Menu Planning

The following post is from Shaina of Food for My Family and Olmanson Photography:

source: Shaina Olmanson | Food for My Family

Do you ever feel stuck when it comes to eating fresh produce? Sometimes, when I stare into my well-stocked refrigerator in search of a quick bite, no matter the amount of produce that seems to overflow from the shelves, I feel as if they aren’t a practical option for a fast lunch, an impromptu dinner, or a simple snack.

This past weekend I spent some time at The Big Summer Potluck, enjoying the weather in Murrieta, California and a picturesque organic avocado grove. During our Whole Foods’ catered lunch, they introduced this concept of a beans, greens, and grains bowl. A rainbow of produce was set out, red bell peppers, all shades of green from the pale green hue of a diced cucumber to the deep emerald green of sautéed collard greens and chard. Golden beets, tri-color quinoa, jet black beans, and sauces in a variety of shades were all available for consumption.

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The following post is from Kate of Modern Alternative Mama:

image source: public domain photos

The food budget is one area that I manage alone.  The rest, my husband and I share (and frankly he does the day-to-day stuff because as long as we agree on the big stuff, I don’t care about the details!).  The budget can quickly get out of control if I don’t “manage” it well.  I keep learning that lesson over and over and over again…someday I’ll remember to stick with it.

In the last months of my pregnancy, I let a lot of stuff slide.  Including the grocery budget.  I bought what I could so that we could get through with minimal planning or cooking.  But then I felt like I really didn’t have enough money to feed everyone!  Oh…sigh.  And my husband was frustrated because I kept going slightly over or saying I needed more money to feed everyone!

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Simple Foods for Busy Seasons

March 28, 2013
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The following post is from Kate of Modern Alternative Mama: My fourth baby was just born.  I’m honestly not doing a lot of cooking at this time. But you know, my kids — they still want to eat!  Can’t seem to get around that one.  My husband likes to eat too (although at least he [...]

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Five Easy Ways to Serve Guests on a Special Diet

March 12, 2013
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The following post is from Amy of Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free: I’ve been eating a gluten-free and refined sugar-free diet for over 9 years and to date.  Only two people aside from my husband have cooked meals for me that I can fully partake in. Am I upset about this? No. But, if everyone had [...]

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Can “Real Foodies” Shop Discount Stores?

March 11, 2013
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The following post is from Kate of Modern Alternative Mama: We all want to save money on groceries.  They’re a major expense for any family, especially growing ones.  But when you are committed to “real food” suddenly the game changes.  There are rarely coupons for real food, and they don’t sell grass-fed beef at scratch’n’dent-type [...]

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How to Build a Stockpile You’ll Actually Use

March 7, 2013
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The following post is from Jessica of GoodCheapEats and LifeasMOM: Editor’s note: There are a lot of great posts in the archives here at Life Your Way that don’t get much attention anymore, so I’m sharing a couple of my favorites each week. Do you have a stockpile of ingredients you use often, or does [...]

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8 Reasons Why Freezer Cooking Can Work for Anyone

February 27, 2013
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The following post is from Kate of Modern Alternative Mama: Lots of people love freezer cooking. In fact, Jessica, a fellow contributor here at Life Your Way, is something of a freezer cooking guru, having published a cookbook all about it. It’s taken me a long time to get on the freezer cooking bandwagon. I’ve [...]

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Top 10 Reasons You Shouldn’t Plan a Weekly Menu

February 21, 2013
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There are plenty of posts around the blogosphere about why you should take the time to plan your menu, but we’re going to look at the top ten reasons you shouldn’t: 10. You’re a non-comformist by nature, and since meal plans are popular, you refuse to give in.

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