Some of you are new readers, so I wanted to be sure that you know how much is in the archives! Please do look at the menu bar (you might have to come to the site itself) and poke around, especially these days of me being a slow blogging blogger.
Since the topic of the moment in the comments seems to be food and how to get it, I thought I'd just gather a few things we've talked about before over the years, in case you forgot or are new here.
Funny how even the topic of which potatoes you buy relates to your goals and your vision, isn't it? You have to know what your “things” are if you are going to make “first things first.”
You can't always be throwing out all your resolutions when a new one comes along! Who needs this revolving door of anxiety, I ask you. Let's just make do with what we have.
I care about food — too much so, actually!
I was talking with Sukie recently and we were laughing together about how we have to remind ourselves to do something other than cook, clean up, and eat!
Branch out a little with some other activities once in a while!
When I was younger and having a crisis over food, whether about its production, purchase, preparation, quantity, quality, whatever — I would descend into a bit of a mire of anxiety and then always return to these key “first things”:
1. We are committed to living on one income, with my role being to make the home on the day-to-day basis. Being the homemaker isn't a drudgery — it's the most creative thing most people will ever do! It's important because it brings peace in your family.
But yes, that means that I put a lot of effort into making good, wholesome, healthy food for a large family (it's usually way smaller these days!) and yes, our budget was always tight.
2. We have to trust that God sees that we are doing our best. Ultimately, our well-being depends on Him. We can't guarantee good health or good fortune merely by our efforts — far less by trusting in our dollars to bring us security. Our priority has been to have good family life for the nurturing of the whole person entrusted to us. Health, as good a gift as it is, isn't something to worship.
3. This bit from Joel Salatin that I pulled out in my previous post expresses what I think (not just about food, either): “Now that the high prices have attracted unscrupulous growers who enter the movement for the money, people realize that no system can regulate integrity.”
No system can regulate integrity.
As parents, we have to use our common sense about a lot of things. Just because something seems to promise purity doesn't mean that it will deliver. Just because it's labeled “organic” doesn't mean it's better for you or even that much different from the one that isn't labeled that way.
There are serious issues with our food production, but I personally am not in much of a position to change things on a large scale. Sometimes I remember my trip to Egypt when I was a girl. I remember the meat hanging out in the market (on a hot day of course) with flies all over everything. There are always going to be problems, you know?
At some point we have to trust that if we do our best, we don't have to worry. (We shouldn't be worrying anyway. It's pointless.)
4. I have to accept where I live. If I were to “buy local” all year, I'd be living on kale and parsnips for a good bit of it. I do still have one package of butternut squash in the freezer, so there's that!
Maybe some of you live somewhere desert-y. Maybe you live in California and I am not bitter about your CSA box being all avocados, blood oranges, and strawberries, no. (Although these things also come at a price in water use.) Be realistic and thankful that you can get food from elsewhere if you need to.
When you can, get your food from nearby, but don't make this a stress point. I do appreciate that the smallish supermarket (with good prices!) I usually shop at really does source things from our area a lot of the time. My meat and veggies might not be labeled organic, but they are very good, actually. And my ice cream is amazing and made right here in New England, so I'm all set! But it's not my first priority for things to be organic or local, because I'm not convinced that it ought to be.
We are amazingly blessed to have good food, basically when we need it.
5. If I return to the system I've devised — knowing What's for Dinner (and lunch, and breakfast) — and Saving a Step as I work, and knowing that my stash will support me — I can provide simple, wholesome food for my family (thanks to my dear husband who works hard and provides so well). My system doesn't wear you out. You can still nurse the baby, go to the kids' games, and even read a book. Most days.
My system is for your family — you tailor-make it according to all your needs. It helps you take into account your actual schedule — you finally figure out how to have the meal you need for a rushing-around day, a leisurely feast day, an ordinary day — whatever you have going on, you will be ready, because you key it to your calendar. Your food will be as much from scratch as you hope it will be, but you won't be in the kitchen all day — unless you want to be!
