #2 - Blueberry
Our neighbors have a blueberry bush and they are very generous! I took a bowl up there and promised to only take what I needed. By the time I was done, it looked like there were MORE blueberries on the bush and I passed by a lot of berries that still have a few days before they are ripe. Needless to say, this might be a repeated recipe unless I get brave and want to try something else blueberry related. For this one I used a Martha Stewart recipe which used simple syrup instead of straight sugar (basically watered down sugar). Again, I added less sugar than she called for because I'm a rebel like that. Not an exact science just to taste. Here is the recipe and I'll probably be trying it again because it made so much simple syrup even though I did a half recipe.

What's up next? Probably Raspberry since I still have 7 or 8 cups in the fridge from our most recent berry picking event. I'd also like to try something exotic sounding like mint or cucumber. Do you have any recommendations or flavor requests? I love a good food related experiment!

homemade granola

I suppose this falls under the category of "you know you're a hippy when..." but it's more cost effective and (I would guess) a healthier version than store bought!

Dry ingredients all mixed up!

Here is my version of a recipe. It's hard to mess up :)

Preheat the oven to 350*

6 cup rolled oats
1 cup chopped raw cashews
1 cup sliced or slivered raw almonds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
2-4 tablespoons sesame seeds

Combine dry ingredients, mixing well. At this point you can also sprinkle in a bit of cinnamon if you want. I skipped it this time around.

Now add the following:
1/4 - 1/2 cup honey or agave
1/3 - 1/2 cup neutral oil

I used canola oil this time but am hoping to try coconut oil on the next batch. The liquid ingredients are adjustable depending on how sweet you want your granola and also whether you want it to bake in the oven or simply toast. I tend to use less to cut back on the sugar and I love the flavor.

Add the wet ingredients then mix, mix, mix! Once it is incorporated, dump onto a large baking sheet and spread evenly. You will want to stir the mixture every 10-15 minutes to prevent it from getting too dark in any one place. I forgot to take a picture at this point so I will just have to warn you that the edges crisp up quickly!

Once the mixture is evenly golden brown and darkened, remove it from the oven and let it cool. I store mine in a tall glass canister with an airtight lid. I leave a 1/4C scoop right in there for easy serving in the morning.

It's delicious with almond or even yogurt.  So good and so refreshing when you add some berries or fruit to the top!

Happy crunching!