Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Big Family Food: How We Afford Fruits and Vegetables

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Curious how we afford fruits and vegetables?

How We Afford Fruits and Vegetables

People keep telling me that fruits and vegetables are SO EXPENSIVE. That they can’t afford them. That I’m really splurging when I buy so much fresh fruit every month.

I couldn’t figure out if I was in denial about this or if maybe I’m so used to buying so much produce that I don’t “see the expense” anymore. Or, is it possible that fruits and vegetables really are affordable but the first look at their price scares some people? I really wasn’t sure.

So I did some fruit and veggie math.

We’re currently feeding ten people three meals each day. Our three littlest are ages 2, 1, and 1. Our four oldest household members are adults, so it balances out. :)

Our monthly grocery budget is $1,200. Of that amount, I calculated and was shocked to learn that only about $300 is spent on fruits and vegetables. (I looked online at all my Sam’s, Costco, and Walmart receipts, so handy!) I truly thought it would add up to more than that since my produce purchases are so frequent and big.

So I did the math again to double-check.

Sure enough, only about a fourth of our overall monthly grocery budget goes toward these, and I don’t hold back:

  • Frozen green beans
  • Frozen peas
  • Frozen corn
  • Frozen fruit for smoothies
  • Frozen hashbrowns
  • Fresh spinach (we go through at least one pound every week)
  • Fresh spring mix (we go through two pounds every week)
  • Fresh carrots
  • Potatoes
  • Onions
  • Fresh broccoli
  • Apples
  • Bananas
  • Clementines
  • Berries ( strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries depending on the season)
  • Melons (cantaloupe, honey dew, and watermelon depending on the season)
  • Grapes
  • Kiwi
  • Pears
  • Canned pumpkin
  • Canned peaches
  • Canned pears
  • Canned mandarins
  • Applesauce (a ridiculous amount of applesauce)

Where I landed after doing the math:

Feeding my family a lot of fruits and veggies is not expensive.

I sort of apologize for my geekiness, but as it turns out, I’m pretty excited that I went back and added it all up! Now I feel like I have an actual answer to the “fruits and veggies so expensive” claim!

If I’m spending $300 of our monthly grocery budget on produce – for 10 people for 30 days? This breaks down to just:

$1/person/day.

Which is $0.33/meal.

This, to fill our bellies with lots of fresh, frozen, or canned fruits and vegetables in a big variety of forms. That’s actually incredible, I think! Especially when our plates look like this:

Steamed broccoli, corn, raspberries, and nectarine on spaghetti night;
and no, I don’t put sauce on our baby’s noodles because I don’t want the mess. :)

This was our 8-year-old’s first serving. He had seconds of all you see here:

Here’s Matt’s plate the evening we celebrated Asa’s birthday with
smoked chicken, alfredo, and steamed broccoli:

One Sunday lunch was spinach on tuna sandwiches, watermelon, and guacamole.
This was our 6-year-old’s plate. She’s a pretty small eater. Unless it’s cake. :)
(But now, of course, I’ve been putting spinach our the cake so…)

Our three year old asked for spinach on the side with ranch and watermelon with his tuna sandwich that day. Not pictures, his tuna sandwich as he gobbled it down already.

This is my plate filled with Overnight Beef Roast, pears, peas, and baked beans. (In case you need to know, I didn’t actually cook it overnight. I cooked it all day and it was perfect for dinnertime!)

Here’s my plate showing our salmon burger meal with steamed green beans, corn, sweet potato fries, and a tiny bit of asparagus from our garden! (We each only got a little bit of asparagus.) ;)

PSA: The Avocado Mash cups at Costco or Sam’s are worth their cost in that they stay fresh in the fridge for a long time and offer an awesome, easy snack or side dish for babies and adults alike. Our littlest girls LOVE these and will each eat an entire cup with their meal. We bigger people like to eat them with chips. So good!

In case you need to see a chubby baby hand a couple more times:

So, can I afford $10/day to feed 10 people fruits and vegetables?