I can't explain all this in one blog post, but I have explained it in many posts, so do click on those links and see. On the menu bar there is a label: Dinner Every Day. Check it out. I've written about everything you need: How to shop, how to plan, where to get ideas, how to save money, how to save time — it's all there.
Even with lots of kids and not much money, you can eat well. You must work at it, don't get me wrong. And you won't be able to buy everything at Whole Foods, but as Salatin explains, you probably shouldn't even want to, even if you could afford it.
But you can do it! If I could do it, so can you!
Gina says
Love number one on this list–committed to one income, home making is creative and brings peace to our household!
Sue says
I couldn’t agree more! I’m in the same position as you; raising are large family (although some are grown and gone) on one income, yet providing the healthiest meals I can. Our food is not organic, normally, and we garden and freeze and can what we are able. I live in MA so our season is rather short. Despite that, with planning, working within our budget and educating myself, feeding our family has not been difficult or a chore. Time consuming, yes, but one of the joys of making our house a home.
Tia says
This is a great way to think of things. I buy mostly organic because at this stage of life with small (relatively un-hungry) kids, my time is worth more than the money, and the local organic supermarket allows me to do all my grocery shopping (including bulk, the most important!) in one stop. We spend about $130 a week for a family of four, though I know I could get it down to about $100 if I was shopping at the bargain store. But the extra four hours of my time during the week to do two shops just wouldn’t be worth it.
Still, I’m under no illusions that I’m somehow eating healthier or that it’s better for the environment. Even our CSA, an amazing bounty of gorgeous California produce, isn’t ethically “pure” — we are in a pretty serious drought. I could drive myself crazy wondering if the head of lettuce was too much of a water-hog for me to buy. And if the local milk was draining the water table. or if my dried figs or almonds are causing colony collapse disorder. Or really, why am I buying local, when a pound of beef or milk takes much more energy here, than in India, where cows just eat trash and so require a lot fewer resources. You can really go down the rabbit hole when you think it’s your responsibility to solve the whole food system.
People do so much better when they know their priorities, and #1 is care for my family. Decision-making is so much simpler for me now than when I was single for that reason. When I have the bandwidth and resources, I try to pay a little more attention to where things come from, but I don’t beat myself up about it.
Ally | A Home Called Shalom says
A bit off topic, but you’ll forgive me, won’t you Auntie?
I’m working full-time right now- partly from necessity (college loans! Ah!) and partly because we don’t have any children. If (and God willing, when!) we have children, I will almost assuredly stay home and take on my full-time role as homemaker.
Although.
I also have a feeling (and maybe that’s all it is, just a feeling), that I would really like staying home now. Even without any children to feed and care for.
What do you say about that- is staying home now, without children, beneficial to my little family? Or is it just groping at a selfish desire?
priest's wife (@byzcathwife) says
…I’m not Auntie Leila- but maybe she would say to try and reduce your hours right now… can you work half time to still pay down debt but to have more time to make a home for you and your husband? It is certainly not a selfish desire to make a home for your family now.
Diana says
I’m not Auntie Leila either, but I have come to believe that the sanctuary of the home deserves a full-time homemaker at all times – whether or not there are children at home. The home is a sacred place, and a homemaker is not just there to care for children. She is there to care for the home, and to create a home. That’s just as valid a calling before children come (or after they leave). And historically, a woman was at home from marriage on, not just children on!
Mrs. B. says
I think you should talk to your husband 🙂 There are pros and cons in any situation, advantages and things to put up with. The two of you should take the time to decide what’s best, together, so no matter what you decide you’ll be better prepared to live with the downsides of your decision.
