I've battling the flu. Which gives me ample time to think on this. Nutrition vs nothing. Nutrition is good healthy food, with all its components in moderation. I have noticed several things over the past year.
1. People eat out much more than they used to
2. Food is not as good as it once was
3. Most young mothers and even older mothers don't know how to cook or choose not to!
My thoughts on this during the past week crystallized when I read a post by Leanne Ely of Saving Dinner. She calls food out of a box (for the most part) garbage. Interesting... so does my Mom, and my Sister in Law. My sister in law is a wonderful person whose family business when growing up was a health food store.
It still operates and she is still involved almost daily in its operation. Now, Mom and SIL call the boxed food garbage for different reasons and from different viewpoints both valid. So now there are three different viewpoints all calling boxed food trash. Hmm, Leanne Ely is a nutritionist, Mom is a homemaker, SIL runs a healthfood store and deals with Celiac or Gluten intolerance.
Mom started teaching me how to cook for Girl Scout badges by letting me pick out the recipe and then enabling me to cook the meals. When I got to a certain point of ability, she would step out and let me ruin or cook the food. Not everything was really good. I remember once she was ill and we had company. I undercooked the bacon, made miserable coffee and did quite well on the toast! I knew I had made a mess of everything but the spirit in which it was done and the graciousness of the family friends made the meal a success.
As in all things when you are learning something you often make miserable mistakes which in this case are unedibles. I have done that more times than I care to count. The family has learned when it is a newish recipe or something that looks totally unlike any meal they have eaten before that sometimes Mom takes a bite and throws the whole thing away. So they watch me like a hawk. Thus saving them from having to be polite and eat it anyway. Those times are getting less frequent as I gain experience. (There is something to be said for age!)
We had to cut back on box style cooking when we learned that one of my migraine triggers is MSG. Which is in just about everything that comes in a box.
Anyway back to the point I was trying to make. Do younger women want to learn how to really cook, not just open the box? How would you go about sharing that information with others? I think that there are some misconceptions about scratch cooking that need to be overcome;
1. that it takes a long time (yes, and no)
2. it is hard (sometimes it is and sometimes just thinking ahead)
3. things will taste different (yes, they will and the gravy might be lumpy, the potatoes not quite smooth and mealtime an adventure not a destination!) Your family will have to adjust to the new meals and the dishwashing.
Cooking from scratch is better nutrition as you control the additives (salt, and sugar). It is made with love and speaks volumes to those gathered around the table. Will it taste like anyone else's? NO! it is your creation and will in time be your specialty and to your taste. I know that it is better for our kids to eat apples than fruit rolls, chews or anything else that has fruit added to the huge ingredient list. There is the possiblity to save money as you cook from scratch unless you go down the gourmet path.
I finally did some bulk cooking two weeks ago and we have been eating the fruits of my labor this last week and this week as I laid around recovering from the flu. I am starting to feel better but still recovering. How do I know? I am starting to think about the meal we will have when Mom is back on her feet and cooking!
See all of you later,
Sorry if this is incoherent, flu does that to you!
Karen
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Family Rules
http://lindseycheney.blogspot.com/2009/09/family-rules-canvas.html
I changed some rules as our kids are older. I also added some sayings that we needed to be reminded of every day. It was wonderful to be using up left over scrapbook paper, modge podge and a canvas that I had painted earlier in the year and was less than pleased with. It isn't bad and suites us quite well. I also put a remark from Dave Ramsey at the bottom since I need to be reminded of this often!
I hope you enjoy this as much as I did making it. It is a little different hangin up art in your house that you have made yourself. I have hung framed cross stitch and things like that but this was more modern and more personal than the cross stitch.
Thanks for reading, Karen
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
This is from a blog that I read today and it is a wonderful thought on life as a woman.
