A bunch of you are doing Whole30 during January, which: GOOD FOR YOU. I hope everyone’s sugar withdrawals are scarce and that you lose some pounds (blah blah “clean eating is the most important,” I’m just keeping it real) after all your hard work!
When the going gets hard, though, just remember (something Holly said to me…OFTEN): It’s only 30 days! You can do anything for 30 days! Also, just to remind you: I did Whole30 up until the day I ran a half-marathon. So, you know, NO EXCUSES.
My excuse for not participating this time around is basically because it’s not in the budget. It’s a pricey venture and while I’d totally do it again, right now it’s just not in the cards.
That being said, my friend Tami asked for my dinner planning and cooking regimen, so thought I’d share with you my general shopping/cooking/eating tactics (which were not hugely changed when I did Whole30.) We basically cook every single meal, which I suppose seems daunting, except that I like to cook and I have a certain method to how I plan and shop, which makes it less daunting.
The number one key is being prepared, which for me, starts at the grocery store. Here’s where I shop and what I buy and how often I go.
Costco: Once per quarter (sometimes more often for diapers, thanks LG)
I cannot say enough good things about Costco. If you’ve got the storage space, it is 100% worth it. We get pretty much everything at Costco.
– Meat/animal protein (more about this later), plus eggs, cheddar cheese, etc.
– Some vegetables: Mostly I buy the big bags of broccoli and green beans and freeze a bunch of them. My Costco has also recently carried these enormous bags of kale and spinach and back when we were doing Whole30, I got not one slimy piece of spinach. Not one! Granted, it probably only took us a couple days to eat through the bag, but you know, whatever. The last time I bought spinach, though, it started to turn much more quickly, but we just picked through the gross pieces and froze the rest. After freezing, both spinach and kale are good in soups or sauteed.
– Cans: My Costco recently started carrying cans of black beans (woo!), plus I get tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, coffee, and anything else that looks good.
Let’s Talk About Meat
I say “meat,” but what I mean is anything that comes from an animal. At Costco, I buy ground beef, tri-tip, a bag of chicken breasts, a bag of chicken thighs, whole chickens for roasting, a pork loin that I (okay, Chris) butchers himself into chops and smaller loins, occasionally ground turkey, and frozen fish/seafood (more on this, too, in a second.)
We break down the tri-tip from the enormo-Costco pack into more individual servings. We have a vacuum sealer, but before we got that, Chris used to suck all the air out of the bag himself. The vacuum sealer was a good investment (we also bought it at Costco — shocker!) and we also use it for the pork and vegetables.
Something’s Fishy
We buy the bags of individually-frozen fish and let me tell you: This is the way to go. The “fresh” fish you see out in the case has likely already been frozen. I’d say it’s generally been sitting for at least a day, if not longer, while Costco defrosted it, then re-packaged, and labeled it. Frozen fish in the bags is frozen basically right after being caught and processed, so when you defrost it at home, it is (unless you live on the coast and/or have a fishmonger friend) the freshest you can get.
Costco has a good selection of different kinds of fish; we usually stick with steelhead, but bought hake this last time. We also occasionally buy the frozen (raw) shrimp.
The Farm Stand: Once a week-ish in the summer and fall & The Grocery Store: Once a week-ish always
Whew! Once I’m stocked up at Costco, I rarely have to go to the grocery store. I go if we need milk for LG or, if it’s off-season and the farm stand is closed, fruits and vegetables. (December through June is a sad time for produce in California. The stuff at the grocery store just really, really sucks.)
I also buy pasta and rice at the store (I do not need a 50lb. bag of rice, thank you though, COSTCO) and stuff like butter, hot sauce, pickles, and other random items I need for a recipe, like capers or whatever.
The key to my shopping is making sure I have everything on hand, that way when I go to cook, everything’s already in my house and I don’t have to go to the store. I can very easily talk myself into a new meal if it means not having to go to the store and it’s really nice to have almost everything at my disposal here at home.
“Meal Planning” (AKA: Ask the Internet!)
Truth: I don’t meal plan. I’ve tried, and I am impressed when others do it, but I just cannot get on board. I’m more a fly by the seat of your napkin kinda gal, and I usually like to decide that day what I’m making for dinner.
I get my recipe ideas from Twitter, Instagram, cookbooks, Googling, and by texting my friends and asking what they’re having for dinner (don’t you want to be my friend?!)
I believe someone once said about the Internet, “No one cares what you had for lunch,” but I must disagree. I love seeing what people are eating! At least once a week, I ask Twitter, “What’s for dinner?” and this is how I get a good portion of my meal ideas. “Oooooh, that person is having chili for dinner — let’s do that tomorrow!”
Shepherd’s pie (we add a pinch of curry powder to ours…And now you know the secret family recipe.)
While I don’t meal plan, I do have a loose outline for what I cook and when. It’s not really set in stone and I didn’t plan it — it has only come about after years and years of cooking this way.
Monday
After a weekend of not-so-healthy-eating, Mondays are for fish/seafood and veggies. I’ll usually sneak some quinoa in there to be really obnoxious.
I can almost hear myself getting thinner.
Tuesday
Tuesday generally gravitates to a Taco Tuesday theme, but we don’t necessarily eat tacos every single Tuesday. Sometimes we do slow-cooker carnitas, sometimes taco salad, sometimes chicken tortilla soup. Hell, sometimes we have pasta!
Wednesday & Thursday
These days are when we cook whatever has been sounding good and/or needs to be used. I might see that chili someone posted on Instagram and cook some up. Or, maybe we’re craving grilled cheese sandwiches and soup. Whatever it is, we try to keep it easy and almost always add a vegetable or salad on the side.
After seeing someone cook up grits, I decided I needed polenta, which is how this chicken marsala over polenta came to be.
Friday
Fridays are pizza nights in Chris’s family and we’ve kept that tradition going in our own house. In the summer, sometimes we’ll switch it up to burgers, so we don’t have to turn on the oven, but other than that, it’s usually pizza. I’ve tried making my own crust in the past, but, while delicious, it’s just not my favorite. The rising and the flour everywhere and the fact that I can never get it to become circular — no thanks. What we normally do is pick up a take-and-bake, but sometimes we buy just the crust from the take-and-bake joint and make our own pizza.
Saturday
I do not like cooking on Saturdays. I just don’t. Saturdays are for leftovers or a snacky dinner or takeout or Chris cooks (who I am kidding? Chris cooks more than half the time anyway.)
Sunday
Now, Sunday is my marathon cooking day. I love spending all day Sunday in the kitchen. We usually do a big dinner — roast chicken or lasagna or enchiladas.
Theme nights (Taco Tuesday, Friday Night Pizza Night, etc.) make it much easier to meal plan (or “meal plan”), because it’s just one more thing you really don’t have to think about.
Use It Or Lose It
I rarely let food go to waste. Tonight, for example, we’re having teriyaki burger sliders on Hawaiian rolls (leftover from Christmas) and a cabbage slaw (leftover from Asian noodle salad last week.) Also, we eat a lot of leftovers. I know leftovers aren’t for everyone, but I could have leftover enchiladas for breakfast and be happy.
Shrimp cakes using leftover bay shrimp from a Christmas Day appetizer.
If you have extra food you’re unsure what to do with, just Google that ingredient (or ask the Internet!) and see what pops up that looks good. And when it doubt: Freeze it and use it later!
So! That’s how I do it. How do you meal plan and shop and cook?
