School Lunches - The Plan

The day has finally come!!  I get to pack school lunches!  I realize I'm in the honeymoon phase with this and I'm sure I'll have the odd day that I'll wish I didn't have to pack a school lunch... I may even become like many of you who loathe this task.  But right now I'm going to enjoy this honeymoon phase.  I've been thinking A LOT about this for the last several weeks... and several years if I can be honest. 

I was a bit obsessive about what Marin ate for her first year when I was home with her.  To the extent that on her first birthday that vision of a one year old digging into a sugar laden, artificially colored cake was too much for me.  I made her an organic white cake and frosted it with cream cheese, sweetened with apple juice.  It was extremely cute, shaped and decorated to look like her beloved 'Spotty Dog', but ultimately a colossal fail!  I redeemed myself the following week with a chocolate cake and have the pictures to prove it. 

Cake #1 - didn't taste as good as it looked!

Take 2 - Success!

Shipping her off to daycare where I lost control of her snacks and lunch was also a big adjustment and caused a fair amount of anxiety at times.  I have since 'Let it Go!'... in fact, I let it go long before the Frozen craze.  But I must admit, I'm a little stoked to be getting some control back and I've come up with some strategies that I'm hoping can make packing school lunches the fun and easy breezy task I have envisioned.  (I hear you all snickering)


Here's my plan:
1) Have a go-to list - I am on the constant lookout for lunch/snack ideas and I have compiled multiple lists and have a Pinterest Board to keep track of ideas.  However, I was finding I had too many ideas and it was getting a bit mind boggling.  So I've made a master list of go-to lunch and snack ideas that I'm going to laminate and post on the fridge.  I know I won't stick strictly to this list but it's concise and contains foods that Marin is familiar with and I know she likes.

2) Document success - If I come up with a combo that's a success I'll save a picture of it.  I feel if I can come up with 10 hits, that's a fairly decent variety to rotate through.  My biggest challenge in the beginning will be packing the right amount of food, so having a visual of serving sizes will be a help.

Here's two from this week...

Couscous with soya sauce, cherry tomatoes and leftover chicken.  Vegetables, peach slices and Love Grown Cocoa Power O's and Pretzels

Pizza on Homemade Naan, Cherry Tomatoes, dried apricots and chocolate chips, juice pack and yogurt smoothie.

The pizza and smoothie lunch was the winner of the week.  I was immediately asked if she could have it again.

3) Pre-pack snacks - I have placed a bin in the fridge and pantry for easy to grab snacks.  Every 2-3 days I'll restock them.  This will be great for work snacks as well.

4) Stock the Freezer - Last year I did a freezer makeover and started to really see the value in using my freezer wisely.  I recently gave them another clean and I'm going to start restocking some of our basics like tortillas, naan and muffins. 

5) Get Marin Involved - Another benefit of taking pictures of lunches and using Pinterest for inspiration is that I can get Marin involved in meal planning by choosing a few ideas from a lunch 'menu'.  She's also old enough to help restock the snack bins and choose her own snacks.  I hope I can have her take over the majority of this task before I become a lunch packing hater!


Have a great school year!

Sandra

Week 41 - What Happens When Life Gets in the Way of Grocery Shopping

Printable Version of Meal Plan

We were away last weekend for Thanksgiving and arrived home Monday with no grocery stores open.  I was prepared for this and was able to put to the test one of the make ahead slow cooker recipes I had in the freezer.  I am now a believer!  But then it turned out I couldn't get out Tuesday night either so I took another look at our supplies and got us through another day.  Wednesday night Marin went to my parents house for a sleepover and Dave and I found ourselves with an unplanned date night... so again, no groceries.  By this point I felt it was a personal challenge to NOT get groceries for a full week.

This was manageable given that last week I had over planned a bit and had some leftovers.  So I actually started the week with enough milk and some fruit and vegetables.  I did make a trip to a pharmacy on Monday evening and picked up a loaf of bread ($2.50) and mid-week at Costco we picked up a couple of other items for about $18.00.  So $22.50 was my total spent on grocery items for the week!!  Hurrah!  This was also possible in large part to my freezer re-org.  This may sound a little dramatic (or maybe a lot) but having clean, organized freezers has changed my life....ok, maybe not my life but at least the way I meal plan. 

Here's what we managed to find to eat....

Breakfast - We mainly alternated between toast and cereal but I did squeeze in an overnight oatmeal - I can't help myself.

Corn Chowder (Mama Loves Food) with Tea Biscuits (100 Days of Real Food) - I prepared these last week to take with us for the weekend so we were cleaning up on this.

Lentils & Rice (Chef Michael Smith) - This recipe takes only a few ingredients that I almost always have on hand.  It also takes only about 5 minutes of prep time to make two days worth of lunches.  A great recipe to have in your back pocket.

