and other times

Menu for September 4-11, 2010

Oh Autumn, I love thee.

The weather has turned  bit cooler here in Chicago. I’ve spent the last three days in jeans and long-sleeved shirts. This is my favorite time of year for cooking. For me, nothing is as soothing as the smell of apples and cinnamon. I love eating hearty, hot soups and chili, and nothing beats throwing on a hoodie and enjoying a cup of coffee on my porch while breathing in the crisp Fall air.

There have been some, eh… changes in the Frank household as of late; some as a result of outside pressures and some internal. For example, Josh’s ministry job has been terminated, so the outside pressure of not having a steady income has resulted in us having to cut our food budget. On the other hand, the internal pressure of knowing that I can’t fit into a good number of my clothes has resulted in me giving up (or nearly giving up) dairy. I don’t eat cheese any more, and I only have a splash of cream in my coffee in the mornings. I do still eat keifer when I use it to make raw oatmeal, but I imagine I’ll find an alternative to that in time. Additionally, I’ve been cutting down on my sugar intake. I no longer sweeten my coffee, and I’ve been incredibly successful at not eating sweets since I began this journey (about three weeks ago).

As I was thinking about our new budget, I was wondering if anyone would have any interest in reading about my grocery shopping habits? What I’ve bought and for how much? In other words, are you interested in how I feed my family healthy, whole foods on a budget? Yesterday I went shopping at three different stores, and between the three, I spent less than $60. Some of the food I bought was conventional, but a fair bit was organic. The groceries I purchased yesterday should easily get us through the week food-wise, though I suppose I may need to run to the corner market near the end of the week for more fruit. That’s always a possibility. Anyway, please leave a comment and let me know what you think. Here’s what’s cooking this week:

Breakfast
Eggs with chopped tomatoes and spinach
Keifer oatmeal
Hot oatmeal

Lunch/Dinner
Chili
ALTs
Curried channa
Eggplant and chickpea stew
Refried bean quesadillas/burritos
Pasta with marinara sauce and homemade focaccia bread

Want more? Check out the Weekly Menus archive.

Need more dinner ideas? Check out Jenna’s Mindful Menus Blog Roll.

05. September 2010 by Jillian Frank
Categories: Daily Life, What's for Dinner? | Tags: Menu Plan, Mindful Menus | 1 comment