Much prettier and tastier.

Much better go on the dinners tonight.  Andre cooked up the Turkey Meatloaf and served it with steamed brocolli.  Kai was not a fan, but Andre and I liked it alot.

A Pretty Fridge Every Week

 Recently we've switched from grocery shopping every two weeks to every Saturday.  It's made a huge difference in how fresh our food is, how much less we waste (especially produce), and how excited I am about the meals we have planned for the coming week.  When we went every other Saturday I found that a lot of our produce got icky after about 5 days and I'd toss it.  You can't imagine the money that wastes.  I also found that we'd eat the meals we were excited about in week 1 and then in week 2 we'd eat out more because we weren't excited about what we had left in the pantry/fridge.  

The change has been a great one for us.  It''s inspiring to come home, stock the fridge and be happy about opening it to see fresh herbs, veggies, milk, meats, etc...  

I wish we'd done this long ago, but better late than never.

Meal Planning #1:

I know for most of you cooking is just normal and part of your everyday life, but for me and Andre it's a newly developed habit.  At least healthy cooking.  Not, boil it up, empty the jar on top and top with cheese, kind of cooking.

So, I've taken up meal planning (thanks once again to inspiration by my dear friend Kendra) and here's what next week's lineup looks like:

• Turkey Meatloaf, Broc & Mash Potatoes
• Steak Tacos with Chipotle Cream Sauce and Black Beans
• 4 Cheese Macaroni with Ground Chicken and Broccoli
• Tuscan Roasted Chicken and Veggies
• Bluegrass Jambalaya 

For those interested in doing your own meal planning and wondering about my process I'll post a few notes:

1) I went back to the basics with books.  As someone who's use to doing most research and planning on the internet, there was something really refreshing about pulling out the old cookbooks and making a plan while holding something tangible.  I see a rush for new books in my future.  Luckily, these days, I can probably find tons on the cheap.

2) I use Notes on my computer (which is synced to my iphone) to make my grocery list.  I type it up based on 3 stores (Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Harris Teeter) and then further organize those subcategories based on store layout and location of foods.  I find that this method has allowed me to keep my budget down and to get in and out of the stores very quickly.

3) Finally, I note prices as I pick things up so that in the future I don't have to wonder what my final bill might be.  Also, I try to space out the purchasing of my more expensive staples and bulk items.  Again, a great way to stock up while not killing my grocery budget.

Would love to hear other tips on meal planning if you have them.