fruits and vegetables Archives | Page 2 of 2

I promised you that since I didn’t post a menu plan this week, I would instead show you some pictures of what we decided to eat each day. I already showed you what we ate on Monday. I also whined plenty about how I’ve been very hungry for raspberries but couldn’t find any in my town that weren’t gross or expensive.

Since I’m sure you’ve been simply worried sick about me all week and thought of little else but the fact that I wanted, needed, and desperately desired raspberries, you’ll be relieved to know that Matt found a small, reasonably priced package for me when he was out and about on Wednesday. What a guy. I was even nice enough to share a few of these with Matt and the boys. But only a few. There simply weren’t many left by the time they came into the kitchen. What can I say?

Since I had prepped a bunch of fruits and veggies on Monday, it’s been very easy to continue to pull them out each day to go with our meals. Mind you, most of my “prep” consisted of washing the produce and dumping it into a Pyrex container. See how easy it is to eat healthy food? Wash and eat. Wash and eat. Wash and slice. Wash and eat. I can think of nothing easier.

Tuesday morning I made a simple breakfast of Cinnamon Whole Wheat Muffins (this recipe, without the berries, but with cinnamon sprinkled in). It wasn’t a super exciting meal, but it was yummy.

We had BLT Wraps for lunch that day. Instead of making them all and setting them out, I simply prepped the filling and let everyone build their own. Easy!

Tuesday night we had Taco Potatoes for dinner. The crock pot baked our potatoes for us, so we didn’t heat up the house. :)

After we finished off all the fresh peaches I had bought on Sunday, we sliced up a couple of plums. They were so pretty!

Wednesday morning we scrambled eggs, cut up a cantaloupe, and pulled a loaf of Poppy Seed Bread with Orange Glaze from the freezer (recipe in {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook). This is my absolute favorite quick bread. It stays moist even after being in the freezer. Love it, love it, love it! (By the way, if you bought that book prior to this spring, you should note that I now cut the sucanat by more than half in that recipe. It’s still plenty sweet. My shop now has an updated version.)

Everyone fended for themselves for lunch, finding leftovers or making a sandwich. We went swimming in the afternoon, so Quick Blender Chocolate Milk tasted great after we got back while we waited for dinner.

That morning, I had marinated several pieces of chicken in Italian Dressing (more details in Let’s Do This, Lesson 1). Matt put it on the grill while I made green beans and sliced watermelon. It was crazy deeeee-licious.

What have you been eating this week? Isn’t summer food easy to make?

If you recall from my menu plan this week, we were pretty low on our supply of fruits and vegetables. Yesterday, Malachi and I had appointments in Lincoln. Therefore, we made our way to two fun stores that we don’t get to go to very often: Natural Grocers and Traders Joes.

Fact: I am so in love with food, it’s not even funny. (Don’t worry, Matt. I still love you most.) Grocery shopping makes me very happy. Spreading my purchases out and gazing at all the food once I get home offers me long moments of joy. (Don’t worry, kids. I do truly love your handsome faces more than I love staring at zucchini.)

I mean, we all knew this about me already, right? But really. Who else gets so excited when putting food into a grocery cart? How many people are energized just by looking at a package of mushrooms and a big bag of broccoli? What 39 year old lady jumps up and down in the produce department when she finds a four-pound carton of strawberries (while sending her 8 year old back to the other shelf to put away the measly 2-pound carton)? Why get 2 pounds when you can get 4 pounds!!?! After all, at my house, they’ll be gone in two days.

Confession: I didn’t really jump up and down…very high. Although I may have shrieked a little bit (and startled a baby in a cart by the kiwi).

Here’s what I was able to get:

trader_joes

Clementines (5 pounds), strawberries (4 pounds), pears (4 pounds), gold potatoes (4 pounds), sweet potatoes (6 pounds), cherry tomatoes (1 pound), kiwi (2 pounds), sweet peppers (3-pack), apples (3 pounds), avocados (4-pack), broccoli (three bunches), green leaf lettuce (2 heads), baby carrots (2 pounds), mushrooms (1 pound)…and three small zucchini

I just geeked out and did the math on that. I couldn’t resist. That’s around 35 pounds of fruits and vegetables. You know you were tempted to add it up too. Yeah, and some of you are looking at it right now, double-checking my math. Don’t think I can’t see you.

When I got home, after the boys unloaded the van and grocery bags, and exclaimed loudly over what I had brought home – I decided that “who cares what was originally on the menu plan for tonight – we are soooo having Stir-Fry.”

I cooked up some rice, then filled a cast iron skillet with carrots, broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms, and pineapple – along with olive oil, garlic, and sea salt. I would have thrown in some of the sweet peppers, but I was hoarding them for another meal. :)

stir_fry

Fess up: Does food make you yawn, or do you love food like I do? (My heart-felt apologies, once again, for startling the baby in the cart by the kiwi.)

What We’ve Been Eating This Week. Did It Include Raspberries???

No Longer Fruitless {My Super Fun Shopping Trip This Week}