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Back to Basics: Hot Oatmeal

February 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

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While hot oatmeal is nothing new and special, I have finally figured out the proportions that I like to make a good bowl of thick oatmeal. I don’t like it too soupy, and I don’t like it when I still want more at the end of the bowl. What I also don’t like about making hot oatmeal is that it’s hot (so I don’t eat it most months of the year), and that it takes time to cook. One pot to cook and one bowl to eat=more mess. I promise it has redeeming qualities too.

However, I do think it’s filling, and a good way to get some important nutrients. It is also a good alternative to a dairy breakfast, which I eat most days. I want to learn to like oatmeal because some babies don’t tolerate mom’s dairy well. This Winter, I have made hot oatmeal maybe a dozen times total, and I’m liking it more and getting faster.

Here is my recipe for my best hot oatmeal, made in one small pot and ready in under 10 minutes.

Basic Hot Oatmeal

  • 1/3 C old fashioned Quaker Oats
  • 1/3 C milk (or milk substitute)
  • 1/3 C water
  • dash cinnamon
  • 1 T gold or black raisins
  • spoonful peanut butter stirred in at end
  • 1/2 banana, thinly sliced

Instructions:

  • In a small sauce pan, I bring the water to a simmer, then add oats and whisk. Then I add the milk, cinnamon, raisins and banana and stir. Let thicken until bubbly, stirring often.
  • While still on the heat, I stir in peanut butter to get it nice and melty. This is the best part.
  • I top it with a variety of things, usually granola and berries like in the picture.

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Filed Under: Breakfast, How To · Tagged With: , ,

Holiday Arts and Crafts

December 9, 2011 by 1 Comment

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Ho ho ho from Santa’s craft table. Every year since we were little, our family always gave the gift of food. My mom spent weekends baking different kinds of cookies, and at the peak of the giving years, we assembled so many tins and celophane bags of goodies to deliver by hand.

Nowadays, I still bake every December and give the gift of homemade treats. Most years, I fill a jar with goodies, tie a bow around it, and tie on a tag. This year, I had an idea to cook a few different kinds of cookies and give an assortment in a tin.

Then my brain got to thinking how I can assemble, and after three trips to The Container Store within 6 days, my tins were ready for cookies, and I have enough ribbon and bows for a lot of cookie making.

I am generally not that crafty, and usually in awe of super homemade gifts. But stickers, bows and ribbon I could do. Here’s a very basic step-by-step of what I’m giving away this year.

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Supplies: 

  • All from The Container Store
  • Small and Medium aluminum tins
  • Wax tissue paper (it says it’s better for baked goods than regular tissue paper)
  • Ribbon
  • Seasonal tube ribbon in various colors (that’s the floppy bows)
  • Sticker tags
Other ideas:
Bows, tags, twine, decorative gift bags for treats wrapped with a bow and tag

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  • On the tissue paper, I traced the lid of the tin with a pencil and then cut it out. Two pieces per tin, one on the bottom of the cookies and one on top.
  • I placed in a cookie assortment, laid the second sheet on top, and then put the lid on.
  • Around the body of the smaller tins, I taped down red and white striped ribbon. The thickness of this ribbon fit perfectly around the tin. Put the taped end at the back, sticker facing the other way.
  • Around the larger tins, I tied a colored bow with the tube bow and cut the bow ends making six little ends. (that’s not a very good explanation, but the ribbon is at the Container Store every year.)
  • I placed a matching colored sticker on the top, and that’s it!

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My colors for this year were golds, reds, and Hanukkah blue and silver. Hope our people like our gifts this year!

Filed Under: How To · Tagged With: , ,

How to make brussels sprouts taste good

November 2, 2011 by 2 Comments

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I understand that many people think of brussels sprouts as one of the worst vegetables ever. It had a bad rap when I was growing up, and my mom never made them. So I assumed they were a boring vegetable until I became more adventurous. I actually like these sprouts that look like mini cabbages. They are easy to cook, versatile, and really healthy. You just have to dress ‘em up right. They just need a little PR makeover or someone to stand up for them.