Absolutely. I can spend a dollar a day on each family member to keep us all nourished. I am shocked that it costs so little to buy so many varieties of fruits and vegetables every month. Is it possible that this food category is what actually costs the least instead of the most as we are all led to believe??

One more veggie-kid photo as we wrap up; here’s Keith after finishing his smoothie (filled with frozen fruit, fresh spinach, yogurt, and milk):

You should try doing the math to see how much you spend on fruits and veggies! Challenge yourself to be sure you’re filling everyone up on all the good stuff – it’s much less expensive than we think!

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Big Family Food: Grocery Shopping for $110

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Have you been following along on our Big Family Food Journey? Today I’m going to share a picture of a recent Walmart pickup order for our family.

First, a brief grocery budget breakdown

I’ll detail our grocery budget more in another post. But it’s mostly divided up this way each month:

Costco $600
Walmart Pick-Up $250
Azure Standard $60
Amazon Subscribe and Save $100
Local Farm Meat, Eggs, and Milk $170

I’ll likely need to reevaluate this soon, so stay tuned!

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I have a GREAT BIG SHOPPING WEEK post that I’m working on. But here’s a small shopping day to give you an idea of what some of our groceries look like.

On this particular grocery shopping trip, I put in a Walmart Pick-Up order. I love doing this because it is such a simple way to shop for my family. I grab my computer and put everything into the cart that I need. I select a time to go pick it up, and that’s that. Walmart employees do my shopping, checkout, and bagging for me – for free! They even put it into my van. This saves me at least two hours of time and energy. It is a life-saver for me!

Here’s what I got this particular trip:

I mostly needed fruits and veggies so I got carrots, broccoli, premade salads (for my college kid), greens, bananas, pears, and blueberries. I also got a few jars of spaghetti sauce, frozen fruit for smoothies, frozen corn, canned pineapple, cream, lime juice, frozen sweet potato fries, and Fritos (to go with upcoming meals of chili and taco soup).

We go through a huge amount of fresh and frozen produce, so I often need to make purchases like this often. But something to consider:

Look how much good food we got for $110!

This grocery haul provided awesome side dishes for our family. Fantastic snacks for all of our littles (and bigs). Smoothies to nourish us on the run. And it made life easier because it meant that for several days, I had easy-to-grab food to feed the kids quickly.

During a big Costco trip, I’ll bring home sometimes 6x this amount of food (oh yes I will). When I order food online, our living room is filled with cases of staples. But the picture you see above is a very typical Walmart Pickup order for us – one that I put in every 1-2 weeks as needed.

I can’t wait to show you more! Stay tuned for more Big Family Food posts, where I share all about how I make food for our big family! And read here to catch up on other posts in this series you may have missed. :)

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Big Family Food: What’s On Every Plate

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I’m so glad you’re following our Big Family Food journey! (Missed the first posts? Catch them here.)

I thought it would be good to follow my Great Compromise post with a post that shares what I make sure to put on every plate, no matter what.

Like I talked about here, sometimes I have no time – or very little time – to cook. Our days are full of this:

I could go on and on with pictures of the days of our lives. It’s amazing, and did I mention full? So when it comes to food, now, instead of making sure every part of our meal is the healthiest of the healthy, here is what I focus on:

I make sure there are fruits and vegetables on every plate.

This is something I recommend for everyone, no matter your family size or what season in life you are enjoying. No matter what else is on your plate, just be sure there are fruits and vegetables there too.

It’s really quite simple. In fact, I’ve found that it’s the simplest way to put together meals!

See from the pictures how there are several fruits and veggies on each plate – no matter what I serve?

