Food for thought

Like any busy stay-at-home mom, I try to feed my family healthy meals throughout the week. I've learned that in order for that to really happen, it takes some forethought and preparation. Just for fun, I thought I'd share some things that I do each week as far as meal planning goes. Maybe this will help encourage other busy moms? At the very least, it will simply give you a glimpse into our family.

I tend to do my grocery shopping on Monday mornings. I start thinking about my list on Sunday and jot things down. I don't go to the store without a list. Up until recently, I was spending way too much money (and time) making several trips to different grocery stores throughout the week. In addition to the bulk of my shopping at one main store (usually Wal-Mart), I'd also frequent places like Trader Joe's, Henry's, Fresh & Easy or Super Target. Since the beginning of the year, I've been doing well at sticking to one grocery store per week with a bi-weekly trip to Costco for things like milk, cereal, wipees, rotissiere chicken, and toiletries.

On average, I find that I cook about 4 times a week with at least one of the meals being large enough for leftovers on another night. Every other Monday night or so, Morgan is typically out of town for work. On that night, the girls get mac & cheese with edamame or broccoli (depending on what I have). They love it and automatically know what's for dinner when daddy's not home. And in order to make it super easy, I usually heat up a lean cuisine for me and call it good. That leaves one day a week where we like to eat out as a family. The places we dine range from Panda Express to the happy hour on the patio at Jackalope Ranch. We also like Chipotle, Panera, Las Casuelas, Applebee's, and Mario's. Eating out is a fun way to get out as a family and something that we look forward to by the end of the week. On average, we try to keep the cost down by spending no more than $30 on a restaurant. Very doable at all the places that I mentioned.

I'm thankful that my girls will eat just about anything that I cook. Really, do they have any another choice? :) I don't make something different for my kids, just because they would prefer something else. I guess I got that from my parents growing up. We never had any choices. Plus, I don't want my kids being too picky when it comes to food as they grow older. We are not big beef eaters in my home. I have nothing against beef, we just don't buy it very often. We love a good burger or filet once in a while and when we see my parents, Korean barbecue is a must. We also like carne asada from our local carneceria but we only get that about once a month. We eat a lot of turkey and chicken with the occasional fish or shrimp. I use ground turkey for everything including tacos, meatballs, sausages, and chili. My family likes the mild white fish, tilapia. I like it because you can dress it up any which way and it's very hard to over cook tilapia. It seems like I have a collection of meals in my arsenal but I do like to try new things to see if it'll make it into the "regular rotation." Probably more than anyone else in my family, I like and need variety.

Our favorite meals include: chicken enchiladas, tacos, spinach & cheese raviolis, orange chicken, lasagna, southwest chicken wraps, and spaghetti & meatballs. We use multi-grain or whole wheat pasta and eat mostly brown rice. Our favorite vegetable is broccoli so I usually steam or sautee that with some garlic. I happen to adore broccoli and could eat it everyday. We also like edamame (soy beans), corn on the cob, green beans, and raw carrots. The girls aren't big on cooked carrots or salads yet.

As far as recipes go... I don't typically use any. I never have. That's probably why I have a hard time with baking sometimes. I may ask for a recipe that looks interesting to me but I always end up doctoring it up with my own twist.

Basic staples that I keep in my pantry: All kinds of canned beans (refried, black, red kidney, pinto, and cannellini), Muir Glen fire-roasted tomatoes, low sodium chicken broth, and pastas (we like spaghetti, penne, and rotini). I always have onions, garlic, spices, and evoo on hand. Can you tell that we love Mexican and Italian cuisine?

