Week 9: “Bon appetit”

We had a free Starz preview this weekend from Directv and I finally watched “Julie and Julia”. I had NO idea that the movie was based on a real blogger’s project and how it related to Mrs. Child. The movie is cute and brought me back to the day I first watched Julia Child’s show The French Chef on TV. Not being familiar with the cooking icon, I totally thought it was a comedy cooking show. Recently, I came across Julia Child unique ‘culinary action’ again on The Cooking Channel. I enjoyed every minute of it.

I decided that this week I’ll come up with a Julia Child inspired menu. I had a great time researching a little bit about her life and recipes. I stole  some original recipes and made them – let’s just say – a little more practical.

This week’s picks:

I’m a HUGE fan of O.N.E. coconut water. The passion fruit flavored one is the kids favorite. Sprouts has all varieties for $1.00 each. I’m stocking up!

Italian Squash for 49c a lb. Ralph’s has lean stew meat for $3.99 lb and chicken breast for $2.49 lb.

Thursday: Julia’s Spice Blend grilled chicken breasts with Lundberg risoto

Friday: Gourmet (Not cooking)

Saturday: BBQ?

Sunday: La Tarte Tatin upside-down apple tart

Monday: Soup and cheese/veggie quiche (Meatless Monday)

Tuesday: Julia Child’s inspired Beef Bourguignon

Wednesday: Leftovers

Julia Child Spice Blend

1 teaspoon ground bay leaves

1 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon mace

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon savory

2 teaspoons freshly ground white pepper

Week 8: It’s HOT

My grand plan of soups and stews for this week have been sabotaged by the unusually hot weather. I’m just too lazy to come up with alternatives, so I’m making the family sweat…together at dinner.

For those who don’t eat fish that often, Whole Foods has Santa Barbara fresh caught Yellow Tail for half price (under $5 a lb.). We’ll stay away from tuna fish this week since we had sushi last Friday. Mercury and other heavy metals are more present in large fish like tuna. I try to do some mercury control, especially for the kids. This deal is so great I couldn’t let it pass. I made this “dealicious” Yellow Tail Sesame Ginger burgers and stuck them in the freezer until we meet again!

Sesame Ginger Tuna Burgers

2 lb tuna (finely chopped)

2 basil leaves chopped

2 scallions chopped

1 tbs sesame seeds (black or white or both)

3 tbs soy sauce (I used low sodium soy sauce)

3 tbs honey

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 tsp sesame oil

Combine all ingredients and form 1 inch thick patties. Grill or pan fry with light oil, turning once, until medium-rare. It can be topped with this yummy Wasabi Mayo:

2 tbs wasabi paste

3 tbs low-fat mayo or Vegenaise

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Ralphs has the best deal on Avocados (under 40c each) and Organic California grapes (green or red) for $1.99 lb. Whole Foods has Organic Gala apples for $1.49 lb. Sprouts has broccoli and cauliflower for 77c lb. Vons has buy 1 get 1 free Foster Farms ground turkey and organic Heirloom tomatoes at $1.99 lb.

Wednesday: Veggie & Meat ensopado (Brazilian style stew) with Quinoa

Thursday: Gnocchi (from TJs by the pasta aisle) and Chicken albondigas (frozen last week) with ‘pink’ sauce and a side of steam broccoli and cauliflower

Friday: Gourmet Friday

Saturday: Take out/Eat out

Sunday: Israeli Couscous salad with pear and cranberry and Turkey Spinach rolls

Monday: Cream of zucchini and quesadillas (Meatless Monday)

Tuesday: Turkey Avocado sliders with garlic oven fries

Week 8: Focus on nourishing

Don’t miss this great deals at Vons this week:

12oz family pack Raspberries at U$1.99. Organic Bartlett pears U$1.99 lb. Organic Heirloom tomatoes U$1.99 lb (we have some tonight and it was “dealicious”).

Menu:

Tonight’s dinner: Organic Heirloom tomato salad and Spinach Bacon Tofu soufflé (with organic Tofu and organic spinach, bacon, egg whites and whole wheat Panko). I also made baked chicken strips for the kids and they really enjoyed it.

Thursday: I’ll try this new recipe for Melon/Cantaloupe mint  and yogurt chilled soup. Cantaloupe has concentrated levels of beta-carotene, folic acid, potassium and vitamin C. I definitely need to add more cantaloupe in our diet.