The same goes for when/if all I have time to make is Mac and Cheese, Frozen Pizza, Chicken Nuggets, or PBJ. Here are some examples of “compromise” meals I might put together:

  • Mac and Cheese with peas and grapes
  • Frozen Pizza with fresh spinach dipped in ranch and apple slices
  • Chicken Nuggets with sweet potato fries and these rockin smoothies
  • PBJ with clementines and steamed broccoli

I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again: Matt and I survive on these smoothies. I make a blenderful every other day and we share it. They are jam-packed with nourishment and give us WAY MORE GREENS than we could ever chew. I’ve gotten to the point that I stuff my Blendtec full of spring mix (about 1/2 pound), add some frozen fruit, pour in some milk, blend it and go. We would never eat that many greens at one time. But in this smoothie? We drink it down and love it.

So Matt and I tend to drink these smoothies even while grabbing a couple of chicken nuggets or a piece of pizza on the fly. Meanwhile, I make this version for the kids.

Great fruit and vegetable choices for your plates

To make it easy for all of us, I’ve put together a list of easy-to-serve fruit and veggie choices to serve with meals:

It truly is easy to add any of these to your meal plates! It’s one of best my Big Family Food tips: always add fruit and veggies to whatever I find time to make for my family. Even if all I do is open some cans of pineapple and a bag of baby carrots!

Read here about how to have fun filling your cart with fresh produce your family will love!

Stay tuned for more Big Family Food posts, where I share all about how I make food for our big family!

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How We Get Our 5-Year Old to Eat Fruits and Vegetables

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Ah yes. We’ve got a 5-year old in the house again. Slowly but surely, we’re adding more fruits and vegetables into his diet. Interestingly enough, his teenage brothers who were raised in this house from the beginning have become more of a struggle than the little one. I don’t want to talk about it.

It won’t be long now before our Bonus Boy will officially be a Coppinger and I can show you pictures! But for now, just imagine lots of cuteness behind some gorgeous brown eyes and a giggle that turns all of us into mush.

When he first moved in with us, I knew he loved hot dogs, and that was all I knew. Man (or boy) can not live on hot dogs alone, so we began doing some trial and error to see what he might like.

First fruit success: Applesauce Pouches

Where were these gems when my other boys were little?

Yes, they are more expensive than canned applesauce or homemade. Yes, I still make homemade applesauce when I have the chance. But seeing as life has taken a major turn toward the more busy side of things (we have an infant boy living with us now too!), splurging on Applesauce Pouches has been very much worth it! Bonus Boy loves them, the teenagers love them (so there), and as an added delight, they can be eaten without making a mess.

We get them from Aldi, Walmart, or Amazon; and when they’re on sale, I grab varieties that have veggies added too.

Second fruit and veggie success: “Milkshakes”

Everyone knows that Smoothies filled with fruits and greens are a great way to easily get kids to eat (or drink) nourishment. Indeed.

However, if we said, “Would you like a Smoothie??” our Bonus Boy turned up his nose. Inspired, I said, “How about a Milkshake?” Aha! He thought that sounded delicious.

Call it whatever works – we now make “Milkshakes” all the time. Bonus Boy makes them with me, and we’re not even hiding the fact that they are filled with goodness. HE PUTS THE FRESH SPINACH INTO THE BLENDER HIMSELF. Then he adds the strawberries and frozen banana chunks. I pour in milk and a little maple syrup. He pushes the button on the Blendtec.

Then he guzzles down two full cups with a lid and a straw. Milkshakes for the win. Smoothies though? He doesn’t like them. ;)

Third veggie success: Cheesy Taco (aka Green Salad with Shredded Cheese)

I don’t even remember how this came about. I think I had made Taco Salad for the rest of us that day and decided to see if he’d eat any or all of it. I knew he loved tacos, so I told him this was “sort of like a taco.” I tore mixed greens into his special bowl, tossed in plenty of cheese (his favorite food of all time), and stirred in homemade French Dressing (ketchup for the win). He ate it all with a spoon and asked for more.

None of my other little guys ever ate salad at this age, and here this kid is eating his and asking for seconds and thirds. Sweet!

Fourth veggie success: Orange French Fries

Our whole family has learned that Sweet Potato Fries are the best way to eat sweet potatoes. Bonus Boy discovered without any argument that Orange French Fries are pretty tasty dipped in ketchup! Nice!

