Sometimes, you just need a helper!

I really love having a weekly menu. I think that much is obvious. Lately though, we’ve come to a point in our lives where delegating certain things is best for the sake of sanity.
So, I turned to Professor Google and searched for organic weekly menu plans. One of the results was http://emeals.com/ with a plan called Natural & Organic. Wait a minute… that name sounds familiar… they’re the folks who advertise on Dave Ramsey’s radio show (Rylee requests  we find his show when we’re on the road)! I looked at their site in the past, but wasn’t a fan of the menus heavy on prepared foods. Lo and behold, Emeals recently rolled out a Natural & Organic plan. It is available for Whole Foods or Other Stores. I chose the generic plan to use at Earth Fare and a few other local places for odds and ends. After using the coupon code on www.daveramsey.com , a 3 month subscription was $17.85.

Rylee and I went shopping today for the first time using this service. The Monster Book of Monsters binder, augmented with a new menu section, in hand to keep us organized. Each week’s printout contains 2 sheets: 1) the menu featuring recipe instructions 2) grocery list divided by categories. I put these back to back in an old sheet protector. This enables me to mark on them with a dry erase pen. It was so nice to have a brain on paper that took me all of a minute to print and a few moments to review and note substitutions. One such substitution was  in a recipe calling for beef. Since I had a coupon for 75cents off ground turkey, I made that switch! I also had a coupon for our preferred brand of salad. I plan to use that in place of the head of lettuce called for since we routinely eat mixed spring greens for dinner. Easy peasy!
Tonight we plan to have Black Bean Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries. Tomato, spring greens, and cheese will be available for topping. I might even make some fresh green onion mayonaise and sweet chili ketchup. I’m hungry already!

Menu Plan: Clean out the pantry!

That’s my love up there smiling. He puts up with me.
(You’ll see where I’m going in a minute…)
The past few months have been crazy hectic with us being out of town more than we were home. Hence the lack of posts & menu plans. Hockey season has been intense this year. Throw in caregiver arrangements for my Mother who lives a few hours away and the EE has been a glorified laundromat. We’re back now and my grand plans can recommence!
A while back there was a huge pantry/refrigerator/freezer purge and it was a great first step. The next step is removing boxes & bags from the kitchen. What do I mean by that? Convenience foods full of things we can’t pronounce and unnecessary ingredients. Prepared foods we can make from scratch in a frugal, timely and healthier manner.  The side effects for this step are simple, yet profound: intake of more fresh fruits & veggies, more accurate portions (3 people eating a box of pasta is not OK), less waste/recycling, save money (buying only what can be eaten in short order). At least that is what appears to be happening around here!
Step 3, transitioning to predominately organic or natural foods, is slowly happening with each grocery trip. I’m also looking into reducing the amount of gluten we regularly intake. I really want to make more of our bread at home, too.
The menu this week is about using up things as much as anything, so here are our options for supper:
~ cheddar brats, whole-grain chips, baked beans
~ 5 spice chicken & dumplings
~ minted lamb sausage & couscous
~ pepperoni tortilla pizzas
~ chicken alfredo gnocchi
~ pierogi, fried cabbage, fire roasted tomato & garlic sauce
~ We’re going to a pizza party one night, so that makes 7 meals!
Dinner usually consists of leftovers, fresh fruit & veggie plates, or sandwiches (egg, pb & j, grilled cheese). Breakfast options vary between cereal, yogurt with granola, grits, and oatmeal. Snacks tend to be things such as fruit, carrot sticks, tomatoes, crackers with pb or cheese, and a glass of milk.
Thanks for reading and being my conscience. accountability. friends!

Change for the Better

Our family has been working hard to implement changes around the EE over the last year while maintaining a frugal lifestyle. We're making an effort to eat healthier, be more active, practice better time management, and streamline activities for maximum impact (and prevent burnout). We're figuring things out as we go along and by no means have all the answers. However, it is interesting to note the overlap between each of these efforts.

Here are a few things that are working for us:
1) Plan ahead, no matter what the subject. We have all been guilty of last minute holiday gift purchases where we wind up spending way more than if we had planned ahead and shopped throughout the year. On a day to day basis, our lack of weekly meal plans has led to food waste and frustration at supper time, therefore leading to expensive, unhealthy take away food. Implementing a plan doesn't mean we need to be unyielding or inflexible. That has been a hard lesson for me in particular.

2) Cook meals from scratch (or mostly). The result is rewarding to the pocketbook and waistline. Bear in mind that "convenience foods" don't necessarily take less time than a simple homemade meal. Take the time to learn a few homemade meals and keep the pantry stocked for busy weeknights. I'm going to be adding more recipes for this purpose under the tag Fast & Frugal. Cheatin' Chicken & Rice is a good place to start! http://theenchantedemporium.blogspot.com/2010/11/cheatin-chicken-rice.html

3) Utilize devices in the home to save time, money and frustration. A slow cooker or rice cooker can make healthy, frugal meals with very little prep time. This helps us avoid the temptation to grab fast food on a hectic day, as mention earlier. At the EE, an awkward cabinet over the stove houses these handy helpers along with a kitchen torch, coffee grinder, etc. A large saute pan, stock pot, stand mixer, set of mixing bowls, and glassware casseroles are also good tools to have on hand!