Jenny says
Honestly, if you have debt and do not yet have children, I would pack as much money as possible to clear that debt now. I would make a budget to live on your husband’s income and then pour all of your money onto your debts. As much as it might a little hectic and not quite homey now, it is worlds better to get it all squared away before the children come. Being forced back into the workforce after you have children due to required debt payments is not where you want to be. Your longing is real and should not be dismissed as selfish; however, take the long view. You want your financial state as stable as possible for when the children arrive.
Sara says
I agree with Jenny that now is a great time to pay down your debts, so that won’t be hanging over you when you do have children and you can get used to having one income.
Ally | A Home Called Shalom says
I completely agree, Jenny. We are actually living on my husband’s income only (well, part of it. Some is going straight to savings!) and putting my entire paycheck toward the debt. That is some great advice!
Unfortunately, the “when” of children arriving is a tricky thing… we’re struggling with subfertility in this season of life (pray for us!), but having as much of the debt paid off before our circumstances change is a good plan.
Trista says
It relieved my heart to read this, as I feel very similarly and am also dealing with sub-fertility. Cheers to paying off the debt as quickly as possible and hopefully one day being blessed with children.
Lauren says
Not Auntie either but I will share my experiences. Iworked full time until about a week before my oldest was born. We did a couple things right and a couple things wrong (for us). We paid off a lot of debt my husband accrued during his single years. The Bible says it’s not good to be in debt to anyone and build ones house on another’s money. We also bought a smaller home so we could afford it with one income once we had kids. Both of these were good things we did that have helped us.
What did we get wrong? We didn’t save any money, which has hurt us over the years and caused us to accrue some debt. There was one point I thought I might have to go back to work, but fortunately we scrapped by. The other thing I did wrong was working straight up to birth. I never really learned to care for the home with discipline and efficiency nor did I learn to cook. It’s been a huge disadvatage catching up do trying to learn in the midst of life with little children.
So, with my experience, if I were in your position I would pay off your debt, obtain a savings, then give yourself some time off from work before having children to get into the swing of things. Hope that helps.
Ally | A Home Called Shalom says
Thank you for your kind comment, and for sharing your experience, Lauren.
It’s amazing how much can change in just a short year! Since writing my question, we’ve paid off my loans, purchased a house and 21 acres of land (outright), and have rebuilt our savings. We still haven’t been blessed with children, but we have had a big change of jobs– and I will be staying home after October. Ah! Crazy to think it, but back when I was feeling a little hopeless about my lot in life, God was already working out the steps to this big change. I think He knows me so well that He put this idea in my mind (“What if I just didn’t work outside the home…?”) a long time ago so I could get used to the thought of it. Slow learner as I am, you know. 😉
Jenny says
“Just because it’s labeled “organic” doesn’t mean it’s better for you or even that much different from the one that isn’t labeled that way.”
This is very true especially with non-commercial growers. My husband runs a micro (very micro) plant nursery. Even though his operation is totally organic, the cost of submitting to the inspection and regulatory regime in order to be labeled ‘organic’ is so exorbitant, it is not worth the time or the money. If you buy from him, you get organic; you just don’t get a sticker that says organic.
Donna L. says
Yes, to this! We grow our own food {where and when we can} and try to buy fresh locally, and our favorite farmer said the same thing…it would cost too much to do all of the paperwork to be called “organic” but he still uses organic practices….good for him and you!
I love what you said, Auntie Leila! I just spoke with my Mum, who buys everything she eats organic and thinks I should, too! I teased her that if I bought only organic apples, that our family of 7 would get 3 apples each for a month, as compared to the box of apples that are “natural” and are washed and scrubbed and enjoyed!
Thank you for talking about this—it’s near and dear to my heart!
Amelia says
Agreed 100%! Plus, the flip side when you are buying stuff with the USDA organic label, it can still have the pesticides/etc. that the USDA approved for organic use, which often isn’t what people have in mind when they think of organic practices. If I don’t know the farmer and can verify something that actually convinces me that a so-called organic food really is better, I don’t waste my money anymore.
