Meal planning

I posted last week about sitting down with my kids to brainstorm healthy lunch and snack ideas for back to school. I’ve had trouble in the past with packing lunches that come back basically untouched, and snacks that are just basic carbs like goldfish or pirate’s booty with no real nutritional value of any kind. This year I wanted the kids to have healthier choices, while still giving them a say in what they eat. I was pleasantly surprised by what they came up with.

Disclaimer: A lot of simple lunch ideas like chicken nuggets. grilled cheese, sandwiches, pizza, basically any stereotypical kid food has been left out of this list because B doesn’t like them, and I’m not up for making two separate lunch plans.

Picture of butterfly snack, trail mix, dates and olives, chia pouch and eggs and tomatoes goes here

Snack Ideas

Clockwise from top left: Blackberry Chia Pouch, Seaweed Snacks, Pirate’s Booty and Banana Chip Butterfly, Black Olives and Dates and Homemade Trail Mix

1. 1. Butterfly Grapes and Goldfish-This was a special first day of school snack. I don’t usually do this Pinterest shit, but the kids had a a lot of fun decorating their clothes pins.
   2. Nut-free Trail Mix-Sesame sticks, Banana chips, Raisins, Pretzels and Dried raspberries
   3. Sliced Nectarines or Peaches
   4. Seaweed Snacks
   5. Hummus single packs with Carrots, Cucumbers or Pretzels-These packs are the perfect size for kids.
   6. Hard-boiled Eggs and Cherry tomatoes
   7. Olives and Dates-I never would of thought of this combo, but I found the idea here. Ben loves both of these things, and who doesn’t like a sweet/salty combo that also has healthy fats and vitamins instead of empty calories?
   8. Veggies and Dip-Check out these great containers for dips here.
   9. Banana Bread Energy Balls-Bananas, dates, flour, oats and chocolate chips are the only ingredients you need to make these tasty guys. Throw in your favorite protein powder to make these even more filling. I like this one.
   10. Cheese, Apple and Cherry Tomato Skewers-Remember to cut off the sharp edges
   11. Chia or Yogurt pouches-I personally love the Blackberry Bliss chia pouches and they have 2 g. of protein and 4 g. of fiber in each pouch. Score!
   12. Turkey jerky and Fruit snacks or Fruit leather

http://http://

Instead of packing snacks in sandwich bags, reduce your carbon footprint with these container ideas. I really wanted something like these, but when I couldn’t find them I got these and they’re great!

Lunch Ideas

From left to right: Marinated Chicken Strips, Apple, Cheese and Tomato skewers and Turkey Rollups

1. Turkey roll-ups-My kids have an aversion to bread, apparently. In the past, I’d send them in with a sandwich and they’d come back with the bread untouched. To cut our food waste, I decided to make these rollups instead. I lay them flat and spread mayo or mustard and then roll them into cigar shapes.
2. Cheese roll-ups-V loved the sound of these. You spread cream cheese on a whole wheat tortilla and add a piece of cheese and then roll it up. I’m going to try to add thinly sliced cucumber and tomato and hope she doesn’t notice. 😉
3. Cheese, apple and cherry tomato skewers-This is a snack item that works for lunch too.
4. Brown rice and black beans-This was B’s go-to lunch last year. We kept it nice and hot for him in his thermos. Add some salsa for extra flavor.
5. Grilled and marinated chicken strips-We bought a package of pre-cooked strips from Kroger and marinated them overnight in oil and vinegar. B gobbled them up, and asked to have them for lunch again the next day.
6. Bow-tie pasta salad-Add chick peas and pine nuts to make this more filling and any veggies your child will eat to make it vitamin-packed. We found the recipe here, along with a lot of our other lunch ideas.

Along with these main courses, I add one serving of fruit, one fun carb like goldfish or pretzels, and a carton of milk for V.

Once we made the list, I had the kids each pick two snacks choices and two lunches choices for the week. This way they won’t have to eat the same thing every day, but I know what I should have on hand instead of buying all of the things on the list.