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Recently, I read a recipe on Eat Live Run that added some sugar to the sprouts. Well that must be good. She cut them into ribbons, but I like the bite and crunch of just splitting them in half. I generally followed her recipe, but added a little more salt and pepper.

Sweet and Crunchy Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb brussels sprouts (can use less and adjust other measurements)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
  • Approx. 3 tbsp brown sugar (start with 2 and add if you need more)
  • 1/3 cup roughly chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions:

  • Cut the bottom off the sprout, and then slice in half. Don’t worry about leaves that fall off.
  • Heat the olive oil over medium high in a large skillet and saute the garlic for 30 seconds.
  • Add the brussels sprouts and continue sauteing for another 4-5 minutes, until bright green and tender.
  • Add the sea salt and brown sugar and toss together.
  • Finish by adding the toasted nuts.

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Don’t be scared of the sprout, just learn how to make them right!

Filed Under: Recipes, Vegetarian · Tagged With: ,

Guest Post: How to stay cool with treats this summer

June 10, 2011 by 2 Comments

Hi Y’all! My name is Lauri and I’m a Registered Dietitian eating my way through life’s tasty treats, one bite at a time! I document my food journey and daily recipes over at RedHeadRecipes.com!

I met Marci at the FoodBuzz Festival last year. Actually, we were roommates! I have enjoyed watching her blog grow over the past year! Her photos our gorgeous (Did you see those Double chocolate cookies??)

While Marci is away enjoying the cooler temps in Aspen, I’m here in South Carolina trying desperately hard NOT to melt in our super humid, near 100 degree weather!

In fact, this weather is SO hot, its got me craving everything cold and sweet I can get my hands on. So if you are like me, and need to cool off a bit, try one of these COLD sweet treats on a HOT summer day.

Oh, and the best part about these tasty summer treats– They won’t wreak havoc on all the hard work you’ve done preparing for bathing suit season (Ugh, is there anything worse than bathing suit shopping?!)

Frozen Grapes

So simple and so refreshing on a hot summer day! Frozen grapes are the perfect summer treat to keep on hand everyday. Grab a few metal or bamboo skewers and place grapes back-to-back until the skewer is full (Be sure to wash and pat the grapes dry first). Place skewers in your freezer for at least an hour and enjoy on a hot summer afternoon. This would also be a great snack alternative for kids to enjoy instead of sugary popsicles!

Source

Banana Frozen Yogurt

Love soft ice cream but hate all of the calories and added sugar that goes along with it? Then this is the perfect dessert for you! Simply peel and dice bananas, then place in a Ziploc bag and stick into the freezer for several hours. Place frozen bananas in a food processor and ‘Let her Rip’ for several minutes (*Note: A blender will work, but not as well).  Stop to scrape the sides every couple of minutes or so. Eventually, the frozen bananas will turn into the consistency of frozen yogurt!

Top with melted Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter

For a step by step visual, click here

Chocolate [Avocado] Pudding

Avocado in pudding? Wha?? I know, crazy right?!  This rich, chocolaty pudding makes a perfect dessert for a summer BBQ.

What you will need:

  • *1 avocado
  • *4Tb rounded cocoa powder
  • *1/4 cup light coconut milk
  • *½ banana
  • *2-3 Tb Agave nectar (or honey)

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a food processor until well combined (You may have to scrape the sides a few times). Chill in fridge for a couple hours, or until cold.

FroYo

Frozen yogurt is probably the Tastiest Summer Treat to emerge over the past couple years. However, it’s just as easy to make your own frozen yogurt at home with a little help from Chobani’s FAQ section (http://www.chobani.com/about/faqs)

Can I freeze Chobani Greek Yogurt?
Yes, frozen Chobani (or “FroCho” as we like to call it) can be frozen and stored for up to three months. While frozen, the live and active cultures present in Chobani become dormant. But once thawed, either in the refrigerator or by your body heat when eaten, they become live and active again.
FroCho will have a slightly different texture, whether eaten frozen or thawed, but makes for a refreshing treat.

