Eat – Oh Lord Help Us

Letting Go of the Meal Plan

Be Healthy, Eat, Save, Stay SaneOctober 16, 2016

I have just spent the past hour prepping all my meals for this upcoming weak. At this moment, I have okra and chicken soup in the crockpot, a meatloaf prepped and ready to go into the oven tomorrow afternoon, and a pot of pumpkin chili that will be reheated later in the week. My house is smelling real good right now!

Over the past couple of years I have become a huge fan of meal planning and a weekly meal prep time for these reasons:

It saves our family money because I use all the food we buy.
It saves me a ton of time because I don’t have to cook during the week.
It is healthy because by choosing meals ahead of time we are less likely to eat processed foods.

Sometimes, however, the best laid plans end up flying right out the window!

To be honest, I have become completely dependent on meal prepping ahead of time. So much so, if I have not done my prep work, then there is a good chance there will be NO dinner. One afternoon a couple weeks ago, I just simply forgot to make dinner. I had food that I could have made, but the meat was frozen and it required too much prep time. I even had it written down on my handy meal plan pad what I was going to make. The problem was, it was a crock pot meal. You can’t start a crock pot meal at 5 in the evening!!

Along with a scattered brain due to our lives being in upheaval because of the move, our healthy eating pretty much dissolved away also. You want frozen pizza? Sure! You want Chick-fil-a (again)? Sure! You want cereal for dinner? Sure!

Want to know what this ultra-organized-marathon-running-healthy-eating momma served my kiddos the night I forgot to make dinner? Frozen shrimp and baby carrots. Gross. It was so greasy. And who serves carrots with shrimp? I was trying to salvage it, I suppose.

But you know what? My boys thought it was great! They get excited when I throw together some ridiculous meal. They say things like, “Mom, you’re the bestest ever!” Seriously, this is what they think. All the while I’m thinking, “What is my problem? How can I forget to make dinner for my family? I’m such a slacker!” If only we could see ourselves through the eyes of our children.

So yes, meal planning and prepping works for me. I’m thankful to be back at it now because it does help me feel calmer and more organized. But sometimes it is just not realistic. Sometimes, I’m simply thankful that we have food period. My children are fed and cared for. And it is all good!

What is the craziest thing you have thrown together for dinner?

A Healthy Treat? Yep!

Be Healthy, Eat, Recipes, Stay SaneJuly 24, 2016

I was introduced to these by my super awesome cycle teacher who is also a health coach and an all around super gal. She brought these to me after my daughter was born along with a healthy meal for my family. I was amazed that something so yummy could also be healthy.

When my husband and I decided to do Whole 30 last fall, I began making these on a regular basis. I was continually modifying the recipe until I found exactly how I wanted it. It definitely helped curb the sweet cravings.

And now I am sharing it with you!

Ingredients

~30 dates, dried and pitted
2 Tb chia seeds
1/2 cup almonds (or nut of choice)
1/4 cup cacao powder (or cocoa-it tastes yummy, just not the same health benefits)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tb coconut oil
1 Tb vanilla extract**

Directions

Step 1: Place all ingredient in food processor, and blend until well mixed.

Step 2: Roll into 1 inch balls. Store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Yields approximately 15 energy bites.

**Please note, the vanilla extract is technically not allowed in Whole 30. But if that is not a concern for you, I highly recommend adding it!

Enjoy!!

How To Develop A Meal Plan

Be Healthy, Eat, Save, Stay SaneOctober 28, 2015January 29, 2016

Ain’t nobody got time for that!!

This bit of bad grammar is brought to you by my desire to reduce the amount of time we spend in the kitchen. We are busy moms! We have babies to feed and kids to drive to practice and games to play outside (and maybe naps to take)!

Rules

For the way I do my meal planning, there are just two rules.

Rule #1 You have to have a crock pot and microwave. This is the one I love. It leaves the meat so tender that it just falls apart.

Rule #2 You have to be okay with leftovers. I prefer to cook 3 big meals and then reheat, rather than 7 small meals.

Steps

Step #1 Make a list of foods you already have on hand. Especially items that may be about to expire.

For instance, if you have a head of broccoli that has been sitting in your fridge for a week, then your first meal is going to be include broccoli. In this photo you can see that I have starred the kale and avocado letting me know that they need to be used. I hate throwing out food.

