One day after the holiday break, I tweeted that I had shopped at our local Whole Foods store and that the final tally was less than $150. That got quite a reaction, as in “are you kidding me?” In actuality the total, including 2 impulse buys, was less than $136.
Which got me thinking: I’ve been meal planning for many, many, MANY years now. My goal has always been to cook four planned meals each week. As I work long days outside of the home 10 months a year (as an elementary teacher), four planned meals seemed do-able — trust me, seven was not.
Along with the goal of planning for four meals, we have several food requirements in this family. I am a vegetarian; my husband is not, but he gets his fix for eating meat at restaurants. I am also a lifetime Weight Watcher so I try to track the points value for each thing I eat. We both are committed to eating more sustainable food products, we buy locally produced foods whenever possible. However, living in the tundra of New England is a challenge in that regard.
While I enjoy trying new recipes, I am admittedly not a recipe creator. I am more of a recipe finder who plans and cooks something from a cookbook, magazine or website that catches my eye. Therefore, there are references to the originator of each recipe in the blog and I’ve included links to my favorite food authors.
Lastly, this blog is also a labor of love as the photographs in the blog were created by my husband, Adrien Bisson, a commercial photographer. We often are at work in entirely different spheres; how lucky to be able to collaborate on something we both enjoy!
So I hope you too might find some resources for cooking and eating at home. I welcome your comments about recipes.
January 1st, 2011 at 4:35 pm
Amy and Adrien,
I look forward to following your blog. Your efforts mirror my concerns and goals!
Kathi
January 1st, 2011 at 5:18 pm
I am so excited to see the recipes and photos you post. Like you, we are a half-veggie/half-carnivore-when-out couple and our meals at home are mostly vegetarian; we are also committed to local and sustainable products, relying on our CSA, farmers’ markets and winter markets to get our produce. I am always looking for recipes that have been taste-tested so I’ll be following along.
I did a $60 a week project a couple of years ago which chronicled my adventures cooking and eating well on a budget – it was a great experiment and really changed the way I think about food and myself as a home cook, and it completely changed the way I shop. I’m certain you both will enjoy your labor of love.
January 2nd, 2011 at 7:40 pm
Hi Marianne! I loved your $60 a week project! Do you mind if I link to it?
January 6th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
Of course I don’t, I’d be totally flattered!
That quinoa recipe looks amazing, I am going to have to try it (anything with mushrooms is an instant fave of mine.)
January 2nd, 2011 at 5:52 pm
With my new found motivation to do more with less (http:bit.ly/hMoe7s), I’m really hoping to adopt a practice of eating at home at least four days a week as well- so your adventures are perfectly timed with my mission! I look forward to trying many of your favorites!