"But it was yesterday or maybe the day before in preparation for the lesson that I heard God's voice explain to me that it is not the actions of that woman that I am to emulate, it is the heart and the spirit and the attitude of that woman that I should hold in deference. I need a mind of servitude and a heart for it. I should do because that is who I am, not because that is how I think I should be. So, with a different outlook I took on the day. Serving, as my heart sings, my husband and my children. Serving not out of obligation or title, but simply out of love. Out of Love. "
This is from:
http://mommygalloway.blogspot.com/2009/09/am-i-that-woman.html
Check out her whole article and see what you think.
Thanks, Karen
What a revelation to understand that He did, not because of who He is, but because of who I am, and His love for little ol' me!
"But it was yesterday or maybe the day before in preparation for the lesson that I heard God's voice explain to me that it is not the actions of that woman that I am to emulate, it is the heart and the spirit and the attitude of that woman that I should hold in deference. I need a mind of servitude and a heart for it. I should do because that is who I am, not because that is how I think I should be. So, with a different outlook I took on the day. Serving, as my heart sings, my husband and my children. Serving not out of obligation or title, but simply out of love. Out of Love. "
This is from:
http://mommygalloway.blogspot.com/2009/09/am-i-that-woman.html
Check out her whole article and see what you think.
Thanks, Karen
What a revelation to understand that He did, not because of who He is, but because of who I am, and His love for little ol' me!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
What to cook!
Hi everyone,
One of the first things that I do (most of the time) when I am making out that menu 30 days in advance is look at the calendar. I check to see when we will be home late, what nights we will be eating out and what nights we will really want to cook. Then I know how many meals I need to really plan for and how many need to be crock pot and how many people to cook for.
Then I sit down and make a list of the kinds of food we will eat at this time of year; what is in season, on sale, and weather appropriate. I try to make a huge list of about 40 meals. I put some family favorites on there, a couple of company meals, a few new recipes, and some that we haven't eaten in awhile. This is just a quick list; nothing big or hard to do. I will slide it into a page protector though and put it in my menu/recipe binder. That way I won't have to re-invent the wheel next time I make the menu.
At this point get up and take a quick break, pat yourself on the back, get a drink of water and get ready for the next part. Sit down with another calendar and jot down a dinner for evey night of the month that you plan to cook, include side dishes so that you know you have it all planned. Sometimes I just write rice, beans, potatoes, pasta, bread, depending on what is needed for each meal. I do this part in pencil so that I can erase and switch things around so we don't eat chicken all week. I will high light the nights that we have to be somewhere early so that the dinner for that night is a simple or a ready to go dinner; my own version of heat and eat!
At this point someone is asking; "How do I know if it is a good recipe for freezing"? Here is what I have learned from experience; tomato sauce base meals, marinated meats, things with cheese on them. The old stand bys of pizza, chicken strips, macaroni and cheese are also good for freezing. Egg dishes like quiche, and baked eggs also work well. These can be frozen right in the pie pan or casserole dish. Meatballs, hamburger meals also work in the freezer. Potatoes if they are partially cooked can be frozen in planks, fries, and twice baked potatoes also work well. Dried beans like pinto's, black and northern beans along with all of their relations you can also cook and then freeze for meals later. These do quite well and save money if you compare the price of dried beans to canned beans. Things that don't always freeze well for me; cream based sauces (stroganoff type meals), carrots uncooked. Cakes, pies, cookies, waffles, pancakes,muffins all freeze extremely well. If you have any questions you can check on the internet to see what kinds of foods other people freeze, simply type in OAMC (once a month cooking), Freezer meals, or bulk cooking and find hundreds of recipes and meal ideas.
The shopping list: Pull out the recipes books, cards, online recipes, magazine recipes and write out your shopping list. List each ingredient once and then make hash marks beside if for amounts. On items like onions, milk; items with funny amounts, I will list out the measurement and then at the end figure out how many I need. Many cookbooks will tell you how many onions there are in 1 cup chopped and have these equivalences like these listed in a chart in the books somewhere or state it in the recipe. This shopping list is also something that I would photo-copy for later use and put 1 with the menu and 1 to take with you when you shop.
