Documenting Progress

Well, I watched another documentary.  

When my daughter asked me if I was watching another movie about food and I answered her "yes", her response of "OH, NO!!!" was a not so subtle reminder to me that I was repeating history.
When I was 16, I was diagnosed with arthritis in my right hip joint.  My mom, prompted by our chiropractor, read a book about healthy eating and how it affects your body.  We stopped eating meat.  Then she read a book about the McDougal plan.  We stopped eating dairy as well.  Another book, and we started limiting our fat and salt intake.  I remember saying to her, "MOM!!!! Please stop reading! The more you read the less we eat!"-and I was serious!
So when I recently watched some documentaries that have made me second guess our eating habits, I wondered if there was truly something to what my mom had read [not] so many years ago.
This latest documentary was available for a short time to view free online.  (It ends today, so if you happen to catch it in time PLEASE watch it!) It's called Fresh.  If you don't see it today, then I hope you get to see it another time.  It makes you want to sell all you have and buy a family farm.  Well, that's what it did for me anyway!

Too many times, we just don't take note of how our food gets to our tables.  I'm sorry folks, but ignorance in this area is not bliss...it's death. You must care about what goes into your body.  You must care about how it is prepared.  It's not just about your body but about our world.
A while ago I had second thoughts about getting chickens (the law has recently changed to allow us to have three laying hens) but this movie sealed the deal.  I can't wait to introduce you to our newest additions and let you follow the progress of our coop building!

Menu Monday and the Give Away Winners!

Another Monday is here again, which means that it's time to announce the winners of The What's For Dinner Solution!

Congratulations to Elise (blogging at A Path Made Straight), 
and to another Kathi Lipp fan, Adelle Gabrielson! 
I'll get your books in the mail to you this week!

This week, I'm so very excited to get my first CSA box delivered to my house from Farm Fresh To You.  (If you sign up for this service, please let them know that I referred you.  You'll get a discount and so will I!) This will most certainly change our menu for this week after it arrives, but I'm anxious to get my meals planned out as best I can.

Monday: My wonderful parents are taking us out to dinner (I'm thinking Fresh Choice!)

Tuesday: Seasame Noodles with Shrimp; of course these will be "vegged up" by adding raw carrot spirals, raw broccoli florets, 

Wednesday: Salad, with a side of Brussels Sprouts (I haven't chosen the recipe yet... but it will come from HERE)

Thursday:Curried Potatoes and Chick Peas; I'm excited to see if I can get from the farmers market some of the different types of potatoes mentioned in this cool photo index!  

Friday: Cream of Parsnip Soup; I hope we get some parsnips in our CSA box, so that I can try THIS recipe for dinner! (With some adaptations of course!)

Saturday: Farmer's Market Surprise!
Last week we had spaghetti squash for our Farmer's Market Surprise, and I have to say I'm AMAZED that I've never made this before... what a healthy fun treat for our family.  My MOPS friend mentioned it on Facebook, so I specifically looked for it at the market. YUM!
I'd love to hear from you on your menu ideas this week as well as any suggestions you may have on how to use local in season produce!

Linking today to Menu Monday

Getting Your Kitchen to Work for You

Remember the Jetsons?  ~sigh~  Jane had it made didn't she?  Simply push a button and the "flying pizza" would appear on the table ready to eat.  (Though I'm sure it couldn't have been nearly as good at THE Flying Pie!)
When Kathi told me that today's challenge was to get your kitchen to "work for you", I've got to admit the Jetsons was my first thought!  Not only did she have the technology of her time, but also the lovely Rosey the Robot to help out.


Well, I may not have Rosey or the cool "push button dinner server", but I do have something that takes the cake on this one. 

... I have a Bosch...

I know, I know, "What's a Bosch?" you say...!

Oh dear friends, I want to tell you about my machine.  My husband says that getting one of these is a "right of passage" in my family.  It's when a Coate girl knows she's be come a woman!  I grew up with my mom using one, so I never really thought much about it.  Then I was gifted mine from my parents when I married 9 1/2 years ago.  


