Category Archives: Meal Planning Tips

I’ve decided to go “Paleo”…NOW WHAT?

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Jenni| 2 Comments

Here’s a picture of my little Cait refusing to eat the yummy squash I was trying to feed her. But isn’t this kind of what we do when thinking about changing the way we eat?

Spitting out her food, before she takes a bite

It was about a year ago that Chris convinced me kicking and screaming, to give up grains. I think my exact words when he suggested that we try this grain-free diet called “Paleo” were, “I don’t WANT to live like that! I want to enjoy my food, and I LOVE bread so what is the point in living if I cant ever eat the foods I like?”  Okay maybe I didn’t say that last part, but that is kind of how I felt. Continue reading →

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Posted in Food Tips, Grain Free, Low Sugar, Meal Planning Tips, Nourishing Traditions, Paleo, Uncategorized, Whole Foods

Meal planning and shopping lists made simple

Posted on September 4, 2008 by Christian| 2 Comments

http://tastyplanner.com/images/v3welcome.gif

The Husband here with a guest post.

For over a year I have wanted someone to build an online meal planning site that you could plan meals and the ingredients would end up on a shopping list that you could take to the store and plan what is supposed to be on your shelf.

Well I am happy to say that someone finally did it, Its called Tasty Planner and its free.

In their words,

Tasty Planner is here to help you create, plan and share recipes, menus, grocery lists and more. We take out all the hassle in planning great meals for you. We’ll also help you make a few chef friends along the way.

I would suggest taking a look at their features and see if this is something that could help out your family.

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Posted in Meal Planning Tips

Meat Balls – Recipe and video

Posted on February 3, 2008 by Jenni| 2 Comments

Before last week, I had never made meatballs. Can you believe that? I don’t know why that surprises me but somehow it does. Meatballs. Hmmm. The kids and I had a fun time making meatballs for the first time, together.

Aidan helping me make meatloaf from Christian Burns on Vimeo

Thanks so much Laura for the meatball recipe. They were tasty, and the kids really liked them. I think next I will add some other spices, like Italian to add just a little more flavor. Meatballs are great to have in the freezer, something quick to add to spaghetti to make it a much more exciting meal!

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Posted in Bulk Food Preparation, Cooking Videos, Cooking with kids, Meal Planning Tips, Meats

Meal Planning Tips-Eating on a budget

Posted on January 28, 2008 by Jenni| 11 Comments

Mr. Burns and I are on a journey together. Getting a good budget going these past few weeks. The journey, while financial in nature, affects every area of our lives. In order to make a good budget work properly, involves planning and foresight. In regards to meal planning, this has not been my forte. So, I would love to open up the comments for some suggestions, tips and possible tools that you have used in order to help spice up your meal time.

Here are some things I am looking for:

1. We get paid every other week so I am looking to do meal planning either once a month or twice a month.

2. Simple

3. Variation. I love trying new recipes and yet having some of the old tried and true recipes.

4. Works for anyone. What are some simple tools that can work for any family?

I want to take your tips and publish them together in a post so that we can all glean from them in the future. Hope to hear from you all on this topic. I know that Karen Engstrom and some others have some good input to give. Thanks ladies!!!

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Posted in Meal Planning Tips

Healthy toddler meal ideas-getting your kids to eat veggies…

Posted on January 18, 2007 by Jenni| 4 Comments

Lunch-Fruit/Veggie plate

I don’t know about you but some days I have a hard time getting my toddlers to want to eat healthy. But I heard something a few months ago that really made sense. If your goal is to train your children to eat healthy and you deck the table out with the best veggies and fruits, and also set the table with Chips, cookies and candy, do you think your children are going to make “healthy choices”? Probably not. They have fleshly desires just like we do, and will go after the foods that are calling out to their taste buds. If we offer them the things that are good for them and then make them look more appealing the chances are great that our children will learn to love those things which are good for them.

