Meal Planning

So, I have been trying for days now to sit down and blog about this.  My new best friend.  It's called Dine Without Whine.

I. Love. This.

Basically, it's a service that I signed up for a couple of weeks ago.  It cost me all of $17 for three months.  And what do I get for said $17?  Each week, they email me dinner recipes for seven days (including suggestions or recipes for side dishes), and also two desserts and two brunch recipes.  BUT the BEST part about it...they also send the shopping list!

Or is the best part that it has cut down our grocery bill in a BIG way?  Like, probably $50 a week.

Or the fact that I have probably eaten more vegetables and fruit in the last two weeks than I have in the last two months combined?

Or that we're not throwing out produce like we used to?

Or maybe that Trev can start dinner himself, when he gets home an hour before I do?

And that he can take the leftovers in his lunch.

Or that it's NORMAL food, that's good for you, tastes amazing, and is easily adaptable to your own taste?

You see, my problem has always been that I HATE having to think about what we're going to have to dinner by the time I get home from work.  I am sure you're all no stranger to this feeling...and our eating habits (specifically mine) were suffering BADLY.  I really want to foster healthy eating habits in Eric, and so it was time I finally did something about it.

I decided to organize myself while Trevor was gone to camp for a week.  And to make it fun, I even incorporated a fun "scrapbook" project as part of my organization.

Take a look...

Really, this was partly an excuse to use my Cricut...(shoutout to all you scrappers out there.)...to make the "days of the week".

So, as you can see, I have seven cupboards lining the inside of my kitchen.  All I have to do is stick up the dinner we're having that night, and VIOLA!  I can come home a brainless zombie, and still make a delicious, nutritious meal for me and my family.

(Note:  Please ignore the fact that only one day has a "meal" posted.  Tuesday has tomorrows meal, Wed/Thurs I am cooking meals I don't need recipes for, and we're gone to the cottage from Fri. to Mon.)

Just this one small change has created a "ripple" effect:

Trevor actually helped prepare one of the meals last week, and said how much he enjoyed being in the kitchen together.

We no longer have dishes piled up on the counter...somehow we are motivated to put the dishes in the dishwasher right away.  (For those of you that know me, you can now pick your jaw up off the floor.)

We have, without even trying, started to sit down as a family every night to eat dinner.  That was something that has always been important to Trev and I, but without a good, solid meal to draw us to the table, it seemed like a wasted effort.

In a nutshell...for $17 I have given my family: nutrition, savings, cooking skills, tradition and something other than sandwiches for lunch.  Not a bad deal, if I do say so myself.

My New Best Friend

So, I have been trying for days now to sit down and blog about this.  My new best friend.  It's called Dine Without Whine.



I. Love. This.
Basically, it's a service that I signed up for a couple of weeks ago.  It cost me all of $17 for three months.  And what do I get for said $17?  Each week, they email me dinner recipes for seven days (including suggestions or recipes for side dishes), and also two desserts and two brunch recipes.  BUT the BEST part about it...they also send the shopping list!

Or is the best part that it has cut down our grocery bill in a BIG way?  Like, probably $50 a week.

Or the fact that I have probably eaten more vegetables and fruit in the last two weeks than I have in the last two months combined?

Or that we're not throwing out produce like we used to?

Or maybe that Trev can start dinner himself, when he gets home an hour before I do?

And that he can take the leftovers in his lunch.

Or that it's NORMAL food, that's good for you, tastes amazing, and is easily adaptable to your own taste?

Here's a sample recipe, that we have really liked:
Pork Chops L’Orange
Makes 6 servings

6 pork chops cut 1" thick
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 11-ounce can mandarin orange segments
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mustard prepared
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon ground
3 cloves whole

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat brown chops in butter or margarine.
2. Drain oranges, reserving syrup; set fruit aside.
3. In a small bowl combine syrup with brown sugar, catsup, vinegar, salt, mustard, cinnamon and cloves and pour over chops. Cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes or until pork is tender. Add orange segments during last 5 minutes of cooking.

Serve with peas
SO easy.
You see, my problem has always been that I HATE having to think about what we're going to have to dinner by the time I get home from work.  I am sure you're all no stranger to this feeling...and our eating habits (specifically mine) were suffering BADLY.  I really want to foster healthy eating habits in Eric, and so it was time I finally did something about it.

I decided to organize myself while Trevor was gone to camp for a week.  And to make it fun, I even incorporated a fun "scrapbook" project as part of my organization.

Take a look...

Really, this was partly an excuse to use my Cricut...(shoutout to all you scrappers out there.)...to make the "days of the week".

So, as you can see, I have seven cupboards lining the inside of my kitchen.  All I have to do is stick up the dinner we're having that night, and VIOLA!  I can come home a brainless zombie, and still make a delicious, nutritious meal for me and my family.

(Note:  Please ignore the fact that only one day has a "meal" posted.  Tuesday has tomorrows meal, Wed/Thurs I am cooking meals I don't need recipes for, and we're gone to the cottage from Fri. to Mon.)

Just this one small change has created a "ripple" effect:

Trevor actually helped prepare one of the meals last week, and said how much he enjoyed being in the kitchen together.

We no longer have dishes piled up on the counter...somehow we are motivated to put the dishes in the dishwasher right away.  (For those of you that know me, you can now pick your jaw up off the floor.)

We have, without even trying, started to sit down as a family every night to eat dinner.  That was something that has always been important to Trev and I, but without a good, solid meal to draw us to the table, it seemed like a wasted effort.

In a nutshell...for $17 I have given my family: nutrition, savings, cooking skills, tradition and something other than sandwiches for lunch.  Not a bad deal, if I do say so myself.

Choose Canadian!

So my Dad sent me this video…it’s an ad that has been produced by Hellman’s Canada. It is SHOCKING.

http://www.eatrealeatlocal.ca/

We import 700 pears for every ONE that we export. PEARS PEOPLE! You could practically grow a pear tree in your house in the dead of winter…so why are we importing so many fruits, veggies and meats?  Especially in Southern Ontario.
We have some of the richest farmland in the whole country, and the grocery store wants me to eat peaches from Chile? WTF. The next time your browsing through the grocery isles, REALLY take a moment to see where your food is coming from…I’m willing to bed you’ll be surprised. I have become increasingly frustrated by the lack of local produce that is generally available where I do my grocery shopping. Really annoyed, actually. The good news is, this has motivated me to shop more and more at my local market. It really has become as simple as going through my shopping list, and ticking off the items I know I can get at the market. Cheaper? Not necessarily, which is also aggravating. However, I am happy to pay a few cents more to support my local farmers, and local economy. (The “Mommy Time” I get by myself at the market on Saturday morning is just an added bonus…even if I have to get up “early”.)

Take the time to go through the site and “Take Action Now”. There are great lists of local fruits and veggies that are available in your area seasonally, and even a section to “Get Your Grocer On Board”.

Please pass this site on to as many people as you can…it is SO important to support not just our local farmer’s but our CANADIAN farmer’s.

And, because I am also a Mom, lets support the future farmers, like these…