Today’s how to is brought to you by Taylor. She is going to give you some tips for how to create balanced, homemade meals without stressing yourself out and therefore becoming “a little more than mediocre in the kitchen”. I’m all ears!
Hey friends, my name is Taylor and I wrote this “how to” for Lauren’s wonderful series for anyone who (like me) is interested in, but little intimidated by, the homemade, organic lifestyle. What I’ve learned is that a few simple tools in this area really help my husband Jake and I prepare meals that we feel good about, without requiring us to be great chefs or to spend a lot of money.
My first tip is rather self-discovery oriented. From my experience, food politics can get heated and it’s hard to be confident in your grocery choices unless you know what’s most important to you personally. Sit down and decide what groceries are really important to you.
For example, Jake and I have some “uncompromiseables.”
– Only certified whole grains. (Terms like multigrain and whole wheat are misleading.)
– Only fair trade, organic coffee.
– Only organice produce and animal products.
– Nothing with high fructose corn syrup!
Of course, money is always an issue. But I hope to show you how it can be possible to accomplish your goals on a shoestring budget. To save money, Jake and I don’t go out to eat very often. But I can tell you that we normally honor our “uncompromiseables” and still spend less than $160 a month on food while living in a big city and paying urban prices.
I’d like to break the myths that keep you from trying your hand at eating more homemade, organic meals and less pre-packaged food.
Myth: Organic or local food is an all-or-nothing deal.
This mentality seriously prevented me from buying anything organic at all until I learned that you could reduce exposure to pesticides by 90% by avoiding the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables! We bend our own rules now a little and only buy organic produce if it’s in the “dirty dozen.” (http://www.thedailygreen.com/
So here’s an example of what I buy organic:
And here’s what I don’t buy organic:
Myth: In order to eat healthier, I have to cook everyday or multiple times a day.
Cook when you have time and cook many, many servings at once. Then, make friends with a reliable set of lunch bags and glass containers. Meal planning is key for Jake and I because we make everything our selves but we have no time to cook from Wednesday until Saturday. I make around four entrees at the beginning of the week and we bring portions of them to work/school every day.
Myth: I can only shop at one grocery store.
I don’t actually think this is a myth, but I do think it’s a question of convenience that might deter you from getting the cheapest food possible. In order to buy the cheapest good food around, I frequent three grocery stores. There are some weeks when I truly don’t have the time for this, but usually the prices are worth it and I very much enjoy walking to each store. Seriously look into Aldi and Trader Joe’s if your town has them. They are owned by the same company and they both keep their prices down by using a specific business model. Compare these prices and what you like with your locally owned grocery store and keep mental notes of where to purchase what.
Myth: Some of these ideas look neat but they will take way too much time!
You can do this! I sit down for less than ten minutes per week to plan out everything we’ll eat and from which store I have to get each ingredient. Then I’m done … unless I start daydreaming about recipes and become enthralled by Tastespotting.com. Give yourself time to set your own routine and it’ll become second nature.
Thanks Taylor!
Hope you all enjoyed this “how to” and please send me your ideas for future “how to” posts if you’d like to be featured here on my blog!
Happy Wednesday!
xo
{Lauren}
Very cool “how to be” this week!
thanks for sharing! this was definitely helpful for me as a college student!
I always thought that whole wheat was better than whole grain! Thanks for clarifying!
Love this 🙂
love it
Love this post… thank you! My husband and I just made a switch to this lifestyle a couple weeks ago. This was a boost I needed. 🙂
My husband and I have every intention of cooking in everyday, but it gets overwhelming at times…I really need to implement meal planning and make a bunch of meals in one day. Thanks for the tips!!! Great post 🙂
Great post! Thanks so much! I love the tips and what’s important vs. what really isn’t.
I ALWAYS buy Trader Joes organic baby spinach! 🙂 how awesome!!!
Awesome post, Taylor! Thank you! There’s an Aldi in the next town over from me, and a Trader Joe’s two towns away, and I think I’m going to have to start making monthly trips to each!
That’s AWESOME! I wish that we had a trader joes or an aldi here so bad. My sister gets so many organic things from there, but alas, we have neither. Meal planning does seem to help a lot. Maybe I’ll have to try going to more than one store in the future.
great advice! i really need to try out the pre-planned menu list of ingredients to buy. i always wind up wandering aimlessly around TJ’s and checking out with a box of cookies and a brick of cheese or some such nonsense and no life sustaining, real meal food.
that dirty dozen list is super helpful! thanks for sharing!!
Great post 🙂 I love Trader Joe’s!