I think one of my biggest hurdles was finding the time to cut up and prepare all these wonderful things, it was easier to just put together two peanut butter sandwiches and watch them devour them, then I got to sit down and eat something with them at least. Then the other day I figured it out. The plate you see above was actually prepared for me, the kids ate it in courses. I just grabbed whatever I had in the fridge, one orange, one apple, half an avocado, bag of baby carrots and a couple of raw granola bars. I took all the food to the table, a knife, a cutting board and sat the kids down and I started cutting things up. The boys never used to like oranges which was beyond me because they love orange juice, but when I cut them up like you see in the picture and forced encouraged them to try one, low and behold they love oranges now! I usually start with something I know they will enjoy to avoid whining from hungry children, then I go to something I know they aren’t very fond of and I actually make my kids try it. My theory is that if I push my kids to try things they don’t like that they will begin to develop a taste for those things. All the while I am encouraging them in the Lord, talking how we will build character and strong muscles when we eat things that are good for us even when we might not like them, I also encourage them that one day if they continue to eat them, they will actually like them! And this is Aidan’s favorite, I tell him how one day he will be married to a woman and she will cook for him and he needs to learn how to like everything now so that he will be a good husband and appreciate what she cooks for him when he’s married. And to be honest, this I really believe encourages him more than the others! And then there is the last resort of consequences when the children disobey our instructions.

I don’t do this everyday, I do still give them PB&J sandwiches sometimes, or healthy crackers, meat and cheese but I try to always add a few carrots or peas to the side of the plate and ask them to eat at least a couple of them. Here is what I’ve been doing lately…

Costco has great bulk fruits and veggies, I pick a few each week and we eat them until we are sick of them and then go to another one. For instance, last week we had grapes and oranges and apples almost every day. This week I bought a pineapple, a box of strawberries and a tub of mushrooms to go along with the little bit of produce I had from last week. We will eat all that and then next week we will try something new, they have enough options that you can do this and then be ready for apples and oranges by the time you get through them, your kids wont get sick of the same thing everyday and neither will you. And through the weeks of trying new fruits and veggies my kids will begin to develop a taste for more healthy foods. Sometimes a little ranch helps but you don’t want to do too much because they will develop a taste for ranch dressing!
I think that’s about it for now, my brain is tired and I think I should take a little nap while the kids are all sleeping. More on what I fix for myself, my baby and my husband later.

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Posted in Low Sugar, Lunch, Meal Planning Tips, Toddler meals

Economical Eating

Posted on September 7, 2005 by Jenni| Leave a comment

Need to prepare meals on a tight budget? Here are some healthy ideas!