Packed with protein and a lot less sugar than ice cream, frozen [Greek] yogurt is a great way to chill off during these hot summer days without any guilt! And with so many flavor choices, such as cherry, pineapple, pomegranate, blueberry, peach, and strawberry (to name a few), FroCho is sure to satisfy even the pickiest of palates!

EatingWell’s Frozen Raspberry Pie

I haven’t had the pleasure of sinking my teeth into this decadent looking treat, but it won’t be long before I do! And at just over 200calories a slice, that teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini will still fit once the pie is gone!

Source

I hope you guys STAY COOL this summer and I hope to see y’all around!!

THANK YOU Marci for allowing me to guest post on your blog! I am truly honored!! Hope you have a BLAST in Aspen!!

Filed Under: How To · Tagged With:

What Pinterest’s you

May 29, 2011 by 8 Comments

There is a new website out there called Pinterest. I know you probably don’t want another site to go to daily or every so often, but I’ve added it to my repertoire to visit, and it’s gaining popularity, so I want to tell you about it and show you how to use it, if you’re curious. I just want you to be an informed internet user! I joined a few weeks ago, but didn’t really spend much time on it to understand it until this weekend. And now I’m checking back often.

What’s Pinterest? If you are familiar with the trending topic of “inspiration boards” where you collect images or fabrics or ideas in one place for a room in your house or  goal to accomplish, this is like a virtual inspiration board. You “pin” photos to boards you create, like “kitchen ideas,” “beautiful furniture,” “wedding,” “baby nursery,” anything you want to create.

The good thing about Pinterest is that it’s not related to a blog, so you don’t need one to join. Some photos may take you to a blog, but it’s not necessary. It’s also a free tool.

How to use Pinterest: (Reminder, I just played around and took some screen shots, I’m not an expert at the site.) Once you sign up, you should start following people. You can access Twitter and Facebook and email to see if any of your friends are members too. When you follow someone, you can see their boards. Below is an image of one person I follow and all of her boards to the right. The board open is called “yummy food.”

Once you see boards, you can “repin” pictures you like to your boards. That’s how you build your own collection. To create your own boards, make up some categories of anything you want. It’s a great site for home design, cooking, weddings, fashion, and just beautiful photos.

Why use Pinterest: Well, it is another time sucker, but it would be great if you were decorating a house for sure. I just like seeing pretty photos, especially of food. You could use this as a place to find recipe ideas. For instance, I typed “tortellini salad” into the search box because I wanted to make something like it, and I got a list of photos where I could click them and see a recipe.

If you are a blogger and want to share photos, you can pin your own photos to a board. I create a board called “food from my kitchen” where I put all recipes I thought had nice photos. Then people can view or share. If you’re looking for traffic, it’s not like posting on Food Gawker or TasteSpotting.

Pin it bookmark button: There is a convenient button to add to your toolbar. You open a page you like, click “pin it,” and that image goes right to Pinterest on a board you choose. No uploading necessary.

There are also ways to share your pins via Facebook and Twitter, and there’s an iPhone app for easy viewing and pinning.

Any questions?

Filed Under: How To, Things I Love · Tagged With: , ,

Demystifying Beets

May 26, 2011 by 4 Comments

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Have you tried beets yet? Well beets are a little laborious and messy to make, but I really love the taste. They are a vegetable, but look like a starch, and cook like a starch too. I first started eating beets from the Whole Foods salad bar, where I learn about a lot of things I haven’t created myself.  Then I got daring and decided to cook them myself. That’s how I started eating tofu too–I loved it from Whole Foods, and then tried to mimic flavors at home. You learn how it should be prepared from the pros, then try to recreate at home.

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First, you buy beets at the store in a bundle. My little bundle above was three beets with a gigantic long stem. You cut the stem and discard (or some people may save them for a soup), and scrub the skins a little to get the dirt off. They’re pretty dirty.