Fifth veggie success: Yet to come

None of us likes everything, and we can’t expect little kids to love all the green food we know is good for us. Green beans are a no-go for Bonus Boy. Peas, not so much. Carrots, neither raw nor cooked nor when one is pretending to be a bunny. Broccoli “trees” are only fun to talk about, but are not fun for eating. So we’ll stick to what is working, and we’ll try new veggies as the months go by.

Fruit is mostly a winner

Not all fruit, but he does like clementines, apples, kiwi, bananas, frozen blueberries, and a few others – especially if the big boys are sitting at the table eating them too.

It’s important to remember that adding fruits and veggies to a kid’s diet is a process. I remember liking more and more as I got older; I bet you do too.

If your child struggles with eating many fruits or vegetables, don’t fret or give up. Keep experimenting to see what works. Find a new way to cut or serve it. Call it a milkshake instead of a smoothie. Enjoy the ride and know that any fruit or veggie nourishment is better than none at all. You’ll get there!

What are your kids’ favorite ways to eat fruits and vegetables?

 

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Menu Plan for the Week and a LOT of Groceries

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Goodness. Remind me not to grocery shop at the store until after I pick up my Bountiful Baskets order. Come to think of it – never mind. We’ll eat all of this, and maybe I won’t have to buy as much next week. Maybe.  It is a good thing we have a second refrigerator because we have a lot of food in our house right now. Here’s how this week’s grocery shopping went for me:

On Tuesday night, we picked up our Azure Standard co-op order. I got 5 pounds of carrots, 6 pounds of yams, 5 pounds of peanuts, 25 pounds of red beans, 6 pounds of chicken thighs (not pictured), and 50 pounds of yellow potatoes (not pictured).

groceries feb25

I use roasted, unsalted peanuts (like the ones pictured above) to make delicious homemade peanut butter. If your family wants to avoid hydrogenated oils, but you don’t like the taste of plain, natural peanut butter – try this recipe. It’s incredible!

On Friday, I filled my cart at the store – mostly with price-matching items. I scored some great deals! I got apples, pears, sweet peppers, grape tomatoes, bananas, grapes (two varieties), spinach, mixed greens, baby carrots, cucumbers, and a cantaloupe.

groceries feb 27

Then on Saturday, I picked up my Bountiful Baskets order. Mmmmm! Asparagus, celery, apples, oranges, bananas, lettuce, pineapple, carrots, broccoli, sweet peppers, cucumbers, and avocados came in the surprise basket this time. Plus, I had ordered 28 pounds of green beans. It was perfect timing for these to be offered since we are almost out of our garden-grown green beans from last summer.

groceries feb 28 (1)

I had also ordered heirloom tomatoes and strawberries. It feels like a little taste of summer with these goodies!

groceries feb 28 (2)

I’d say our family is pretty well set for at least one week – if not two. I am so thankful we have such great sources for such great food!

We are feeding a big group of high school kids from our youth group here on Sunday night, and I plan to put out a big plate of veggies and a big plate of fruit along with sliced ham, french bread, and Angeled Eggs. Maybe I’ll need to grocery shop next week after all. :)

Here’s what’s on our menu this week:

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Fruit and Veggie Side Dishes (I serve 1-4 with every meal)

  • Broccoli
  • Carrots
  • Spaghetti Squash
  • Sweet Potato Fries
  • Asparagus
  • Mushrooms
  • Sweet Peppers
  • Cucumbers
  • Clementines
  • Oranges
  • Apples
  • Applesauce
  • Tomatoes
  • Green Leaf Lettuce
  • Mixed Greens
  • Spinach
  • Green Beans
  • Peas
  • Strawberries
  • Bananas
  • Pineapple
  • Cantaloupe
  • Avocados
  • Grapes

We’ll be heading out of state for our end-of-season Homeschool Basketball Tournament on Thursday night. I’ll be saving many of the “packable” fruits and veggies to take along with us to munch on all weekend.

