Everyone knows not to drink the water in Mexico. Same rule should apply to theme parks and other one-day excursions. Don’t drink the $5 bottled water. It’s a rip-off! But when you’re on vacation, enjoying a special day with your family, you feel trapped. Like a lion at the zoo eating a piece of meat […]
We Don’t Do Lunch (How to Pack Real Travel Food for Day Trips) Read More »
Once upon a time my husband and I flew from Missouri to Maryland to look for houses for a week, followed shortly by taking our family on road trip down to Colorado, followed almost immediately by us moving halfway cross country. Out of four weeks, we were on the road (or plane) for a total of
5 Things I Learned From Feeding My Family Real Food On The Road Read More »
Welcome to the final post in our series on Handling the Whole Chicken! In case you missed the earlier posts, you can catch them here: Hopefully by now you’re motivated to buy a whole chicken from a local farmer – or, at the very least, be willing to venture beyond boneless skinless chicken breast at the
It’s the Most Snackiest Time of the Year! This time of year always stretches my creativity when it comes to surviving the marathon of holiday events, family gatherings, Christmas potlucks, and crazy schedules. When it comes to navigating the holiday busyness with our little ones, I find that snacks can be the make-or-break difference –
Time & Budget Busters: 6 Snack Foods You Should Make At Home (And 6 You Should Buy) Read More »
The following is a post from Georganne Schuch of Mom To Many Girls. Feeding a family, especially a large family, requires the financial savvy of an accountant, the gourmet finesse of a chef crossed with the flexibility of a short-order cook, and the organizational skills of a project manager. And that’s just for starters. Once
Large Family Logistics: Real Food on a Budget {GUEST POST} Read More »
Can you imagine a group of 8-year-old girls spending ten minutes talking about chicken skin? True story. When I taught third grade, one of my favorite parts of the year was when I introduced Literature Circles, a time when kids were put in groups of four or five and all read the same book together
How to Adapt Chicken Breast Recipes to Use Whole Chickens Read More »
Whether you’re in the canned or home-pureed pumpkin camp, sometimes you have just a little bit of pumpkin puree left over after a recipe. It’s…
Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to resist the temptation to compromise on food because you’re rushing around or otherwise away from home when you’re hungry. It’s the “real food on the go” challenge. When you’re going from dance class to soccer practice or apple picking to a family reunion, it can
Monday Mission: Take Real Food With You on the Go Read More »
My husband really wanted us to go with pizzas for my son’s First Communion party, especially once we branched out from immediate family and invited some extra uncles and cousins, but I promised him I’d plan real food well and make it an unstressful day. If you’re reading into that and assuming that I’m usually
How to Feed 25 People Real Food & Not Lose Your Mind {Eat Well, Spend Less} Read More »
A lot of people plan dinners and understand the importance of doing so, but lunches and breakfasts are often spur of the moment or just something simple like toast or cereal (both of which have downfalls in the traditional foods realm, unless you’ve made your own homemade versions). Your mission, if you choose to accept,
The gift of food is often the greatest gift to receive. It doesn’t cause clutter. It saves the recipient time and money, and lends itself to a nice, peaceful evening. It covers many of the 5 Love Languages: is a gift of service, affords the person more quality time to spend with their loved ones,
We all get worn out sometimes, and after a busy day or week (or month!) there are occasions when I’m just. too. tired. to cook. Whether your fatigue comes from parenting, pregnancy, or a busy work or school schedule, we all need some quick meals in our repertoire that don’t take much effort to get
It can be difficult to stay within a food budget, especially for a one-income family, when you’re trying to eat “real food,” not only whole unprocessed foods but also well-raised meats, traditionally prepared whole grains, and unrefined sweeteners, etc. A little planning can go a long way to help you save money. Your mission, if
Sometimes I make hasty decisions. When I decided to go gluten free for Holy Week, I just did it. It wasn’t until I was writing a post about it that I began to realize it was going to take a lot more effort than I had given it credit for. Gluten is in wheat, rye
Making simple homemade cream of chicken (or “whatever”) soup in bulk can make a week of super frugal, super nourishing meals, plus some for the freezer. Some people love “Once a Month Cooking” where they make 30 meals in a day or two and rest on their laurels for the next 28. That gets a
Once-a-Month Cooking Prep: “Cream of” Casseroles Recipe Read More »
I have four kids and work full-time (or more) and even though I work from home, I’m pretty sure that still counts as having “working mom” experience. I think meal planning is vital for those who work, even if it’s just part time. You have no time to be running to the store for forgotten
Real Food & Meal Planning Tips for Moms Who Work Outside the Home Read More »
Most families already eat a lot of tomatoes – we all eat pizza, spaghetti sauce, and probably often use canned tomatoes in recipes like chili and pasta dishes. They are a great staple food to have on hand and perfect for fresh recipes all harvest season. Just in case you could use some help getting