  • Soups can be made with cheap ingredients such as beans, and can be stretched with a bit of water, if needed (just add more seasonings). They also make well in bulk (doubling or tripling the recipe), and freeze well (with the possible exception of cream soups or ones with white potatoes).
  • Minestrone can be made with any scraps of leftover veggies you have on hand, even ones not quite at their prime anymore. After your dinner is over, don’t throw away leftover tiny bits of veggies–put them in a plastic container in the freezer. Add to the container anytime you have a couple of spoonfuls of veggies you’d otherwise throw away. When the container’s full, make “surprise soup”! I got that idea from the La Leche League cookbook “Whole Foods for the Whole Family”. Calling it “surprise soup” was my idea, though. I think that name will go over with kids a lot better than “leftover scrap soup”! LOL!
  • BTW–dry beans are cheaper than canned, so buy a couple of bags of dry beans and cook them up yourself rather than buy canned. It’s easy to do, and they can also be cooked ahead and frozen, to have ready when needed.
  • And please don’t forget my most favorite meal of all–”see-food night”! I’m sure the “regulars” here are sick of hearing about it (please don’t all groan at once! LOL!), but it’s a wonderful way to make good use of leftovers and odds and ends (the last three crackers in a box, and the last slice of cheese, for instance). One night a week, just get out all the leftovers from meals throughout the week, and put them on your kitchen counter–the last two inches of a roast, the last chicken leg, the last 1/2 container of stew–whatever. BTW–the chicken and roast can also go into your soup! Cut them up and freeze them in baggies for the day you make soup, to add a bit of extra protein.
  • Anyway, to get back to “see-food night”. After you’ve gotten the “good” leftovers out, and thrown away the ones that were definitely NOT good *shudder*, now check the vegetable drawer. One last apple hiding in there? A few berries in the bottom of the box? Get them out! Celery that you can salvage two good stalks off of? These would be great cut up, with a little peanut butter or the last 1/2 inch of salad dressing in the bottom of the bottle as a dip!
  • Now the pantry. Three crackers left in a box? Two slices of bread left in the bag? One lonely can of beets you won’t otherwise really make use of? Put them on the counter (be sure to open the can of beets and put them on a plate, of course)! What might seem like unwanted odds and ends normally can look pretty interesting as a “smorgasbord”! Don’t forget to put out butter or jelly, and a knife, to put on the bread, or it will get ignored.
  • Then hand your family members each a plate, and let them choose whatever they like. No matter what they pick, it will be nutritious, so who cares if the five year old picks three grapes and a cracker, right? Right! No one’s starving, no one’s eating junk food, you’re not fighting over them cleaning their plates, you’re making good use of leftovers and foods that otherwise would not get eaten, and you are not having to cook, so please don’t check their plates for the “four food groups” tonight! :) Yes, I know it’s the “Food Pyramid” now, but that just sounded better! :) Plus, if you use paper plates, there’s not much clean up involved, either, so no work for you other than maybe the serving dishes. I’ve done this on occasion myself. Then after they’re all done eating whatever they’re going to eat, decide what’s still worth keeping, and how you’re going to store it, and chuck the rest. Easy?
  • This is going to be annoying but… BEANS AND RICE. They can be dressed up and dressed down. A 10 lb bag of rice in CA is $7. Since everyone is bringing up crock pots, you could buy dried beans and find someone who uses a crock to cook them (generally you HAVE to soak and then change the water). Once you get thoese two staples, you can fix up or fix down. You can make dirty beans and rice (Cajun) with the addition of celery, onion, and green peppers. Add tomatoes with juice and cajun spices. The addition of meat is up to you. Beans and rice are protein perfect.
  • For Mexican meals, add cheese (if you’re not vegan), chili, some shredded meat and use corn tortillas. Making a chili from this isn’t hard with the rice as “filler” or a binder to make it more hearty.
  • The other option is to use eggs (get rid of every other yoke if cholesterol is a problem). There are many egg casseroles that use few ingrediants, but can feed many. My favorite uses a pound of cooked sausage (OK, I use tempeh — soy meat substitute) and a cup or two of shredded cheddar on the bottom of a casserole. You blend together 4 eggs, 2 cups of milk, and a cup of bisquick with spices (usually just salt and pepper) for 1 minute. Pour over the eggs/sausage and place in a preheated (400 degree) oven for 30 minutes. Slice and serve with salad or more bread if you like.

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Posted in Meal Planning Tips

Master Grocery List

Posted on June 9, 2005 by Jenni| Leave a comment

I found this “Master Grocery List” on line. I found it pretty helpful. I copied it into a Word document and skimmed through while I was making my list to help me remember things. I know that even with this list I will forget something and have to make another trip. But hopefully this will help cut down on the trips. Hope you find this helpful!

Fruit
apples / pears / bananas /
oranges / tangerines / lemons
grapefruit / melon / peaches /
plums / nectarines / pineapple /
cherries / strawberries / blueberries /
grapes /
other: ________________

Oils, Dressings, Condiments
shortening /
oil: olive / canola / corn /
salad dressing / soy sauce /
vinegar / mustard /
mayonnaise / catsup /
other: ________________

Vegetables
potatoes: white / red / yukon gold /
sweet / yams /
carrots / celery / spinach / collards / kale /
peppers: red / green
lettuce: romaine / red leaf / boston /
brussels sprouts / eggplant /
asparagus / cabbage / corn /
mushrooms / tomatoes / green beans / beets / turnips /
onions / garlic / scallions / squash: winter / zucchini /
other: ________________

Spices & Flavorings
oregano / basil / curry / pepper /cinnamon / cloves / allspice /vanilla / mapeline / cocoa /
other: ________________

Snacks
peanuts / raisins / tortilla chips /pretzels / chocolate chips / carob
other: ________________

Dry Goods
whole wheat flour / all-purpose white flour / brown rice / long-grain white rice / lentils / split peas / pasta /
beans: black / navy / pinto /
other: ________________

Desserts
sorbet / sherbet / frozen yogurt /ice cream /
other: ________________

Canned Goods
soups: spicy southwestern / chili / chowder / chicken stock / vegie stock / beef stock / pumpkin/ tomatoes / spaghetti sauce /tomato sauce / tomato paste / salsa /tuna / salmon /
beans: chickpeas / pinto / black / refried /
other: ________________