3 cups cubed melon
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (I use 0% fat) or regular plain yogurt
Zest of one lime
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp agave nectar or honey
2-3 mint leaves
2-3 basil leaves (optional, but delicious)
A pinch of kosher salt
2-3 Tbsp water if needed to thin the soup to desired consistency

Combine all ingredients except water in a blender, and puree until smooth. Adjust consistency with water, if needed. Serve chilled.

Friday: Take out sushi

Saturday: Fruits, Salads, Chips, Beer and ND football

Sunday: Homemade pizza (making dough with almond meal), Minestrone soup.

Monday: Meatless Monday (the tempeh living in my fridge for 4 weeks will meet its destiny. I’m thinking something with spinach and peanut sauce…)

Tuesday: Leftovers…Hopefully!

Week 7…and 8

Ok, so week 7 was a blur. My daughter was sick for 6 days and I was grounded. Among doctors appointments and a visit to the ER, we manage to commit healthy diet crimes like MacDs and Campbell’s soups. But, hey…we’re back on track and ready to detox.

I’m planning to include lots of fresh fruit and veggies on my week 8 menu. Cantaloupe’s grown in CA are waiting for me at Sprouts for 49c each and avocados at 88c each. My son is really into cucumbers and Ralph’s have organic ones for $1.50 each. Raspberries  are $1.99 for a 12oz package at Vons.

Yes, I’m planning to hit all the above markets and work on a detox menu for the week under $100.00.

Week 6: Asian menu

I love going to Asian markets. There’s so many products I just have NO idea of what it is or how to cook it. I almost wish each item could come with a virtual manual showing where it comes from, how to use it and how to cook it.

While in Hawaii I had a delicious green tea noodles salad with grilled tofu that I’ll try to incorporated in our week menu. As that isn’t challenging enough, I decided to make Japchae (Korean noodles) today for the first time. Japchae is one of my favorite Korean dishes. I ate it many times (homemade and store bought) and watched a Korean friend make it years ago. Hopefully, it’ll all came back to me and it turned out really good.

I went to Freshia Market at Crenshaw Blvd. in Torrance and was surprised to find many organic items. Dry black beans, rice, fresh bean sprouts, spinach, mushrooms and even Fuji apples for 89 cents a pound. I spent less than $50.00 at Freshia and around $60.00 at Sprouts (organic chicken, milk, cold cuts, etc).

Week 6 Menu:

Wednesday: Japchea and “cheat” organic soy chicken (Instead of marinating the chicken I just cook it for 1 hour on 1/2 litter water+1 cup of your fav Teriyaki sauce+1 tbsp dry ginger+1tbsp sesame oil+1 cup soy sauce+garlic powder+4 whole green onions). I used leg meat and after cooking for one hour the meat couldn’t being more tender. The kids LOVE the salty and sweet flavor of this melt in your mouth chicken.

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Looking forward to making green tea noodles with miso dressing and grilled marinated tofu.

Saturday: Eat out

Sunday: Curry eggplant or eggplant parmesan?

Monday: Hopefully leftover eggplant (Meatless Monday)

Tuesday: NO idea

Week 5: at the Islands

Our time in Hawaii was amazing. Kids ran free at the beach, no TV, clean air, sunsets, dancing in the rain and even a rainbow. I’m so grateful for this magical family time, for nature that I often forget to connect with and for the contagious aloha spirit. I got my share of Poke, Poi, Lau Lau, my dad-in-law unbelievable Portuguese Bean Soup and papayas…sweet juicy delicious papayas.

I had some time to visit Whole Foods Kahala store and I was delighted to see so many options on local organic produce, mostly from the Big Island.

We made a quick stop at Hilo farmers market, but it was enough to make me wish for a stove in our hotel room. The eggplants…oh, the eggplants…so many types, colors and shapes. I wanted to cook them and eat them all.

We ate at Huli Sue’s in Kamuela (Waimea area) and if you ever in that part of the Big Island make sure you stop by. Their food is super fresh and the banana cream pie is ridiculously good.

We all had a hard time leaving the islands but I have a feeling (or maybe just a very strong hope) we’ll be coming back pretty soon.

Week 4: No plan is a good plan

Between the personal and the working projects I’ve been tackling, I had no time to plan a menu  this week. The inspiration is still alive but I’m lacking energy to go shopping and get cooking. Sometimes NO PLAN is a good plan!

I went to Whole Foods and spent $34.00 in fruits, veggies and buffalo meat for our spaghetti and meat balls dinner yesterday. Sale items: Organic peaches $1.99 lb. and watermelon 29c lb. You may find cheaper watermelon at Sprouts or Ralphs but I just don’t know how to pick a good watermelon. The taping and knocking technique never really works with me and I rarely pick a bad watermelon at Whole Foods. It could be luck or just plain good quality.

