one of my past weeks of meal planning

breakfast
rotation of
yoghurt/fruit
omelette - pesto/cheese and salsa/mushroom
pancakes
eggs/fruit
oatmeal

lunch
chicken caesar salad
pasta with turkey meatballs
leftovers
pita pizza and salad
soup and salad
grilled cheese and soup
leftovers and salad

dinner
baked wings with veggies and potato skins
salmon in a teryaki sauce and asian style potato pancakes
chicken and black bean enchiladas
turkish style meatballs on pita with tzatziki and salad
leftovers
chicken and tortellini in a carbonara sauce

snacks
cucumber salad
cucumber and dip
hummus and crackers
black bean cake
rice cakes
rotate

so a mish mash - some are my own recipes, some inspired by other sites
will add the links later

meal planning - time to start posting

not the most exciting thing, but i have done meal planning with various levels of commitment over the years.

sometimes, living oh about 40 or 50 feet from our closest local restaurant is tempting - mmm pho. and inexpensive for takeout. so it can be an excuse to not plan out meals

but this year i have really recommitted to it. so i am posting the meal plans i've done starting now so that i can not only share my meal plan ideas, but to have an easy way to get back to them.

so let's start with the essentials...

i print up the weekly meal planner form from $5 dinners and use it because it has room for breakfast/lunch/snacks/dinner

here's the link

when i can't line dry

looks like a wet weekend in store for us

but with two bubs, one still in diapers (and we cloth diaper), the laundry doesn't end. from april to november-ish we try to line dry as much as possible

but sometimes the rain does interfere.
i don't use dryer sheets, i don't use any cleaning or laundering products with phosphates or petroleum in them. those things do emit off-gases - and can irritate the nasal passages. i left those products behind years ago.

in any case, when i have to use the dryer, i use two things to decrease static - wool dryer balls and aluminum foil. in terms of aluminum foil, i simply scrunch a bit of foil into a ball and toss it in - no static cling, no emissions - all good.

i'm bean inspired

no that is not a typo

i have read a few of the sneaky chef series of books and am feeling bean-inspired

i've been wanting to use more beans in our food with all of the fibre benefits, and the fact that much of the world is sustained on diets of beans and rice. so this year i vowed to become more creative with cooking with beans. and tonight - success with dessert.

i am no baker but i had a box of pc organics chocolate cake mix kicking around. so instead of cow's milk, oil and several eggs, i rinsed and drained a can of black beans, pureed them with a bit of water, and used that with the cake mix. and you know what...you can't tell the difference! so extra fibre and a low fat cake....

sweet indeed!

bliss

ah my moment of serenity - steve just took the boys for a walk for an hour so that i can sit
enjoy a coffee
and a few willy wonka gummy candies
completely uninterrupted
i even get to do some of the sunday new york times crossword
no work or noise for an hour

my needs are simple
just a coffee and a crossword
bliss :)

making cheese from mama's milk

am not saying i will do this, but i couldn't help but be a little intrigued with a chef who blogged about using pumped milk to make cheese
(and no, it isn't used at his restaurant)

i've never had a huge oversupply of pumped milk, and have only made "slushies" or smoothies for my bubs with the extra pumped milk.

but the chef - well, he even includes a recipe for those who might be interested.