For their lunches, we’ve been using these containers for the past two years and they’ve really held up!

I hope you can use some of these ideas to prepare your own healthy snacks and lunches this school year! Let me know your best snack and lunch ideas in the comments. Happy eating!

🙂 Erin

The big kids and I have been in San Diego this past week, which is why I haven’t had time to blog. We’re finally getting back into our usual routine, and back on east coast time. My kids go back to school the day after Labor Day so we’ll be working on getting back on our (horribly early) morning schedule next week. I know many of your kids are already back at school. With that being said, the make ahead meals I’ve been posting on here are a great way to eliminate dinner time stress and make your life easier. Here’s a tasty recipe to try next week. If you’re from the mid-west like me, you’ve had your share of broccoli cheese casserole over the years. This is a healthier, vegan version, but the result is just as tasty and comforting as you remember. Happy Eating!

Recipe adapted from: Whatvegankidseat.com

Here’s another delicious vegetarian recipe from my Monthly Freezer Meal Challenge. This was actually a life-saver yesterday when I’d realized it was 3 pm and I’d forgotten to put my other freezer meal into the crockpot. If you freeze this meal ahead of time, it will be ready in only 20 minutes using your stovetop. My five year old refused to try it, but the rest of my family loved it. Baby N actually kept yelling, “More! More!” to get seconds, and then thirds.

So, I know he doesn’t look thrilled, but I swear that he loved it and ate it all.

Try topping the dish with a dollop or two of sour cream or Greek yogurt. It’s so good!

Please check out Once a Month Meals for even more great make-ahead recipes. My favorite part of this site is that they provide directions for making a recipe right away, as well as directions for freezing. A girl needs options! Happy cooking!

🙂 Erin

Picture provided by : veganricha.com

On Tuesday we tried out this Greens and Beans soup recipe from, New Leaf Wellness. This is another recipe that we made in early July as part of my Monthly Freezer Meal Challenge. The kids haven’t tried it yet, but my husband and I thought it was tasty and filling enough on its own. I’ll be enjoying this for lunch the rest of the week, along with a small salad.

Why, oh why, did I wait so long to start freezer cooking?? All I needed to do was cut the bag open at the bottom and toss this pre-made recipe into the crockpot. I do love to cook, but now I have time for other things I enjoy even more, like beer drinking. I froze this meal for my Monthly Freezer Meal Challenge post at the beginning of the month. It comes from the site, Once A Month Meals, which is full of great make-ahead recipes. This vegan recipe is healthy, filling and delicious. We just ate it in bowls instead of on bread, so it tasted more like a thick lentil stew. I liked that it made enough for dinner for two nights, with leftovers to spare. I wasn’t sure the kids would eat it, but, as you can see below, it was a hit!

Toddler Approved!

Absolutely Nothing Left!

I hope your family enjoys this recipe as much as mine. Happy cooking!

🙂 Erin

I thought it might be helpful to make a post for each freezer meal we made, in case some of you found the idea of making fourteen meals at once pretty daunting.

Last night, I “cooked” the black bean fajitas that my husband prepared on Tuesday. You can find the details below with a link to the official recipe page. Basically, it’s a mix of beans, peppers and onions that you can serve for dinner any way you’d like. If any of you have made Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken in the past where you throw some frozen chicken breasts, a jar of salsa and taco seasoning in the crock pot and call it a day, think of this as the vegetarian version. You can serve them as black bean fajitas, nachos, tacos or just put them on top of brown rice, which is what we did. We also sliced up some lettuce, avocado and tomato to put on top. The flavor was sweeter than I expected, but it was really delicious. I was nervous the kids wouldn’t eat it because of all the red peppers and onions, but they all devoured it quickly. A meal that all three of them will eat?! Where am I right now? This meal is definitely a keeper. If I had it to do over again, I’d double or even triple the recipe to make it last longer. Ours was pretty much gone in one sitting. Hope your family likes it too!

Black Bean Fajitas/Tacos/Bowls-Quick and Dirty Version (You know how I like it.)