Ok, you now have the hardest part done. You have a shopping list that lists exactly how much of everything that you need. Before you waltz out the door there are two more steps to take that will save time and money later. Take the list and recopy it this time segregating all of the items into the aisles that they are found on; canned items together, Ethnic items, frozen, produce, meat, dairy etc....., This will save you time and keep you from running all over the store. Then take your list and shop your pantry shelves and your freezer. Mark things off as you find them so that you are using what you have on hand and rotating stock. I also do this because sometimes I stock up when things are on sale. This will reduce the cost of your shopping trip considerably.
Ok, no it is time to hit the store or stores. I have recently been shopping at three different stores in an effort to cut costs. I will shop at Aldi's, Dollar General, and then lastly the big grocery store in our area. This also cuts down the huge grocery cart or carts that I am pushing around. When you get home unload everything to the counter tops that doesn't need refrigeration.Get prepared to cook tomorrow. If it is an item to be used later when you cook the meal for eating then mark it in some way so that it isn't used before you need it. These items you can put away. Well, that gets us to the cooking part which we will cover at another time. I hope that this is helping someone. You, of course will find your own way of doing this. Here are a few links that I have found helpful:
http://search.southernliving.com/sl-results.html?Ntt=Freezer+recipes
http://www.recipezaar.com/
http://www.once-a-month-cookingworld.com/
http://www.dinnersinthefreezer.com/
If you get really busy and can't or don't have time to think up all the recipes then check out this website:
http://www.savingdinner.com/
Thanks for reading and I will talk to you soon.
Karen
(We have some severe food allergies to things that are commonly found in pre-prepared foods or I would never have discovered this method of cooking. Sometimes blessings come in strange shapes!)
ps. It is prefectly ok to start with meals for the week and then work up to the cooking for a month and the huge shopping trip. The main point is that you are saving yourself time, energy and money by doing most of the prep in advance. I don't always do my cooking for a month, sometimes it is only for a couple of weeks. Whatever you do will be better than not doing anything. GO FOR IT!!
One of the first things that I do (most of the time) when I am making out that menu 30 days in advance is look at the calendar. I check to see when we will be home late, what nights we will be eating out and what nights we will really want to cook. Then I know how many meals I need to really plan for and how many need to be crock pot and how many people to cook for.
Then I sit down and make a list of the kinds of food we will eat at this time of year; what is in season, on sale, and weather appropriate. I try to make a huge list of about 40 meals. I put some family favorites on there, a couple of company meals, a few new recipes, and some that we haven't eaten in awhile. This is just a quick list; nothing big or hard to do. I will slide it into a page protector though and put it in my menu/recipe binder. That way I won't have to re-invent the wheel next time I make the menu.
At this point get up and take a quick break, pat yourself on the back, get a drink of water and get ready for the next part. Sit down with another calendar and jot down a dinner for evey night of the month that you plan to cook, include side dishes so that you know you have it all planned. Sometimes I just write rice, beans, potatoes, pasta, bread, depending on what is needed for each meal. I do this part in pencil so that I can erase and switch things around so we don't eat chicken all week. I will high light the nights that we have to be somewhere early so that the dinner for that night is a simple or a ready to go dinner; my own version of heat and eat!
At this point someone is asking; "How do I know if it is a good recipe for freezing"? Here is what I have learned from experience; tomato sauce base meals, marinated meats, things with cheese on them. The old stand bys of pizza, chicken strips, macaroni and cheese are also good for freezing. Egg dishes like quiche, and baked eggs also work well. These can be frozen right in the pie pan or casserole dish. Meatballs, hamburger meals also work in the freezer. Potatoes if they are partially cooked can be frozen in planks, fries, and twice baked potatoes also work well. Dried beans like pinto's, black and northern beans along with all of their relations you can also cook and then freeze for meals later. These do quite well and save money if you compare the price of dried beans to canned beans. Things that don't always freeze well for me; cream based sauces (stroganoff type meals), carrots uncooked. Cakes, pies, cookies, waffles, pancakes,muffins all freeze extremely well. If you have any questions you can check on the internet to see what kinds of foods other people freeze, simply type in OAMC (once a month cooking), Freezer meals, or bulk cooking and find hundreds of recipes and meal ideas.