Kathy@9peas says
We are also committed to one income and the escalating grocery prices sometimes make me very discouraged, but I always rally and figure it out. We do not buy organic, but we do grow and buy what we can and preserve as much as we can – it really stretches the budget. I also stock up when something is on sale. I have 5 turkeys in my freezer right now, they make great lunch meat, soup stock, salad filler etc..etc.. I got them for $5.00 each. I just keep looking for those deals and pounce when I can.
I always enjoy your encouragement in this area Leila, and have gleaned many great ideas from your archives!
CMerie says
So what are your thoughts and possibly ideas about packing picnic type lunches. If we have a day trip planned, like to the lake or the zoo or something, I never know what to bring for us. Buying prepackaged food is the way I end up going because at least its cheaper than eating out but its still is expensive and not all that satisfying. Those nights where we have to be at the baseball field at 5:30 and are not home until 8 are tough too. My husband always suggests sliced cheese and crackers but for me that just does not sound appetizing. Thoughts?
Amelia says
For day trips my mom almost always packed a loaf of sliced bread with jars of peanut butter and jelly plus plastic knives. The key was not pre-making the sandwiches so as to avoid the risk of a smushed, soggy, unappetizing mess. I’m interested to hear more suggestions since my homemade gluten free bread doesn’t really work for outings like that and I am paranoid about bringing my own food since in addition to hating to waste money, there have been times when I can’t find anything to eat at any price that is gluten free for my Celiac disease. I think salami and cream cheese roll-ups were an occasional picnic item in my childhood, too.
Brainstorming here…I often do cheese and crackers, especially with a bit of dried fruit (which we find very appetizing – there are so many kinds of cheeses and so many kinds of crackers, I wonder if you could find a winning combination that would still be cheaper than the alternative). Cold cuts look so expensive to me, but I’d take them over most prepackaged things, and I suppose they aren’t any more costly than many cheeses. I have done hard-boiled eggs on road trips, but I’m still searching for the right touch to make them more appealing – maybe a special mustard someplace would do the trick, and of course, don’t forget salt. I wonder if a yogurt or cream cheese dip/spread with crudites and crackers would be filling enough for a meal…hmm, I’ll have to give that a test run at home sometime.
Any other thoughts? This is such a good question!
Elizabeth N says
I have Celiac too! We travel both on road trips and flying. I pack cold, gf homemade pizza, sandwiches on Udi’s bread, Glutino “table crackers” (like big saltines), string cheese, apples or pears or clementines, dried fruit like “ones” which are dried prunes, gf pretzles, NuGo granola bars, salted almonds or peanuts, yogurt, bags of carrot chips, popcorn, Crunchmaster crackers…there are lots of somewhat healthy options. Zumato (formerly Urban spoon) is a great ap/website for restaurant suggestions based on different options like gluten free friendly and family friendly. If I’m staying in a hotel, I often pack Udis or SimplyElizabeth granola, Glutino breakfast bars, or rice chex and those Horizon milk boxes which are like juice boxes but with milk, so I’ll always have at least something for breakfast.
Nadine says
Two cultures that totally have this figured out are the Arabic, with pita bread, and Mexican, with tortillas. While I have not found (or looked very hard for) a super cheap pita bread filling, it truly is hard to beat refried beans for simple and cheap. I cook 2 cups pinto to 1 cup black beans. If I have time, I soak them, but not if I don’t. Sometimes I cook them in the crockpot, and other times I cook them all night on low heat on the stove, with extra water for safety. Before we leave, I mash the beans in a frying pan with a little lard for flavor. Not much, maybe a couple tablespoons for those 3 cups of dried beans. I salt them to taste, and sometimes add barbecue sauce. My family likes them that way. If the time won’t be too great between leaving home and eating, the burritos are really tasty cooked with meat of some sort. We usually put a hot container of beans in a cooler and set a bag of tortillas in there and a spoon, and just dish them up on demand as we eat. It is excellent traveling food.