Ingredients

3 Bell Peppers-any color, or omit them altogether

and just add more beans-buy frozen peppers to save $$

1 Small Onion-chopped

1 can Black Beans-15 oz.

2 cloves Garlic, minced or 2 T pre-minced

1 tablespoon Honey

1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vingar

1 tablespoon Chili powder

2 teaspoons Cumin

1 teaspoon Paprika

1/4 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper

Directions

Throw all those ingredients in a crockpot or gallon freezer bag. When you’re ready to cook, let it simmer in there on low for 6-8 hours or if suddenly it’s 2 pm and you realize you forgot to start cooking, I learned that it can also cook on high for 3-4 hours. If you’re cooking this from freezing, there is no need to thaw it before tossing it in.

Tips: If you’re feeling carnivorous, feel free to throw in some frozen/thawed chicken breasts to the crockpot at the same time as everything else, or add in some cooked ground beef 10 minutes before serving.

🙂 Erin

Now that you know the cheapest places to buy your ingredients, it’s time to share the recipes!

Monthly Freezer Meal Challenge-14 meals

1. Tomato Veggie & Barley Soup
2. Coconut Chickpea Curry
3. Mexican Black Bean Chili with Cornbread topping
4. Greens and Beans Soup
5. Black Bean Fajitas
6. Potato Stew-I’m subbing regular potatoes for sweet because my kids don’t like them.
7. Noodles Stroganoff
8. Vegan Minestrone
9. Teriyaki Veggies & Rice
10. Broccoli Cheese Un-Casserole
11. Tempeh Tikka Masala
12. Sloppy Vegan Joes
13. Coconut Tofu Curry
14. Edamame Fried Rice

I found recipes 1-5 on the awesome website, http://newleafwellness.biz. This site has tons of healthy crockpot freezer meals with beautiful photos of the food. They also offer many different crockpot cookbooks for a small fee. It’s run by a wife and husband team who have four kids so they know how to make things that are both delicious and simple.

Recipes 6-10 were found on another great site, whatvegankidseat.com. This blog was especially useful for us when we decided to go vegetarian at home. It’s easy for my husband and I to find vegan meals we like, but tougher to find things our kids will eat. The site is under construction right now, but the link above will take you to many more recipes.

The final four recipes came from the site, onceamonthmeals.com. These recipes were four out of 101 that were listed on just this post alone, so you can imagine how many more recipes they have to offer. The entire site is dedicated to helping subscribers shop, prep and cook meals for an entire month. In addition, for $16/month, they’ll provide the Grocery Shopping List, Prep Instructions, step-by-step Cooking Day Instructions, individual Recipe Cards, printable Labels, and Thaw Sheets for each monthly menu. There are over 600 menus to choose from. This sounds like a pretty sweet deal for busy parents.

With these three sites in our sights, (ugh, sorry for the cheesiness!), we’re well on our way to mastering the art of monthly meals. My husband and I worked together and it took us just under three hours to prep all 14 meals. We listened to music and there was a lot of singing (husband) and dancing (me). I hope you try monthly cooking and have fun with it, or at least as much fun as you can have while cooking.

🙂 Erin

You can see how much he loves having his picture taken.

My husband wouldn’t let me smile for the camera, so now I just look creepy.

Hello Again,

As I mentioned in my first post, I like to be really thorough when I take on a project. It was not enough for me to simply buy the ingredients from the list. I actually traveled to all three stores with a notebook in hand and wrote down prices for over fifty different items that I buy for our family all the time. I have obsessively price compared so you don’t have to! Are you feeling grateful yet? Before I start the results, I have a few disclaimers. I know that many of you are probably thinking that Walmart and Aldi may have cheaper prices, but I could only take so many people giving me weird looks so I kept my comparing to three locations. If you know of any products that are a lot cheaper elsewhere, please feel to share in the comments. Also, we always buy the store brand if it’s an option, so if you’re still name brand shoppers after having kids(why?) then these prices may be a little lower than what you pay.

Are you ready for this level of crazy? Can you imagine how I looked inside the stores

 Buy These at Trader Joe’s

Organic butter-2.99 8 oz.

