Getting creative, saying “I love you” with a home-cooked Valentine’s Day menu, and examining your daily routine. Getting Creative A few years ago they cut our media specialist to a part-time position. I wanted to cry. Working with her for the book fair had been one of my favorite parts of my kids’ school. I adored how attentive she was in teaching children about literature, showing them how to do research papers, running the student-anchored morning news. The next thing... more

When making our Monday menu, we look to fit meals together and use similar ingredients in different ways throughout the week to avoid waste. We also benefit from a well-stocked pantry. Mindfulness is the act of being aware, of paying attention in a particular way. It’s being aware of the underlying intention that drives our actions. I’m not perfect. Often my actions are driven by fatigue and stress, by trying to fit it all in, by life getting in the way of living. The return of the... more

Proving you can make a weekly menu plan of 3 meals a day for $25/person at Whole Foods Market. Plus, enter to win a $100 gift card to take the challenge yourself. I have a friend who jokingly calls Whole Foods the “Whole Paycheck.” I often agreed with her, not because I felt the prices were outrageous, but because when I’m at Whole Foods I’m often also seeking out specialty items that I can’t find in other places, so they naturally are going to cost more. So when they... more

A second week October Unprocessed menu that spends time considering food waste and the GROW Method from Oxfam International. October Unprocessed usually serves to get me thinking about the way we eat as a family. Today I’m sharing how we get our kids to buy in to unprocessed food on Eating Rules. The most common observation about how my family eats is that we view the act of eating as essential. Time spent in the kitchen is allowed for in daily planning. Minutes to sit and stare at each other... more

An October Unprocessed challenge begins with an unprocessed menu for the week and a few helpful tips about removing processed food from your menu. We are again participating in October Unprocessed hosted by Andrew of Eating Rules this year. The premise is simple: Avoid processed food for a month. What this means for you may be slightly different than what it means for my family. For us, we strive to cut out the convenience items since we tend to cook from scratch most of the time. Convenience items... more

Summer is just about here, and so as part of Eat Well, Spend Less, we’re looking at ways to get your kids involved in the summer menu and kitchen play. From shopping to fun recipes, this Monday menu features lunch and snack ideas for the summer. This conversation could go one of two ways: 1) Summer is a great time for getting the kids in the kitchen because you’re free from all the school activities, homework, and summer sports, OR 2) Summer is a hectic time filled with inconsistent... more

It has been one year since we started the Eat Well, Spend Less series (big thanks to Jessica!), and we’re taking a look at how our food budget, menu, shopping habits, and diet may have changed in the last 12 months. Last April we kicked off the Eat Well Spend Less series by looking at the way we eat. I went over several meal planning tips and guides, and then I broke down an actual week of our food budget and a sample menu for that week. To date, those are two of my favorite posts of the series... more