Sunday, February 10, 2008

new approach to food

I have been dieting since Jan 10th, when I got back from vacation. To that end, we are eating "healthy" at my house. Low-fat. Whole grains. Lean meats. More fruits and veggies. I plan out the week's menus on Saturday, and shop on Sunday morning for the week. So far, it appears to be working. We have had some nice meals, a few flops, but no disasters. I don't waste as much food, since before I bought ingredients without much thought in mind, and often had a ton of produce to chuck out at the end of the week. Our groceries have been marginally cheaper, since I am only buying what we use that week.

On Sunday, I cook. A lot. Today I made peanut crunch bars for my son, and my steel cut oatmeal for the week. I cooked Bombay Curry for tomorrow night, along with roasted sweet potatoes, again for tomorrow's dinner. I made Pasta Arabiatta for dinner for tonight, and have leftovers for later in the week.

This week's menu: Pasta Arabiatta; Bombay Curry and Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Basmati rice and whole grain naan; Chicken Cashew and Ginger Broccoli; Haddock and homemade Mac and Cheese, again with broccoli; Chicken Piccata with Mushrooms and whole wheat angel hair pasta.

That leaves two meals where we eat leftovers, or go out, or get carryout. Not bad. Definitely an improvement.

I also have discovered a great new product: dry brown sugar. It pours like regular sugar. If a recipe calls for a half cup of packed brown sugar, you just pour out a half cup of this stuff instead. I *love* it. I always hated dealing with brown sugar; it always turns to a brick in my cupboard and I end up hacking away at it like a madwoman. They sell this in a bag, labelled as dry "brownulated" brown sugar. Awesome stuff.

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