Bananas-.19 cents a piece

Peaches-.79 cents a piece

Sweet potato-.49 each

Tempeh-1.99/8 oz.

Tofu-1.99/15 oz.

Pitted dates-2.99/1 lb.-These are crazy cheap at TJ’s! I love them in smoothies as a healthier form of sugar.

Natural peanut butter-2.29/16 oz.

Kalamata olives-1.99/8.8 oz. bag

Tortilla chips-3.49/36 oz.

Bread-Trader Joe’s Brand Whole Wheat-2.79/24 oz.-This bread also has 5 g of protein and 3 g of fiber, per slice!

Frozen whole grain waffles-1.99/8

Frozen brown rice-2.99/3 10 oz. bags

Frozen turkey burgers-4/2.99

Wine-3.29/bottle-Can’t beat the Charles Shaw!

Trader Joe’s will be your best bet for lower prices on healthier options and delicious frozen meals!

Total Cheaper Items: 15

Buy These at Kroger

-Unsweetened almond milk-2.79

-1/2 and 1/2-1.99 quart

-Yogurt pouches-1.89/8

-Cucumbers-50 cents each

-Plum tomatoes-.19 cents each

-Bag of baby carrots-99 cents/lb.

-Dill pickles-1.49/24 oz.

-Pasta noodles-88 cents/16 oz.

-Pasta Sauce-Kroger marinara-1.19/24 oz.-I’m half-Italian and I actually think this sauce is delicious for the price.

-Pretzels-1.19/15 oz.

-Broth-I swear by the Better than Bouillon concentrated broth and Trader Joe’s and Costco don’t carry it. It’s not cheap, but each jar makes 38 cups of broth.

-Canned beans-between .59-.69 cents per can

-Gallon and Quart bags-1.59/19 and 4.19/38-For all those freezer meals

-Toilet paper-5.99/12 rolls-Kroger soft and strong

-Paper towels-6.49/6-These are the select-a-size that I require at our house. You can find cheaper without.

Another major benefit of Kroger shopping is the ClickList. I can order my groceries while watching Netflix and then pick them up at a time that’s convenient for me. Someone will load them into my car for me and I never have to take my kids out! Also, our Kroger is right next to Brewville, a growler filling store with so many beer options! Score one for mom!

Total Cheaper Items: 16

Buy These at Costco

Organic eggs-5.99/2 dozen

Greek yogurt-2/32 oz. 5.89

Shredded cheese-2/40 oz. 11.99

Avocado-5.99/6

Romaine hearts-3.99/5 heads

Organic spinach-3.79/1 lb.

Organic strawberries-5.49/2 lbs.

Yellow onion-4.99/10 lbs.

Stoplight peppers-5.99/6

Minced Garlic-4.79/48 oz.

Hummus-5.99/32 oz.

Almond Butter-7.89/27 oz.

Berry jam-7.89-2/23 oz.

Maple syrup-10.49/33.8 oz-almost $10 less than Kroger!

Welch’s fruit snacks-10.99/80 small bags

Granola bars-7.99/60 chocolate chip

Canned tuna-13.99/8 cans

Salsa-7.69-2/38 oz. jars

Olive oil-14.99/2 liters

Spices-all different $$, but definitely more spice for your $

Canned tomatoes-6.49/8 cans of 14.5 oz.

Tomato Sauce-7.99/12 cans of 15 oz.

Tomato Paste-6.79/12 cans of 6 oz.

Beer-9.99 for a Kirkland 24 pack-This beer is actually pretty good and we’re a little snobby about beer.

Frozen fruit-8.39 for a 3 lb. tropical mix

Frozen veggies-6.89 for 3 lb. of riced cauliflower-I didn’t know Costco had this!

Frozen pre-cooked shrimp-15.49/2 lbs-Our 7 year old eats this all the time so we go through it fast!

Black bean burgers-10.79/12

Sandwich bags-8.99 for 4/125 count boxes

Dog food-Kirkland brand healthy weight-24.99/40 lbs.