While we’re talking about dirt, beets are one vegetable that you should consider buying organic. They are from the ground, like a vegetable is, but seem to retain a lot of dirt. I feel a little better about what I’m eating if I know it wasn’t sprayed by a lot of pesticides. I don’t buy all fruits and vegetables organic, but that’s a story for another day.

Back to the instructions–after you’ve scrubbed the beets, lay them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Preheat your oven to 375* and prepare to bake them. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Wrap them tightly in the foil they’re laying on.

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After about one hour, the beets should be knife tender. Unwrap the foil a little and poke with a knife. If it doesn’t stick easily or come out easily, bake a little longer, but one hour should be about right.

I read that the skin should peel off easily, but mine didn’t really peel. I cut along the skin with a knife and then cut the beets into large bite sized pieces. At this point, I put mine in a tupperware container to eat during the week for lunches and dinners, but you could season again with olive oil, salt and pepper, or add to a salad and season with a dressing. You could also combine a red onion and fennel (or another herb) for a nice side dish with an oily dressing.

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Lily says, “Mom, why do your hands look like they are bleeding at the nails?” Well Lily, beets make your hands turn beet red. That’s why they call it that expression. You could wear latex gloves if you don’t want pink hands and nail beds, because the beets really do turn everything red.

The good part of baking beets is that most of the time is inactive cooking, you can do whatever you want while the beets cook.

Have you tried cooking with beets? I’ve also boiled them, but that was pre-blog days too! It’s a similar process of boiling until tender and chopping.

Filed Under: How To · Tagged With: ,

How To: Meal Planning

March 4, 2011 by 2 Comments

My how-to page was looking a little bare, and I really enjoy writing how-to posts, so how about one about how to plan meals for a week without being crazy organized about it?

Sometimes I talk to friends and they tell me they have no food in their house because they don’t know what they want for dinner in three days and don’t go to the grocery ahead of time. Then there are also people who know what they are having for dinner in not only three days, but for lunch on Day 5 and dinner on Day 6. I fall somewhere between both of these people.

In my opinion, the trick of meal planning is to have a great stock of pantry staples, a refrigerator of things you always have on hand, and some planning ahead, of course. Here’s some steps to break it down and make it less intimidating than it seems.

1. Plan only one week at a time, and I would even say to ignore the weekends. In our house, we eat out 99% of the time on Friday and Saturday nights, so those nights aren’t included in my thoughts at the grocery store. I really like to cook at least Sunday through Wednesday, and by Thursday, eggs are very common for dinner.

2. Have some overlap in breakfast and lunch, or rely on staples you always have. For instance, my breakfast is either a bowl of hot or cold oatmeal, cereal with yogurt, a muffin with eggs and fruit, or sometimes something different. In all of these instances, I always have the ingredients on hand. Like, always. Yogurts are always on my grocery list, same with fruit, cereals, and my oat tubs are so big I don’t run out often. Not having to worry about breakfast means 7 meals are taken care of.

3. For lunch, I am similar to breakfast. I either eat leftovers from dinner, meet friends or pick up on occasion, or put together a big salad or wrap. I always have lettuce, tomatoes, carrots and hummus on my grocery list, and there are always crackers in the pantry, extra fruit in the fridge, and some kind of protein left over. Sometimes I make a green monster for lunch, which is especially easy later in the week when leftovers are no longer appealing. If all else fails, I have bread in my freezer and peanut butter and jelly on reserve. There’s lunch!

4. Snacks are also something that I can rely on my planning. Cheese and crackers I always have, apples or pears with Babybel or Swiss cheese is common, yogurt or cottage cheese with cereal or granola is common too. All of these can be altered by flavor or fruit to make it a little different, but still easy to plan for. Nuts and dried fruit are always in my pantry. You don’t have to buy things in a machine or eat a packaged 100 calorie pack. Just use what you have.

