Most of us can follow a recipe, but doing so takes time, effort, and planning.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t usually have time to shop for specific ingredients and cook a specific dish.  Dinner at my house normally involves opening up the fridge at about 6pm and putting together a meal using food we already have.  These meals aren’t necessarily the most gourmet, but they’re always tasty, healthy, and much cheaper than eating out.

A few weeks ago I shared my formula for making quick meals without a recipe.  Following this formula makes the process of “whipping something up” much easier, as does grocery shopping regularly so that you always have at least a little food in the house.  Here’s a look at what I usually have in my fridge.  These staples allow me to do what I do!

Yogurt.  I always have plain yogurt (versatile because you can add it to savory dishes or just eat it), and we usually have some small flavored yogurts that Tyler takes to work for a snack.  I keep all the yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, and other dairy containers (besides milk) on one of the top shelves.

Sauces, dressings, pesto, other homemade condiments, plus little bowls of stuff I’ve pureed for Lucy.  I like to keep these items in clear containers on the top shelf, because when I am thinking of what to make, they help determine the direction of my dinner.

Cheeses.  I always have a very hard cheese, like Parmesan or Pecorino Romano, because these last forever and come in handy for flavoring all sorts of dishes.  I also like to have a softer cheese for salads (blue, goat, feta) plus a semi-hard cheese (cheddar, gouda, etc) for snacking or serving with crackers/breads if people stop over unexpectedly and I need to offer some nibbles.

Prepped veggies and fruit in clear containers.  I’ll admit on my busiest weeks this doesn’t always happen, but most of the time, I have ready-to-eat fruits and veggies visible when I open the fridge.  I can snack on these, or use them for a meal without having to chop as much.

Eggs.  When I set out to make a meal, particularly dinner, the first thing I do is pick a protein.  If we don’t have meat, tofu, or fish, I plan around eggs and/or beans.  So I always have eggs in the fridge.  They last for a month or more, so they rarely go bad before they get used.  (Also pictured here is leftover rice and beans from a Mexican dinner out – I used these twice for taco salad).

Grains or breads.  Each week, I pick one whole grain bread product (pita, tortillas, bread, bagels, etc) to use for breakfast, sandwiches, or a side at dinner.  Sometimes I forgo the bread for another grain like bulgur, wheat berries, wild rice, or couscous; I’ll cook a big batch then reheat the grains for meals or add them to salads.

Veggies.  These are the staple of our diet.  Every night our meal is mainly vegetables, with a little protein, grain, and cheese or nuts thrown in.  Some weeks I feel like salads – so when shopping, I’ll buy veggies that are best eaten raw (lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, avocado, green onions, carrots, etc).  Other weeks I feel like soup or cooked dishes – so I get veggies that are good for roasting, sauteing, or stewing (onions, mushrooms, potatoes, asparagus, squash, etc).  I rarely buy ingredients for salads and cooked dishes, because this leads to wasted produce.

Fruit. (And more veggies).  I like to have 2-3 kinds of fruit at all times, since this means I’ll snack on fruit instead of something less nutritious.  I keep apples and cut fruit/berries in the fridge, but other fruits (as well as onions, lemons, or anything that needs to ripen more) stay at room temperature.

Cooking without recipes does take a little practice, but there’s no better time to get started than now.  The more you do it, the better you’ll get, and the more fun it will become.  It’s definitely worth the “investment” of learning, since you’ll eventually a save a huge amount of time, money, and stress!  Here are some more articles with other tips to help get you started:

Spice Cabinet Staples and When to Use Them

How to Be Your Own Personal Chef

Motivating to Make Dinner

Before you roll your eyes and say “Puh-leeease. Must we really make Halloween healthier too?!” – read these tips.  I’m not suggesting that you forfeit your mini Snickers, offer trick-or-treaters celery sticks, or make your own costume from renewable bamboo.  Rather, I want to give you a few ideas – courtesy of Green Halloween – to make this traditionally junk-filled (not just junk food, but also junk-based costumes, accessories, plastic bags, wrappers, etc that are part of Halloween) a little less toxic.  Even if you implement one or two of these tips, you’ll reduce your carbon footprint and better protect the little ghosts and goblins in your life.