Drinks
frozen juice: orange (+calcium) /
grapefruit / fruit blend /
apple cider / club soda /
coffee: regular / decaf
tea: regular / herbal /
other: ________________

Breads
bread: whole wheat / rye /
pumpernickel / pita / english muffins /
crackers: whole wheat / rye / bagels /
other: ________________

Breakfast Cereals
oatmeal / 5-grain /
shredded wheat / grape-nuts /
kasha / granola / wheat germ /
other: ________________

Fresh Meat, Seafood & Tofu
chicken / turkey / fish / shellfish /
beef / tofu /
other: ________________

Canning Supplies
pectin / lids / fruit fresh / jars /
sugar / honey / lemon juice /
pickling spices / vinegar /
cinnamon /
other: ________________

Dairy, Non-Dairy & Eggs
milk / powdered milk / buttermilk /
half & half / whipping cream / yogurt /
Cheese: queso / swiss / cheddar /
cottage cheese / mozarella/ parmesan / romano / brie / feta / gouda /
butter / margarine / eggs /
other: ________________

Non-food Items
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________

Animal Supplies
cat food / dog food / chicken feed /
senior horse chow / country horse / cob /
vitamin supplements / fly repellent /
other: ________________

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Posted in Meal Planning Tips

Meal Planning Tips – Kim

Posted on June 2, 2005 by Jenni| 1 Comment

Jenni, what I’ve done to plan meals is to first designate each day as a theme. For instance:

Sunday – Casseroles
Monday – Beef
Tuesday – Non-meat
Wednesday – Chicken
Thursday – Pork/Seafood
Friday – Pizza
Saturday – Crockpot

Then I start a list with those categories and add meals we like as I think of them or eat them. There will be crossover. For instance, Chicken Broccoli Casserole can go on the casserole list and the chicken list. Once you get a decent list of favorites, you can begin planning your meals. You could even plan a month this way. It’s really not hard, just takes a bit of time.

Keep a master list of recipes and add to it as you find recipes you like.

Blessings! Kim

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Posted in Meal Planning Tips

Meal Planning Tips – Karen

Posted on June 2, 2005 by Jenni| Leave a comment

You had mentioned my 2-week planning. This is the gist of what I do: Erik gets paid every other Thursday, so I do my shopping every other week (yes, on Thursday!). I plan my meals as I assemble my grocery list. I have a “master” list on my computer that I cut and paste each trip into a fresh word document (that way I don’t alter the master list). Then I simply go down it, deleting what I definitely don’t need to shop for. That leaves me with an abbreviated master list, so what I see is exactly what I need. I then add any household things that are rare to shop for (fabric softener sheets, bleach, other things that aren’t “regular”) that I need that trip.

The final step is meal planning. Our breakfasts and lunches are pretty standard: breakfasts are eggs, oatmeal, or pancakes (we add brown sugar or maple syrup to our oatmeal to sweeten it, and I buy bulk pancake mix from Fred Meyers – Bob’s Red Mill organic 10-grain waffle/pancake mix…it’s delicious and good for you!); lunches are easy things like sandwiches or leftovers and fresh fruit. I keep breakfast and lunch things on hand and they are “regulars” on my list, and I don’t want to give them too much thought.

Dinner is what takes a bit more planning. We have within that two-week span our “typical” meals. These include stroganoff (use whatever meat we have on hand: ground turkey, ground beef, or other beef cuts), fajitas, spaghetti, chicken and sweet potatoes, and meatloaf. I put those items on my calendar (which I keep on my computer), one meal per day, spread out. Then in the midst of them, I put some other family favorites: homemade pizza, turkey burgers, chicken cacciatore, soups or chilis or Erik’s homemade beans, bratwurst, or enchiladas. When the calendar is filled in, I quickly add any ingredients I need to fulfill those recipes into my grocery list, as well as any accompaniments (pasta, frozen or fresh veggies, cornmeal and buttermilk for cornbread, etc.). That completes my list! It really helps me to have a focus with my shopping. It’s one thing to just buy things that I know my family will eat, but I found that I was going to the store much more than I wanted to from my lack of actual planning. With six kids, I just can’t get away with not planning this. It just gets too costly.

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Posted in Bulk Food Preparation, Meal Planning Tips