5. Now for dinner, where even I have a hard time coming up with what to make each night. To me, it’s all about resources and taking time to think. First, I always look at our calendar and see which nights we aren’t home for dinner. For the remaining nights, I bookmark and print recipes all the time to try (although 80% of the recipes I print are baked goods, oops?), I turn down pages in cookbooks for easy referencing, I read magazines, and also think about it based on what looks good at the grocery store. What I don’t do is not plan and not wait until I get to the grocery store to decide what to make for four dinners.

I make soups early in the week to last at least two meals, even if one is lunch for me. I make turkey loaf that will last a while too. A block of tofu is great for early in the week to use for two more meals (usually lunch the next day and one more dinner). Roasting vegetables always last a few meals. Even a store-bought rotisserie chicken is good for a while too.

How do you plan your meals? Shared Google calendar? Wing it? Go to the grocery store every other day?

There obviously isn’t a right way to plan, this is just how I do it for our house!

Filed Under: How To, Meals · Tagged With: ,

Pizza Pizza

March 1, 2011 by 7 Comments

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For Oscar Sunday, we made pizza from scratch. It was awesome.

Baking bread has been on my food related goals list for a while, and Jeffrey loves pizza, so we decided Oscar night would be a fun time for homemade pizza. We crossed our fingers that it would turn out!

I looked at some favorite websites for dough recipes and instructions and our dough came out 100% perfect. It did take about 7 hours from start to finish, but there was a lot of down time for rising. Our dough made two pizzas, and we topped with a store-bought sauce (one thing at a time!) and lots of vegetables, sausage for Jeffrey, and mozzarella cheese.

Homemade Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp white sugar
  • 1 1/2 C warm water
  • 1 packet active dry yeast
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 C whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 C all purpose white flour
  • 1 T honey

Instructions:

(pay attention, there are a lot of steps!)

  • In a large bowl, dissolve sugar into warm water. Sprinkle yeast on top and let stand for 10 minutes until foamy. (We did not stir it in. picture 1)
  • Stir in the olive oil, honey and salt into the yeast mixture, and then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the AP flour until the dough starts to come together. (picture 2)

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  • Spread the remaining flour onto countertop and plop the dough onto it. Knead until all flour is absorbed and the dough ball becomes smooth, about 10 minutes.
  • To knead, you take the left side and fold it in, then the top and fold in and repeat over and over. Our dough was a little sticky, so we added more flour. It was fine. (picture 3)
  • Place dough in an oiled bowl and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel and let stand on countertop for 1 hour. We left ours out for about 3 hours. (picture 4)

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  • When the dough is doubled, tip the dough onto a floured surface and divide into two pieces for two crusts. Form into a tight ball and let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled. We wrapped ours in saran wrap and placed in the refrigerator after one hour. (picture 5)
  • When you’re ready to roll the dough, preheat oven to 450* and flour your surface again.
  • With a rolling pin, roll out to desired shape. Ours were oval and it rolled easily without tearing. We did not do any pizza throwing in the air. We don’t have a pizza stone, so we placed each pie on a cooling rack so the bottom would cook well too. (picture 6)

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  • Drizzle top with olive oil and add toppings and sauce. Our choices included arugula, roasted garlic, artichokes, red bell pepper, sausage, red onion, basil, and mozzarella cheese.

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Jeffrey’s pizza, pre-baking.

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Marci’s pizza, pre-baking.

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We baked for about 15 minutes or until it just looked ready. Next time, I would put the cooling rack on a baking sheet, or put a baking sheet on the bottom of the oven as a drip pan. We placed both pizzas on the top rack side by side for equal cooking. Jeffrey’s pizza had some leaky sauce that burned on the bottom of the oven.

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Finished pizzas!

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I love how the cheese browned so nicely and the arugula really wilted down. The onion strips cooked perfectly, and the cheese was perfectly melty.

Jeffrey’s pizza was super cheesy and spicy. I cut my cheese into strips and he used rounds. It made a difference in the cheesy-ness.

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We cut into wedges and had lots leftover too. These two pies would be a perfect amount for 3 people probably.