4) Frugality does not equal deprivation. As a Christian, I equate stewardship with frugality. We attempt to be conscientious in our spending to allow us to help others and enjoy the little luxuries of life. The purpose  for our efforts in this matter isn't to be martyrs on the altar of self righteousness. Rather, it is to allow us to live a full life without indebtedness.

5) Be joyful! We need to be careful not to get so bogged down in our worries about finances, family needs, and so on that we forget to find joy in our lives. We were created to be joyful beings! Sometimes we just have to stop and make ourselves find that happy, peaceful place. It helps us to embrace life choices (such as frugality) and truly live it, if it is done with a happy heart.

What are some ways your family brings order to the chaos of life? Share your comments so we can learn from one another!

Menu Plan, done a bit differently this time!

This picture has nothing to do with the post. I just think Hedwig is adorable!

We are still trying to adjust to a more organized approach to our household tasks. To be honest, having a regimented plan for meals seems to restricting for us just yet. So, we’re going to try a different approach, because the basic idea is wonderful for preventing food waste & preserving sanity. This incarnation of the EE’s menu plan will be a list of options available for meals. We can choose an option which appeals to our taste buds that day as well as last minute schedule changes.

Breakfast choices include eggs, cheese, cereal, oatmeal, grits, granola, yogurt, fruit, milk, and juice.

Dinner choices include leftovers, sandwiches, grains, fruit,veggies, crackers, peanut butter, cheese, and tea.

Supper choices include:
1}    Cream of chicken & mushroom soup, oyster crackers
2}    Ham & bean soup, cornbread
3}    Roasted veggie & pepperoni pizza
4}    Chicken & dumplings
5}    Red beans & rice with link sausage
6}    Oven fried chicken legs, corn fritters, pea & carrot salad
7}    Herb crusted pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans
8}    Lasagna
9}    Meatloaf, white rice, black eye peas
10}  Tomato-sage egg cups, cheese grits, fruit salad
11}  Grilled kielbasa, roasted winter squash, tomato herb couscous
12}  Loaded sweet potatoes with maple sausage crumbles & Asiago cheese
13}  Corned beef hash, black bean relish, polenta rounds
14}  Scallop paella

The next few weeks are going to be hectic, so other than needing to make a run for perishables, I want to have everything on hand. We also need to use up our pantry stash. We are beyond blessed!

So, what are you planning to eat this week?

Menu Plan for December 11-17

Following a meal plan for the last few days has been such a good experience! The time needed upfront to shop the pantry/refrigerator and then shop according to a specific list is so worth it when meal time rolls around. Ryan and I have agreed that it is nice to avoid the "What do you want to eat?" discussion. That one line can suck the life out of the joy of cooking at the end of a busy day. It seems to spiral into a miasma of frustration every time, even though we should feel blessed to have a choice beyond stale bread and a cup of lukewarm water.

Our food waste is going down considerably, too. By this time next week, I hope to be starting fresh with a cleaned out kitchen (from pantry to cabinets and everywhere in between). I work better in an organized space but the last few months of surgery recoveries, etc. have taken a toll on organization. It feels so empowering to accomplish this task! So, here we go with the menu for the coming week:

Sunday, Dec. 11
Breakfast: cereal, whole milk
Dinner: steak salad (This is a toss-up considering our schedule between church services.)
Supper: spinach egg cups, toasted whole wheat bagels, mandarin oranges

Monday, Dec. 12
Breakfast: ambrosia
Dinner: warm couscous and herbed tomatoes
Supper: Italian flag soup (tortellini, sausage, spinach, white beans, tomatoes)

Tuesday, Dec 13
Breakfast: pumpkin raisin oatmeal
Dinner: pepperoni whole wheat tortilla pizzas
Supper: pan seared ham, corn fritters, salad

Wednesday, Dec. 14
Breakfast: bacon grits, apple
Dinner: peanut butter, local honey, whole wheat toast
Supper: pumpkin chili, cornbread muffins

Thursday, Dec. 15
Breakfast: cereal, whole milk, fruit
Dinner: grilled cheese sandwiches
Supper: Eggrolls, white rice

Friday, Dec. 16
Breakfast: pumpkin butter, whole wheat toast
Dinner: veggie plate
Supper: coconut shrimp, soba noodles, pineapple/peach/cilantro chutney

Saturday, Dec. 17
Breakfast: cereal, whole milk, fruit
Dinner: waffles, nutella, raspberries, maple syrup
Supper: thyme oil roasted chicken, black eye peas, rice trio, vinegar cabbage slaw

Snacks include raw veggies, yogurt, granola, crackers with a spread or cheese, and other things of that nature. Drink options include crisp, refreshing tap water, ice tea, hot tea (herbal & decaf), whole milk, cranberry juice, and unsweetened apple juice.

Have a blessed week! I hope to post a few easy breakfast recipes and some homemade scrub receipts this week. Be watching for a tweet on facebook when they are posted.