Good Family Eating

Hey Friends,

I know it's been quite some time since I last posted. A few changes have taken place which has affected my free time. It wasn't already limited, to begin with, right. Well, moving forward my family has decided to let go of meat and dairy, and become vegetarians, possibly one day even vegans. This change at first I thought would be simple but it's far from it. There is so much that goes into the meal planning and preparation. All very do-able but still the pessimistic human in me always finds a way to go extra when it comes to meals for my family and to be honest it doesn't have to be. I always looked at vegetarian/vegan meals as just a bunch of sides and I think that's what helps me when it comes to planning meals. So far, so good. Today I just wanted to share this wonderful recipe I found that I am absolutely obsessed with right now. Well check it out below and give it a try, you won't even believe how good it tastes or how it could taste so good when you find out what it's made of. Now that's good family eating. Enjoy.

Hello Friends,

Yes, it is Valentines Day and love is in the air. Now I'm generally not the type to usually include Valentines Day as a holiday just because I believe love should be shown throughout the year and it shouldn't cost you anything. On the other hand, my school-aged kids get excited about it because school makes it a big deal and that's fine. When I was younger this day was about celebrating the crush you had or boyfriend/girlfriend. Now it also includes friendship or love in general for the family. So with all things considered and the fact that I absolutely love to bake...(when my energy levels are active), I decided to make it a baking day. I picked up some supplies at Walmart and offered a great surprise for my kiddos. If you don't have access to a Walmart, I'm sure there's a dollar store or craft store nearby where you can pick up just one or two things and make magic happen. If not, online shopping is always fun. All righty, let's jump right into photos and recipes...

We all plan meals and don't even realize it. When we get hungry, we walk into the kitchen, open the fridge and look in it to see what we can find to eat. Sometimes we'll stand in the fridge a few times until a miracle happens or a meal idea magically pops up. A lot of the time we have all the ingredients to a meal and don't even realize it because we haven't taken the necessary steps. Below I have created an infographic to simplify meal planning for those who need a more visual explanation of how to get started. It will take maybe five minutes of your time to review and you'll be able to follow along and create meal plans in no time. You'll be so good at it, that you'll even be able to help a friend or family member along their meal planning journey. Once you've got the hang of things, you'll see a major change in the food items you choose to purchase and how much you actually have to spend on day to day meals. So take a look and try it out. I know you'll do great. If you have any questions or comments, please them down below. If you like what you've been reading on my blog please follow to stay in the scoop with updates. Thanks for stopping by!

If any of you have kids under the age of 5 and receive WIC, which is short for Women, Infants, and Children then you know how beneficial it is. For those who don't know, it's a program available for pregnant women and women with children under the age of 5. It's such a helpful program in that it makes sure the mom and children are healthy as well as offer small amounts of food in the form of a check. The checks are used to purchase a specific list of food items in local supermarkets. Let me just stop and say, every little bit helps. With all of that useful info in mind, my youngest son receives WIC checks and on these checks, he gets Tofu. When I found out this was an option, my husband and I were not only shocked but humbly grateful. For my family of six, one package of Tofu feeds us all one meal. There are no leftovers but hey, I'll take it. Not only does he receive Tofu on his checks but he receives four packages of Tofu. (Holds face and does home Alone scream)...okay maybe just a shocked face and not the full scream...I'm a lady for goodness sakes. Okay back to the point. That's four meals already added to my meal plan. With this wonderful magic called the web, the meal possibilities are endless, which brings me to my recipe for last night. Meatless Meatballs. May sound unappealing to your average carnivore but please don't knock it until you try it. They turned out wonderful. Let me also add that adding a meatless night at least once a weak to your meal plan is not only healthy but definitely a money saver, while offering variety. Wink. Yea, mommy still got it. Let's check out the recipe for these meatless masterpieces. PS: These make a great freezer meal.

Good Morning Folks,

Good Evening Everyone,

Good Evening Everyone,

                 First off, I hope everyone's holiday went well and everyone enjoyed Martin Luther King Jr. Day. My day went well even with the loud war zone of kid noises coming from the back of the house due to no school. Need I say more. I decided since my kids are home I'll take today to catch up on some kids snacks. I like to alternate when it comes to kids snacks. Sometimes I'll buy prepackaged snacks but if I have the time, I like to make the snacks myself and allow the kids to help. I didn't buy any this month because I chose to replenish my condiments and freezer items instead which would motivate me to make the snacks, not just the sound of my kids asking simultaneously "Can I have a snack?" "Do we have any snacks?" "Mom, can you make us some snacks?"...You get the picture. So below is everything I baked and made today along with the recipe. Please give them a try. All the recipes are easy to follow and easy to make. If you have better patience then me, maybe you'll allow your kids to help you with all or most of them. Good luck and enjoy. I know I did.

Good Morning,

                 Last night I made a simple dinner. It had been a busy day and I needed to whip up something fast. So with that being said, I made an all in one kind of dinner. You know..when you put everything in a pan and put it in the oven, yes I did, and I'm proud of it. It turned out great. After looking at the meal I just conquered, I felt like it wasn’t enough. I always try to add veggies to every meal if possible, not just to because it's healthy but it also helps to expand the meal. When in doubt I’ll add something that cooks quickly. Tonight it was broccoli. My 3-year-old loves broccoli and who am I to deny him the wonderful green vegetable....with cheese of course. So to break it all down, I added small potatoes cut in half, frozen sweet potato pieces, frozen butternut squash pieces and chicken breast on top. Seasoned everything with a simple seasoning of garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. It cooked for about a little over an hour and I turned the tray around to cook everything evenly after the first 30 min. Once that was done and I felt like I could do a little better at this one-pan dinner thing, I placed the frozen broccoli on a tray and cooked that in the oven for about 15 min and it was ready to go. Everything was cooked at 375 degrees Fahrenheit and I was pleased to have made such a full meal within the hour. Bravo and Thank you. So when you feel under pressure, take a deep breath and remember you got this!

Good Day Everyone,

             My name is Jinelle and I’m starting this blog with intentions of helping others get started and stay organized with meal planning. I homecook a lot of my family meals and it helps not only to save money, but also helps me make sure my family is eating well and not just junk all the time. I will be posting meals I cook with suggested alternatives as well as some kids snacks and dessert ideas. So let’s jump right in...
            Are you staring at the fridge every night wonder what are you going to cook for dinner? Or even breakfast and lunch? I am here to help get you started on planning meals ahead of time. You may have everything you need right in your kitchen and you just don't know it. So grab a pen and paper and let's get started. I want you to go in your cabinets and pantry, write down what you have available. Your favorite sauces, sides and can goods to start. It's always good to start somewhere and this is the first step to becoming more organized when it comes to making meals for the family. You won't know what you need until you know what you already have. Okay people lets get moving.
             Okay, now that you have your dry goods lists, let’s move on to the fridge and freezer. Once you have everything written down, it’s time to take a seat and grab another piece of paper. Your almost done. Use the lists of food items to help guide you throw meals you may have on hand. I personally like to start with dinner meals. For example, if I have ground turkey in the freezer and taco seasoning, and tortillas in my pantry then I would write tacos as one of my dinner meals for the month. I usually aim for at least 20-25 meals because I know I will make homemade pizza a few times and have leftovers throughout the month. When your done with dinner move on to breakfast meals and lunch. Not only do you write meals you may have but also write some you want to try this month and use the lists of meals to create your grocery list for things you may not have on hand. You got this! If you have any questions please leave it in the post and I’ll answer as soon as I can. Happy planning!!