My 100th post!

Hi all! I just realized that this is my 100th post! I can't believe it! I know that there is nothing too exciting here on my little blog of this and that, but thanks to those of you who pop in every now and then to check in. While I realize I do not receive a mass of readers as some other blogs I am totally okay with that. My goal is this: to spread a passion for Jesus Christ, to raise awareness about our failing yet thriving industrial food system, and share my journey/transition into eating real/whole/nourishing/traditional foods. I'm not perfect at any of those, but I want this blog to be a place where I can write about those things, and if maybe one person is blessed/encouraged/inspired then, mission accomplished! Thanks for reading my random rambles! Heres to many more!


On another note: I wanted to share my meal plan for the next few weeks with you. Maybe you can find something on here that gives you a dinner idea :-) I hope so!

MENU PLAN
-Veggie Stir fry with rice and quinoa
-leftovers
-chicken rice and quinoa soup w/ homemade stock, brown braised pearl onions, and homemade whole wheat bread
-tacos w/ homemade whole wheat tortillas and salad
- zuppa tuscan soup with salad and homemade whole wheat bread
-eggs, bacon, homemade whole wheat bread
- cheeseburgers with salad and potatoes
- quesadillas with raw carrots
- leftovers
- panko chicken legs w/ raw carrots and steamed
-veggie & meat pizza w/ homemade whole wheat crust and salad
- taco soup and salad
- eggs, bacon, potatoes

P.S.
I just realized that I was EXTRA naughty with this menu plan- we are not eating fish once! Usually we try to eat it at least once a week! Oh well, we'll have to make up for it next time and have it twice a week! :-)

P.P.S.
Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE butter and raw milk?! I haven't?! OK, well I really love it! haha!

February Menu Plan

Hey all :-) I just thought I'd share my menu plan for the first half of Feb. with you. If you haven't started planning your meals or at least your dinners- I highly recommend it! You will save money at the grocer AND you have more of a likely chance that you will eat healthy if you've already planned it out. Anyway, if you see anything on my menu plan that sounds good to you, then leave a comment and I will post the recipe :-)

2/1 Salmon w/ butter sauce, salad, broccoli & green beans
2/2 zucchini parmesan sandwich with raw veggies on the side
2/3 -leftovers-
2/4- leftovers-
2/5 chicken tacos w/ homemade whole wheat tortillas, salad, broccoli, red peppers, avocados
2/6 chicken, rice & gravy, salad, asparagus and broccoli
2/7 Salmon w/ butter sauce, salad, spinach and green beans
2/8 steak, salad, red potatoes/sweet potatoes, green beans and zucchini
2/9 -leftovers-
2/10 -leftovers-
2/11 Asparagus, corn, broccoli with garlic chicken pasta
2/12 stuffed bell peppers and salad
2/14 taco soup and salad

It has been done...

Well, folks I've gone and done it...
I sat down this morning and made a 2 week meal plan.
I will let you know how it works out for us.
details to come...

side note;
its noon and I still haven't showered. *gross* Can you smell me from there?

love,
jess

Meal Planning

My husband and I have been married for just a tiny bit over 2 years... in fact, June 9 was our 2nd anniversary. Before we were married I knew nothing about cooking. Really, nothing. I mean, I could make box mac n' cheese, and I could bake chocolate chip cookies, but that was basically it. While living at home, when my Mom cooked dinner I was always teaching piano, so never really had the chance to help or learn that much. So when David and I got married, cooking was a learning experience. The poor guy tried so many yucky things, and was such a good sport about it- sometimes even eating seconds. What a man!!!!! In the past 2 years I have learned ALOT about cooking. I have also learned alot of healthy cooking/snacks, thanks to my health-nut husband. Now, I'm not saying that all of my recipes are super healthful, but I am saying that I do try to make the majority of my meals healthy.

So today, what I thought I'd share with you is something that I have found to be quite helpful. Meal planning. I like to meal plan one week at a time. You can do it for however many weeks you like... I have many friends that meal plan for 2 weeks at a time. I think 2 weeks at a time sounds like such a great idea, but am afraid that alot of the food would go bad before we were ready to eat it. I start my meal planning by opening up a document on my computer that has listed all of our favorite meals. Then I start picking meals in such a way that gives us a good variety throughout the week (variety for taste and health). Here is what our meal plan looked like this week;

Monday: BBQed chicken, zucchini, corn, and roasted potatoes
Tuesday: leftovers
Wednesday: chicken fajitas, refried pinto beans, homemade spanish brown rice, fruit salad
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: crockpot thai chicken, plain brown rice, squash & broccoli
Saturday: spaghetti (with either whole wheat or spelt noodles), whole wheat garlic bread, spinach salad (w/ nuts, berries, carrots, seeds, apples, cranberries).
Sunday: breakfast for dinner- usually eggs & toast (sometimes with turkey bacon, and potatoes... most of the time we just keep it simple on the Sabbath.)

You've probably noticed a couple of things: 1. we have a few leftover days and 2. I only plan dinners. The reason that I have leftover days is because usually when you're cooking family size recipes for 2 people, you're bound to have leftovers- unless you're a pig. HA! Leftovers are perfect for us, because of my husbands work schedule, he isn't home for a few dinners during the week. We just stick the leftovers is two containers- one for him while he is at work, and one for me while I'm at home. I love it because most of the time when he is at work, I don't feel like cooking a whole meal just for myself, ya know? Its perfect! Now, to be honest I can't say that I actually have a reason for only planning dinners. I guess for me, planning dinners was just a start to maybe planing breakfast/lunch as well, which I would love to try doing. Maybe next month I will give it a try and then report back to you.

One thing I really love about meal planning is this: there are far less trips to the grocery store during the week, which in return means I'm spending less. I make one big trip to WINCO, and get everything I need for the week of dinners. Once I've planned the dinners I write them out on a little white board and keep it in the kitchen so that way the Hubby can look forward to whats coming :-) It also helps remind me of any prep that needs to be done before dinner.

I hope you've found this helpful! Now, go get planning :-)

lotsa love,
jess