Food Prep. Lots of it (well not really). I stick to the outsides of the grocery store when I shop and usually end up spending right around $175 for 2 weeks worth of food. I spend probably another $50 a week later refilling the fresh produce. Here are some of our staple items:
- Bananas
- Strawberries
- Apples
- Cantaloupe
- Frozen Raspberries, blueberries, blackberries
- Green Peppers
- Orange peppers
- Cauliflower
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Lettuce
- Carrots
- cucumbers
- avocados
- Sweet potatoes
- 5 lb bag of potatoes
- squash of multiple varieties
- Green Beans
- Corn
- Black Beans
- Frozen Broccoli, green beans, peas, corn, mixed veggies, California blend, winter mix.
- Bacon (this is Iowa, we eat real bacon here)
- Chicken (all kinds)
- Pork chops
- Beef (lean ground, steaks)
- Lunch meat fresh from the deli (mostly ham and turkey)
- Yogurt (greek and regular)
- Cheese (cottage, string, deli slices, block) - we shred our own cheese off the block, and eat very little "processed" cheese.
- eggs
- REAL butter (I'm from Wisconsin, don't mess around with my dairy)
- 2% Milk
- Brown rice
- whole grain pasta
I of course have other staples for baking and quick cooking, but we have a ton of canned vegetables, I use canned tomato sauce instead of buying pasta sauce (crushed tomatoes with garlic, Italian seasoning and shredded parm goes a long way).
I usually get groceries on a Friday night or Saturday (with toddler in tow), and take about a half hour Sunday to chop peppers and cucumbers, and to sort my bags of frozen veggies into portions that I can just grab out of the freezer or fridge to pack my food for the day! It usually only takes about a half hour and I'm ready for the week. Here is this weeks prep:
I also try to plan our meals for the week ahead of time. I usually scroll through Pinterest while Marilyn watches her "shows" and try to find something to make out of what I've already purchased. I don't think we have the same thing twice in a month lol... well I take that back, tacos. We love mexican food! I also very rarely stick to a recipe I find. We have our own tastes as a family and I'll substitute this and that, or try different seasonings. Once I figure out what we are having, I write it on my excess stash of note cards from college and put it up in the kitchen. That way no one (my husband) is confused or unsure of what to make. I just used a piece of scrapbook paper that semi-matched our kitchen and taped it to a cupboard door.
This week I'm going to be trying some slow-cooker meals! Being on opposite schedules John can turn the crock pot on before he goes to sleep and dinner should be done by the time I get home! I commute a 1/2 hour one way, so I'm typically gone 10 hours a day. Hopefully this works out! Because I'm carb-cycling, I know some of this isn't compatible on certain days, so I'll make my adjustments as necessary, but I'm not going to deprive my family of delicious-ness every single day (although everything I'm eating is pretty dang good). They don't have to follow my schedule, but they still have healthy food to eat too.
This weeks menu includes:
- Monday -Sloppy joes (I don't use a pre-made mix, I make my own) (I'm going to have mine over zucchini - I'll let you know how that one turns out)
- Tuesday - Chicken taco soup (crock pot)
- Wednesday - Crock pot meat loaf and potatoes (I'll be substituting my potato for cauliflower and broccoli)
- Thursday - Scalloped potatoes and Ham
- Friday - we aren't sure yet - but it's the weekend and it will probably be leftovers or something simple we can just throw together
Hopefully this helps some of you! I'll try to put some of our weekly menu's up on here too. I'm always up for new ideas, so feel free to leave them in the comments below.
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