Slow Cooker Coconut Chicken (Kojo Design) - This was prepped and frozen a few weeks ago with this very day in mind.  I knew I would need to have something that didn't require a trip to grocery store for the Tuesday after the long weekend.  Oddly none of us were over the moon about this one the night of but I finished up the leftovers a couple of days later and loved it!  I'd almost recommend making it a day in advance because it seems to take that long for the flavors to really blend.  I served it with couscous though which Marin did love.

Greek Nachos from Palladium Family Restaurant - I'm throwing this out there for anyone from the HRM area.  If you love Greek food they serve some of the best in the city in my opinion.  Maybe not the most romantic setting for a date night but we loooove the food.

Stir-Fried Beef w/ Roasted Vegetables - this was totally one of those meals that was thrown together with whatever odds and ends I could find.  We had cauliflower, carrots, parsnips, beets and onion - which are all vegetables I love roasted.  Then I stir fried some strips of beef I had frozen with a bit of an Asian twist - sesame oil, ginger, soya sauce and honey.  It was actually pretty good.

Squash Soup with Grilled Cheese - I thawed some squash soup and served it with grill cheese.  A fun idea would be to cut the grilled cheese into bite size squares for homemade "Croutons". 

Personal Pizzas - I had whole wheat pizza crusts in the freezer, just enough cheese and toppings to manage a pizza!  Another pizza Friday.

Homemade Chicken Fingers (Rachel Ray) w/ Roasted Potato Coins - I stock up on boneless skinless chicken breasts whenever they go on sale so I had some on hand.  On Friday's I like to do "convenience" food and while these chicken fingers aren't out of a box they don't take much effort either.  I like to mix the breadcrumbs with grated Parmesan cheese.  For the potato coins I simply microwave the potatoes and then slice them into rounds about a 1/4" thick.  Brush both sides with oil and bake at 450 until nice and crispy.  We still had carrots and celery to have on the side too!

Smoothie - Marin's smoothie love continues - this week was Strawberry & Banana (both from the freezer), Kiwi & Kale (both leftover from last week and in need of being used up), coconut water and honey.  One of our best yet!

Your kids don't like eating greens?  Maybe they'll drink them!

Parmesan Popcorn -- Remember last week I said I wanted to try a new popcorn recipe?  Well I found a winner.  Baking the popcorn gave it a nice crunch.  I packed the leftovers as a lunch snack and it was still crunchy the next day.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins - I had four of these gems from last week stashed away in the freezer.

So not too bad for only $20 in groceries!  I didn't even have to break out the KD.  But now I really, truly am out of food!


What are your go-to meals when life gets in the way of grocery shopping?

Sandra

Week 40 - Snack Time

Printable Version of Meal Plan

We celebrated our anniversary last weekend by going out to one of our favorite local Italian restaurants.  We shared a cheesy appetizer, I ordered a pasta with a buttery sauce and then we shared a super rich chocolate dessert.  It was all amazingly delicious but I rolled out of there and was in a state of fullness for the rest of the weekend.  It made meal planning a real challenge because I wasn't in the mood to eat anything.  Add to that that Dave's schedule for the week was very up in the air.  So I jotted down some ideas and a loose plan and decided it would be one of those weeks that we just make up as we go along.

By Monday evening my fullness level was almost back to normal and I was ready to eat again so I made up for my uninspired meal plan by filling in the blanks with lots of tasty snacks.  So I'm skipping the regular week in review to instead talk about what we were snacking on...

Snack Attack!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins (Weelicious) - I had extra zucchini to use up so I found this recipe for Zucchini loaf and adapted it a bit.  I replaced the oil with apple sauce, used 1/3 cup of honey instead of 1/2 cup, added chocolate chips and made them into muffins instead of a loaf (they cooked in 20 minutes).  They made a dense and not overly sweet muffin which was fine by me.  My little taste tester approved too!  If you want to make them a little sweeter I'm sure an extra banana wouldn't hurt.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Hmmm... where did that muffin go??

Happy little taste tester.

Almond Milk (Oh She Glows) - I raved about almond milk when I started making it earlier this year and after taking the summer off I'm back in a groove, making at least one batch a week.  Once you make it a couple of times it really becomes something you can do with your eyes closed.  And it makes me happy to look in the fridge and see a jar of the frothy goodness.

Ricotta & Almond Spread w/ Fruit - If you start making almond milk you'll quickly realize you have to get creative with using all that pulp!  I love to mix it with ricotta cheese (roughly equal amounts) and a little maple syrup to use it as a dip for apples or pears or to spread on an English Muffin.  Yum is all I can say about that.  If you don't have almond pulp, almond butter (or peanut butter) are equally as good.