As you can see, Costco has about as many of the cheapest options as Trader Joe’s and Kroger have combined! After discovering this, we wondered why we haven’t been shopping there more often! We had thought Costco was really only for large bulk purchases like trash bags or toilet paper, but it turns out it’s the best place for certain items in every food category. To enhance our savings we’re also planning to get a Costco Visa card to earn 4% cash back with every purchase made there and possibly switch our membership to an Executive Membership. The yearly membership fee raises from $60 to $120, but with it you earn an additional 2 % cash back every year, up to $1,000.

Total Cheaper Items: 30

Hopefully my obsessive research will help you save and maybe someone will even find it as fun and interesting as I did. Happy Shopping!

🙂 Erin

Last week my husband and I, (Ok, just my husband.) decided that we needed to go on a budget(ugh!). We sat down and calculated every single expense over the past month, (thrilling night!) and the results were pretty eye-opening, especially when it came to eating out and grocery bills! Since January, we decided to go mostly vegetarian at home, which should’ve saved us some money, but we’d been ordering from meal delivery services like, Purple Carrot and Green chef, to only name a few. (I’ll save my reviews of the five different services we’ve tried for another post.) The bottom line was; the three meals a week were super convenient and mostly delicious, but also so much more expensive than if we’d been shopping on our own. Those subscriptions were the first thing to go.

So, now we needed cheap dinner ideas. Searching on Pinterest, as usual, I decided that we could save money by planning, shopping and prepping meals for an entire month at a time.  I found fourteen dinners, mostly crockpot freezer meals, to last us for a month. They are all vegetarian meals, but could easily be made into meat-friendly dishes, just sub beans for meat. I prepared a grocery list of all the items we’d need, and my husband and I went to Costco, Trader Joe’s and Kroger over the weekend. Today we plan on prepping and freezing all fourteen meals, because what better way to celebrate the fourth?! Oh lord, what have I done?! Check out the meal plan and grocery list below.

Monthly Freezer Meal Challenge-14 meals

1. Tomato Veggie & Barley Soup
2. Coconut Chickpea Curry
3. Mexican Black Bean Chili with Cornbread topping
4. Greens and Beans Soup
5. Black Bean Fajitas
6. Potato Stew-I’m subbing regular potatoes for sweet because my kids don’t like them.
7. Noodles Stroganoff
8. Vegan Minestrone
9. Teriyaki Veggies & Rice
10. Broccoli Cheese Un-Casserole
11. Tempeh Tikka Masala
12. Sloppy Vegan Joes
13. Coconut Tofu Curry
14. Edamame Fried Rice

Grocery List

Produce

Green or sweet peppers-5

Red or russet potatoes-2

Bag of baby carrots-2

Mushroom-any variety

Coleslaw mix-2 cups

Leek

Red onion

Yellow onion-2

Frozen

Butternut squash or any other root vegetable-small bag

Broccoli-small bag

Green beans-small bag

Brown rice–small bag

Edamame, shelled-small bag

Dairy

Shredded cheddar cheese

Tofutti cream cheese, or regular if not vegan

Heavy cream-1 cup

Greek yogurt-2 cups

Tempeh- 1 1/2 cup

Tofu-firm

Pantry

White beans-Great Northern or Canellinni-3

Garbanzo Beans-3

Black Beans-3

Barley-dry-small bag

Tomato Sauce-3

Tomato Paste-3

Diced Tomato-3

Egg Noodles

Pasta shells

Corn muffin mix

Beef broth-4 cups

Chicken broth-4 cups

Vegetable Broth-5 cups

Minced Garlic

Canned Pineapple

Teriyaki Sauce

Coconut milk-lite-10 oz.

Fish sauce

Textured vegetable protein- 1 1/2 cups

Mushroom soup-32 oz.

Will our marriage survive this meal prepping bonanza? To be continued…..

Still To Come-Part 2-Costco, Trader Joe’s and Kroger cost comparison-Who does it cheaper? and Part 3-The Recipes-It’s getting hot in here, because my crockpot’s on.