1. When it comes to costumes and décor—reuse, borrow, trade, purchase used or do-it-yourself.
2. Treat bags can be anything! For extra fun, match the bag to the costume using something you already own. Here are some ideas: purses, flower pots (cover the hole), cloth sacks, backpacks, lunch boxes.
3. Choose healthier treats. Take baby steps with organic candy or fruit-based packaged products (like fruit leathers and naturally colored/flavored fruit snacks).
4. Choose fun treasures instead of conventional sweets. Think of the treasures your child collects in her pockets—pretty rocks, coins, etc.
5. If you’re giving a party, choose reusable tablecloths, napkins, plates, and cups.  Check out Preserve picnic products – they’re made from used yogurt cups and can be reused.
6. Walk from house to house when you trick-or-treat instead of driving.
7. Compost pumpkins and other food, including leftover candy.
8. Make your own non-toxic face paint – here’s a recipe: 
9. Collect candy wrappers and help your kids turn them into gift items like purses, bracelets and picture frames. Find directions on the internet.
10. Purchase treats that are free of hydrogenated oil (trans fats) or palm oil. 

Have other ideas for greening Halloween?  We’d love to hear!

Happy greening!!

If you thought finding the time to prepare delicious (and healthy!) foods was difficult before you had a baby, I’m sure you’re realizing that it is almost certainly harder to find after you’ve had one. But that doesn’t mean that you should throw in the towel in favor of take out. Nor do you need to compromise on the quality of the foods you prepare for your family. What it does mean is finding simple ways to help make shopping and meal prep a little less time consuming, and a little more reliable.  Here are 5 easy tips for healthy eating…with a baby!

1. Plan, plan, plan: Plan meals that allow you to make use of the same or similar ingredients– or look for recipes that help you use leftovers from one meal in another. For example, if you’re making a vegetable stir-fry with brown rice on Monday, cook extra rice to toss with some fresh fruit, nuts, lemon juice, and olive oil for a quick and easy lunch the next day. Planning a weekly menu will also help focus your shopping efforts and allow you to select a few key ingredients, thus cutting the time you have to spend in the store.

2. Shop (and eat) what is in season: Eating seasonally (whether you’re shopping at a farmers’ market, joining a Community Supported Agriculture, or looking for what you know is season in your area) helps limit the choices you have and makes weekly meal planning easier. Plus, it means that you’re more likely to be eating foods at their freshest, capitalizing on their taste and nutritional content.

3. Keep recipes simple: Again, utilizing seasonal ingredients will help limit the number of ingredients any one recipe can have. Buying what’s in season will also mean that there’s less need to “dress up” your food (a ripe heirloom tomato needs little else than a sprinkle of salt and a light drizzle of olive oil). There are many recipe sites that help you figure out what to do with produce in season. Of course, Eating Made Easy is a great resource, but a few of my other favorites are Fresh365, Smitten Kitchen, 101 Cookbooks, and Stone Soup (which specializes on recipes containing 5 ingredients or less)!

4. Prep/organize foods ahead of time: Preparing dinner wouldn’t be so time consuming if you didn’t have to do all that prep- chopping, dicing, slicing, and marinating. This is why things like baby carrots are so popular, and why stores can now charge a premium for selling pre-cut produce.  Take a cue from this trend and, as much as is possible, prep any foods you can when you bring them home or find that you have a little extra time. For example, as you’re unpacking the groceries and junior is happy in his bouncy seat, chop the broccoli and potatoes for dinner that night. Make finding the ingredients for tomorrow night’s soup easier by keeping them together in the fridge. Simple steps like this will cut down on the time you spend looking for and preparing the foods you need to actually prepare dinner.

5. Post your meal plan: Don’t try to remember what you were going to have on Wednesday and how you wanted to use the leftovers on Friday. When you prepare your meal plan, keep it posted, in plain sight, to remind you (and the rest of your family) what you had in mind. This will also help you make the most of the few small moments to follow Tip #4 if/when you have time and energy throughout the day. Don’t like the idea of posting that meal plan on the fridge? Check out this super creative way to organize and store your meal plans/recipes while keeping your kitchen clutter-free.

5 more great tips coming tomorrow!……

Thank you to Kiyah Duffy for today’s guest post.  Kiyah has a PhD in Nutrition, blogs at Our Regularly Scheduled Program, and is a mom of one (almost 2!) — yet she still manages to make healthy eating a priority for her family.  Check out her blog for other great articles on food, nutrition, parenting, and more.