Thank you for all of the good suggestions, either in the comments or by email. I looked into menu-mailer services again, but didn’t want to commit, so instead I bought a cookbook from the 6 O’Clock Scramble. It has 52 weeks of menus, organized by season, and hurrah, a companion website where I can download the week’s grocery list. Apparently the big weakness of the Scramble is that it doesn’t have crockpot recipes, so to bump my order closer to free shipping, I also ordered the Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker cookbook.
When I browsed the grocery lists at thescramble, the meals sounded really good, healthy, tasty, and offered a lot of variety. And, if I decide not to make one of the five meals that is aligned with the grocery list, the grocery list is coded so that I can easily remove all of those ingredients before shopping. This appeals to me. It’s worth a shot for 12 bucks.
Don’t know if soup would be way too messy for Ingrid at this point, but I love making it. Lots of times I cheat and start from box (Campbell’s Selects) and then doctor it up. I am not a fan of vegetables, but I like disgusing them in soup. My current favorite is butternut squash, with curry and onions mixed in and sour cream on top.
While I don’t do this, I know many people swear by cooking tons of food on Sunday to eat all week.
Stuff we are having this week (maybe it will provide inspiration?):
Aspargus boiled for 2 minutes then combined with halved cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, olive oil and sea salt
Beef seasoned with Montreal Steak seasoning and Mushrooms
Risotto
Butternut Squash SOup
Mushroom Soup
Potato Casserole
Pork Loin
Ham
Green Bean Cassrole
Enchilada Casserole (Flour Tortillas layered with Ground Chicken/Salsa/Chiles/Frozen corn, pepper and black bean mix)
Healthy? Not exactly, but much better than most restaurant stuff. I am also very delibrate about having some meals that require a lot of prep and others that are 15 minutes or less.
Just remember when you are truly overwelmed with cooking that I one day hope to be able to load a dishwasher like you- that is very inspiring 🙂
Amen- I think of you every time I load the dishwasher- would Gretchen approve? 🙂
Check out some of the cooking threads on Digs. There are a ton of quick ideas and recipes that are good. I find that if I take about 30 minutes one night and look at my cookbooks and plan a menu for the week, I will actually buy and make good food. I think the hardest part is the planning.
Another good source might be Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food magazine (I know, martha stewart sounds scary, but it isn’t bad, I promise). I get their weekly e-mail newsletter and I’ve made some of the recipes they send. Usually they are quick and really good. the magazine has a grocery list in every issue.
Here’s the link to this week’s recipe: http://tinyurl.com/2acwxc
Tips for Meal prep
Buy a container that will hold lettuce for a week, that can store in fridge.
Buy a big bag of mixed greens, head of romaine. Wash, combine, and serve with each meal. . .. (screw Dave, if he won’t eat it, he won’t eat it. . .you and Ingrid can)
Pick up a container of nonfat Feta, bag on flax, Balsamic vinegar, fresh garlic, oil oil. . . Maybe add some almonds (also good with veggies)
This shit lasts forever.
Veggies:
Buy bags of frozen (green beans, broccoli, corn cob)
This will last a couple of weeks, and just take out enough for you and Ingrid, steam (or nuke)
RICE:
We eat a TON of rice. . . .
GET A RICE COOKER, start when you know you’ll have it to start. . . .
Jasmine, long grain, couscous. . .whatever. . .
Wrap your food. . . ..
Use it to box up your salad, maybe with some chicken split in there. . .
(buy a boneless skinless piece of chicken (or stuff already cut for stir fry) put in pan with olive oil and spice, takes 2 minutes, put it in wrap. . .serve with cottage cheese and Melba toast, or bagel crisps. . . .
Add mini pepper rings, red hot, a little ranch or something for zing.
FISH:
Skip the preshit. . .
Just buy it fresh, slap on tinfoil (or in pan) add some dill to salmon, butter and lemon shavings to haddock. . . .bake ( only a few minutes) Serve with mini red or blue potatoes (take 10 minutes or so.. .you can nuke these too, if you want), and fresh salad.
Pasta:
Pick up an assortment, so you have choices. . .
Can of tomatoes, take out of can, put in container in fridge. . . add some seasoning. ..
Pesto, or sun dried tomato paste.
Serve with chicken, or plain. . . maybe small amount of scallops or shrimp. . .. (you can buy very small amounts), and just remember to cook pasta first, saute seafood last, takes just a couple of seconds. . real butter, and lemon, always good bet with seafood. . combine with pasta that has been tossed in pesto or paste. . . serve with a salad, buy small Italian bread, cut into wedges, add a little olive oil (or butter. . add seasoning, broil for just a couple of minutes.
Desert. . .
In advance, buy a package of whipped topping, low fat pudding, and combine them. . .pick up so wafer cookies, put spread (pudding and whipped cream) between two cookies, put all in a Tupperware, let freeze. . .serve with some dark chocolate shavings. . .
Melon ball some sorbet. . .
Crumble up cookies, nuts or whatever, mix with frozen yogurt. . .
Breakfast:
Make a shit load of half dollar pancakes, put in baggies of a couple each, put in freezer. . they will last, nuke for Ingrid in morning
Buy a cantaloupe, apple, mango. . cut up, put in container after grocery shopping. . throw that at her in the morning.
French toast sticks. ..Texas toast, make in advance, freeze.
Bananas, yogurt. . . .whatever. . .
Do you want a weeks menu of easy to cook (low fat / cal) meals?
I could whip one up for you. . .
Amy
“Make a shit load of half dollar pancakes…”
this is great idea, I think I will try it. IN the am I can spread pb and j or pb and bananas…