Saturday, June 14, 2014

Oatmeal with teff grain, peanut butter and banana

1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 T whole grain teff
1/2 cup water
1 T honey
1 T crunchy peanut butter
1 banana, sliced

Mix oats, teff, and water together in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes. Stir in peanut butter and honey, and top with the sliced banana. This breakfast with stick with you a good long time. Makes one serving.


Whole wheat couscous with olive oil and herbs

1 cup whole wheat pearl couscous (You can use the regular couscous, but reduce the amount of water to 1 cup)
1 1/4 cups water
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
1 T olive oil
2 T parmesan cheese
1 T Italian seasoning blend
1 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 t red pepper flakes

Add olive oil, garlic, salt, seasoning blend, and red pepper flakes to water. Bring to a boil. Add couscous and reduce heat. Simmer covered for 10 minutes until couscous is cooked. Stir in parmesan and balsamic vinegar. Makes 4 1/2 cup servings. Nutrition info is for 1/2 cup.


Parmesan crusted tilapia recipe

16 oz tilapia filets (about 4)
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup lightly salted bread crumbs
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 egg, beaten

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix together cheese, breadcrumbs and pepper on a plate or shallow bowl. Coat each filet with beaten egg, then coat generously with the breadcrumb and cheese mixture. Arrange on a non-stick cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for about 12-14 minutes until fish flakes easily with a fork. You don't want to over bake it or the fish will be dry. Nutrition info is for 1/4 of recipe (it is adjusted for the fact that you only use half of the egg).


Meals for 06-14-14

Here is what I ate today:

Breakfast: oatmeal with teff grain, honey, peanut butter and sliced banana
Lunch: tuna salad sandwich, watermelon
Dinner: parmesan crusted tilapia, whole wheat couscous with olive oil and herbs, salad with lettuce, radishes, gorgonzola and balsamic vinaigrette
Snacks/Desserts: lime sherbet
Beverages: Crystal Light and water

Jeremy had oatmeal with dried cranberries for breakfast and some leftover bean and sausage soup for lunch.

Recipes for the oatmeal with teff grain, tilapia, and couscous to follow!

Window box gardening

The apartment we moved into a few months ago has three window boxes. Four, actually, but one of them isn't accessible because of where the furniture is. I decided to see if I can grow anything in them. I didn't want to spend much because I sort of have a black thumb. I am not entirely convinced this is actually going to save me any money. I have already spent about $15 on dirt, fertilizer, and one pack of seeds.

My mom mailed me some seeds, including radish and beet seeds, so I planted some of those. I also planted a few fingerling potatoes that had sprouted, and replanted the roots of a living lettuce I had eaten most of. Lastly I bought a packet of rainbow carrot seeds and planted some of those.

So far the potatoes are the hugest thing in the boxes. They are about a foot and a half tall now. The radishes are also growing pretty quickly. The carrots and beets still just have two leaves, although they are getting bigger. Very slowly. And the outer leaves of the lettuce are decomposing, BUT the tiny little inner leaves are finally starting to grow up and out. They are still very small.

The potatoes are starting to get top heavy and flop over. There's not much room in the box to hill them, and I need to find some free dirt somewhere to do it with I guess.

Meals and snacks for 06-13-14

To sum up, here is everything I wound up eating yesterday:

Breakfast: smoothie with milk, frozen banana, cashew butter, and goat's milk caramel sauce
Lunch: Turkey and muenster sandwich with sweet hot mustard and lettuce, carrot sticks and radishes
Dinner: slow cooker soup with chicken sausage and beans
Snacks and desserts: pretzels, lemon ice cream
Beverages: Crystal light and water

I am not sure what Jeremy had yesterday other than the soup, and I know he ate the cracker and cheese pack that was in the fridge. He usually has oatmeal at work which he packs the night before.

Friday, June 13, 2014

What I bought today

We don't have much by the way of fruit right now, so I stopped by the grocery store for some bananas after work. I was hoping they would have some blemished apples bagged up in the reduced section, but no such luck. They did have a good sale on mangoes though, and a nice looking watermelon quarter for a reasonable price. I bought:

2 bananas - .57
1 large mango - 1.00
watermelon quarter - 1.85

total - 3.42


Slow cooker chicken sausage and bean soup recipe

This soup turned out really good. I would definitely have it again. Jeremy liked it also. I had about a cup and a half for dinner. Here's the recipe:

1 cup dried pinto beans
2 carrots, thickly sliced
2 chicken sausages (I used chicken with apple and gouda) halved and sliced
3 T brown sugar
1 t Worcestershire sauce
3 T sodium free chicken bouillon (or 1-2 regular bouillon cubes)
1 t mustard powder
dash of black pepper
6 cups water

Start soaking the pinto beans the night before in 2 cups of water. The next morning add the remainder of the ingredients and cook on the low setting for 6 or 7 hours. Nutrition info is for 1 cup of soup.