Because I’m sure you’re dying to know:  The toilet is still sitting right outside my kitchen – but looooook! There is tile on our new bathroom wall and floor…

bathroom 8

It looks so very pretty! My husband is a work horse right now. I am thanking him by loading his plate with heirloom tomatoes and fresh green beans.  I do what I can.  ;)

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Because This Will Make You Want to Eat Cucumbers

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So you say you don’t like cucumbers? Ah well. I know exactly how to help this situation.

Zebra Cucumbers Taste Better

See? You peel stripes out of the cucumber and then you slice them and then they become adorable stripy zebra cucumbers which will then make cucumbers perfectly irresistible. Mmm-mmm yummy cucumbers.

I personally think stripy zebra cucumbers are more fun to eat than non-stripy, un-zebra cucumbers. (Let’s be clear that I’m calling these stripy {long i} and not strippy {short i} because there’s a difference that I’d rather not go into here.)  I think stripy zebra cucumbers look pretty on a plate. That’s why I had to take a picture to show you how fun these are.

But what if you just really, really don’t like cucumbers?

I like cucumbers. Yay, me. But try as I might (and trust me, I really did try – more than thrice), I cannot make myself like jicima. We got two lovely jicima in our Bountiful Basket last week, so even though I don’t like them, I tried making jicima sticks for easier dipping. Also, doesn’t it just sound fun to say, “Yum! We’re going to snack on some jicima sticks!” (In case you’re not sure, the “j” in jicima is pronounced with an “h” sound. It’s not a jicima, it’s a hicima, like hiccup, even though it’s spelled jicima. It’s just that you need to say it right when you exclaim, “Yum! We’re going to snack on some jicima sticks!”)

jicima and rose

This is a jicima.
I took a picture of it beside the rose we got at
Asa’s basketball Senior Recognition night because who doesn’t like
jicima and rose together in the same picture, and also because
the rose is in its final hours and I never got a picture.

I talk all this semi-nonsense about zebra cucumbers and jicima sticks to tell you this:

I give you permission to not like every fruit and vegetable in the grocery store, farmer’s market,and garden.

Now if you haven’t tried it, you don’t get to say you don’t like it. But if you’ve really, really tried (and even cut it into zebra stripes or dipping sticks) and you really, really don’t like it – you can just not like it. Guilt free.

So I don’t like jicima. So what? I love and eat close to 50 other fruits and veggies (aka freggies), so I’m probably okay without the important vitamins and minerals obtained from eating jicima. This is a very good thing since I didn’t even know jicima existed until about three months ago.

But what about you? Is your fruit and veggie palate growing?

You need to know that it has taken me years to develop a taste for a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. (What can I say? I liked Pepsi and chocolate chip cookies better.)  But as I learned the importance of nourishment, I was open to trying. I tried hard. I forced myself at first to eat vegetables I only thought were “so-so.”

I went from liking and eating only – I kid you not – four vegetables (green beans, carrots, peas, and iceburg lettuce) and one fruit (apples) as a young adult to LOVING dozens of different fruit and veggie varieties. It took time. It took being intentional. I know my palate will still grow. (Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll even like jicima.)

Sooooo, I encourage you to try your least favorite fruits or veggies from time to time as truly, our taste buds do change. But I also know I don’t need to feel bad about not liking every fruit or vegetable out there. Just be sure you continue to make freggies a priority.

Now tell me: What fruit or veggie have you tried multiple times but just can not make yourself like it?

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Do We Need To Be Eating So Much Bread?

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breakfast_cake_muffins_1

My grandpa always held a slice of bread in his left hand while his right hand held his fork. A meal was not a meal to my grandpa unless it included my grandma’s homemade bread. He often used his bread to sop up gravy. Or he would slather his bread with Grandma’s homemade jelly or applesauce. If there was no bread – well, there just always had to be bread.