Step #2 Make a list of meals that you would like to eat.

Obviously, choose meals that include what you already have. If you don’t have items already in your fridge, then it’s free game!

Step #3 Schedule those those meals while considering if they will work with your family’s schedule.

We are not home Tuesday and Thursday afternoons before dinner time, so a casserole would not work on those days because no one will be home to put it in the oven. On those days we either use the crockpot or have leftovers warmed up in the microwave.

Step #4 Write down a list of ingredients you will need to get.

Go through your recipes, or your mind, to make sure you have everything you will need on hand.

Step #5 Find time to go to the store.

Remember to take the list with you!!

Tips

Tip! Plan a months worth of meals and then shop at a wholesale store.

Tip! Use fresh ingredients first and end with frozen meat and veggies.

Tip! Freeze unbaked casseroles if you want to prepare for more than a week at a time.

Tip! Roast veggies and put in storage containers to reheat with crock pot meals.

Hopefully this simplifies meal planning. Or you can leave all the work to me! Simply subscribe to Oh Lord Help Us with your email. Starting in January I will send you a month’s worth of meal planning, complete with recipes, shopping lists and price per serving breakdown.

xoxo

photo credit: Benjamin Faust

A Little Side of Holiday Cheer

Eat, Stay SaneDecember 16, 2014

For Thanksgiving this year my mother-in-law requested glazed carrots. I said sure! Even though I’ve never made glazed carrots in my life. Shhh, she didn’t know that. But I knew I was going to be ok because I had just gotten my December issue of Southern Living. I love, love, love that magazine. And in this (double) issue there was a recipe for glazed carrots that sounded a little risky and a lot yummy. I can take absolutely no credit for this recipe. I would never have dreamt to put cumin and ginger together. Never. Ever.

Ingredient:

Approx 1 3/4 lb carrots

2 Tb olive oil

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp cumin

1/2 cup orange marmalade

1/2 cup orange juice

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp minced fresh rosemary leaves

Step One:

Preheat oven 475. Peel carrots.

Step Two:

Toss carrots with olive oil, salt, and cumin. Arrange in single layer on baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes.

Step Three:

While carrots are roasting, combine marmalade, juice, and ginger in saucepan and bring to a boil stirring often for about 4-6 minutes. Remove from heat and add rosemary.

Step Four:

Toss carrots with marmalade mixture. Place on serving platter.

Some notes. I bought the carrots, and marmalade at Trader Joes. I already had the cumin, ginger, and oj. My mother-in-law had fresh rosemary. I used 4 lbs of carrots instead (big family) and did not change the amount of marmalade mixture. It was plenty. I thought it was super yummy, the kiddos maybe not so much. Regardless, it was very festive looking!

Here is the price breakdown:

Carrots 4.98

Orange marmalade .96

OJ .18

Olive oil .09

Total: $6.21 That served 8 adults, 5 kids, and had a few left over.

Sloppy, Sloppy

Eat, Save, Stay SaneDecember 5, 2014

Every week I sit down and plan out what meals we will have for the next week, then make out my grocery list. I have a notebook full of these menus, shopping lists, and to-do lists. The other day, as dinner time was quickly approaching, I said out loud, “I guess I should see what we are having for dinner. Looks like…chicken with roasted potatoes and brussel sprouts.” To which my 6 year old replied, “I don’t want that.” Now, I am not one to alter my plans to appease my children. And I usually love that meal. But I had to agree with him, I didn’t want it either. So instead, I made Sloppy Joes! And served it with baked sweet potatoes. It was, as always, a hit!

It’s one of our favorite quick go to meals, and of course it’s super affordable! And everytime I make it I think of Adam Sandler singing Lunchroom Lady Land. I try to sing it for the boys, but they just give me funny looks.

Here is my recipe (I came up with it all on my own!!)

Ingredients:

1-1.5 lb ground beef or turkey

1 chopped onion

12 oz tomato paste

1/2 c water

1/4 c brown sugar

1 Tb red wine vinegar

2 Tb Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp ground mustard

1 tsp salt

Step One:

Brown meat with onion.

Step Two:

Add everything else and stir. Let simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve on buns. Look here for my recipe for homemade hamburger buns.