So tonight’s dinner will be baked beans out of a can (yeah…kill me), mashed potatoes and chicken nuggets out of the freezer (I know…kill me twice). Steamed cauliflower, broccoli, spinach salad, lots of fruits and take out tomorrow is part of the NO PLAN plan too so you can exhale now.

Week 3

I realize it’s hard to come up with a real budget when it comes to groceries. I’m in desperate need of some input and perspective. How much is adequate? How much am I really saving by cooking with seasonal and sale items? Why is organic so dang expensive? What to and how to compromise?

So, I’ll blog how much I’m spending on food per week and hopefully I’ll be able to determine a budget.

Do you have a food budget?

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

We had some yummy vegetarian spaghetti yesterday. I added 2 zucchinis, left over spinach and broccoli to the sauce and blended it. The kids really enjoyed it. I really missed having some kind of protein with it. Imaginary meatballs kept playing with my carnivorous mind. So I decided this week we’re having a steak dish, and since the weather is just too cold for grilling, I’ll be making Brazilian Style Beef Stroganoff.

The shopping list for this week:

I was planning to get some avocados at 49 c each at Sprouts but they looked overripe and so did the tomatoes. I got a bag of organic roma tomatoes at $2.99 for the Orzo salad, a little over 1 lb. of organic sirloin steak $5.99 lb. for the Stroganoff, chicken thighs at $1.99 lb. for Sunday’s dinner, tempeh, mushrooms, bananas, sprouts, whole wheat tortillas, apples, onions, etc ($47.00 total). From Ralphs I got 1 lb. of jumbo shrimp at $5.49 for today’s dinner and $93.00 dollars worth of cereal, juice, bread, milk, yogurt, etc. I used a bunch of coupons I had from Ralphs, some I clipped from the Sunday LA Times and some I found online at Mambo Sprouts.

I’m planning to shop for vegetables at Whole Foods or Tj’s sometime this week. I’ll stay FOCUSED!

Menu for week 3:

Today: Orzo pesto salad with mushrooms, tomatoes and shrimp. Leftover collard greens and turkey bacon soup.

Thursday: Brazilian Style Beef Stroganoff (I’ll post recipe and pic tomorrow)

Friday: possibly Pizza

Saturday: eating out

Sunday: Chicken and vegetables stew with mashed potatoes

Meatless Monday: Coconut curry tempeh with jasmine rice

Tuesday:  leftovers and salad

I had some turkey bacon so I made wrap sandwiches for B- and me for lunch.

Meatless Monday=Lentils and Collard Greens

Today’s dinner is simple and so yummy. Rice, lentils and collard greens. I cooked the lentils and greens yesterday so all we need to make tonight is the rice. Compared to other types of dried beans, lentils are quick and easy to prepare. They’re high in nutritional value and are available throughout the year. The kids LOVE lentils and it’s one of my favorite dishes for “Meatless Monday”.

If you’re not familiar with Meatless Monday yet check their site http://www.meatlessmonday.com. MM is a non-profit initiative which main goal is to help reduce meat consumption by 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of the planet. Going meatless once a week may reduce risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help reduce carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and fossil fuel. Not a bad movement to be part of!

For this Lentil batch I used:

1 16 ounce bag of Arrowhead green lentils (Beluga lentils are a good option too)

1 small onion diced

2 garlic cloves minced/crushed

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp turmeric

1tbsp celery seeds

2 bay leaves (dry)

1 tbsp blackstrap molasses

3-5 cups of vegetable broth (or water if you don’t have broth available. I used )

Wash lentils on a colander and reserve (no need to presoak). Saute onions and garlic with olive oil. Add 2 cups of vegetable broth (I used Pacific Org. Vegetable broth), dry ingredients and lentils. Let come to a boil and cook it in high heat for 10 minutes. Lower heat and let it simmer for 45 minutes adding more broth/water if necessary. The slower you cook the better they will taste. We love eating them on top of rice with collard greens and “farinha de mandioca torrada” (Brazilian toasted manioc flour available at El Gaucho Market, Rosecrans and Inglewood).

For the Collard Greens:

1 bunch of organic collard greens wahed (avoid the conventional kind. Way too much pesticides residue)

1 clove garlic minced

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

olive oil

Coat a fry pan with olive oil (approximately 1 tbsp). Brown the garlic. Add the green cut in thin slices (the best way to cut them is to stack several leaves on top of each other and roll together. Then using a cutting board and sharp knife, slice the leaves into 1/2 inch thick pieces). Cook it until tender.