If it’s going to be more of a picnic, as in the baseball example, we are likely to pack a bean soup to bring with us. You can take a good, heavy, cast iron pot and fill it with the bean soup of your choice. When the soup is good and boiling, and has been boiling for at least 10 minutes, set it in a cooler padded thoroughly with towels. I wrapped an old one around the pot, or used a cheap “emergency blanket” camping thing in case of spills. If this idea works for you, you can google “Wonder Bag” or “Wonder Oven” for more information on this method. It is really wonderful, though, in that you put the hot, uncooked food in the cooler and then, around 4-5 hours later, take out hot, cooked food. It does not, however, leftover well, unless you happen to have a cold place to put the food.
Sometimes we bring yogurt, and bagels if I’ve been especially productive. A friend taught me to make individual yogurts in half-pint canning jars. Sometimes I put jam in before the yogurt, and we have “fruit on the bottom.” Sometimes I flavor them with vanilla and sugar. And, sometimes I use the flavored coffee syrups. Yogurt is not particularly filling, but it is tasty, and bread and a piece of fruit or some carrot sticks helps with the filling aspect.
When we bring boiled eggs, we prefer them preshelled and salted in a plastic bag. The bag catches the extra salt and you can use it to flavor the rest of the egg.
I have made pizza pockets before, but they are pretty labor intensive ahead of time. Make a pizza sauce with the toppings mixed in. Make bread dough. Roll the bread dough out thinly and choose a container or plate of about the right size to use as a cutter. Top one side of the dough with sauce, top with a little grated cheese, and fold the other half over on top. Pinch it off around the edges, maybe using a little extra water to make the dough stickier. My family loves these, but they can take nearly all afternoon to make with little ones underfoot. We don’t have them often. In this same camp are Cornish Pasties. They are a pocket food that miners used to take down into the mines with them and are delicious, travel wonderfully, and take a while to get the hang of making quickly.
We keep what we call our “picnic bag”. In that bag are servings for 10, since we are a large family. Right now, that covers us and a friend or two. We picked up plates, cups, bowls, and silverware from yard sales and such. It cuts down on the forgetting of important items. The bag with the silverware also contains a can opener and a wooden spoon. We just wash the items later and return them to the bag for reuse. Every person is required to pack their own water bottle.
When I started typing, I had no idea I had so much experience with meals on the go. I did not intend this to turn into a novellette. Someday, I want to learn some of the Chinese and Japanese methods, because I know they have some tasty ones as well.
Tori says
Kendra from Catholic All Year said something like “lots of things can go in a tortilla” and that has really stuck with me. Make them up, wrap them in foil or something, done.
Nadine says
Yes. And if you have a little time to grill the tortilla before wrapping it, it’s even better. But, if you don’t, so be it. It’s still pretty good.
Erica says
We live in Colorado and do picnics a lot, and I find one of the simplest and easy things to do is summer sausage, cheese, crackers, baby carrots, and some fruit. There are, obviously, a lot of variations on this theme. You can precut everything, or just leave it whole and bring a knife to do it at your location depending on your preference. Another that we do when backpacking or the like is peanut butter in tortillas and dried fruit. I usually just pack the ingredients and our family of five makes puts it together when we stop for lunch.
Cold cut sandwiches are always popular of course. If we’ll have a cooler with us I’ll sometimes make chicken salad and put it in a mason jar to make sure no water leaks in. You can put it on bread, or on top of lettuce if that’s your preference.
If you’re looking for something more along the lines of supper, cold fried chicken is always delicious! You could put that in a cooler, and even some heated baked beans in a thermos. If everyone has a thermos or if you have one large enough to share, red beans and rice is something that does very well.
