Nutrition is such a personal thing. Everyone has their own schedule, their own priorities, and their own “challenges” which hold them back from adapting to change. I think that in order for a person to experience success with menu planning, a nutrition advisor really has to get into their client’s head and understand what they are feeling. That being said, please consider the following breakfast ideas: (O)

One or two slices of Cinnamon Raisin Ezekiel bread

Shelton’s beef jerky

A piece of fresh fruit – such as a pear, plums, gala apples, a box of raisins, banana, etc.

(A)

One or two slices of Cinnamon Raisin Ezekiel bread

Shelton’s turkey jerky

A piece of fresh fruit – pear, plum, raisins, fresh blueberries, dried figs, etc



Vary the bread (there are many flavors out there) and vary the fruit throughout the week. Shelton’s web site is as follows:

http://www.shelton.com/gluten.html

Turkey Jerky for Dad – 48481-00970

Beef Jerky for Yourself – 48481-00991

Love You!

I still feel like I need to eat "green" everyday, and I am always looking for ways to add more green into my meals. Today I threw together:

onions

garlic

sea salt

chopped celery

diced collard green

one big bunch of diced parsley

2 or 3 strips of turkey bacon

olive oil

ghee

rice noodles

water

coriander

black pepper (a little)

Saute all of your veggies in the olive oil. Add salt. Stir well and stir often. 5 - 10 minutes later, add 1 cup of water and one package of Thai rice noodles (any rice noodle will do). These Thai noodles cook up in about 6 minutes (thank you Asian market!). Throw in one big tablespoon of ghee (anytime during the cooking process - it's that slight butter flavor I was after.) When noodles are ready, season with more salt, pepper and corainder seed. Sliced gala apples on the side complemented the dish.

I thought this dish was just a little on the plain side, but my two year old went spastic for these noodles! It warmed my heart knowing that he was inhaling collard greens and parsley! For the adults, I would recommend seasoning your individual bowls with your favorite spice. If my five year old had been with us for lunch, I would have panfried three strips of turkey bacon to a crisp texture using butter or olive oil, and I would have added a few pieces of raw celery to his plate. I might have even added a piece of string cheese (mozerella) or some organic yogurt.

I think catering to the personality differences of the O's and A's is part of a successful meal. I also think using the same main ingredients helps the cook feel less overwhelmed!

*One last note - Shelton's turkey 'strips' are excellent. Unfortunately, they were simply out of my price range for this week. Maybe next week, I will snag a few. Check out Shelton's website if you haven't already.

We had buckwheat / brown rice pancakes this morning with strawberries and maple syrup. I also poured some syrup into my morning coffee. Yum!

As I look over my numbers, I am surprised. Grapes cost as much as the plums! Since plums are a a bene, they win. Mangoes, watermelon, and grapefruit seem to be reasonably priced, and the fresh blueberries are quite cheap at the moment! Bannanas and lemons are a must all year round. When it comes to canned, Liberty Gold wins by leaps and bounds (and there is no corn syrup in it!)

I can save money by taking the time to assemble the following:

trail mix

baking my own breads whenever possible

assembling at least one beverage (we like the pineapple , prune juice and carbonated water combo)

buying fruit at its peak (best price)

assembling my own lettuce mixes

I will continue to buy "back up" frozen bread, canned beans (the imported beans didn't use calcium chloride and they were cheaper!), and the less expensive fish (ocean caught tilapia and pollack). Gluten free chicken sausages are also a must (stored in the freezer).



I wonder how much meat is actually in a "whole chicken." I mean, how many pounds? It's difficult to compare apples to apples, and I am sure the manufacturers labeled their food that way on purpose!

I love turkey bacon, but I hate the thought of all those nitrates. I forgot to record the cost of canned salmon, but my memory says it's about 1.19 per can (14 oz maybe?) Well, this list will prove handy during my next menu planning. Take care everyone.

I made three trips out to the grocery store in order to determine how to slash our grocery bill without completely slashing the nutritional quality of our menus. My head was spinning with countless numbers and I definitely experienced sensory overload!

However, I have also drawn some definite monetary conclusions, and I believe that I can still deliver quality nutrition to my children while taking some of the strain off of our wallet. *Note – for you O’s out there, we have a freezer full of meat, so I didn’t bother checking on red meat prices. * As for anyone else who is curious, please forgive this very quickly- typed - raw data. It’s not the easiest thing in the world to read!



Meats and Poultry

Al Fresco chicken sausage 3.50 for 12 oz

Tyson whole chickens .79 per pound

Chicken drumsticks 2.29 per 24 oz

Gold N Plump chicken breasts 2.29 per 24 oz

Gold N Plump 8.99 per 55 oz

Pure ground turkey Louis Rich 1.39 per 16 oz

Cornish Hen 2.69 per 22 oz

Jennie O Turkey Bacon Extra Lean 1.89 per 12 oz

Seafood

Ocean Perch 1.68 per pound

Cod 1.54 per pound

Tilapia .48 per pound

Coho Salmon 4.79 per pound

Pollack 1.51 per pound

Whiting Icy Bay 3.79 per 2 pounds

Halibut 7.00 for 12 ounces

Swordfish 5.99 for 12 ounces

Alaska Sockeye Salmon 8.99 per pound

Orca Bay Salmon 3.49 per 12 ounces

Tilapia (different brand) 2.99 per 16 ounces



Dairy

Eggs (all about the same if not organic)

Horizon Organic Yogurt .79 per 6 ounces (170 g)

Squeezers 2.69 for 6 packets (454 g)

