This is a meal plan based on the the typical meals that I actually cook on a regular basis. It is not an exact diary of what we eat, but it’s pretty darn close. Enjoy!
Monday – Barbecue Grilled Chicken Salad with black beans
Tuesday – Sausage, Tomato & Bean Stew
Wednesday – Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup
Thursday – Lamb Shepard’s Pie
Friday – Herb Roasted Tomatoes over Chicken with salad and lentils
Something I love about going to grandma’s house is that everyone is greeted with a cup of tea, and offered mounds of food. We spend most of our time there gathered around the kitchen table, and that’s how it’s always been. I love that on any given day, you might never know who is stopping by. It’s like a comfortable adventure there.
Sometime last year I had been one ofthose random guests to stop by and gram offered me a vegetable soup she had made. It was one of the best soups I had eaten in a long time, so of course I turned the conversation to how she made it exactly, and in a few short instructions she told me the jist of it, and gave me a soup bone she had in the freezer to make me own with. Grandmas are always good and generous like that.
It took me a try or two to get it right, and then I added my own twist, since we are avoiding wheat products right now. Gram’s original recipe uses short pasta, or couscous, where I used lentils, but that’s the only real change.
Keep in mind this is a slow cooked soup, meaning it takes a long time, but that’s what makes it so good. All the caramelization, and concentrated flavor are necessary, trust me. Take the time and try it. You won’t be sorry.
Now that we have run down the list of cooking terms that are important for understanding recipes and cooking , I thought it would be good to give an overview of the tools necessary for a basic kitchen.
There is a lot of variance in this list because not everyone cooks the same or has the same environmental outlook. For example where I would use a spoon as a juicer you might really love a hand juicer. How you set up your kitchen is totally and completely up to you, but this list in my opinion covers the basics.
Small tools & Utensils: Wooden Spoons
, Metal Spatula, Ladle, Slotted spoon
, Tongs
, Whisk
, Rubber Spatula
, Basic Knife Set
(all you really need is a chefs knife, a paring knife, and some kitchen scissors to get by), Mandoline Slicer
(you could probably do without one, but they are awesome), Can Opener
, Vegetable Peeler
, Simple Grater
, Measuring Spoons & Cups Set
, Colander
, Fine Mesh Strainer
, Cutting Board Set
(you’ll need more than one)
Cook & Bake ware: Sauce Pan Set
, Dutch Oven
, a Skillet
(2 set, I like cast iron, but stainless is cool too), Rolling Pin
(only if you like to bake but a wine bottle works in a pinch), Baking Sheets
(at least 2), Mixing Bowls
, Cooling Rack
, Baking Dishes
, Round baking pan
(even if you don’t bake, they are good for fritatas, gratans and the like), Muffin Pan
Appliances: Toaster, microwave (if that’s your thing, I know not everyone needs a microwave, I am one of those people), blender, Coffee machine (again if that’s your thing, I don’t use one), electric mixer (if you like to bake this makes all the difference), Food processor (though I did without one for years, I love it now)
Obviously eating utensils, plates, bowls and cups are also necessary, but that’s not really the focus of this post or series. We are all about setting up a proper kitchen to cook with. Obviously this is a pretty big list of stuff, but it’s pretty easy to find just about everything on this list for cheap at garage sales, good wills and even dollar stores. Start with some good pans and some utensils and work your way up, sometimes whipping the cream yourself instead of using the electric mixer can feel good.
Many times healthy diets can be pretty costly, and I’m always looking to save as much as possible while not compromising my diet. I was pleasantly surprised after adding up the totals for January and realizing just how much money we saved while we were doing the Geek to Freak Challenge.
We spent a total of $198.04 for the entire month of January on groceries. That is the least we have spent on groceries since summer. I also want to point out that we ate out at least once on our cheat days, and I fed a multitude of guests throughout the month. I like to entertain, but I don’t separate the cost of those meals from our regular grocery budget. I also don’t use coupons (don’t hate).