Emily says
We had to be out and about a lot over lunch/dinner this past semester, when we had moved 30 minutes away but still had all our commitments and sports back in our old town through the rest of the school year. Our meals out usually consist of 3-5 of the following: PBJ sandwiches, apples (applesauce pouches if I was at Walmart and feel like splurging), baby carrots, sliced bell peppers (I live in SoCal and they are cheap here), sliced cucumbers, cheese sticks, homemade hummus (dip aforementioned veggies in), washed grapes in a tupperware container so they don’t get squashed, homemade granola, hardboiled eggs, raw almonds or cashews, and we all have our own color coded camelbak water bottles. I think the only convenience foods in that list are cheese sticks and baby carrots, both of which we get at Costco where they aren’t too bad.
Every time we’re going out and about, my 9 year old makes the sandwiches, my 7 year old gets the toddler ready, my 5 year old fills water bottles and takes them out to the car, and I wash up the fruits and veggies. It was a pain when I was doing it all myself, but now that I have all the big kids involved, it goes really fast. My kids never complain (but they would honestly be happy to eat PBJ three times a day). If we’re home at lunchtime but out at the soccer fields for dinnertime, I’ll do our big meal in the middle of the day and lunch-for-dinner.
Nicole says
This is such a good point– letting the lunch be dinner, and dinner lunch, on days when your schedule makes more sense for that. I had that epiphany a couple weeks ago as I thought ahead to our very busy summers (my husband has 4 years of summer grad school and is about to start Y3). Usually he is home for lunch but never dinner, so our whole family schedule is kind of flipped. So, I thought, why not be European about it and cook the hot/big meal for an early-ish lunch (as he needs to be on the road around 12/12:30) and then just do cold sandwiches or smorgasboards for dinner? It would certainly make my “witching hour” from naptime to bedtime far less witchy!
I am still in the “having to do it all myself” phase with my eldest just turned 5, but can see the end of the tunnel! (And my older two could also eat PBJ three times a day!!)
April L. says
How I wish you had written this years ago! Although really, I guess you did. Just not all in one concise post. And I probably wasn’t ready to process it anyway. ;). I struggled with grocery anxiety for years. We need to spend as little as possible! Aldi for the win! No, no, we need to eat organic, grass fed, paleo! Whole Paycheck it is! Uh-oh, we have no money. Back to Aldi! Seriously, my poor husband. After 7 years of marriage I’ve finally come to a view of food that pretty much lines up with this post. And oh my goodness it is so freeing! Now I just need to dig back into the meal planning posts as my next step. 🙂
Kelsey says
April! This – your description of your past self – is so me right now! (Although we have no Aldi, so sub in our “cheap” supermarket.) I feel like I’m going through grocery shopping puberty, figuring out who I am and only starting to confront reality…
Ashley says
I feel the same way! I jokingly say that I’m a recovering Paleo. We ate paleo/primal for a few years and I feel like it’s made me crazy. I’m still very carb-a-phobic and feel guilty eating silly things, like too much fruit! It was very easy for us to get caught up in that way of eating, and just as easy for us to make food into an idol. So, I’m still working on that, but sometimes its such a struggle. I definitely don’t want to pass my craziness onto our daughter, so I’m really trying to figure things out.
There are so many conflicting views on what is healthy and what isn’t that it’s overwhelming. My husband and I both ate a fair amount of convenience foods growing up, so our mothers and even grandmothers, don’t have much to offer. So I try to follow Michael Pollan’s advice to “eat food, not too much, mostly plants” but sometimes my Paleo-judging-eyes get in the way. :/
Ellen says
One day I was chatting with my husband, who works hard and provides well for our little family, and I asked “Do you think if you made a little more money, would I buy all our food from Whole Foods?” And then we looked at each other and laughed. Nope, we wouldn’t, and I don’t think we need do. Whole Foods sells a lifestyle more than anything, and we’re not particularly interested in that. Thanks for sharing your valuable thoughts and insights!
Lisa says
Health, as good a gift as it is, isn’t something to worship.
This is hugely important. Some people I know treat food and fitness like a religion.