Let’s pause now to give three cheers to my grandma who had nine children, the tiniest kitchen I’ve ever seen, and never failed to provide homemade bread at every meal. She was a rock star.  Grandma made bread like a boss. (They’re compliments, Grandma. Really.)  

I also grew up with bread served at every meal, likely the result of having a dad who had lived with a dad who always needed to hold a piece of bread in his left hand – we’ve already been through this. Thus, I began our married life always including a side dish of bread with our meals, which Matt held in his right hand – if you can possibly imagine (because yes, my husband is a lefty).

Now, of course, there are all the experts who suggest we eat “low-carb” and others who insist we all need to go “grain-free” and someday soon like tomorrow there will be a new diet claim that suggests that if we all avoid eating (fill in the blank) we will all be healthier, skinnier, and have a perfect complexion. I am not interested in a one-size-fits-all diet, fad, or bandwagon because I believe in eating real food, in balance, in its whole form, according to an individual’s needs, for the sake of nourishment and good health, all the time. It’s not a diet. It’s a lifestyle.

We interrupt this post for some important disclaimers before I share my overall thoughts on eating bread:

  1. Some truly need to avoid all grains. If that’s you, then do it.
  2. Not all grains agree with everyone. This is a real thing.
  3. My grandpa probably needed more carbs (and food in general) because he was a farmer, doing hard physical labor for many hours every day. Most of us don’t work that hard on a daily basis anymore.

Now these thoughts:

Do We Need to Be Eating So Much Bread

I do not believe that bread is evil.

However, many of us eat more bread (and cookies and cakes and muffins and donuts) than we should. To say nothing of the empty (negative) calories we consume in white flour products which do very little to nourish us – I would suggest that many of us even eat more whole grain products than our bodies actually need. Especially if we compare it to the amount of other nutrient-rich food we are consuming – like fruits and vegetables.

Oh, you knew I would bring up the fruits and veggies. The good ol’ F&Vs. May as well shorten it to save time since we talk about it so much around here and simply call them freggies, don’t you think?

Bread (and pasta and rice) can really fill us up, leaving little room in our appetites for other necessary foods that our bodies crave. (Like freggies. There. I’ve used it twice, so that makes it a real word.)  Sometimes we even load our families with grainy foods in an effort to save money as they appear to be an inexpensive, filling food choice. I totally get it. I feed five hungry men 3 meals plus snacks every day, and they definitely like grain based foods. These foods have their purpose and they are filling. But…

As  you think about the food you plan to put on your table, consider the variety of nutrients in the meal. A spread of spaghetti, corn, and bread offers little compared to a meal of spaghetti, salad, green beans, and cantaloupe. See the colorful and nutrition-packed difference? If we’re already serving rice, pasta, or potatoes at a meal, we probably don’t need bread, rolls, or bread sticks too. But an extra side or three of veggies along with a delicious bowl of fruit – well now our bodies are happy.

Fruits and vegetables are the most important part of our meals and snacks. The other parts are important too – we just need to make sure we aren’t going overboard with the bready stuff and neglecting other important food groups.

So less bread, more freggies. What do you say?

No seriously. What do you say? What are your thoughts on eating bread? And also – what do you think of the word freggies? I am so going to start saying that now.

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Menu Plan for the Week – and What is Up With All the Strawberries?

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Never, ever, ever have strawberries been available in our grocery stores this time of year that are both tasty and reasonably priced. Typically between the months of October and April, we go strawberry-less.

Somehow though, the past few weeks have brought very tasty strawberries to our stores at a very good price – in January and February. What in the world? Seriously, does anyone know how this can be possible? These particular strawberries are coming from Florida. Are you able to find good strawberries in your area at a good price right now? Shocked as I am, this Nebraska girl is thrilled.

feb 5 groceries

I price-matched (more on that tomorrow!) and got strawberries for just $1.29 per pound. That price is amazing. The strawberries are super tasty, too. As you can see from my huge haul from the store, it was a great price matching week. I loaded up on produce even more than normal. All of the above cost under $100, so I’m very grateful. We will have a great week of delicious food!