You see, the Bosch company didn't really start by making mixers.  Innovations.  This was the beginnings.  Today in addition to their mixers they make mostly power tools and car parts.  I'm gonna say that again.  They make Power Tools, and Car Parts.  Those are big engines folks strong, powerful, durable engines.  My mom still uses the Bosch she bought in 1983!! (Here is where my father would make the "Tim the Tool Man Taylor" grunting noise... and I would roll my eyes!)


I just can't talk enough about it.  One of my favorite features is the fact that there are different attachments, so this one machine can do lots of different things. It comes with the large bowl, dough hooks and beaters, as well as the blender.  I have the citrus juicer, which is lovely since we have two orange trees in our back yard. Home made OJ is a snap and oh so good! I also have the food processor which comes with the processor blade and the grater/slicer blades as well.  There are also attachments like the pasta maker, the meat grinder, the fruit and berry press, and so many more! 


This my dear friends is an investment in your culinary sanity! 
So what about you?  What's your favorite kitchen gadget?  What do you own that helps you get dinner on the table?  
Leave your comments below and let me know what works for you!

Family Favorites and Give Away Day!

As you know, if I have a favorite recipe it's hard for me to keep it to myself.  Over the past two years of blogging the thing I've shared the most with you is recipes.  Today is no different.
From oldest to youngest I give you... Our (S.A.D.(Standard American Diet) Family Favorites!

Aaron~ Frito Chili Pie
This consists of opening a can of chili (We tend to eat Nalley Turkey Chili), heating it in the microwave and serving it over Fritos, with cheese sprinkled on top.  I'm not sure why it's one of his favorites, but it is.  Sometimes when I've got a "girls night out" I will leave this for him to share with the kids.  This way he's the "junk food hero" and I don't have to eat it!!! Win, Win, Win.

Amy~Thai Glazed Lettuce Wraps. Heavenly, just heavenly! But let me mention briefly it's the FRESH basil that makes this dish...you can eat it without, but why would you?

Grace~ One of my favorite dinners is fish, rice, and broccoli.
I love that this is her favorite dinner.  She asks for it on her birthday.  It's so simple, and fairly healthy.  I use tilapia fillets baked with lemon pepper on them.  I used to use a simple boxed rice pilaf and then just lightly steam the broccoli.

Noraa~ Breakfast for Dinner! Pancakes with Butter on them!
When I'm feeling really "foody" I make these from Tyler Florence... mmmm.

Sam~  Family Pizza Night.  (Pizza crust recipe here)

................

Now it's time for a Give Away!

Don't you just love something for free?  I know I do, especially when I know it's something that's going to truly benefit my family.  Today is the day you get a chance at winning your very own copy of "The What's For Dinner Solution!" by Kathi Lipp.

I'll share with you the number one thing I gleaned from her book, (besides all the great recipes) and you get to tell me your favorite source or website for recipes!

I'd been making my own "recipe book" for a while, so when I came across the idea in TWFDS, I felt so affirmed and it renewed my desire to get things organized!  In chapter 5 Kathi shares her version of how to organize your recipes in a fun and unique way.  Why should you have 40 cook books on hand when you only use a few recipes from each of them?  Why not compile your most used recipes all in one handy place?  Since creating my own "cook book" I rarely reach for my other books and have scaled my collection down significantly.

Please know it may take a bit of time up front, but it is well worth it in the long run.

So now it's YOUR turn!  In the comments below please share your favorite way to find new recipes.  It can be purchasing cook books at yard sales, or asking your grandmother, or looking it up online.  Whatever your method may be, share it below for a chance to win one of two copies of The "What's for Dinner?" Solution!!  Winners will be chosen at random and announced on Monday's Menu post!

Good Luck!

Tips, Tricks and Tweeks

Ah, the kitchen tips!