The shopping list: Pull out the recipes books, cards, online recipes, magazine recipes and write out your shopping list. List each ingredient once and then make hash marks beside if for amounts. On items like onions, milk; items with funny amounts, I will list out the measurement and then at the end figure out how many I need. Many cookbooks will tell you how many onions there are in 1 cup chopped and have these equivalences like these listed in a chart in the books somewhere or state it in the recipe. This shopping list is also something that I would photo-copy for later use and put 1 with the menu and 1 to take with you when you shop.
Ok, you now have the hardest part done. You have a shopping list that lists exactly how much of everything that you need. Before you waltz out the door there are two more steps to take that will save time and money later. Take the list and recopy it this time segregating all of the items into the aisles that they are found on; canned items together, Ethnic items, frozen, produce, meat, dairy etc....., This will save you time and keep you from running all over the store. Then take your list and shop your pantry shelves and your freezer. Mark things off as you find them so that you are using what you have on hand and rotating stock. I also do this because sometimes I stock up when things are on sale. This will reduce the cost of your shopping trip considerably.
Ok, no it is time to hit the store or stores. I have recently been shopping at three different stores in an effort to cut costs. I will shop at Aldi's, Dollar General, and then lastly the big grocery store in our area. This also cuts down the huge grocery cart or carts that I am pushing around. When you get home unload everything to the counter tops that doesn't need refrigeration.Get prepared to cook tomorrow. If it is an item to be used later when you cook the meal for eating then mark it in some way so that it isn't used before you need it. These items you can put away. Well, that gets us to the cooking part which we will cover at another time. I hope that this is helping someone. You, of course will find your own way of doing this. Here are a few links that I have found helpful:
http://search.southernliving.com/sl-results.html?Ntt=Freezer+recipes
http://www.recipezaar.com/
http://www.once-a-month-cookingworld.com/
http://www.dinnersinthefreezer.com/
If you get really busy and can't or don't have time to think up all the recipes then check out this website:
http://www.savingdinner.com/
Thanks for reading and I will talk to you soon.
Karen
(We have some severe food allergies to things that are commonly found in pre-prepared foods or I would never have discovered this method of cooking. Sometimes blessings come in strange shapes!)
ps. It is prefectly ok to start with meals for the week and then work up to the cooking for a month and the huge shopping trip. The main point is that you are saving yourself time, energy and money by doing most of the prep in advance. I don't always do my cooking for a month, sometimes it is only for a couple of weeks. Whatever you do will be better than not doing anything. GO FOR IT!!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Cooking up some dinners
This weekend was going to be the weekend to cook some meals for the coming weeks. Hmm, guess what! It didn't happen! I am not really as suprised as I am wondering how the coming weeks are going to flow with everything that the six of us have going. Once a month cooking is a great easy way to keep up with my life. When you feed three teenagers, one wannabe and two adults; FOOD in quantity and quality is a huge issue. I never knew that people could put away so much food. We almost never have leftovers. We have some serious food allergies and couple that with a one income household and you better believe that we cook from scratch most all of the time. I can really tell when it is time to cook in bulk again; menus full of frozen pizzas and a reluctance to walk into the kitchen lest someone think that I am going to really cook a full meal. So I see the writing on the wall, it is time to once again prepare a full months dinners in one day for the freezer.