Veggies & Ranch Dip (100 Days of Real Food) - I'm trying to make veggies a daily snack (0 Weight Watchers points so eat up!)  I can eat raw veggies straight up but a little dip gives them some pizazz and our favorite at the moment is Ranch.  I premix the spices so it's a breeze to mix up little containers for lunches.  I'm also trying to get into a routine of cutting veggies early in the week so that they can be an easy grab and go snack any time.

Cheddar Crackers (Weelicious) -  We all love these cheddar crackers.  Must see if I can find a little pumpkin cookie cutter to add a little fun to the next batch.  Although I will say using a cookie cutter adds a great amount of time.  I typically just roll out the dough and then use a knife to cut them into squares.

Cheddar Crackers

Freezer Coconut Chocolates (Practical Paleo) - I made these on the weekend with a couple of simple modifications.  I added unsweetened shredded coconut and instead of making them using molds I lined a cookie sheet with parchment and froze the chocolate as one big square.  When it was fully frozen I used my hands to break it into small pieces which I'm storing in a bag in the freezer.  I find one piece the perfect little something when you want a sweet treat.

Roasted Chickpeas (Rachelleb.com) - I had extra chickpeas from my salad on Wednesday so I roasted them and seasoned with a little salt & cumin.  Yummy alternative to chips.  I like this recipe because it's the basic formula and then you can season them however you want.  These would be great tossed in a salad too!

Roasted Chickpeas

Roasted Squash - this was an accidental snack.  I had chopped my (buttercup) squash into small bite size pieces to roast for my salad on Wednesday... and then popped one in my mouth and realized it tasted like candy! 

Apple Chia Seed Jam (Oh She Glows) - I made a batch to mix in with my overnight oats and the extra I ate just as is.  So good.  I love everything apple this time of year.

Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (Weelicous) - I actually made this recipe the weekend before last and we're just finishing them up.  Which is my main reason for being in love with this recipe.  They were easy to make, made a huge batch and last for up to two weeks.  And they were a hit with everyone in the family. 


Some of my other favorites that I've either recently made or are on my mind....

Pretzels and Tzatziki -  Pretzels had fallen off my radar for a long time so this was a treat last week.

Apple Chips - I loved these!!  They're easy to make but take a long time to cook so load up the oven with as much as you can.  I plan to get a batch of these in the oven for the weekend.

Apple Chips

Apple Sandwiches - I've taken a bit of a break from this one but have it on the brain again.  I typically do a nut-butter filling but if that's an issue for school this Nut-free "Nutella" (again... Weelicious.  Am I gushing??) would probably make a kid very happy!

Apple Sandwich

Potato Chips (Canadian Family) (or use other veggies such as sweet potato or beets) - guilt free chips, what's not to love!?  I want to try beet chips next week.

Roasted Edamame - I actually like eating just thawed edamame with a little salt but roasting kicks it up a notch.

Popcorn - We had two standard popcorn versions - Cheesy (butter and nutritional yeast) or Sweet & Salty (butter and honey with a sprinkle of salt).  I'm feeling the need to experiment with new seasonings.

Smoothies - Marin is feeling the smoothie love these days, I think because I typically give her creative control (within reason).  Last week we made a strawberry, chocolate (I mixed cocoa powder with maple syrup) and coconut blend that was awesome!  She also usually wants to add a green which is also awesome.  Smoothie packs and pops (make a smoothie and pour it into Popsicle molds) are great to have on a hand for a quick morning or afternoon smoothie fix.


And here's my helpful tip for the weekend... if you prepare a slow cooker meal before you head out for the day make sure you plug slow cooker in! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sandra

Week 39 - Prep Ahead Meals

Printable Version of Meal Plan

I actually didn't plan on a theme this week but turns out most of my suppers were ones that I could prep ahead.  And I love a meal that's mostly done when I walk in the door!  It frees up time in the evening to prep supper for the next night... brilliant!!

Before we get into the details of the week I stumbled upon a link I thought I'd share.  My google stats are consitently showing that people are finding me with the term "Kid Friendly" so it would seem that feeding kids is a common struggle.  I thought this was a good article...Today's Parent: 10 Surprising Ways to Get Kids Eating Healthy.  This is us practicing #4...

Marin assembling the perfect bite.