The most obvious money savings came from drinks. I typically only drink water, tea and wine, with an occasional glass of juice or milk, but those are very rare for me. Chuck on the other hand goes through a gallon of both milk and juice weekly. Since we can’t have fruit or dairy on this diet we abstained from buying those items, along with yogurt, and cheese. In total these items added somewhere around $15 to our weekly grocery bill which computes to $60 a month. Since my friends and family know I love wine and tea it is often gifted to me, so I haven’t had to buy tea in over a year, similarly for wine I was able to drink mostly the wine that was gifted to me for Christmas. It pays have simple pleasures people!
Bread items were hands down the second largest savings area. A loaf of sourdough for my favorite stuffing, cheese garlic bread on Friday nights, and pasta all add up and cost more per pound than dried beans and lentils, which have some cost savings all their own.
Switching to dried beans was another great place for savings. Since we were eating so many more beans I thought it would be worth it to try to cook my own from dry stock, and let me tell you, it totally was. A single 1 lb bag of beans costs about $1.39 near me, while a can costs $0.79. Each bag contains 4 to 5 cans, meaning that $1.77 to $2.56 is saved by cooking with dried beans. Once cooked the beans can be used throughout the week, canned, or frozen. If you aren’t eating beans or lentils daily this might not be worth it for you, but this is one place of savings that Chuck and I are going to continue going forward. I estimate that over the course of the month we saved over $6 on black beans alone so in a year that will look like almost $75 on just black beans.
One place that might be difficult for some to save money is on vegetables. This diet is vegetable heavy, and lucky for us we already eat a lot of vegetables, so the only thing that was really added was an extra bag of spinach a week. If you don’t eat that many vegetables before making the switch to this type of diet then this would probably increase your budget quite a bit.
I think it’s also pretty important to point out that we ate most of our meat from the freezer, which is something that happens pretty much all year round. Considering all of Chuck’s hunting permits/licenses, ammo etc. we figured the venison provided costs about $3.33 per lb. Once this cost is added in our total grocery budget comes to something like $230 which is more comparable to the average family of 2. While I think it’s important to be transparent about this stuff I’m apprehensive to add in the cost of the venison for my own records because while it does provide us with a lot of high quality food pretty inexpensively, hunting is Chuck’s hobby, prepping and preparing the catch is one our favorite things to do together. I don’t like to consider the cost of a hobby in our food cost, because if we didn’t hunt that same money would be spent on another hobby (skiing for example costs 3x what hunting cost’s us) since we are not sedentary people.
I also think it’s important to point out that this is January in the Northeast, so my gardens are not producing right now (I didn’t get myself together enough to have a winter garden this year), otherwise we would get a lot more produce for a fraction of the cost of the stuff we buy in the grocery store.
I’m guessing in the summer we could maintain this diet for something like $100 a month, and that’s with fresh, locally grown food. My guess is that my monthly average year round will be something like $200 dollars a month for food. I’m going to do my best to keep track of it and let you guys know how the math works out at the end of the year. To keep me accountable I will put the monthly totals in each months recently posts. January’s post has already been updated.
Related:
20 Awesome Slow Carb Recipes
How We Meal Plan
How to Reduce the Temptation of Take Out
Valentines day is coming up, and while most people make reservations at expensive restaurants I really love to cook a romantic meal at home.
It’s a little more casual, and relaxed. The food is always good and it’s always less expensive. I also firmly believe that if something goes wrong take-out by candle light can be just as romantic.
Romantic Menus of the Past
Quick and Easy Valentine’s Day Dinner
5 Awesome Valentine’s Day Menus to Prepare at Home
Obviously I’ve come up with a number of romantic menus before, but this year I’m going for something a little more casual, a little more fun, and hopefully more memorable. Some of our favorite recipes and simple treats (I’m looking at you Mr. Sundae) will make a perfect Valentines Day Meal.
The Menu
Appetizer – Pear Brie & Balsamic Toasts
Salad – Green Salad with Honey Lime Vinaigrette
Main Course – Penne con Fionchietto
Desert – Hot Fudge Sundaes