Cooking More At Home

Well one thing that this pandemic situation has created is the opportunity to eat more meals at home. And by more meals at home, I am ALL the meals at home. That has meant several things for our family - 1) we are spending more on food at the grocery and then 2) we are cooking all those meals ourselves. We have gotten carry out from a few restaurants, but the vast majority of our meals have been made by ME at home!

This could definitely be seen as a negative, but I also think it should be looked at as a positive opportunity. We have been able to make some delicious meals and try some new things. My favorite new recipe discovery has been a salmon patty recipe that is delicious - CLICK HERE to check it out. I love salmon and try to incorporate it in our diet about once a week, but sometimes that regular salmon fillet get a little old. If you haven’t already, try to find some new recipes, to switch up our routine and try something new.

Being at home and finding yourself in the kitchen more often, trying to figure out what to prepare can be overwhelming. That is why taking some time and putting together a meal plan for the week and then a grocery list is super helpful. If you haven’t taken the time to meal plan, take a moment when you are getting ready to go grocery shopping to write down meal ideas for the week. I normally try to aim for like 5-7 different meal options for the week. I organize our meals like this: Breakfast (cereal, bagel, eggs, sausage, yogurt, oatmeal), Lunch (sandwich of some type, leftover, fresh veggies and fruit with dip) and then Dinner (the prepared meal I had planned for that day). Since both myself and husband work, we make lunches as easy as possible and then I am normally the one who prepares dinner. I try to include a fruit and vegetable with each meal. Some days the dinner meal option is super easy, like heating up fish sticks and cooked veggies and sometimes it is more in depth like making homemade mac n’ cheese with a side salad. If you need some ideas on some new recipes to try - CLICK HERE for some healthy weeknight meal ideas.

After I write down those 5-7 dinner meal ideas, I figure out what ingredients I need to buy. Then I write those items down on my grocery list. I add in staples that I buy every week - bread, eggs, cheese, milk, bananas, etc. Then guess what, the meal planning and grocery list are both done. I have 7 meal ideas that I can make for dinner throughout the week and then I have a list of things I need to buy at the grocery.

Our routine is that I will go to Aldi and buy as much as I can from my grocery list. Any items that aren’t available at Aldi, I will put on ClickList order and go to Kroger and pick it up. This process has worked super well for us over the past several months. I have been doing this meal planning/grocery shopping routine for several years now to help us stick to a budget. If you are curious about how we budget and meal plan - CLICK HERE for a post I did last year on the topic.

Tips to Remember for Cooking at Home

1. Write out meal ideas for the week (aim for 5-7 meals).

2. Use those meals for the start of your grocery list.

3. Add your weekly staple items to your list.

4. Head to the store and grab the things you need and stick with your list.

Budgeting and Meal Planning

I know over the last year or so I have written a couple of posts about budgeting and working to save some money. Well on that exciting front, I have some neat news to report. We have started to use an app called YNAB (You Need A Budget) and it has been life changing. In my last blog post about saving money I talked about emptying out your pantry and how using up your food is helpful in saving money. I need to plan this next week to work to do that again … purge the items that you have accumulated over the last few weeks and use up literally ALL the things in the refrigerator and pantry.

What we have been focusing over the last month or two has been eating out less. I have worked to meal plan over the years, but I have been using a new list from The Happy Planner and I love it. My mother-in-law gave me this planner and I left it on my desk for awhile, but I picked it up again in the last couple of months and I am obsessed with it. It has been so helpful to have a grocery list on one side and then a meal planning list on the other side. I take the list with me to the store, purchase ONLY the items on the list and then use the meal planning side during the week at home. Then as we make each item I check off that meal and it helps me keep track of what else I have to prepare for the week. I don’t get caught up in what day I prepare what food items. With this new list, we have been better about eating at home and not eating out as much. The combination of using YNAB and then meal planning has really helped us saving money.

We have been budgeting groceries, household items and alcohol separately. This has been helpful as well to see where our money goes throughout the month. We have worked to give each of the dollars we earn a purpose. Then we have the freedom to use that money throughout the month in our budget. If we don’t use that money then we save it for the next month and if we overspend in a certain category then we have to take that money from another area (and give up something else).

I think the main lesson we have learned in the last several month is intentionality. We are trying to be intentional with the money we have and what we decide to spend it on. We stick with our weekly food schedule and I routinely go to the grocery on Sunday afternoons. I make out my list and menu for the week, purchase those items and then bring them home for the week. That is our schedule. My husband has been taking a packed lunch with him and then when he works late he has a microwave dinner he will take with him. That way we all eat out much less and when we do choose to eat out it is a fun thing that we all enjoy!

What ways are planning on working to save money this week? Do you use a budgeting app? What have you found to help you use your money more intentionally?

Meal Prep For Your Week

All of us tend to be busy. We are often running around trying to make to work on time, picking up children from day care, trying to find something healthy for dinner and then getting the children to bed at a decent hour. Lots of us barely have time to get all those things done in a day. When it comes to meal preparation for the week, this can get overlooked and not made a priority. I am guilty of this as well. Grocery shopping and preparing meals can get so old, because you have to do it week after week and something it is just not well thought out. 

I am hoping to encourage you to make the time meal prep for your week so that you can set yourself and your family up for success. First step is to make sure you sit down and make out a grocery list for the week. The items that you need to prepare a list of recipes that you want to make throughout the week. Then head out to the grocery and stick to that list. When you bring those food items home, set aside about a hour to cut up and get that food ready to cook with for the week. This is often the part that gets overlook. Taking the time to wash all your produce, chop it up and put it in containers will drastically increase your cooking time throughout the week. This will help you so much when it comes to making quick and easy meals at home for your family. You can even cook up some meat as well if that ends up being helpful for lunches throughout the week. I would encourage you to start with simply washing, cutting up and putting your produce in containers so that it is more easily usable throughout the week. 