There are so many fun things to do in the kitchen!  Why limit yourself to just your own wisdom when you can use the wisdom of the world wide web? This is part of what I love about living today. You can find answers to your questions by flipping a few pages or a few clicks of the mouse!

Just look at a few that Pinterest has to offer:

Cooking

                                                                    Source: lovelylittlesnippets.blogspot.com via Megan on Pinterest

Organizing

                                                                         Source: familyhandyman.com via Shanna on Pinterest

Cleaning

                                                                Source: aprettylifeinthesuburbs.com via Janice on Pinterest

                             And Everything In Between!

                                                                            Source: lifehackery.com via Shelly on Pinterest

Feeling a Little L.O.O.Py!

I've posted previously about L.O.O.Ps and how wonderful it is to "recycle" a meal and use the ingredients from one dinner to help out with a meal later in the week.  I think it's a bit of genius really.  


How wonderful to think of two meals at the same time.  It cuts your work in half and it eliminates the number of containers in the back of your fridge containing the "science experiment" (aka mold) that seems to lurk after forgetting what was in each container!


<------ This never happens in your house right??






Some of my all time favorite loop meals use my crock pot!  Don't you just love the ease of dinner in a crock pot?  Many times I can put an entire chicken in the crock pot and then use the meat for two different meals.  I can feed my family of five by serving half of the chicken "roasted" for round one, and then shredded into chicken and cheese enchiladas for round two!

One of my favorite LOOP meals takes about a month to put together, but oh is it worth it!  The recipe was published in Kathi's book... see?                          ----->
I've always liked Jambalaya, but if you buy all the ingredients at the same time... OUCH! It hurts the grocery budget a bit. I think I only planned this meal once before realizing it was time to come up with a solution.  So here's my Jambalaya plan:  you need to plan a months worth of meals to make this work, but don't worry I've outlined how to do that in yesterday's post! You will need to plan a meal using Italian Sausage, (try this one for stuffed mushrooms!), a meal using chicken, a meal using ham (have you ever tried Hawaiian Haystacks? So yummy, fresh and easy to make!) and then if you choose, a meal that uses shrimp.  Each time you fix one of these meals save out the amount of meat needed for the Jambalaya from your recipe.  So for example, say I make those amazing stuffed mushrooms.  It only uses 1/2 lb. of Italian Sausage.  So I brown the other half pound, and then put it in the freezer bag for my Jambalaya later in the month.  Get it?
At the end of the month, you have all the meats needed to make this amazing dish!  (For a chance to win the book stay tuned later this week!)



But you see, here's my dilemma with today's post.  In the past few weeks we've been eating mostly fresh raw foods.  (I gotta admit it helped that my husband was doing a juice fast for seven days because if something needed to be used he'd just toss it in the blender for his next "smoothie"!)  I'm still trying to figure out this new world of eating raw, so I don't feel like I have a lot of wisdom to impart on the left-overs because we haven't had any!  You see, when you don't cook anything it changes how you think about food and about dinner preparation.  It changes the types of foods you select the variety of what you eat.  


Now I know there are a lot of websites out there dedicated to educating people on the benefits of eat raw.  They are also chocked full of great recipes.  Since we are not changing our diet to be 100% raw the difficulty comes in the balance. I loved how this blogger talks about her happy medium!






So, in the mean time check back over my archives and see if any of my Formica Counter Top recipes work for you and your next attempt at getting a little L.O.O.Py!  


And stay posted here at the Homemaker in Training, because you can be sure that as I learn how to prepare healthy meals for my family I'll be sharing with you as well! (Mondays I post my menu including at least one new recipe each week! ) 

Menu Monday

Today's Menu Monday serves a dual purpose.  Not only am I sharing with you about our family's meal plans for this week, but I'm also kicking off a full WEEK of fun blog posts from the kitchen.  (I don't know about you, but it seems like the kitchen is the room that I spend most of my time in!)  My friend Kathi Lipp, speaker, author and blogger is hosting a blog tour this week.  Each day she has issued a challenge to our readers, with a fun give away to be done later in the week!  Last month I shared with you the What's For Dinner Solution, by Kathi Lipp.  This week I'm going to be telling you some of my "take away" wisdom from reading this helpful household handbook!