Mrs. B. says
Yes, so right! Then again, you see absurd situations where one needs to know the name of the chicken prepared by a restaurant, and make sure the chicken lived a pure, organic life, but will accept awful birth control pills without blinking. Or people who would be caught dead eating GMO foods who have no qualms about GMO babies… One of the unfair advantages of “modern-thinking” people is that they don’t feel any urgency to be consistent 😉
Mrs. B. says
For me it’s not so much organic vs. non organic… I know already that I don’t have the budget for it, and anyway, I have become too afraid to trust companies in such matters. I think the great decision is to throw out the real junk, and that’s where Leila’s system helps so much, because it puts one in control. If we already battle with tight budgets, let’s not waste money on fake food. I consider fake a food in which the role of preservatives, various additives, flavorings, colorings, etc. is so important that without them that food would not be the same. If I have to buy “shortcut foods”, like granola, various kinds of bars, packaged juices, etc. the least I can do is to avoid as much as possible the junk! Not organic doesn’t equal junk, even though no one loves to think he may be eating pesticides. But commercial practices are not that transparent, and even with the little organic label, how can we be sure?
McKenna says
I’m curious what everyone’s take is on weight loss while preparing nourishing meals for the family. I’m thinking specifically about the ten ish pounds many of us find lingering post baby (even after breastfeeding). I’ve always taken the approach that as long as I’m cooking nutritionally dense food at home, I’m ok health wise. However, I’m ran a few of my go to meals through calorie counter apps and while they are “clean” and “healthy”, some are pretty high in calories. Do you ladies just eat less of what you are already preparing when trying to reduce? Cut out certain food groups? Eat normally and add exercise more often?
Joy says
I’ve always been fairly thin, don’t struggle like some. But, I have had baby weight to lose four times and now as I near 40, I think my metabolism is slowing. I read somewhere that starting the day with a large hot cup of lemon water is really healthy in many ways (metabolism, kidneys, hydration, vitamins). I do it first thing and start the cups of coffee a little later morning. Also finding that whole fat yogurt is a good breakfast, satisfying, gives energy, easy to digest. Last, when losing baby weight (ignored it, did nothing until baby was at least 6 months) I would eat half a sandwich and a large cup of tomato soup. Again, trying to stay hydrated and cut down a bit on the dense foods.
Mrs. Pickles says
I hear you! One thing that has really worked for me is not necessarily changing the kinds of foods I cook, but the order in which I eat them. My basic goal was to up the amount of protein I ate (so important for moms!), and cut back on the carbs a bit. So I would begin a meal with a fruit or veg, follow with the protein, and then finish with the carb part when I wasn’t feeling as hungry. For example, instead of starting breakfast with buttered toast (yum yum), I would start with an orange, have two fried eggs, then if I still felt hungry, have a slice of toast. At dinner I would serve myself more vegetables, and not as many mashed potatoes — or have a huge salad to start, so I wouldn’t feel the need to take as much pasta. This way I could make the same meal for everyone, but I would just make sure I was eating more of the weight-loss-inducing parts, and less of the weight-retaining parts. I love me some carbs, so this way I didn’t feel like I was constantly depriving myself of the things that made life worth living. 🙂
I also second the recommendation to begin the day with lemon in hot water. (altho’ I cheat and add a dollop of honey — it’s local, so it’s medicinal, right?) 🙂 Also to get myself to drink more water, I occasionally add a smidge of unsweetened cranberry juice, to add some interest.
I got pretty much all these ideas from the Fat-Flush Plan, which is not recommended whole-hog for pregnant and nursing moms, but there were a lot of basic principles there that I found easy to incorporate in my meals.
Good luck!