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If we have the time, I don’t think we’ll ever buy a store-bought crust again. The dough was crispy outside, doughy and soft inside. The wheat really stood out and the thickness was just perfect.

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Making pizza together was a fun and messy project in the kitchen for a Sunday. You really realize that the dough is filled with love and hard work! We worked on that dough from noon until 7 p.m.!

Little Caesars has nothing on us. We can’t wait for the leftovers.

Filed Under: Dinner, How To, Recipes · Tagged With: , , ,

Gingered Out

December 2, 2010 by 14 Comments
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Happy December!

I want to give a big “thank you” to you, my readers, for coming back to visit so often. My November had more pageviews than any month so far, which also means that my readership has increased every month since I started to blog last Spring. I really appreciate you reading, commenting, or emailing. Connecting with readers is so fun, and growing readership means I’m going in the right direction.

Odd blog stats:

After Texas, the states that come to my site most are California, New York, and Washington State. If you are in Washington, say hi. I don’t know anyone there!

Now you can go over to my giveaway and leave a comment to win the coupons and kitchen tools I put together. It’s how bloggers say thank you!


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Homemade Gingerbread

(by Simply Recipes)

This whole post is as festive as it gets. It’s all about gingerbread. I scoured the internet and cookbooks to find a basic gingerbread recipe with icing. I didn’t want to try a healthified one, I wanted to make the real thing from scratch. This process took a long time but the cookies turned out perfect. They are so soft on the inside, crispy outside. My icing skills are a little amateur, but ugly icing tastes just as good as pretty icing.

The whole process was really fun, but it was very time consuming and made a mess!

Ingredients:

  • 3 1/4 C sifted all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 C unsalted butter, room temperature (1.5 sticks)**
  • 1/2 C dark brown sugar, packed
  • 1 T ground ginger
  • 1 T ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 C unsulfured molasses

**Butter confession: I defrosted two sticks of butter and realized after the dough went in the fridge that I used all two sticks instead of 1.5 sticks. So when I was rolling out the dough, I liberally tossed on flour to make it tougher. That fixed it. So if you use this recipe, you may not need to throw on as much flour when rolling it out.

Instructions:

  • In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.

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  • In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Mix in eggs and molasses. Gradually add flour mixture; combine on low speed.

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  • Divide dough into thirds, wrapping each in Saran Wrap. Chill for at least one hour or overnight. Before rolling out, let it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. If the dough is too soft to roll (or is sticky), add in more flour.

  • Heat oven to 350*. Place a dough third on a large piece of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, roll to 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate again for 5-10 minutes. Use a cookie cutter to make shapes, lay on ungreased cookie pan. Press raisins or chocolate chips into dough as buttons.
  • (baker’s note: My dough was a little sticky, so I added flour and worked it in, then rolled it, and then put it in a ball and added flour and rolled it again. Just do what you need to do to get it rolled pretty. I also thought parchment paper was annoying but then I transfered the sheet to sit in the refrigerator, and that was easier than lifting and placing on a tray to refrigerate.)

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I tried greased and non-greased cookie sheets, both worked fine.

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Bake for 8-10 minutes until crisp. Let sit until cooler and move to a wire rack. Decorate only after it completely cools. Icing instructions below.

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Royal Icing:

Ingredients:

  • 1 egg white
  • 1/2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 3/4 C confectioners sugar

Instructions:

  • Combine egg white and lemon juice and mix in electric mixer. Add powdered sugar slowly and incorporate fully, scraping down sides too.
  • Spoon into piping back or sandwich bag and cut an end in the bag to pipe. You can’t wait to do this or it will dry out quickly.

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Doesn’t it look like snow? And don’t you want to lick that spoon?

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Sometimes they break, which is just so so sad. You know where broken gingerbread men go, right?

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Gingerbread Oatmeal

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Ingredients:

  • 3/4 C water
  • 1/4 C Scottish Oats
  • 1/4 C Almond Milk
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 2 T raisins
  • 1/2 tsp chia seeds
  • 1/2 banana, sliced
  • dash salt
  • crumbled gingerbread on top
  • maple syrup on top

Instructions:

In small pot, bring water to a simmer. Add oats and whisk. Add almond milk and salt and whisk. Let cook and bubble. Add banana, raisins, chia seeds. Stir. Add all spices. Let cook together for 5 minutes until thick.