Today's meals

This morning I made a smoothie in the blender with the frozen banana, a cup of milk, a tablespoon of cashew butter, and a tablespoon and a half of goat's milk caramel syrup. I was a little uncertain how it was going to turn out, but I liked it. It had a sweet/salty thing going on and I mostly tasted the caramel in it.

For lunch I will use up the rest of the turkey lunch meat, a slice of muenster, two slices of bread, some sweet hot mustard, and a couple pieces of lettuce on a sandwich. I'll also cut up a carrot and two radishes.

For dinner I am making soup in the crock pot with pinto beans, the two chicken apple gouda sausages, two carrots, sodium free chicken bouillon, and some seasonings. I will post the recipe when I get home, in case it turns out to need a bit more seasoning.

Once I figure out what we're having tomorrow I'll know if I need to pick anything up at the store tonight. Our spending goal for the remainder of the month is $180. Winter, my daughter, left for her dad's yesterday, so for the rest of the month it's just me and Jeremy. That is $10 a day for 18 days.

Pantry Inventory

At least once a month I will go through all of my cabinets, and the fridge and freezer, and write up an inventory list. This gives me a starting point for meal planning. I figure out what I can make using as many ingredients I already have on hand as possible. This also gives me a good idea of what I need to use up first. Which fresh ingredients need to be used or frozen before they go bad, and which items have been hanging around the freezer a bit too long.

This list does not include drink mixes or dry seasonings, of which we have many. I will put an asterisk by all the items that need to be used within the next week.

Protein:
12 5oz cans tuna in water
3 oz PB2 (defatted powdered peanut butter)
16 oz creamy peanut butter
10 oz crunchy peanut butter
2 oz cashew butter
1 cup red lentils
1 1/2 cups green split peas
1 1/2 cups yellow split peas
1 lb black beans
2 cups dried chickpeas
3 cups pintos
*2 chicken, apple and gouda sausages
24 oz tilapia filets
2 1/2 lbs chicken tenderloins
*2 oz sliced turkey lunch meat
2 eggs

Dairy:
*1 1/2 cups 2% milk
*1/2 cup gorgonzola
3 cups parmesan cheese
4 slices muenster

Fruits and Veggies:
*4 large red radishes
*1 head butter lettuce
8 carrots
*1 cup frozen banana
1 cup frozen peaches
1 can French cut green beans
8 oz sliced water chestnuts
8 oz sliced bamboo shoots
1 can diced tomatoes with basil and oregano
2 cans diced tomatoes in juice
1 7 oz box tomato sauce
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Grains:
*13 slices potato bread
1 and 1/4 canister old fashioned oats
3 lbs all purpose flour
1/2 box Cocoa Krispies
1/2 box shredded wheat
1 lb penne pasta
1 1/2 lbs spaghetti
2 1/2 cups brown rice
5 lb white rice
5 cups shell pasta
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pearl couscous
3 cups steel cut oats
2 cups teff grain

Oils, fats, sweeteners, and baking staples:
16 oz olive oil
1 cup coconut oil
1 1/2 cups veg oil
Baking soda
Baking powder
Corn starch
1/2 lb brown sugar
90 sucralose packets
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 cups powdered sugar

Snacks and desserts:
1/2 cup pita crisps
2 cups rosemary and olive oil crackers
6 oz reduced fat cheese crackers
2 cups pretzels
Single serve hummus and crackers
Single serve cheese and cracker pack
1/2 carton lime sherbet
1/2 carton lemon ice cream
Jalapeno stuffed green olives

Convenience foods:
1 pouch Kraft Homestyle creamy alfredo mac and cheese
2 7 oz blueberry pancake mixes
*Chicken cheddar potato bagged frozen meal
3 frozen entrees
2 Apple spice instant oatmeal pouches
1 cake mix
1 can frosting

Dressings and condiments: 
Red taco sauce
Green taco sauce
Goat's milk caramel sauce
Yellow mustard
Sweet hot mustard
Honey mustard pretzel dip
Gyoza dipping sauce
Raspberry walnut vinaigrette
Fat free herb dressing
16 oz balsamic vinaigrette
Lite Italian dressing
11 oz apricot preserves
Ginger sesame dressing
16 oz light mayo
Dill relish

Sauces and cooking staples:
1/2 cup lightly salted breadcrumbs
12 oz balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup sausage gravy mix
2 2/3 jars sodium free chicken bouillon
1/2 cup frozen coconut milk
25 frozen crushed garlic cubes
Red and white wine
Teriyaki sauce
Mild soy sauce
Rice wine vinegar
Black sesame oil
Sriracha
Worcestershire sauce
Mesquite marinade
Chili garlic sauce
Hoisin sauce