Meal Plans Week of 5-23-10

Whew.  Done with a crazy busy week.  Good, but busy.  I can't believe it's almost the end of May!  And I can't believe the weather we're supposed to have this week!  How am I supposed to bake if it's close to 90 every day?  I should still be able to bake in May in MI :P

This week will still be plenty busy.  Justin is still working hard on school work, so that takes up most of his time.  And I've got a lot of projects on my agenda for the week.  Here's what's going on this week: Today is church.  Monday is groceries.  Tuesday I have a playdate at my house in the morning, and Justin has class.  Wednesday I might go to Target or Harvest Health.  Or there is possibly something going on at Justin's work in the late afternoon/early evening.  Still waiting to hear about the details of that.  Thursday I might go to Harvest Health or Target, and Justin has class.  Friday is pretty open right now, but depending on the rest of the week I could run errands then as well.  No plans for Saturday right now.  Just get caught up.  And of course with this crazy hot weather we'll hopefully be spending lots of time outside.  We made it to the park once last week.  I think Rebecca would stay there 8 hours a day, every day if she could :P

Last week was quite productive...and quite ambitious :)  I tried lots of new things.  I finished my sourdough starter and made sourdough bread.  I tried a new method of marinating beef.  I sprouted black beans.  I made crispy walnuts.  I soaked and dried more oats.  I made soaked tortillas (recipe to come).  I made taco seasoning (recipe to come).  I made cream cheese/greek yogurt and whey (recipe to come).  And we got our first co-op order!  It was a good food week :)  I even got to go out for dinner one night.  Plus I got to try our new Mooville ice cream.  YUM!!!  Cow Trails.  Love it.  And we ended the week with an awesome taco dinner last night.  I'll do a meal post about that later.

This week I'm going to try plenty of new stuff again.  I cooked some pinto beans this morning to make into fermented bean paste.  I'll use the whey that I made yesterday in that.  I picked the rhubarb from our garden yesterday.  I'm planning to use that for soaked strawberry rhubarb bread.  I bought some raw peanuts at Harvest Health last week.  I'm going to soak and dry them and then use them to make peanut butter.  I'd also like to make some fermented ketchup and fermented fruit chutney.  I have to make some kind of jello/fruit salad for Justin for work.  Reminder to myself...figure out what you're making!!!  Today!!!  We're already almost out of homemade bagels, and we have lots of fresh cream cheese right now.  So I want to do another batch of bagels.  I'm still trying to decide what flavor.  I'd like to make another batch of granola with my soaked oats.  But this time try making it more raw.  I'd like to make some dried fruit.  We haven't had any homemade dried fruit in the house for a while.  Rebecca LOVES dried apples.  Such an easy, healthy snack.  I need to make more.  We are just about out of chocolate sauce, so hopefully I can squeeze that in too.  And as always, if the fresh fruit stand is up I'll stock up there and freeze/dry some fruit.  I think our farmrer's market starts next week!  So excited for that.

We placed our order for Voogt beef last week.  We're getting a full side this year.  We'll be splitting it with my brother, my parents, my SIL's parents and my grandparents.  We're hoping to take a trip out to the farm to see the cows sometime this summer with my family.  We also had our first co-op pick up.  It was so neat!  And so well organized.  After one month I can say we are for sure going to keep doing this.  We got everything we ordered.  Plus the Mooville guy had some extra butter!  So we were able to get a couple pounds.  So, so excited about that.  Who knew I'd ever be so excited about butter? :P  Or that I'd be slathering it on my toast/bagels?!  And Rebecca had a blast at the co-op too.  She had her own little bag and carried the cream cheese.  She had to show everyone what she had :)

I also went to a huge 2nd hand sale yesterday (largest one in the nation...Just Between Friends).  We had intended to go Thurs...and even set out to go.  But there was a major accident on the highway and we got turned around.  So we went to Harvest Health instead on Thursday...without my list...and of course I forgot a few things...and have to go back this week :P  Anyway, we ended up going on Saturday.  It's good and bad.  There isn't as much to pick from.  But it's not busy at all...and almost everything is 1/2 off!!  Love that.  I got a big pile of clothes, a couple stuffed animals and a book for Rebecca for $20.  I just couldn't resist this Packers outfit.  It was my "splurge" of $1.50 :)

I'm getting caught up on budget stuff now that our computer is working again.  I'm happy to see that even with shopping at Harvest Health, using the co-op, buy lots of good produce, etc. our weekly average is still staying in budget!!!  And this is even with paying some of the upfront healthy food costs...like updating some of my spices, things like that.  You can eat healthy and not spend a fortune.  And of course I'll keep working on cutting costs where I can.  But so far so good.  The thing I'm really amazed by is how little food I buy at the store.  I don't even go down most aisles.  I buy produce, a few baking products, maybe a little dairy (like yogurt) and that's it.  I love it.

Overall last week was very productive.  There are quite a few things going on that I didn't even include.  I'll hold off on that until my June post next week.  Stay tuned :)  Looking forward to what's to come this week.  Here's what's on the menu.
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S (cook pinto beans, church, nursery, make fermented bean paste, soak flour, prep strawberries and rhubarb, soak peanuts)
  B - yogurt, fruit, granola
  L - chicken legs and potatoes in the crockpot, roasted asparagus (from our garden)
  D - leftover tacos (meal post to come)

M (make strawberry rhubarb bread, Meijer, make whey/cream cheese, make ketchup, dry peanuts)
  B - strawberry rhubarb bread, fresh fruit
  D - asparagus and raw cheddar omelettes, beans (from freezer), home canned peaches, rhubarb strawberry bread

T (prep fruit, playdate, make peanut butter, make pink salad for Justin's work party, make mango chutney, laundry, family visiting, class)
  B - sourdough toast with butter, cream cheese and peanut butter, fresh pineapple and strawberries
  D - romaine/spinach/lettuce salad w/ sprouted black beans, soaked pinto beans, crispy walnuts, raw white cheddar cheese, raisins, cucumber and avocado

W (make raw granola, JCI, thaw beef)
  B - sourdough toast with homemade peanut butter, fresh pineapple and strawberries
  D - crockpot pork chops, potatoes and veggies (Justin), salad (me)

Th (boil egg, soak chickpeas, Target, class, marinate beef, feed sourdough starter)
  B - cultured milk smoothie
  D - romaine/spinach/lettuce salad

F (cook chickpeas, make dried fruit, make hummus, Harvest Health, clean)
  B - cereal topped w/ crispy pecans, raisins and ground flax seed
  D - whole wheat pita or tortillas with bean paste and hummus, side salad (from garden), home canned pearsauce

S (clean, laundry, make chocolate sauce)
  B - sourdough toast w/ cream cheese and peanut butter, fresh fruit
  D - marinated brisket in crockpot w/ fermented ketchup and fruit chutney, green beans, baked potato