Stoneyfield Farm Yogurt .69

Farmer Cheese 2.99 per 8 ounces

Moz Cheese 2.59 per pound

Frigo String Cheese 2.99 per 12 ounces

Baker String Cheese 4.89 per 24 ounces



Oleada olive oil extra virgin cold pressed 1 liter for 4.99



Peanuts – raw Spanish 1.49 per pound

Planters Family Pack 3.89 for 24 ounces

East Wind Peanut Butter 3.09 for 16 ounces

Arrowhead Mills Peanut Butter 3.89 for 18 ounces

Eileen’s Pecans 3.79 for 10 ounces

Eileen’s whole almonds 3.39 for 14 ounces

Eileen’s California Walnuts 2.99 for 14 ounces

David Pumpkin Seeds 1.39 for 5 ounces including shells

Great Scott Pumpkin Seeds (no shell ) 3.89 per 10 ounces

Beans

Racconto Imported Black Beans .59 per 15 ounces canned

Favo beans (Progresso) 1.69 per 15 ounces canned

Racconto Lentils canned .59 per 15 ounces canned

Cannellini beans Racconto .59 per 15 ounces canned

Randall pinto beans 2.19 per 48 ounces

Randall great northern Beans 1.19 per 24 ounces

Rice and Grains

Quaker lightly salted rice cakes 5.75 ounces for 1.79

Brown rice snaps 3.5 ounces for 3.09

Riceland white rice 1.29 per 32 ounces

5.19 per 10 pounds

Riceland brown rice 1.29 per 32 ounces

.79 per 16 ounces

Brown’s Best 2.39 per 5 pounds or 80 ounces

Jasmine Rice 3.99 per 5 pounds

Sweet Thai rice 2.49 per 5 pounds

Tsurumai (Brown) 3.59 per 5 pounds

Lundberg short grain brown rice 2.39 per 32 ounces

Rice noodles 2.89 per 16 ounces



Amaranth Flour 6.19 per 22 ounces

Flaxseed raw 2.79 per 24 ounces (1 pound 8 oz)

Whole ground flaxseed 2.79 per 24 ounces

Teff 5.59 per 24 ounces

Buckwheat Flour 3.19 per 22 ounces

Brown Rice Flour 4.29 per 48 ounces (3 pounds)

White Rice Flour 2.39 per 24 ounces

Arrowhead white rice flour 4.09 per 2 pounds

Bob’s Creamy Rice Hot Cereal 3.49 per 26 ounces

Ezekiel whole grain bread 3.59 per 24 ounces

Ezekiel cin Raisin bread 4.09 per 24 ounces

Gluten free bread Raisin Pecan 3.89

Gluten free rice almond 4.59

Veggies

Alfalfa sprouts .99 per ?

Parsley .35 bunch

Spinach .89 per bunch

Collard greens .99 per bunch

Kale .99 per bunch

Leeks .89 per stalk

Beet Greens 1.89 per bunch

Green onions .39 per small bunch

Zucchini .99 per pound

Red leaf lettuce .87 each

Romaine lettuce .89 each

Mushroom 2.39 per 16 ounces

Sweet potatoes .69 per pound

Fresh green beans .99 per pound

Broccoli .99 per pound

Carrots 1.79 per 5 pounds

Organic Celery 1.49 per 1 pound

Celery .99 pound

White onions 1.79 per 2 pounds

Yellow onions 1.39 per 3 pounds

Lemons 3 for 99 cents

Limes 10 for 1.00

Grapefruit .89 each

Watermelon .39 per pound

Mangoes .69 each



Bags of Lettuce



Romaine 32 ounces for 3.49

Italian 10 ounces for 1.99

Dole classic 10 ounces for 1.59

Fresh Romaine 1.59

Spring Mix 5 ounces for 1.79

Spinach 6 ounces for 2.19

Fruit

Canned apricots

Fresh Blueberries 1.49 per 16 ounces

Frozen blueberries Natures 6.19 per 40 ounces

Cherries 3.79 per pound

Figs?

Plums 1.39 per pound

Peaches .99 per pound

Apples .99 per pound

Grapes 1.39 per pound

Pineapple – canned Liberty gold .69

Prunes – go for the juice



Pineapple juice – 1.29 46 ounces

Juicy Juice (gluten free?) 2.19 for 64 ounces

Juicy Juice boxes – 2.89 per pack of 10 (6.75 ounces)

Liberty gold peaches - .69

Liberty gold pears - .69

Jolly good water (carbonated) - .59

Pacific rice gluten free milk – 1.89 per ?

It warms a mother's heart to see her two children playing in the backyard while our dinner sizzles on the grill. Both boys "ooohed and ahhhhed" over their meals. They also ran straight to the playground afterwards and enjoyed each other's company. Not bad for a six year old and a two year old! My little guy ran around in his diaper while my six year old scaled our miniature climbing wall.

No fighting over "eat your meat" or "eat your vegetables" today! Here's the menu: (o)

Top sirloin steak cooked medium well (just a little pink in the middle) over a gas grill.

Reese's steak salt

garlic powder

cayenne powder

roast beef seasoning

Served with gala apples and my son's favorite beverage (chocolate soymilk).

The A's enjoyed:

Grilled salmon with Reese's steak salt and Dad's lemon pepper. Brush the grill with extra virgin olive oil.

White rice cooked with sauteed onions, garlic, salt, collard greens and chicken broth. Dice those collard greens as far down as you can go. Saute the onion and collard green combo for a good 7 or 8 minutes and don't let any stick to the sides of the pan (it will burn or turn bitter).



I have served collard greens every which way (in salads, in scrambled eggs, sauteed in olive oil, and in rice.) I have to say that I have had the most success with diced collard greens cooked in chicken broth. It takes a lot of molar action for a two year old!