Making Breakfast Ahead of Time 

I wanted to share a couple of recipes with you for some great ideas on how to make a healthy breakfast ahead of time so that you are starting your day off on the right foot. 

Overnight Oats 

I love this recipe because it is super easy and delicious. Simply mix together rolled oats, yogurt, milk and some chia seeds. This can be put in small containers and kept in your refrigerator. Then you can throw some berries or other fruit on top and take this fiber-filled oatmeal dish with you to work. 

Microwave Breakfast Scrambles 

I found this recipe from the website Budget Bytes and I love this idea that I just had to share it with you. You can place chopped up vegetables, cooked sausage or hash-browns in a wide neck ceramic dish. This can be stored in the refrigerator and then you add a raw egg on top and microwave for 15 second increments, stirring in between to carefully cook that egg and create a breakfast scramble. There are lots of creative recipes that you could follow. You could combine bacon, hash-browns, cheese or you could make a veggie themed scramble with spinach, tomatoes and feta cheese. 

Packing a Healthy Lunch 

Obviously each meal that you eat makes a difference in your overall health and eating a healthy lunch is just as important as a healthy breakfast. With work and school it can be rough to have time to pack something ahead of time and take it with you. There are a couple of ideas here that I think would be easy to pack ahead of time and take with you. 

Pasta and Sautéed Vegetables 

This can be a easy dish to put in a container, because it could look different each week depending on what leftover pasta options you might have in your refrigerator. You could do a spaghetti with a red meat sauce and pair that with some roasted squash (zucchini and yellow squash). You can top with fresh basil and then simply heat this up for your lunch time meal. If you happen to have a left over salad, you could bring that as well. 

Burrito Bowl

I love burritos and all the ingredients you can pack in that tortilla, but sometimes things can just get messy. That is why I really like this idea of a burrito bowl You can put together in one container all the ingredients you love from a burrito and then heat it up and enjoy with a few less carbohydrates sans tortilla. You can line up your meat or black beans for protein, some shredded cheese, grilled vegetables (like peppers, onions or zucchini), salsa, corn and top with green onions. You can pack some lettuce, avocado or sour cream separately. 

Cobb Salad 

For this dish you will need two Tupperware or glassware containers. One will be for the lettuce/salad mixture and the other will be for the toppings. You can put your favorite cobb salad toppings together - chickpeas, cubed cheese, chicken slices, bacon, tomatoes, hard boiled egg and then pack your favorite dressing on the side. If you do choose to purchase bagged lettuce, make sure you recognize that something this goes bad faster then whole lettuce leaves. Just plan ahead when it comes to your meal prepping so that you don't create more food waste. 

Quick and Easy Dinners 

Dinner time is often a stumbling block for a lot of people. This is why doing some meal preparation can be super helpful for dinner. The key to being success in making healthy, quick dinner at home is to not spend your whole evening in the kitchen. If you can prepare items ahead of time, cutting, chopping, cooking, etc then you are able to save that time in the evening. You can even cook meals ahead of time and then simply reheat them for dinner. That works as well. Using left-overs is a great way to save time and money as well. If you make a large pot of soup that be easily stored in the refrigerator and reheated at another time will be helpful. You can use that chili, for example, as a stand alone soup or as a topping for baked potatoes. 

There are so many recipes that you can find online with ideas for quick and easy meals. Once you find a recipe that you like, save it and print it off. That way you can keep your favorites and prepare them again in a couple of weeks. 

When it comes to meal prepping, the key is to plan ahead and then do a little of that work ahead of time to save you time later. The hardest part to spending the initial time shopping and preparing the food items. Hopefully some of these tips and recipes help inspire you to do some meal planning this next week! 

Healthy Weeknight Meals

If you are anything like me, you kind of dread cooking dinner during the week. With a full time job, after work activities, trying to stay up on your fitness, the Olympics on TV ... there is so much vying for our time in the evenings. Sometimes the last thing we want to do is sit down and cook an elaborate meal. I thought it would be fun to put together a list of some great recipes that you could print and maybe implement in your weeknight dinner rotation. Here are some of the criteria that I was looking for when I compiled this list: Meals taking < 30 minutes to prepare, easy to use ingredients, using healthy ingredients (variety of vegetables, fruits, lean protein) and minimal clean up afterwards. 

List of Recipes to Try: 

Vegetarian/Summer Recipes

1. Orecchitette with Roasted Peppers, Arugula and Tomatoes
2. Grilled Tempeh Skewers
3. Two Bean Soup with Kale
4. Seared Tofu with Sweet Chili Sauce
5. Chipotle Black Bean Burrito
6. Carrot and Black Bean Crispy Tacos
7. Sweet Potato Kale Frittata

Sandwiches

1. Waffle Iron Turkey Melt
2. Pulled BBQ Chicken with Coleslaw
3. Caprese Sandwiches
4. Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa
5. Chicken Parm Sub

Meat Recipes

1. Couscous with Chicken and Root Vegetables
2. Sriracha Teriyaki Meatball Bowls
3. Balsamic Steak and Berry Salad
4. Creamy Salmon Chowder
5. One Pot Lasagna
6. Bacon and Brussel Sprout Penne
7. Thai Shrimp Soup
8. Corn and Ham Risotto

Hopefully you find this post helpful in at least exposing you to some new recipe ideas. Take them, try them and see what you or your family think about them. I always love encouraging people to try new foods and new recipes. Cooking should a fun experience and during the week I think if you stick to simple, quick meals that helps to make the whole process of preparing healthy meals fun again!