 

Recipe Quick Links

Sushi Sandwich, Weelicious
Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats, My Whole Food Life
Simple Turkey Chili, All Recipes
Whole Wheat Tea Biscuits, 100 Days of Real Food
Salmon Cakes,  Source Unknown.  See Tuesday of Week 14
Kale Chips, 100 Days of Real Food
Quinoa Burgers, Eating Well Living Thin
Thai Peanut Noodles, Iowa Girl Eats
Kale Salad, Marin Mama Cooks
Tortillas, 100 Days of Real Food
Almond Milk, Oh She Glows
Granola Bars, Weelicious
Apple Pie Dip, Cookin' & Kickin'

Prep Ahead Tips

To stick with the theme I thought I'd skip the usual Week in Review and instead add some notes from each supper on what can be done the night (or even days) before to save time during the supper time "rush hour".   How much prep you decide to do can depend on how busy (or tired!) you are in the evening vs. how quick you have to get supper on the table.  I find doing even just a couple of simple things while I'm packing lunches can save time and cut down on mess while I'm trying to get supper ready.  Sometimes it's just the little things, like pre-measuring spices, that can help big time.


Chicken with Beet & Goat Cheese Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette - This was a simple meal.  I cut the chicken breasts into cutlets and panfried them in coconut oil.  While they were cooking I assembled the salad - Arugula and kale mix for the greens, shredded beets and carrots, crumbled goat cheese and pumpkin seeds.  I made my standard balsamic for the dressing but added a little maple syrup to sweeten it up a bit.  I think roasted vegetables would have worked really well in this salad as well (I'm thinking beets and squash) but shredded made for a quick meal. 

Prep Ahead Options:

• Prepare the Vinaigrette in a small mason jar and store in the fridge
• Shred the beets and carrots
• You could even make the chicken ahead of time... this Maple Dill Chicken is a great recipe for a tasty chicken that works well cooled, diced and tossed in a salad. 

Reinvent the leftovers:  There was enough salad leftover that I was able to toss it with some tofu and black rice (previously prepared and frozen) for lunch the next day.


Simple Turkey Chili - I Googled 'Simple Turkey Chili' and found this truly simple (and tasty) recipe.  We agreed that we preferred the ground turkey to ground beef.

Prep Ahead Options:

• Pre-measure the spices and store them in a container next to the stove
• Put the canned goods and can opener next to the stove
• Make the Whole Wheat Tea Biscuits, if you're having them on the side
• Optionally the chili could be made the night before and simply reheated

Or... use your slow-cooker and come home to a warm bowl waiting for you.

Reinvent the leftovers:  I made some macaroni and mixed it in with the leftovers to make a Chili Mac for the next days lunch.  We topped with shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream.


Salmon Cakes w/ Green Beans and Kale Chips - I've posted this recipe before, it's our favorite - mostly for the dipping sauce.  I used canned salmon this week and they turned out great.  The only step I did ahead of time was making the dipping sauce but as a shortcut I used the tube of cilantro (about 2 tsp) instead of fresh.  It's typically found in the produce section.

Prep Ahead Options:

• Make the dipping sauce, which is also used to mix in with the patties. 
• You can assemble these to the point of forming the patties and then simply fry them up at suppertime.

Quinoa Burgers on a Portobello Bun w/ Sweet Potato Fries - I've tried many a quinoa burger recipe, even making a few up as I go.  I liked this one for the consistency.  The mixture was pretty wet but when they cooked up they stayed together nicely but weren't at all dry.  I would suggest some fresh herbs and/or feta to give them a flavor boost though.  For the sweet potato fries I simply tossed them with olive oil, salt & pepper and roasted them at 425 until they were crispy.  I cooked the portobello mushroom caps with the fries and made a simple aioli for dipping using plain Greek yogurt, mayo (ratio 2:1) and minced garlic.

Quinoa Burgers

Prep Ahead Options:

• Make the Quinoa... you could also make some extra for these brownies.  Just sayin'.... I mean you're making the quinoa anyway right??  Making the quinoa is a big time saver and the recipe actually calls for it to be cooled.
• Shred the cheese, grate the carrot and chop the green onion
• Pre-measure the spices
• Cut the Sweet Potatoes

Reinvent the leftovers:  This recipe made a lot so we had leftover patties with a Kale Salad for lunch.


Chicken Fajitas! - Marin likes Mexican food so much that she literally had a melt down last week because I wouldn't make her nachos for supper.  Like I'm talking one of the biggest meltdowns I've witnessed in her 4 1/2 years of life.  I seem to have at least one Mexican meal a week lately but it's just such a crowd pleaser I can't help myself.  Everyone enjoying supper makes for a nice kick-off to the weekend too.  Plus I just really, really love to have an excuse to restock my tortilla supply.

Freshly made tortillas

To make the fajita filling I slice the chicken into strips and fry in a lightly oiled pan until no longer pink.  Remove the chicken and then saute sliced onions and peppers.  When they are almost done I add a spoonful of Mexican Spice Blend and a little salsa.  Add the chicken back in and stir it all up and continue cooking until the veggies are soft and everything is heated through.  Then we start with a tortilla and pile on the fillings! 