Emily says
I have basically the same philosophy about making quality, nutritionally dense foods for my family. I just use a calorie-counting app (DH and I use My Fitness Pal) to record what I’m eating. No diet, just being honest about what I’m eating. I still cook the same for my family but just the act of recording it all helps me realize that while my husband’s homemade from-scratch spaghetti is perfectly fine for my husband and growing kids, I maybe only need one helping and need to savor it and then fill up on the yummy salad. Or maybe have two helpings but not then go and bake brownies after the kids go to bed.=)
With that said, my baby lbs are coming off very very slowly (my youngest was weaned over 2 years ago, and I still have 15 lbs to go). But I know from my teens that dramatic diets might have short-term results and don’t last for me. So I’m trying to do the slow and steady, budget-friendly option.
Kelsey says
Thank you for this post, Leila. It’s truly something that I angst over a lot. It’s not so much the “organic” label on things, but I am blessed – I guess! though it might just up the anxiety with too many choices – to have local access to really good farmers who produce great food. One thing I’m figuring out is that banding together with others in this area can help a lot. For example, there’s no way we could afford or store a whole cow, but last year we bought 1/8 of a 100% grass-fed cow from a local farmer for less than that meat would have cost from the grocery store. (Not less, necessarily, than if I bought only ground beef, but you get the point.) It was a big output of cash, but worth it, I think. But we needed a group of people to go in on it. Similarly, I’m looking into rounding up a buying club of sorts for a local farm that sells quality milk. My daughter drinks a lot of milk, and I think this is important. The price isn’t bad for the product, but it is a bit of a trek, so if others join me it will be doable. I think it boils down to stewardship. Our own health is important, yes, but so are our finances and the earth and local economies and our sanity! It’s tough to balance it all.
Sara says
Excellent advice here! I would like to add I found a free download of a book/pamphlet? called Good Cheap Eats by Leanne Brown. It’s a cookbook using natural foods with simple recipes based on the premise of eating on a food stamp allotment of approximately $4 per person per day. There are some delicious recipes and good guidelines on eating simply, healthfully & inexpensively.
Lisa says
You always put things in perspective. Thank you.
Sarah S. says
I am also in the trying-to-find-a-balance for food purchase/prep group, so thank you for the post, Leila, and comments everyone. I need to go through the archives! I just want to add that when I bring home something that’s clearly out of our regular budget (like sustainable, wild caught salmon,) my husband reminds me that most of the world eat some form of rice and beans every day. Part of what I (and we Americans) struggle with is a desire for constant variety. As someone who really cares about preparing nourishing food, I am always tempted to make our meals extremely complex, with many colors of vegetables and a different type of meat or bean with every meal. The health food industry definitely promotes this by presenting us with one fruit, vegetable, or oil every few months that holds the keys to health.
When I keep my priorities straight, things go much better for me. So thanks, Leila, for this post. It’s always nice to remind ourselves that the one thing needed for healthy families is healthy souls.
As for quick on-the-go food, we love pita, carrots, and hummus, homemade granola bars, fruit, cheese and bread (which we cut into strips so it works just like cheese and crackers,) and sometimes if we know we’re going to be gone all day, I make some sort of cous cous salad with veggies the night before that we can eat cold. Happy picnicking!
Julie says
I was recently convicted over the time and effort I was using to acquire and prepare the food we eat. I realize it does take time and effort, but traipsing to multiple stores with lots of littles and making complicated dishes is not in the budget time-wise these days. I can’t wait to look back at your previous posts.
Teri Pittman says
Have you tried Scottish eggs? They are hard boiled eggs, covered in sausage, rolled in bread crumbs and fried or baked. (The Paleo version rolled them in crushed pork rinds!) They travel well and are tasty. I try and take bagels with some lunch meat on the road. Even some sort of trail mix can be enough to keep you away from fast foods. Bread or crackers with peanut or almond butter, tuna fish salad or hummus are other good choices.
Teri Pittman says
One more thing to share: have you ever read this essay by Howard Rheingold on the Amish and Technology? link here I think we would be wise to consider how certain technologies affect family life.