Here’s the cost breakdown:

Ground turkey (this is what I prefer to use) 2.29

Onion .38

Tomato paste .78

Brown sugar .14

Buns (I bought them this time): 1.49

Total: $5.08 for at least 8 servings. That’s 64 cents a serving!!

Warm Soup and Golden Buns (what you’ll get from me if you ever have a baby)

Eat, Save, Stay SaneNovember 6, 2014

I love my veggie soup. It’s so yummy, so easy, and so inexpensive. It also has no onions, no garlic, no broccoli; so it’s perfect for new moms that may be nursing. There is also enough for leftovers, so the new mom gets two meals out of it.

I made this this past weekend for a family in our church. We were also going over to a friends house for trick or treating and she was making beef stew. So I decided to make some rolls to go with both! This is my hamburger bun recipe, I just didn’t flatten them so they have more of a roll look about them.

First, the veggie soup recipe:

Ingredients:

20 oz package ground turkey

1 jar of spaghetti sauce

4 cups of mixed veggies (frozen or two cans)

1 quart chicken broth

1 tsp salt

Step 1:

Brown the turkey.

Step 2:

Add everything else and let simmer for at least 30 minutes.

See? How easy is that?

Here’s the price breakdown. I got everything at Aldi. I prefer to use frozen veggies, but they didn’t have it, so I used the can version. But they do have organic spaghetti sauce and chicken broth which I love!

Ground turkey $3.29

Spaghetti sauce $1.79

Mixed veggies $1.30 (for 2 cans)

Chicken broth $1.69

Total: $8.07 for 6-8 servings. That’s $1.01-$1.35 a serving!!!

Now for the hamburger buns/rolls:

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup butter

4 1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 1/4 tsp yeast

2 Tb honey

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

Step 1:

Heat milk, water, butter in saucepan until butter has melted.

Step 2:

In large bowl mix 1 3/4 cup flour, yeast, and salt.

Step 3:

Mix in milk mixture, egg, and honey.

Step 4:

Add remaining flour and knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes).

Step 5:

Divide into 16 equal parts. Shape into balls and place on greased baking sheet. Leave as balls if you are making rolls, flatten them if you are making hamburger buns. Cover and let rise 30-45 minutes.

Step 6:

Bake 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Watch out for sneaky husbands!

Here’s the price breakdown:

Milk $.24

Butter $.37

Flour $1.05

Yeast $.31

Honey $.27

Salt $.01

Total: $2.25 for 16 and there is no yoga mat foam in the ingredients. Did you hear about that? Crazies.

Tortillas For All!

Be Healthy, Eat, Save, Stay SaneOctober 29, 2014

This weeks healthy money saving recipe is for tortillas. They are yummy, cheap, and have no soy. Yep, chances are the tortillas you bought at the store have soy. These use olive oil. Much better.

Now, I must be honest. These are not as “flexible” as the tortillas you get at the store. I’m sure this is because it uses olive oil and not lard or soybean oil. We wrap them in a wet paper towel and then warm it up in the microwave and it works fine for quesadillas, fajitas, sandwich wraps, etc.

Ingredients:

3 cup All Purpose Flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup olive oil

1 cup warm water

Step 1:

Combine flour, salt, and baking powder

Step 2:

Add olive oil and mix with hands until mixture is crumbly

Step 3:

Add water and knead until dough is smooth and forms a ball

Step 4:

Divide into 16 equal parts

Step 5:

Flatten and then roll out

Step 6:

Cook on medium heat approximately 2 minutes a side

Here is the price breakdown:

Flour: $1.07 for Gold Medal Organic or $0.43 for non-organic

Olive Oil: $0.58 for generic Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Walmart

Salt: $0.01

Total: $1.02-$1.66 for 16 tortillas

Mayo Just Ain’t Sexy

Be Healthy, Eat, Save, Stay SaneSeptember 26, 2014

I don’t know how to make this post exciting. It’s about mayonnaise. Some people love it, some people hate it, some people prefer Miracle Whip. I personally prefer mayo, but I’ve been a little disturbed lately about how much soy we consume in our diet. It’s everywhere. And especially in mayo, because it’s made with vegetable oil, also known as soybean oil.