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With two days of baking gingerbread shapes, decorating, and having it for breakfast, I am gingered out for now. But the house smells great, and those cookie men are calling my name.
What’s your favorite use of gingerbread?
Filed Under: Breakfast, Dessert, Hanukkah/Xmas, How To · Tagged With: , , ,

How To: Once Per Week Grocery Shopping

July 22, 2010 by 2 Comments

First—I’m still looking for a few guest posts while I’m on vacation! If you’d like to write something for my site, please let me know. You don’t have to be a blogger.

Onto a new How To post. And be sure to check out the other How To’s that I’ve written on its own page here.

 

One of my favorite parts of the week is going to the grocery store on Sundays. (foodie dork here!) I try to get all my shopping done for the week in one day, and here are some tips of how I do it. It does involve planning, but not to the extent that I write down 5 days of dinner menus.

A little background–I only have to feed two people, and one of us eats most meals from restaurants. When planning and buying, I pay attention to expiration dates or overbuying so things won’t spoil.

How to get your grocery shopping done in one day for one week:

1. Have an old-fashioned list. I keep a list going all the time in the kitchen. Make sure you add things that you run out of right when you run out of it! Jot down new foods to try from things you read (like my blog!) Then at the grocery, stick to your list. It will keep you from overbuying. However, there are some days when I like to browse the aisles and look for new things to try, or produce that is in season.

2. Think about your week. Do you already have plans to eat out? Are you packing your breakfast every morning or will you have time to eat at home? Same with lunch. For me, I always pack breakfast and a snack, and my lunches are similar within a week. Keeping lunches similar keeps your grocery bill down. Buy a bag of cherries one week and then mixed berries the next. Use pantry items to change it up, like buy turkey, and alternate in tuna or beans for salad protein.

3. Get to know your grocery store. The annoying part of wanting certain brands or fresher produce is going to multiple grocery stores. I usually go to my local Randalls and Whole Foods every Sunday. However, I can be in and out of a grocery quickly because I know where things are and what each store may or may not carry. For instance–I will not find the turkey or yogurt I like at Randalls, so I don’t need to spend time looking for it!

4. If you go to multiple grocery stores, go to the one that will be cheaper first. By this I mean that I will look for produce at Randalls before Whole Foods because I know it will be cheaper. If the quality is poor at Randalls, I’ll get it at Whole Foods.

5. Use Costco! (or Sam’s Club) My weekly trips to the grocery are for what we need for the week. We leave our cleaning supplies, some freezer items, dry snacks, and waters to buy in bulk every 6 weeks or so.

6. Plan to make use of your Sunday afternoon. Every Sunday, I hard-boil 6 eggs–to use for breakfast or chopped into tuna salad or on a salad. Sometimes I bake chicken to have for a few days. Sometimes I bake muffins to freeze for breakfast. And then I make dinner for Sunday night with plans to have leftovers for Monday lunch or Monday night. Or if I make chicken, I will use it in a different way during the week.

7. Planning a basic dinner: It doesn’t always have to be about creating a recipe! You just  need things on hand to satisfy the carb-protein-vegetable ratio, in my opinion. For instance, sweet potatoes, vegetables to roast (brussels sprouts, broccoli, squash, zucchini, mixed peppers) can always be paired with canned baked beans, 90 second rice, grilled chicken or your protein of choice for a well-rounded meal.

8. The freezer is for more than ice cream and ice. Use your freezer to store baked goods, then defrost in the refrigerator overnight for breakfast. You can cook soups ahead and defrost before work for dinner that night, and let meats thaw all day. Planning is the hard part. If you make the decisions ahead of time, all that’s left is to execute when you get home at night.

Happy cooking!

How often do you shop? What are your once/week tips?

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