Meal Planning - A Time Saving Tip for busy Creative Moms

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Sometimes, in order to embrace our creativity, we need to A) make time for it and B) save money for purchasing supplies. One of the ways we can accomplish both is by meal planning. Now, I confess - I've never done this before. Sometimes I'll make enough for left overs and occasionally I'll make a second 'batch' for freezing. That's as far as my plans go. So I was happy to have a guest post on the subject. Jamie Ussher of Baby Get Green is not only well read on the subject but she's also written an ebook. Win a copy by leaving a comment...tell us what your favorite fall back meal is. You know the one, it's what you make for your family when the fridge is empty and you're short on time. You can comment until Dec 15th.

Now, have a read of Jamie's post :)

The Basics of Meal Planning

I’ve always loved planning meals – writing the grocery list, pricing out the items, going shopping… When our daughter came along I knew we needed to save money, but until I saw how chaotic the dinner hour gets with little ones, I wasn’t serious about meal planning! Family members coming home from school or work, kids wanting attention…All while you try to think about what items you have at home to make meals with and whether you accomplished your own projects and goals of the day.

In comes serious meal planning! I know it may sound like a bit of work, but it’s much less time consuming than not having a plan! I promise! There are so many reasons to meal plan, but I think we all kind of know the reasons – boiling down to saving time, money and energy! Where a lot of people get stuck, though, is how to start.

Here’s a bit of a beginners guide…

• Take inventory of what you already have. This might take awhile, but it will be so helpful when you’re getting your plan together. Grab some coffee, a pencil and paper, and make a morning of your first meal planning adventure!
• Ask yourself if you could make any meals with what you already have at home. Write those down. Also write down meals that you have most of the ingredients for (making a note that they aren’t complete).
• Write a list of meals you want to make or your family would enjoy. You’ll then pull from these when you plan meals for the week.
• You can now pick your meals based on that list or on the ads from your local grocery store (the cheaper option). Going through the sale items won’t take long once you have done it a few times. Starting with the meals you have, or almost have, from your inventory is a great place to start!
• Write down the meals you’ll make for the next 7 days (plus or minus, depending on your schedule).
• Write a separate list of the items you need to get from the grocery store to complete your meals.
• If you’re looking to save money, price out the meals. Then adjust meals as needed to fit your budget (take out items or make different meals). If you’re new to this, you may not know the prices. You can spend extra time at the store your first time to get a price list going.

There are so many benefits to meal planning, especially giving you more time and energy to do the things you really want to do! If you're interested but are not yet sure you know enough to start, you can pick up my meal planning eBook complete with meals, recipes, weekly plans for a month, shopping list and more! I also write other tips and my personal weekly plan on my blog – Baby Get Green.

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Fast and Easy Winter Soup - Potato, Cauliflower and Leek w Bacon - Gluten and Dairy free!

I don't post recipes often, well, because I don't cook that often. But when I find something that is yummy, fast and can be easily made in batches for freezing I feel that my fellow moms will appreciate the time saver.

This recipe is dairy free and gluten free however, I served it with dinner buns which aren't. If you wanted to get really fancy you could sprinkle with some shredded sharp cheddar before serving or grated carrot would add color too if you want to skip the cheese.

Here is my Potato, Cauliflower and Leek Soup w Bacon.


Ingredients:

4-5 strips of thick cut bacon - diced
2 large leeks - sliced
3 stalks celery - sliced
one med. onion - diced
1lb potatoes - cubed
2-3 bay leaves
1 head cauliflower - rough chopped
S&P to taste
a wee shake of coriander seed (optional)
about 2 liters chicken or vegetable stock

Prep time 10 min, cook time 20 min

Instructions:

In large soup pot, saute bacon until cooked do not drain. Add onion, celery and leek and cook until soft. Add in the rest of your veg. Pour in enough stock to cover the veg and add in your bay leaves and seasonings. Cook until the potatoes are soft - about 20 min.

Remove 1/2 the soup and puree in a blender, add back to pot stir and serve. I like to keep my soup chunky so I don't puree it all but you could if you like a smoother soup. I love this as it allows for a thick, creamed soup without actually using cream or flour. If you find your soup is too watery, just simmer until it is reduced to a consistency you prefer...in reverse, if it is too thick just ad a little water or left over stock.

You can make this soup in big batches by doubling the recipe. It freezes well, just thaw, heat, stir well and serve.

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Quick Gluten Free Breading for Chicken or Fish

My sister and my father both have Celiacs. It means they have to eat a gluten free diet. Last time I was at home, my mom was frustrated with her lack of dinner options as almost everything includes flour (full of gluten). She was wanting to make fish, fried fish. But how do you make fried fish without flour? We jumped on the net and found two options. Corn Meal and Instant Potato flakes. We decided to try both and see what worked best. The Corn Meal was just gross. Ewww. The Potato Flakes were surprisingly good! I even liked it better than a heavy batter or flour coating. And the best thing is it's super quick and easy.

I've continued to use this method at home now even though none of us have celiacs just because it's so fast, simple and tasty.

A couple days ago I even used them on chicken for chicken fingers. I didn't even use egg, just made sure the chicken was moist enough for the flakes to stick. So easy! The only thing you need to do is season your meat well because the flakes are pretty bland. A little salt and pepper fixes that right up. I've not tried this on beef yet, if you do pop by and let me know how it worked.

thanks to Shannon for reminding me to blog about this!

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Pretty Butterfly Cupcakes - it's easy, I promise!

I'm the first to admit that I'm not the Martha type. Hell, I'm even not the Not Martha type. So when I say that this is easy to do, trust me....it's easy. I made these pretty butterfly cupcakes for Little H's birthday party and they went over really well. For something so simple, they make a great statement.Make a batch of cupcakes. Whatever kind you like will work, these just happen to be carrot cake. While they are cooling, break up a box of semi sweet bakers chocolate. Melt it in a double boiler. (put water in a big pot and heat on low, float a little pot full of chocolate in the water. This heats it but it isn't on direct heat.) Don't be afraid of this step and don't attempt to melt the chocolate in the microwave - it burns easy in the microwave and if you burn it you're screwed.

While the chocolate is melting, get some stuff prepared. Line a cookie sheet with plastic wrap - stretch it out as flat as you can but it doesn't have to be perfect. Then, set a ziplock type bag into a coffee cup.

Once your chocolate has melted, stir it really well and pour it into the ziplock bag. You now have a simple piping device. If you're the kind who has a real piping bag then of course, use it. I'm not that kind. Snip one corner off the bag so the chocolate can be squeezed through. You don't want a big hole though, just a small one so you have some control over where you place the chocolate.

Position your piping bag over the prepared cookie sheet and draw a shape like this. This is what makes the butterfly wings. Again, it doesn't have to be perfect but it is important to connect at points 1 and 2 for structure and the solid bit under point 3 should be a bit thick for strength. You don't want your wing to crack when you shove it into the icing.


Once you've piped out enough pairs of wings to do your whole batch of cupcakes, put them into the freezer to set. While they are setting, your cupcakes should be cool enough to ice. I used white icing and purple (the kind that comes in the tube) for the butterfly body. Use your creativity here. You can get all funky with sprinkles or use licorice for antenna etc. I went for a simple look here.

By the time you've iced all your cupcakes, the wings will have set. Pull them out of the freezer and stick them into the icing. Ta Da! Butterfly cupcakes! Do note that it was really hot in out house and the wings wilted a little. If it's hot weather, serve them right away once the wings go on or put them into the fridge until it's time to serve.
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