I've had to become really careful about shopping from a list, versus just browsing the aisles. Planning out a menu for the week in advance and seeing where I can combine ingredients for more than one night.
I've also been working on building "planovers" into my menu. For instance, last night, we had Chicken Cacciatore for dinner. Tonight, its Chicken Cacciatore pizza. There was a ton of sauce and peppers leftover, and some chicken. The chicken has been sliced up, and the peppers and sauce are on the pizza. Mmm. I can smell it cooking. So tasty... the next 20 minutes are going to be torture. Hopefully I can wait for it to cool before I eat it so I don't get the dreaded "bubble" on the roof of my mouth!
I've also been trying to be good about packing up one serving of dinner for my lunch the next day. I figure if I pack it as a lunch ahead of time, it means my husband and I won't nibble on it. (Now that, is a trick from my Weight Watchers days that I still rely on!)
What's your favorite planover?
4 Comments Post a Comment:
Rule #1: any sort of leftover meat product can be pulled apart (goes further than chopping) and placed between 2 tortillas with any sort of cheese. chicken and goat cheese, steak and cheddar, pork and manchego..... quesadillas are tasty and faster than pizza :)
Rule #2: grilling season makes meal planning SO much easier. grill everything, grill extra, add lettuce and maybe a can of beans the next night and have steak/chicken over salad.
Rule #3: Never forget that with chicken stock, a can of crushed tomatoes and some herbs, many things can be turned into "soup". Always a good rule of thumb.
Just reading this. I do emeals (google it!). I totally love their lists and my kids now eat a lot of food they wouldn't even try befor.
What's cool is that since their shopping list is so organized, if meal #4 wont fly with your family that week, you can just cross off all the items on the shopping list with the #4 next to it and keep shopping.
I really love their easy plans! :)
My "planover" is that the leftovers go in a container for my husband to take to work the next day for lunch. Sometimes there is enough for me for lunch the next day too. Leftovers get used up and food doesn't go to waste.
My husband is the cook in our household and he is so about cooking from scratch because it is so much more cost effective and actually better for you with the right ingredients. The best thing we do is buy whatever is fresh in season and on sale, not just whatever we feel like having. This saves us a tremendous amount of money. We pay serious attention to coupons and all leftovers are used. He buys dried beans and cooks them with various herbs, spices and onions and/or veggies and we use that as a main dish with bread and salad, as a side dish with meat, as part of a torilla or on top of a salad. Making ones own salad dressing is another fabulous way to save money and to adjust it to your own taste. There are tons of recipes on the web. Good luck with your ventures in improved nutrition
Post a Comment