As you know I am BIG on meal planning, and have blogged about it extensively.  I feel it is one of the ways that we have successfully lived on one income and continue to remove debt from our lives!  In my Menu Planning 101 post, I have detailed out for you three different (but equally efficient) methods of meal planning.  I have used all three methods at one time or another.  You will find what works best for you and your family based on how you function.  A while back I came across this menu planner that offers a weekly menu as well as a version with the list on the side. The blog that I link to each week for Menu Monday, offers this incredible list of menu planners and resources!  Kathi's blog also offers you a printable tool to help with this sometimes difficult task. (and this cool list of 50 dinner ideas!) Even with all these options... I've found that nothing works better for me than...scratch paper.  What?  Yes, it's true!  I could type out my format and print it each time, but to be honest, it's faster and easier to scratch it out on the back side of my child's coloring page!


Here's how I outline things... I always plan with my calendar in front of me.  I have a large monthly calendar that I use wet-erase pens on.  (I actually try to plan for a month at a time... I figure I might as well do it all if I'm sitting down to take the time for one week!)  I plan meals around our activities, who's coming over for dinner, how many nights we might possibly eat out in the month, as well as how many times we can eat leftovers; tomorrow's blog post will touch on exactly that!
I write the activities on the calendar in orange, and the meals in yellow, then the hard and fast, never moving items I put in brown.  Then, with the menus forming on my calendar I add items to my grocery list.  When I plan for the month I have four lists going at once.  The first list is my BIG shopping trip.  I use a large sheet of printer paper for this.  On this trip I purchase all the non-perishable items, and items that can go directly into the freezer!  Trust me, it takes a bit longer but later in the month when you get to "shop" from your pantry and freezer instead of running to the store you will be SO grateful.  The other three lists are pretty small as they only contain the "fresh" items I will need to purchase for weeks two, three, & four.  I fold the printer paper in thirds and make my lists on these as I write down recipes.


Hmmm, have I lost you yet? Maybe a picture help?
This is how I organize my lists... like I said "scratch paper" works best for me.  I organize my list based on how my store is laid out.  The produce section is first, followed by the bulk foods.  I then make my way through the middle isles of the store (though I do my very best to avoid this section!  It's healthier to shop the exterior isles of the store because they hold the freshest foods!)  The deli is at the back of my store, so I shop for my meats and dairy before hitting the frozen food and bakery!
I usually takes me about an hour to shop for the month.  When I stick to the list it makes things fast and easy!


This week's menu is listed below, and as always feel free to leave your menu in the comments or link to your own Menu Monday!


Monday: Chicken Enchiladas
Tuesday:Safeway Chinese Food (Sometimes I just can't resist take out.  An their $9.99 dinner for "two" feeds our entire family!)
Wednesday:Chicken Parmesan (Love this "lighter" version without the bread crumbs!)
Thursday:Zuppa Toscana (yep, I make this Olive Garden favorite at home. I've even had reviewers tell me it tastes better than the original!)
Friday: Family Pizza Night
Saturday: Leftovers

Note: The above menu was prepared before I posted this about

 my more recent convictions on eating healthy!  

My revised menu looks like this:

Monday: Almond Encrusted Salmon with side salad and a selection of fruit.
Tuesday: Brown rice and "Stir, without the fry" (Though we are not eating totally raw, I'm excited to try recipes like this one!)
Wednesday: Lentil Soup
Thursday: Pho (yep, still a family favorite, so it's gonna be on the menu.  It's what is considered a "clean" soup.)
Friday: Mixed greens salad with "raw ranch" dressing 
Saturday: Farmers Market Surprise!  Leftovers means it's time to clean out the fridge to make room for all the things we purchased at the farmers market that morning.


Join me tomorrow for my post on Leftovers...