Blog

Don’t like Leftovers? Eat Planned-overs

Last week Christine gave four tips for saving money on holiday groceries. She mentioned that during the holidays stores will occasionally have deep discounts on items like turkeys or hams. This is a good time to include planned-overs in your weekly menu to save money. During the busy holiday season, it can also save you time in the kitchen.

A Three-Week Meal Plan

Preventing Food Waste at Jody’s House

Over the past few weeks you have heard lots of great ideas from Christine, Justine, and Katy on how they prevent food waste in their homes. As we wrap up our series today, I will share a few things we do at my house to prevent food waste.

Meal Planning Tips for Easy and Healthy Meals

There are sixteen days until my kids start school! Along with school starting, my kids will also be starting football, dance, and piano so our schedule is going to get busy. One thing that helps me feel less stressed when life gets busy is meal planning. By spending 30 minutes on the weekend planning meals for the week, I spend less time worrying about what we will eat for supper each night. I know my family isn’t the only one looking ahead to a busy fall, so today I wanted to share three tips I use when meal planning that you might find helpful.

Enjoying Cooking for One

As a single person cooking for one, my goals are straightforward: eat healthy, maintain weight, take minimal time, and create little waste. Also, enjoy my food as I do love to eat! I travel frequently for work so planning is important. Each weekend I look at my calendar and determine which days I will be home for meals. Then I make a quick trip to the grocery store for fresh food items and any staples I need to replace in the pantry. I keep the menu simple with a rotation of fish, poultry, beef, pork, and soups. Seasonings are used instead of sauces; baking and roasting instead of frying; simple preparation instead of complex recipes. I always prepare enough for two meals – one to eat immediately and one for the fridge or freezer. I grew up knowing you never waste food so I keep an eye on the refrigerator contents to easily see what needs used up before it goes bad. Or, if I’m going to be gone for several days I spend five minutes transferring items to freezer containers or making a mishmash meal. A small bowl of fruit sprinkled with cinnamon or a vegetable omelet are easy solutions. Lastly, I set the table even if it is just for myself.