Food Overhaul

[smeisnotapirate]

We're in need of a serious dietary overhaul (DH, DS 14mo, and I). It doesn't help that all of our yummy fresh food is at one house and we're living in another.

Corn is in season here in Central PA, and I don't feel like we're eating enough of it. Usually by August I'm sick of it, and that means that this year we're not eating enough veggies. I need to go to the farm market today - but I need to meal plan first.

Here are some big changes I'm hoping to make:

Meal plan. Right now, we do the 5pm "fridge search," and I hate it. That's gotta change.

Meat 1-2 times per week. DH is a carnivore with sometimes omnivore tendencies. I could be a vegetarian except for one or two meals I really like. It makes for pretty stressful meal planning, though to DH's credit he's great at eating whatever I make with no complaints.

Me cooking more. Right now, DH is coking (he's a great cook), and we are eating lots of processed crap meat and white pasta. It's too much, and my system can't handle it. So I need to cook more, especially since I'm the picky one. Also, I'm the one who shops and plans, so I should be the one cooking.

Transition completely from HFCS to sugar. I'm not trying to cut out sugar - for us, it would be impossible. I do, however, want to make choices that will cut out HFCS, because it makes my blood sugar go all wonky (I'm a "dietary diabetic"). I've already chosen a tea mix (I have an addiction to powdered teas with real sugar AND that's decaf, so I'm pretty happy about that.

Replace caffeinated beverages with decaf/water. Like above, my tea is now decaf, and at restaurants (where the choices are alcohol, soda, or caffeinated tea) I'm getting water.

Find healthier grains. Right now, we're using lots of white grains - rice, pasta, etc. I want to find rice or whole wheat noodles that we all like (DH will be a challenge) and we're replacing rice with quinoa in our diet (DH HATES brown rice, but likes quinoa).

Can anyone recommend some tips for our above goals? Or any other goals that you recommend?

TIA!

[crunchy_mama]

I found the brown rice pasta to be more smooth tasting than whole wheat myself.

How about crockpot meals to help w/ planning?
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

Try this link for lots of yummy ideas!

[Elecampane]

I am always in the process of overhauling our diet. Here are some things I've found to be helpful...and when I don't do them, I definitely find that we eat more crap.

Keep cooked whole grains on hand at all times...quinoa is a favorite in our house, bulgur, barley, etc. You could keep cooked ww or rice pasta in the fridge too for a few days, I'm sure. Then you can reheat them as a side dish or make fried rice or casseroles or salads.

Chop and prep basic veggies (onions, celery, peppers) all at once and store for use during the week. You can freeze or refrigerate them in water for several days. It makes it easier to make dinner if even one step is eliminated!

I try to make a roast of some kind every Sunday and use the meat for at least one more meal during the week. Chicken, pork, beef, etc. all can go into fried rice, tacos or enchiladas, or on top of a salad.

Be flexible with the meal plan. I like to plan a week's worth of meals but I don't hold myself to having specific things on one specific day. That way if it doesn't sound good I can switch it around. I also tend to do theme days more than specific meals...like Monday is Mexican, Tuesday Asian, Wednesday crock pot, etc.

Keep a meal planning calendar or notebook. I need to remind myself in writing to do things like soak beans or defrost meat for the next night's dinner or I'm unprepared and then we end up with pizza. The calendar helps with that.

Cutting out HFCS is pretty easy, just eliminate processed foods and that's half the battle!

GL!

[smeisnotapirate]

Thanks! These are great ideas. I like the idea of keeping cooked grains on hand - that would make things much easier, and I can cook them on my day off and just grab them when I need them.

Any more?