Prep Ahead Options:

• Premix spices - Make extra and store in an airtight container for months.  I keep Mexican Spice Blend in my cupboard at all times.
• Slice onions and peppers
• Make tortillas - ok, ok, this is optional... you can buy tortillas I know.   But it just wouldn't be the same.  Trust me.  Tortillas can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer for longer periods... but they'll only stay there for about a week or two tops.

Marin always likes to assemble her own quesadilla, nacho, fajita... and always puts a cherry tomato on top.  I told her last night we'd be having fajitas for supper so she set aside the last cherry tomato from her plate to have with her fajita.  I'm telling you this girl is serious about her Mexican food!

Tonight's Masterpiece

Happy Weekend!

Sandra

Week 38 - From Freezer to Table

Printable Version of Meal Plan

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me!  Some people like to avoid their birthday, I on the other hand like to advertise it.  It's the one day of the year that's all about me... what's to avoid?  In fact I love my birthday so much I typically try to stretch it into a week.  So I've pretty much taken this week off.  We were out of town until Monday, Tuesday was my birthday and Wednesday I had a work function that provided breakfast and lunch.  So I thought what a great week to use some of the awesome food I've been stowing away in my newly cleaned and organized freezers.  As a result this was the ultimate easy week and my grocery bill was a grand total of $60!

Recipe Quick Links

Nut Free Nutella, Weelicious
Slow Cooker Honey Rosemary Chicken, Kojo Designs
Lacinato Kale Salad, Marin Mama Cooks
Coconut Curry Squash Soup, 52 Weeks of Meal Planning (Week 37)
Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats, My Whole Food Life
Pumkin Spiced Latte, Farm Girl Gourmet
Whole Wheat Tea Biscuits, 100 Days of Real Food
Baked Apple Chips, Taste, Love & Nourish

Snack Highlights

Cinnamon Rolls - I made a batch of Whole Wheat Tea Biscuits and split the dough.  I used half to make cinnamon rolls.  I rolled out the dough into a rectangle (fairly thin) and spread melted butter, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a generous sprinkle of brown sugar.  I rolled that up lengthwise and cut into 1" rolls and bakes along side the tea biscuits.  yum.

Baked Apple Chips - I've been seeing this recipe everywhere lately.  I gave it a try this week and LOVED them!  Will attempt the bananas next time too.

Apple Chips

Week in Review

Monday was my Birthday eve and we were just back from a weekend away.  I was not even capable of defrosting anything... we had a Take and Bake pizza from Costco.

Tuesday was my special day!!!  I booked the day off of both work (I vowed last year I would never work on my birthday again) and cooking.

Happy Birthday!

Nut Free Nutella & Banana on Tortilla - I made this simple "faux"-tella with Almond Butter (so my version was not nut free) and spread it on a tortilla that I had frozen from last week with sliced banana.  Absolutely as delicious as it sounds.

Slow Cooker Honey Rosemary Chicken with Rice and Kale Salad - A couple of weeks ago my sister-in-law sent me a link to freezer slow cooker recipes.  I've seen this idea before but never really "got it".  When I include a slow cooker recipe in my weekly plan I simply prep it the night before... so I never saw the benefit of prepping farther ahead.  But the timing of seeing this link made the light bulb go off.  I knew I was going to be away this past weekend and it occurred to me that if I had some complete meals ready to go in the freezer I wouldn't have to get groceries the instant I got home.  A few other things I liked about these particular recipes... they use "real" ingredients, are mostly all recipes that have little or no additional steps the day of cooking, and can be left for 8 or more hours.  This recipe was good but because it met all the above criteria I'd rate it great.  I have one other recipe from this site waiting to be cooked and I plan to try more.  The rice was also from the freezer and I made the Kale Salad the night before to make this a completely effortless meal.  Marin loves this salad by the way (I skip the red pepper flakes for her), so don't be afraid to put it on the "kid-friendly" list.

Wednesday only Dave required lunch because I had a work event. We had just enough leftovers of the chicken - sweet!

Pork Chops, Brussel Sprouts & Coconut Curry Squash Soup -  I had bigger plans for this meal but got stuck in traffic so in the interest of time I modified the plan - same ingredients, different method of cooking.  I basically just cooked the pork chops & brussel spouts (trimmed & halved) and in a skillet with olive oil, a diced onion and seasoned with salt & pepper.  I also thawed a serving of Coconut Curry Squash Soup from last week.  I was pleasantly surprised with the results of this speedy meal.

Thursday was back to the old grind.  To get myself into the groove I treated myself with a Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats for breakfast.  Another fall hit!

Turkey, Cheese and Avocado Wraps - I used up the last of my tortillas for these wraps... will have to restock this weekend! I try to stay away from deli meats but once in a while I'll splurge on a package of the Naturals, just can't beat the convenience.  I rolled up the turkey with cheddar, slices of avocado, lettuce and a little mayo.  Really good... and quick.

Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas

Shepherd's Pie - Yet another toss together meal that turned out pretty darn good if I do say so myself.  I browned the beef and added soya sauce, organic pasta sauce (awesome Costco buy by the way) and a little brown sugar.  The topping was sweet potato and parsnip mashed with milk and butter.  I assembled and baked it for a few minutes to get it heated through and a little crunchy on top.  So good!

Happy Friday!!  I started my day with a Pumkin Spiced Latte.  I do a modified version of this recipe from Farm Girl Gourmet.  Mine makes a single serving and takes a couple of shortcuts to make it easy to pull off in the morning.  And a tip for the pumpkin - I use canned pumpkin puree.  Last week after making the Pumpkin Buns I spooned the leftovers onto a cookie sheet into about 2T servings and put it in the freezer.  Once they were frozen I moved them to a freezer bag.  One "blob" is just right for both oats and lattes.

2 cups milk (any % you choose)

4 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup strong coffee or espresso

Read more at http://www.farmgirlgourmet.com/2012/11/pumpkin-spiced-latte.html#WC3b4uzEHjWBil1m.99

Pumpkin Spiced Latte (Modified from Farm Girl Gourmet)

2 cups milk (any % you choose)

4 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup strong coffee or espresso

Read more at http://www.farmgirlgourmet.com/2012/11/pumpkin-spiced-latte.html#WC3b4uzEHjWBil1m.99

1 Cup milk
2 T pumpkin puree
1 T maple syrup
1/4 t vanilla (I recently switched to Kirkland brand and find it strong so I tend to go light)
1/4 t pumpkin spice

Combine all ingredients in a blender (I like to use the Magic Bullet for this recipe).  Pour into microwave safe mug and microwave on High for 1 1/2 mins (careful it doesn't foam up and overflow).  Slowly add espresso - I prepare a Tassimo espresso directly in the mug. Top with whipped cream (optional but recommended!)

** This is a recipe that you might have to play around with to adjust to taste.

Supper, Use up Loose Ends - I have a few things that need to be consumed so we're having a supper surprise!  Grilled cheese?  Goat cheese omelettes?  Loaded Baked Potatoes?   We'll see what inspiration hits.

Happy Weekend!

Sandra

Week 34 - Back to School Series, Part 1 and The Freezer Reveal

Printable Version of Meal Plan

I'm super excited about this weeks post.  First, it's the big freezer makeover reveal which was a huge success!  Second, this is the first of a four part "Back to School" series.  More on that in a minute...

Freezer Makeover - After

Let's talk about my freezers.  They were a mess and long overdue for a major cleanup.  We have the standard freezer on top fridge and one of the biggest challenges I have is finding things that get pushed to the back.  So I took a trip to the Dollar Store to buy some cheap baskets to act as drawers.  I'm using them to store loose bags of fruits and vegetables and snacks such as apple sauce and yogurt tubes. The rest is labelled and stacked nicely.  The door is now only holding freezer packs, electrolyte freezies and "Boo-Boo Bags" ( or little cold packs for tending to boo-boo's).  I highly recommend them if you have basic sewing skills and little ones.

Fridge Freezer - After

Fridge Freezer Door - After

The deep freezer was a much bigger job.  I followed these instructions for defrosting, using the hurry up and wait method.  As the ice started to melt I'd break off big pieces so they didn't thaw in the freezer leaving me with a big puddle to mop up.  Sadly most of what was in there ended up in the green bin because I could no longer identify it.  But the freezer is now sparking clean and housing our boxes of blueberries and a few other things.  My plan is to keep extra servings of meat and well packaged leftovers here, while the fridge freezer will get the snacks and items I need while cooking.

Deep Freezer - After

Now that that job is done I vow to clearly mark everything as it goes in!!  If this has inspired you to clean out your freezer I'd love to hear about it in the comments below!

Back to School Series

So what's this back to school series all about??  As mentioned, I love back to school time - new year, fresh start!  But for me back to school also means the end of summer hours (I get off work 1/2 hour earlier in the summer) and an end to easy breezy commutes.  This is what my summer commute looks like some days...

Halifax Waterfront from the Dartmouth Ferry

This means I get home about an hour later every day so I'm dealing with getting supper on the table, cleaning the kitchen and packing lunches for the next day with less time.  It's a bummer.  But... staying organized helps.  So I thought that "Back to School" was too big a topic to cover in just one week and therefore it's turned into a four part series, all designed to make meal time easier at this hectic time of year.

Part 1 - Freezables
Part 2 - Healthy Lunchbox
Part 3 - Fast Fix Suppers
Part 4 - Double Duty Meals


The freezer cleanup and theme this week was very much inspired by a recent post on 100 Days of Real Food - Real Food Tips: 10 Recipes to Freeze for School Lunches.  For those of you who have kids heading back to school this post (and blog) is full of great ideas!