Here’s what this week’s menu options look like:

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Fruit and Veggie Side Dishes (I serve 1-4 with every meal)

  • Strawberries
  • Blueberries
  • Apples
  • Pears
  • Cantaloupe
  • Mixed Greens
  • Spinach
  • Romaine Lettuce
  • Green Beans
  • Asparagus
  • Peas
  • Cheesy Cauliflower Cakes
  • Grape Tomatoes
  • Carrot Sticks
  • Clementines

Thanking God for such abundance of wonderful food. How blessed we are.

What’s on your menu this week?

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How My Family Eats While We Travel

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While we were on our long road trip, Lindsay asked the following question:

I’m curious what you guys eat while you are on the road. Do you pack meals, or do you have a few “go-to” places that serve healthier food? Also, when you are visiting family/friends do you just put healthy eating on the back burner? I’ve gotten the impression that you value relationships with people more than being a stickler with healthy/real eating. So, what does that look like when you are visiting people and staying in their home? And if you do just eat whatever is served, how does that affect how you feel (physically)?

I decided to break down all the questions and answer them individually. So here goes!

I’m curious what you guys eat while you are on the road. Do you pack meals, or do you have a few “go-to” places that serve healthier food?

When we plan to only be on the road for one day, we can typically pack all of our food. This obviously means we can eat much healthier food, plus it keeps our costs much lower. (Eating out costs a minimum of $35 for our family – ouch!)

Here’s a list of 27 ideas I typically pick from when packing food for a trip. In addition, I pack a lot of fruits and vegetables.

Fruits and Veggies On the Go

 Fruits and Veggies on the Go – read more!

Taking along fruits and vegetables has been so helpful in keeping us from feeling gross on a road trip. We munch on apples, clementines, berries, carrots, sweet peppers, and cucumbers along the way so that even if we do need to grab fast food, our stomachs don’t rebel as much. We are also careful to drink plenty of water. Well…I’ll admit to drinking a little less than normal to avoid taking quite as many potty stops. (“Mom, you pee all the time!” I’m not sure why they are still shocked about this.)

When we are on the road for many days at a time, it becomes significantly more difficult to pack food. Somewhere between Durango, CO and home, I snapped a couple pictures of the food in my lap to give you an idea of how we eat during long road trips.

travel food 2

Once I ran into a grocery store while Matt filled our van with gas (LOVING the lower prices on gas right now, by the way!). The deli section had a few items marked down that I grabbed. Some are compromise foods, but wow was this a tasty lunch. We enjoyed big salads with popcorn chicken, fresh raspberries, and sweet peppers. I also picked up some chips and fresh salsa for snacking later that day.

In an effort to keep our food stops quick, we do sometimes hit a fast food restaurant. Sometimes we get salads, but come on. Our family rarely goes to Chick fil a, so we really enjoyed our treat of chicken sandwiches and waffle fries.

travel food 1
That’s the beauty of eating out very rarely. When we do, it’s a treat. And yes, we do feel kind of bleh later. ;)

When you are visiting family/friends do you just put healthy eating on the back burner? I’ve gotten the impression that you value relationships with people more than being a stickler with healthy/real eating. So, what does that look like when you are visiting people and staying in their home?

When we are visiting others, we focus on enjoying fellowship and appreciating the hospitality of others – no matter what food is served. On this trip, we were served everything from farm fresh eggs or mixed green salad to canned cinnamon rolls or non-dairy whipped topping. We ate it all with gratitude.  Actually, I didn’t eat it all. My system really can’t handle high amounts of sugar anymore, so I had to graciously decline some offerings. Like on the eggs and cinnamon roll morning, I just ate eggs and drank coffee with our hosts. No one questioned why I wasn’t eating rolls, and trust me, my boys ate my share. :)

During our extended stay in California, we were able to eat many delicious home-cooked and healthy meals – some prepared by me, many prepared by other loving hands. We also ordered pizza once to maintain the sanity of all the mothers trying to keep up with all the festivities. Balance is key, right?