Before having kids, I loved to cook. I still do but I'm leaning more towards the functional and quick, rather than the more elaborate dinner parties that I used to throw. I have no shame in taking lots of help from places like Costco where I get their rotisserie chicken and use it for so many things. I also get their fresh spinach ravioli and orange chicken. The raviolis are my "go-to" meal.
I simply toss them in some olive oil and parmesan. It literally takes less than 10 mins. from start to finish. My family loves it and it's soooo easy. Great for those nights where dinner time is suddenly upon you and your plan didn't come to fruition. The orange chicken at Coscto is also good. It's all white meat chicken breast. I sometimes add chopped cashews or other nuts and top with sliced green onions or cilantro. I serve it with rice and sauteed broccoli or green beans. We use chopsticks on this night so it's fun for the kids.

In the winter, I love to make soups. My favorites are chicken tortilla, turkey soup with Thanksgiving leftovers, chicken & veg, lentil, and oxtail soup. I'm so happy that my whole family loves soup, too. In the summer, we tend to grill out a lot. There's nothing better than grilled veggies!

Food is something that has always brought my family together so I have grown up with a passion for it. That's probably why I love watching Food TV.
It inspires me.

Let's face it though, not every day works out as we'd like it to. There will be better days and weeks than others. Sometimes, us moms just don't get it together for one reason or another. The day ends up slipping away from us. Maybe we spent too much time on the computer or we just forgot to leave something out to defrost in the morning? Maybe we had the best intentions to start on dinner but other things came up during the day that required more of our attention? The main thing is that we don't verve too far off the meal planning course. In order to provide healthy meals and be more cost-conscious for our family, the best thing to do is try and stay on track as much as possible. It all starts with a plan. Weekly plans are better but some weeks,

I have to admit, I do daily planning instead. Still, the key word here is planning. If you're running into glitches, maybe start by making large one pot meals in the crock pot. That should take care of at least 2 days. You can also make meals on Sundays and freeze them for the week. Lastly, there's always the Costco food court for those nights when you just don't feel like cooking, no matter how much planning you did or did not do. :)

I don't consider myself a good cook by any means (although my sweet hubby and family would beg to differ). I never really cooked before I got married. In fact, there was a time in my young adult life when my parents worried that I would never be able to cook for my future husband and family. I learned that cooking just takes willingness and trial. I tend to cook by taste but whatever way works best for you is great! When people say, "I don't cook or I can't cook," it often simply means that they aren't willing to. Meals don't have to be elaborate or complicated. In fact, your family will love the simple ones with less ingredients.

I happen to love eating healthy food. I love veggies of all kinds and if I could eat a salad as a one dish meal everyday, I'd be happy. At this stage, salads are just a little time consuming for me. That's not to say that I don't ever splurge or eat anything fried on occasion. Thankfully, I don't have a huge sweet tooth (never have), although chocolate is becoming more appealing as I get older.

I like savory foods and can eat lots of it! I have to maintain a sense of portion control otherwise, I tend to over eat. I consistently exercise 3-4x's a week. It's usually Mon., Wed. & Fri. On the weekends, I try and get outside to run around with the kids. Thankfully, this routine allows me to eat just about anything I want. My exercise method is short and efficient for this time in my life. I get on my elliptical for about 15-20 mins. in the morning and follow-up with 5 lbs. weights. It's just enough for me to sweat and start out my day. I don't spend more than 30 mins. a day exercising. I prefer getting out and doing something fun for exercise but this has worked out nicely for me in the last year or so. There are still a couple of adventures that I want to try in life and I know that being fit will keep me young and motivated. Plus, I have a husband that has a body of a 20 something and can eat anything he wants without gaining weight. Seriously! So not fair! We strive to stay healthy and active so that we don't have any limitations when it comes to experiencing life and enjoying new adventures with our children.

So, that's it. That's how we operate around here. Wow, this post was way longer than I anticipated! The key of course is preparation and balance. You may not always feel like cooking or preparing something for your family but it is a necessity. Blessed are those who serve their family with a happy heart! Food has been a part of some of my fondest memories growing up. Isn't it funny how different smells can take us right back in time? Here's to creating new memories in the kitchen and around our dinner tables. Bon appetit, friends!