The Wheels are Turning

I recently wrote about my obsession about food.

I can't shake my concerns about the foods I'm eating and feeding my family.

Just recently I moved in with my in-laws and they eat in a way that I think is pretty typical of American diets. It horrifies me. Their freezer is always "clean" looking because every item stored there comes in a box.

Since moving here I feel like I have so much less control over my food and Jack's diet especially. Whatever grandma and grandpa eat, Jack gets a bite. Ice cream, fruit packed in sugar syrup, buttery crackers... it really does make my stomach turn. But out of my desire to be respectful and non-offensive I just watch and keep my mouth shut.

The reality is that I could still have "control" but I just don't want to fight for it.

I've started reading the ingredient lists on the granola bars I hand Jack while we're driving and there are usually a minimum of three different names for sugar.

Gah!

So, I've started reading. I've started asking questions.

And I'm totally overwhelmed by information!

Similar to when I started reading books on parenting, I feel even more confused than when I started. In one article I can read about the benefits of whole grains, then, I discover the SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet) which suggests eating NO grains.

I know a change is coming for my family and I am fully aware that I am going to be the one to start the change.

The question now is where and when to start.

I have this compulsion that I want to have it all "right" before I start. I want to know the end product and I want to start there. The reality, however, is that we'll have to start small and keep moving forward at a steady pace.

If I wait for perfection I'll never do anything and I'll just watch as my in-laws hand my son fatty and sugary snacks and I'll keep buying the cheaper options over the healthier options...

The change starts with me.

So here we go!

On a Roll

Last night I went simple with our dinner, but with some delicious and heath-adding tweeks.

I used 3/4 of a jar of red sauce.  I love bell peppers, but Andy usually refuses them.  So last night I stuck a whole pepper in the food processor and added it to the sauce.  The color was the same as the sauce, but it added such a nice sweetness.  Andy raved about "that yummy pasta" and I revealed my secret.  

I always think that Andy's love of meat and potatoes is holding me back from a diet full of fresh fruits and veggies, but in reality, that is just a convenient excuse. I may have to get more creative than just roasted red peppers, but he'll eat them.  

Sorry I made you my excuse honey.

In addition to the veggie add-in, I also made a great crouton topper for our salad.  Usually I just grab a box of croutons, but I was out last night.  So I cut up four slices of bread (half whole-wheat seed bread and half potato) and tossed them with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic and popped them in the oven (at 400 degrees) for about 20 minutes.  They came out looking exactly like croutons from a box!  

I preened in front of Andy saying, "did you know I made these?" and he said he had no idea!  Yes!

It was so easy and it means I  know exactly what went into our salad topping!

I also used a whole wheat pasta from Trader Joe's which tasted exactly like the regular white.  Score!

Check out my menu for the week.

Black Beans

Black Beans- a perfect balance between budget and healthy?

Maybe.

I too am struggling with eating healthy tasty food within a reasonable budget. Why do all the healthy, yummy foods have to be so expensive?

I have had one recent victory: black beans.

They are an affordable, alternate source of healthy protein. I have discovered lots of uses for them and plan to make them a regular part of my menu. (By the way, my full dinner menu for February will be posted soon).

I'm most impressed with mixing them with ground beef to stretch the beef further. I've used the ground beef for tacos and meatloaf. The beans are almost unnoticeable in flavor when mixed with ground beef, but obviously the texture is different. Thankfully, both of us were pleased with the results. The beans & beef mixture for tacos made so much sense that we are wondering why we didn't think of it earlier.

We have also thrown black beans on salads and in soups.

For a while, I was using convenient canned beans. But I decided to save even more money and give dried beans a try.

It was a huge success! I cooked a WHOLE package of beans ($1.30) and then frozen them in to a few packages. Now, when I need beans, I can just take out a package and mix them into my recipe.

I already tried it & they were perfect. I wanted a cheese & black bean tortilla for lunch so I took some beans out of the freezer in the morning and few hours later I had a delicious, affordable, somewhat healthy lunch.

Do you have more ideas for using black beans? Please share!

Reset button?

It is Friday and I'm glad.

Glad because that means I start a new week and I can forget that I totally went over my original budget from LAST year.  

I'm glad because it means that I can forget that I've eaten way too many cookies, cooked with way too much cheese and have been totally uninspired in the kitchen.

I did manage a delicious, veggie packed soup, but that was about it for the week.

I'm stumped though.  Where do I go from here?  I think I need a grocery budget mentor.  I think I also need to decide if I would rather save money, or feel creative in the kitchen.  

Two weeks and I'm already giving up? 

Oh I don't know.  

Let me go eat another cookie and see if I feel any more optimistic.  

Victory and Defeat

I won't be within my goal this week.  That is kind of discouraging. 

But on the plus side I have been steadily using up long-neglected items in my pantry and freezer. 

I won't dwell on my trip to Costco that left me without a penny more in my grocery envelope and made me want to quit only two weeks into my endeavor.  Instead I will pat myself on the back for making hummus from a can of chickpeas (already in my pantry) instead of purchasing pre-made.  

I haven't ACTUALLY made it yet.  But I am going to.  I'll let you know how it turns out!

Sneaky

I made my first sneaky meal last night.

I'm pretty sure I showed you the "Deceptively Delicious" cookbook that is all about sneaking veggie purees into regular foods. The premiss is to get kids to eat more fruits and vegetables, but I bought it for Andy.  That boy is anti-green.  Yes, it makes me sad.

I totally raided my pantry last night for some sort of dinner option.  I had:

A jar of alfredo sauce.

A package of twirly pasta.

My fridge held:

Half an onion

Two zucchinies, one of which was somehow rotten through the core. GROSS!

A head of cauliflower

Freezer:

1 chicken breast

3 chicken tenderloins

Pretty scant.  But I wasn't really in the mood to cook anyway.  Then I got inspired.  

I steamed and pureed the cauliflower.  I froze half for Jack and mixed the other half in with the jar of white sauce.  It didn't change the flavor one bit!  

I rubbed the chicken with a pesto spice blend and grilled it in some olive oil.  

Cooked the pasta.

Carmaelized the onions (my new favorite thing).

Sliced the zucchini and threw it in with the onions and some salt.

TA DA!

Dinner is served.  For Andy I put everything in its own place on the plate, but for myself I sliced up the chicken and mixed the zucchini and onions all into the pasta.

Not the best meal I've ever made.  But we were fed and I felt very excited to have snuck in an extra serving of good-for-you food.

Midway

Yikes!

Another $25 spent on supplies to make brownies with green mint frosting, coffee and cheddar cheese. 

That means I need to make it through this week on a paltry $25.  But, truthfully, I think I can do it.  

I am also in the process of creating my Costco shopping list and simplified menu so I can shop smart.  I'll let you know when I have those done and share.  

Goals are good for me.  I feel so inspired by this decision and am eager to see what comes of it.  I already have in mind what I want to saved dollars to go toward, but I think I'll leave that undisclosed for the moment, *wicked laugh* at least to the internet world.