Wow, I can see some of you saying, what a huge amount of work. Yes, it is and no it isn't. Chopping 6 onions at one time in the food processor versus one onion at a time on a cutting board and then cleaning all the mess up for every meal, now that is WORK. Especially since We don't like to do dishes at our house; yes, that is the Royal "WE" meaning everyone else.
The other question that I get often is how can you afford to buy all that food all at once. Well, yes it can be expensive all at one time, but so can relying on convenience foods or gasp, eating out! I have found that since I am coupon queen inept this is the best way for me to save my grocery dollars. Once the dinners are in the freezer all I have to do is run into the store for milk and produce. It cuts my miscellaneous spending way down, and it lasts me almost six weeks or 8 weeks if I am on a roll and cooking in between the once a month dinners. I really do like to cook, I just don't like to have to think about what to cook.
What kinds of things do we cook; well that is a trade secret! No, not really, I cook all kinds of things. This last time, I browned a couple of roasts ahead of time for the crockpot and put the cut up onions and garlic in the freezer bag with them. We have cooked everything from tuna casserole to lasagne to quesadillas and fajitas. The night before I take a quick look at the calendar and pull a good dinner out that fits with our schedule. Now that you are convinced, next time I will tell you how to adapt your style of cooking for your family and give you some recipes and links!
Well, now that I am inspired to get with the cooking, till next time!
Karen
Wow, I can see some of you saying, what a huge amount of work. Yes, it is and no it isn't. Chopping 6 onions at one time in the food processor versus one onion at a time on a cutting board and then cleaning all the mess up for every meal, now that is WORK. Especially since We don't like to do dishes at our house; yes, that is the Royal "WE" meaning everyone else.
The other question that I get often is how can you afford to buy all that food all at once. Well, yes it can be expensive all at one time, but so can relying on convenience foods or gasp, eating out! I have found that since I am coupon queen inept this is the best way for me to save my grocery dollars. Once the dinners are in the freezer all I have to do is run into the store for milk and produce. It cuts my miscellaneous spending way down, and it lasts me almost six weeks or 8 weeks if I am on a roll and cooking in between the once a month dinners. I really do like to cook, I just don't like to have to think about what to cook.
What kinds of things do we cook; well that is a trade secret! No, not really, I cook all kinds of things. This last time, I browned a couple of roasts ahead of time for the crockpot and put the cut up onions and garlic in the freezer bag with them. We have cooked everything from tuna casserole to lasagne to quesadillas and fajitas. The night before I take a quick look at the calendar and pull a good dinner out that fits with our schedule. Now that you are convinced, next time I will tell you how to adapt your style of cooking for your family and give you some recipes and links!
Well, now that I am inspired to get with the cooking, till next time!
Karen
Friday, September 18, 2009
The Creative Life
Hi everyone,
It is starting to be that Fall time of year. I have to admit that it is the season that I feel most alive. The color of the fall leaves and the harvest vegetables have always thrilled me. I think it goes back to getting new clothes for school and new school supplies. The change in seasons means that I can get back to keeping up the inside of the house that has been neglected through Summer and Spring.
I am just starting out with this blog and who knows where it will go. It is also full of the promise of the Fall harvest. Hope fills me that this blog will be read by someone, somewhere. Maybe, or maybe not as our kids are so fond of saying. Having moved frequently when a child it is hard for me to put down roots and become part of a community. So perhaps this is a part of that. We will see.
It is starting to be that Fall time of year. I have to admit that it is the season that I feel most alive. The color of the fall leaves and the harvest vegetables have always thrilled me. I think it goes back to getting new clothes for school and new school supplies. The change in seasons means that I can get back to keeping up the inside of the house that has been neglected through Summer and Spring.
I am just starting out with this blog and who knows where it will go. It is also full of the promise of the Fall harvest. Hope fills me that this blog will be read by someone, somewhere. Maybe, or maybe not as our kids are so fond of saying. Having moved frequently when a child it is hard for me to put down roots and become part of a community. So perhaps this is a part of that. We will see.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)