Freezable items on the meal plan this week

Hamburger Buns - I never use a full pack of hamburger or hot-dog buns, leftovers always end up in the freezer and can be taken out individually as needed.

Soup - Soup is a perfect thing to big batch.  I had always been freezing leftovers in one big container so I could never thaw just one serving.  Lisa Leake from 100 Days of Real Food freezes individual servings in mason jars.  My sister-in-law freezes hers in freezer bags that she lays flat so that they stack nicely.  I'm leaning towards the bags so that I can "file" them in a basket, taking up less freezer space.  And now that I've had this "a-ha!" moment of freezing soups, chili, spaghetti and meatballs, etc... in single servings I can see myself big-batching these things more often.  This week I had a Sweet Potato and Peanut Soup on the menu which is absolutely delicious.   However, not peanut free obviously.  If this is a concern for you just substitute your favorite soup.

Rice - Brown Rice takes almost an hour to make so sometimes I'll make a double batch and freeze leftovers in single serving sizes.  It freezes well, thaws quick and is very versatile for easy last minute lunches.  Some ideas...

• Mix rice with black bean, shredded cheese and salsa and roll in a tortilla.
• Saute vegetables and whatever protein is leftover from supper. Stir in rice, a scrambled egg and some soya sauce for a quick "fried rice".
• Serve it with a stir-fry
• Make sushi rolls or a Sushi Bowl
• Make rice patties such as Tex-Mex Rice Cakes

Berries - I often buy frozen berries, they're perfect for smoothies, mixing in with yogurt, adding to your cereal and for baking.  You can also freeze fresh berries if you're not able to use them right away.

Nuts - If I buy nuts in bulk I store them in the freezer to keep them from going rancid.

Herbs -- I don't know how many times I've bought a big bunch of herbs only to use a small amount and have the rest go bad.  I've used the ice-cube tray method before but find the herb cubes don't work well for all recipes.  A friend recently gave me a great tip - wash the herbs and dry well, chop and place in a freezer bag.  When a recipe calls for fresh herbs they're all ready to go!  Another "a-ha!" moment here!

Pancakes - If I make whole wheat pancakes on the weekend I'll toss the leftovers in a freezer bag.  I pop them right in the toaster to defrost and reheat.  If I had a waffle maker I'd freeze those too!  Maybe Santa is listening??

Tortillas, Pita or Naan - I'm still blown away that I was able to make tortillas and I've recently come across a recipe for naan that I'm going to try soon, but these don't have to be homemade.  If you buy a pack of tortillas, pita, naan, etc... stash leftovers in the freezer so they don't go bad.  They can be used for wraps, quesadillas, pizza, cut into triangles and toasted (or not!) for dipping, etc, etc, etc...

Smoothies - This week I froze both "smoothie packs" and "smoothie pops".  In each smoothie pack (freezer bag) I put strawberries, banana and spinach or kale, enough for a single serve smoothie -perfect for a quick grab and go breakfast.  While I had everything out I made a smoothie with these same ingredients plus plain yogurt, avocado, milk and honey.  I poured it into Popsicle molds for little after daycare treat.  They've been a hit this week!

Hamburgers - Either homemade or boxed... I loved having burgers on hand for an easy supper.

Muffins - I rarely get through a whole batch of muffins before they start to get mouldy so extras can be tossed in a freezer bag in the freezer to be used as an easy snack.  I've got a Blueberry Spelt Muffin in my lunch today!

Recipes

Chicken & Avocado Salad
(from The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbooks)

Citrus Chicken & Chickpea Salad

This is a recipe I stumbled upon years ago and use to make often.  I haven't made it in ages but it's a good one!

Ingredients:

• 4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 Tbsp each lemon & lime rind
• 300 g can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 Medium Red Onion, finely chopped
• 2 Medium Tomato, chopped
• 1 Tbsp Fresh Cilantro, chopped
• 1 Medium Avocado, chopped
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

• Combine chicken with lemon and lime rind, cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.  I left them overnight.
• Combine remaining ingredients and mix well.
• Grill chicken until cooked through.
• Spoon Salad into bowls and top with slices of the cooked chicken.

Whole Wheat Cheddar Crackers (Weelicious)

I mentioned last week that Marin had an epiphany that we should add feta to the Cheddar Crackers.  So we made a batch this week and I replaced about 1/2 cup of the Cheddar with Feta.  As expected - delicious!  She thought she quite the little genius.

Whole Wheat Cheddar Crackers

What are your favorite freezables?