So I thought I would try making my own with olive oil. Ok, people, please listen up and learn from my mistake! DO NOT USE extra virgin olive oil!!! I know it’s better for you, but don’t do it. It’s NASTY!! I had made it before with a different type and it was fine, so I was really confused. After throwing it away, my hubby found an article that explained scientifically why it tasted so bad. I won’t bore you with the science, but pretty much you can’t put extra virgin olive oil in a food processor. So learn from me and don’t waste a cup of olive oil. I use Trader Joes’s olive oil that is part extra virgin, part refined olive oil. Which means it is mostly refined.

Ingredients:

1 cup refined olived oil (not extra virgin)

1 egg yolk

1 Tb white vinegar

1/4 tsp ground mustard

1/4 tsp salt

Step 1:

Combine egg yolk, vinegar, mustard, and salt in food processor and blend.

Step 2:

Gradually add oil. Blend until thick.

The only price breakdown I know on this is for the olive oil. I had the vinegar and mustard and salt, but the cost is miniscule.

Refined Olive Oil: 1.42

Total: approx $1.50 for 8oz of mayo

Ready For Fall Cooking

Eat, Stay SaneSeptember 10, 2014September 18, 2014

The heat is just starting to break down here in the South, and I am super excited for fall cooking. Stews, casseroles, chili….Mmmm. So I decided to make a pot of chili a couple nights ago and then let it sit in the fridge for a couple days. For some reason I think that makes the flavor even better. At dinner tonight, my son said, “this is the best chili ever, you should put this on your bread thing.” I responded with, “do you mean the blog?” “Yep!”

So I took his advice. Here is my version of my mom’s chili. It may be a bit different than what you are used to. When we first got married, my husband didn’t know what to say about it. He liked it, but said it was more like soup. I’ve backed off some with the tomato juice over the years to make it not so soupy. Enjoy! (And don’t forget to check out the cost breakdown at the end.)

Ingredients:

1-1.5lb ground beef or turkey

1 onion diced

1 green pepper chopped

1 tsp minced garlic

1 can diced tomato

1 can chili beans

2 Tb chili powder

1 tsp salt

3 cups tomato juice

Step 1:

Brown meat with onion, green pepper, garlic.

Step 2:

Add tomatoes, beans, chili powder, salt and juice.

Step 3:

Simmer for at least 30 minutes, longer if you can.

Here’s the price breakdown:

Ground turkey 3.29

Onion .38

Green pepper .67

Garlic .08

Tomatoes .59

Chili beans .59

Salt .01

Tomato juice .70

Total $6.31 for 8 servings. That’s 79 cents a serving!

We personally like to add pasta and cheddar cheese to our chili, but that is up to you!!

How to Cook for My Brother (and his family)

Eat, Stay SaneSeptember 6, 2014September 18, 2014

A few weeks ago my brother and sister-in-law and their three wonderful kiddos came to visit. It was an absolute blast! In preparing for their visit, I needed to come up with a big filling meal that would fit in a not-so-big budget. See, my brother has a bit of a reputation for how much he can eat. So I knew it needed to be filling. Also, I wanted it to be something that I could make ahead of time. That way I could spend the little bit of time we had with them, actually with them, and not in the kitchen. I decided to make my mother-in-law’s lasagna. Super yummy, super filling, super inexpensive!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1/2 lb italian sausage

1 – 13oz tomato sauce

2 1/2 cup tomatoes

2 cloves minced garlic

1 Tb parsely

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1 – 16oz ricotta cheese

2 cups shredded mozzarella

oven ready lasagna noodles

Step 1:

Combine meats, brown in skillet, drain

Step 2:

Add next 6 ingredients, bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30-45 minutes

Step 3:

Layer in 9 x 13: noodles, ricotta cheese, meat sauce, mozzarella. Repeat until all ingredients are used

Step 4:

Bake 350 for 30 minutes

Now let’s talk about the ingredients. I doubled the recipe for our specific needs. I also skipped the sausage and increased the ground beef to make up for it. The garlic is minced from a jar. I used italian seasoning instead of the individual herbs. I bought everything but the lasagna noodles at Aldi. The noodles I bought at Walmart. Here’s the price breakdown:

Tomato sauce .75

Diced tomatoes 1.77

Garlic .08

Ground beef 9.22

Ricotta 3.58

Mozzarella 3.69

Noodles 1.68

Total: 20.77 for 24 servings, .87 per serving!

Please note that this is for 12 servings in each 9 x 13 pan. These servings were pretty small. Good for the kids, but the adults had at least 2 servings.