If you do just eat whatever is served, how does that affect how you feel (physically)?

No doubt, our bodies do feel the difference in eating choices (and lack of activity) after a day or so. We’ve found that as long as we continue drinking plenty of water and find ways to sneak in fruits and vegetables, we do okay. Now that we’re home, we’ll get back to our regularly scheduled program of eating mostly whole foods.

Here’s a picture of our shopping cart yesterday when we got back home from being on the road for 12 days:

groceries jan 5

I had done some price matching on my phone during the 5,934 hours I had to sit and do nothing in the van. Most of what I found didn’t work to price match, but I did get four pineapple for $1.29 each, and golden delicious apples for just 68¢ per pound. Mixed greens, spinach, raspberries, blueberries, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, and zucchini came home with us, as well as some cheese, buttermilk, yogurt, and cream. Tonight we’ll pick up our farm fresh milk (can’t wait!) and get back to our normal dairy drinking and culturing.

Oh, and see the big turkey in my cart? More on that tomorrow, because obviously, you want to know all about my turkey.

So how about you? How to you eat when traveling? What works best for your family?

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Always Go to the Store When You’re Hungry

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shopping cart 2

Yep, it’s just like Grandma used to say:

  • Be sure to go outside with wet hair on a cold day.
  • If you can’t say something nice, be sure to say it really loudly. While sticking out your tongue.
  • Sit very close to the TV. It’s good for your eyes.
  • Always go to the store when you’re hungry.

Best advice ever, right? Good ol’ Grandma. How’d she get so smart?

Obviously, I’m a little mixed up on what I remember hearing from Grandma. Cold day…stick out tongue… I think what she actually said was that when I go outside on a cold day, I should always stick out my tongue to lick the fence post. Yes, that was it.

Before I get any more carried away, let’s set the record straight:  Don’t go outside on a cold day with wet hair or stick out your tongue (fence post or not). Never say unkind words or sit close to the TV. There, now you can’t sue me if your kid reads this and says, “That Heavenly Homemaker Lady said I should.”

But going to the store when you’re hungry? Now that’s a different story. Grandma never gave me advice about this, but I’ve heard it from plenty:  “Don’t go to the store when you’re hungry. You’ll come out with a cart full of junk food you don’t need.”

I beg to differ.  Just hear me out.

Always Go to the Store Hungry

Last week, I went to the store before dinner. I wasn’t “passing out hungry” because I do know my limits and realize that the grocery store manager would appreciate it if I don’t faint beside the display of plums. I had snacked, and I was just on the verge of “Mmm, food is starting to sound pretty good right about now.” You know that feeling?

That is when you should go to the store – to the produce section. For the love of Doritos and Dolly Madison, do not go to the cookie aisle, the bakery, the bread aisle, or the potato chip aisle when you’re hungry. But I dare you: Go to the produce section of the store when you’re hungry.

The pineapple, the asparagus, the cucumbers, the mixed greens, the apples, the pears, the fruit you’ve never heard of before much less tasted – it will all look fantastic to you! You will begin to crave it right then and there. You will imagine crisp slices of cucumber, dipped in fresh ranch dressing, and you will think that you might die if you don’t have some this very night. You will long for vegetables roasting in the oven. You will have to fight the urge to bite into a Honey Crisp apple right there on the spot, but for goodness sake, don’t do it because we all know Grandma told us we always have to pay for food before we eat it and that is the absolute truth.

Don’t cross your eyes. They might stay that way forever. But do go fill your cart with fruits and vegetables when you’re hungry. Buy them. Don’t complain about the price. They are cheaper than junk and our bodies crave nourishment- so don’t even get me started. Bring fruits and vegetables home by the bag full, then start crunching. Eat your fill. Enjoy the goodness.

Then wait 30 minutes before you go swimming. Grandma knows best.

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