Sandra

Week 33 - Freezer Makeover - Before

Printable Version of the Meal Plan

We were out of town last weekend for an overnight getaway with friends.  We had a blast at Upper Clements Park on Saturday and then took our time working our way back into the city on Sunday.  We didn't get home until suppertime and I was Tired (yes, with a capital T) so my plan was to get groceries Monday night.  However, at around 7pm I realized that I was donating blood Monday night... so I literally threw together a meal plan with the help of the awesome September issue of Canadian Living and reluctantly headed out the door to get some grub.

There was no real theme this week, my only goal was to fill our bellies with as little effort as possible.  But by mid-week I started to think about some of the back to school articles I've been reading.  I still have one year before Marin starts school but I've been working at a University pretty much since I left University so to me September is the real New Year... I always get excited for a fresh start!

In particular I was feeling inspired by a post from 100 Days of Real Food re freezable lunches.  I have a confession... I'm 33 weeks into my meal planning resolution but my cupboards, and especially my freezers, are a mess!  I'm not really one to freeze meals in advance or stash leftovers.  Instead I tend to cook my meals fresh and make enough for just the servings I require for that week.  But this whole idea of having a stockpile of things like soups, pizza dough and muffins in my freezer to make at least one easy lunch a week is really appealing!  I mean come on... freezing individual servings of soup in mason jars - brilliant!!  So in the spirit of back to school I'm cleaning out the freezers!  Think of it as my New 'School Year' Resolution. 

 

Freezer Makeover - Before

I can't believe I'm posting this because it's super embarrassing but here are the before pics...

Fridge Freezer - Before

Fridge Freezer Door - Before

Deep Freezer - Before

This project is apparently long overdue!!  I'll post after pictures next week... and now that I've put it out there I really have to follow through!  Eek!

Let's talk about the food...

Lasagna - This is note-worthy because it actually came from the freezer!  Before leaving town last weekend I realized I had 2 pieces of the 'Easiest Lasagna Ever!' frozen.  It was the best feeling in the world to know that I wouldn't have to make lunch on Sunday night.

Orange Chicken Salad - This was one of the life-saving recipes I found in Canadian Living last Sunday night.  Just what we needed after not eating the best for a couple of days.  I used the PC Organic Field Greens with Herbs Mix and added a little feta.  Marin was loving the feta and said excitedly "Mom, I have a great idea!  We can make the cheese crackers and add feta and mix it all together!!!  That's what I'm talking about!".  I think I have a little foodie on my hands.

Orange Chicken Salad

Tomato and Chickpea Salad - Another Canadian Living recipe.  I enjoyed and it was a very easy and packable lunch.

Grilled Steak and Salad - We marinated the steaks (see the Favorites/Salad Dressing & Spice Mix section) and grilled them.  To go with them I did up a foil pack with mushrooms, onions, zucchini and butter and made a super simple salad using the rest of the salad green & herb mix, tossing it with olive oil, lemon juice and honey.   A quick, easy meal that we could eat anytime!

Homemade Tortillas -  I'm (almost) speechless... I made whole wheat tortillas!!  I figured if corn tortillas were easy and worth the extra effort than flour tortillas were probably worth a try too.  I took the time to read the recipe and they actually sounded like a breeze to make.  I'll admit they take a bit of effort but they were far from difficult (thanks in big part to my KitchenAid Stand Mixer) and I think it's a recipe that will get quite easy once I make it a few more times.  And the results... totally worth the effort!!  For me the best part of eating at a good Mexican restaurant is the fresh, chewy tortillas... and now I can make them myself!!  We made a cheese quesadilla as a snack to test them when they were hot out of the pan and they were divine!  Then we had them as part of our lunch for the next 2 days (Quesadillas on Day 1 and Chef Salad Wraps on Day 2) and even on the second day they were perfect.  Plus... you can freeze them! Another item for my freezer! Hurrah!  This was the highlight of my week.

Fish Casserole - I had an idea in mind of what I wanted here.... I was thinking white fish, rice, creamy sauce and Frenches Fried Onions crumbled on top.  I couldn't find a recipe anywhere so I made one up.  I basically used a Scallop Potato recipe but with fish (I used cod) instead of potatoes.  Once the fish cooked I used a fork to break it up and added the rice and shredded mozzarella.  Once that was all bubbly I topped with the Frenches onions and put it back in the oven for a few minute.  The results - delicious!!  It was kind of like Cheesy Scallop Potatoes meets Green Bean Casserole.  Just what I was looking for.  Dave loved it too, Marin not so much.  You win some you lose some...

Fish Casserole

Slow Cooker Chicken Gyros (Recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff ) - Slow cooking in the summer is awesome - there is just nothing better than coming home on a hot day to a cooked meal.  I'm pretty excited to get home tonight to try this one out!


Now I'm off to clean my freezers!

Sandra