Menu Planning and Food Shopping



I honestly have to say, the biggest challenge about cleaning up my diet and converting to a "real food" lifestyle, was relearning how and when I should be cooking. I couldn't just pick out what I wanted to eat anymore without being at the supermarket. Some of the ingredients I had previously used were no longer suitable. I was shocked to see how many chemicals and preservatives I was eating!

I had to do some shopping around to find the best products to use. I had to decide whether I should just eliminate the product or try to make it from scratch. I didn't know if I was up for that challenge!

Arriving to the supermarket and selecting my food became a whole different ball game. I spent two hours at Whole Foods the first time I got there. It was there that I discovered that labels are truly misleading. Natural and organic did not mean what I thought they meant anymore! I had already gone through my pantry and tossed out a lot. I felt the food industry truly led me astray. What was left?

Menu planning got tossed out the window and it still is. After food shopping "clean" since September 2011, I sort of have a routine. I have basic products that fit my criteria and I replace them as I need to. I began to plan my meals based around what was in season, local and available to me in the supermarket. This meant some of meals that I wanted, I couldn't have at! Back to the drawing board. Luckily I had already been reading the blog, "100daysofrealfood.com" by Lisa Leake and was able to draw some ideas from that.

Now, I buy what's in season and quality produce (more details on my criteria in an upcoming post). I try to think of what I could prepare with it while standing in the supermarket. Sometimes I buy extra produce to freeze. I'm learning as I go. I'm trying new produce and recipes. I have some recipes that are my go to recipes that I do buy when I'm at a lost for ideas at the store.




You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf (Jon Kabat-Zinn).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Personal Care

Image
   Your skin is the largest organ in your body.  We often think about what we put IN our body and not what we put ON our body.   Wouldn't it make sense that the things we put on our skin also gets absorbed and into our blood stream?  So despite how clean your diet is and how you limit the toxins you consume. You are still exposing yourself to toxins through skincare.      My personal care and make up were one of the last things I converted over to a more natural, organic type of care.  I was very hesitant because who knows what was out there that I could use.  I needed it to work.  I need it to make me feel pretty.  I hated using my products because none of it ever worked.  It was annoying. Nothing ever felt good or made me feel pretty.  There is a reason there are so many brands out there right? So many products filled with chemicals.  One of them is bound to work with my skin right?  Ugh. Very often I thought that I should have paid more attention in chemistry!  I hate trying di
Read more

Carrot Souffle Recipe

Image
If you don't have the Deliciously Organic cookbook by Carrie Vitt, I highly recommend it. Many of my new favorite recipes including this one has come from that cookbook. She also has a website, www.deliciously organic.net She often will post recipes and tips on her website. Carrie also has meal plans for a variety of diets if you would like to order one. (You do have to pay but I've read a lot of great reviews that would make it worth it.) A few weeks ago, after I was feeling better from my first cluster headache episode, I wanted to cook badly. I had my chicken out from the freezer. We had also gotten multiple bunches of carrots in our CSA. I wanted the carrots to be a great side dish. I'm not a big fan of roasted carrots or constantly eating raw carrots. I wanted to play around with the ingredient. I went to my kitchen "bibles". (please let me know if you want me to do a review of the several cookbooks that I LOVE cooking out of. I'll do a post
Read more

Roasted Winter Vegetable Vegetarian Jambalaya

Image
The first time I made this meal was for Christmas dinner. I needed a vegetarian dish for my aunt. It ended up being a hit with everyone at the table. My 92 year old grandma took seconds and then said "if no one else is having anymore, I'll just take the rest home." That is definitely how you know it was a hit. The only thing that I wish I had more of, was the vegetables. So when I made it tonight, I doubled the vegetables and it came out perfect! What I love about this recipe is that it truly showcases winter root vegetables. Until I changed my diet, I always ate the vegetables I liked at anytime of the year. Now I focus on eating seasonally and local. This is exactly why I like this recipe. I also like this recipe because it's a vegetarian dish. I've significantly reduced my meat consumption. This dish fills you up without wanting more or missing anything. I won't keep you waiting any longer, here is the adapted recipe from Vegetar
Read more