Menu Ideas

One of the areas I really wanted to get back on track and organized was our eating habits and more specifically my cooking habits. I always fall off the wagon in various degrees when we come upon a crisis. We end up eating out or prepacked processed food way too much, and our budget and health suffers for it.
My latest excuse list for why I haven't been planning and cooking regular, healthy, and inexpensive meals:
Child birth
Moving
Husband working late
Babysitting extra kids
Summer vacation

Not bad, right? Except it started 6 months ago and now it is time to get thing back on track.

This area is a challenge for me for several reasons.
First of all, I hate grocery shopping. It is one of my most dreaded homemaker chores. I tend to put it off as long as possible, and when I do go I try to shop for as long as possible. This tends to result in a cart overflowing with food, accompanied by a crying child or two, who have been shopping for too long and told "no" one time too many times.
After surviving the trip through the check out, loading and unloading the car, and putting it all away, I am $200 poorer and have to figure out where to store 2 weeks worth of milk. I cook it and serve it and my kids eat it (sometimes) and about two weeks later we are again out of food. So I have to do it all over again- with nothing at all to show for the previous week's effort. In my task/result oriented brain, this is a huge waste of my time and resources. So we order a pizza and call it dinner and I don't have to worry about it.

The other reason is that I have never considered myself a good cook. My husbands always replies that he has always eaten what I put in front of him, that I have never served him something "inedible." Since this is coming from a man who had to eat mystery meat and poop mushroom goulash in Russia for two years of his life, and was happy living off ramen noodles and tater tots when we met, I don't really think his opinion counts. My 6 year old who gags on grreen beans or the 9 year old who bursts into tears at the sight of chili, those opinions matter. Because the whole reason I am cooking is to make food that they will eat. So I have had to do some teaching myself how to cook, with the help of some food blgs and some friends. My mom did her best, but I seemed to have tuned out everything but how to make spaghetti for 15 people (but my toddler hates spaghetti) and chocolate chip cookies (sorry Mom, someone else is going to have to carry on your cooking legacy).

Finally, I hate having to decide what to make. I often find myself staring into the cupboards at the rows of cans and boxes and wondering what in the world I can do with tomatoes and pasta and frozen chicken that will turn it into something healthy that my kids will eat, in less time than it takes for the baby to wake up from her nap. I usually come up pretty short.

So I have challenged myself to turn meal planning, shopping and cooking into something I can view as productive, enjoyable, and worthwhile. And if the food is good enough for my kids, helps me lose some baby weight, and makes dad happy, that would be great too!
I developed three measurable goals for myself, to satisfy that task-oriented college girl who still demands to be heard once in a while:
1. Make a menu plan. A week of planned meals that I will have the ingredients to prepare, planned around our schedule to I will also have time to prepare them. Croc pots and salads on days we will be out late, more elaborate meals on our stay at home days, and try a few new things to expand our list of meals. And I won't have to stare at the fridge and wonder what to make, I will already know.
2. Make grocery shopping a happy time. Ok, maybe happy will be a stretch, but I think I can make it more enjoyable. Challenge myself to get in and out in an hour instead of two or three, to save a certain percent by shopping sales or using coupons. I will not become obsessed with couponing but am willing to adjust things to use the food that is on sale. My starting goal is 30% off at the checkout with sales or coupon discounts.
3. Cook good food. I am going to try one new recipe each week untilI have a solid stash of go-to meals that are yummy to everyone and easy for me to make. Food blogs and tutorials to the rescue. My kids are pretty good at trying at least a bite or two of new foods, and I rarely force them to eat things I know they hate. Limiting take out to once a pay period (because I am also realistic) and increasing our fruit and veggie servings to two at each meal plus snacks should also help us to feel healthier and maybe even shed a few pounds.

So there it is. My three steps to better meals. Next, my attempts at menu planning!

Couch to 5K

I am going to be a runner again, even if it kills me! I am ready for a new challenge that doesn't involve housekeeping or mothering of any sort. I got a new stroller, new running shoes, and a plan.

Sandra forwarded me a workout plan for beginning runners to get you back into shape gradually so you don't die trying to run too much too fast. I thought I would record my progress here.

Day one: walk 5 min walk to warm up. do 10 sets of run for one minute/ walk for one minute. 5 minutes to cool down.
Notes: The first two sets I was feeling over confident, "maybe I am in better shape than I thought!" By the end, I was back to reality. Strange time phenomenon- the running minutes were twice as long as the walking minutes. Snuck a two minute walk after set 4. Becca puts hands in air and yells "wheee!!!" when running down hill. Find another neighborhood to walk that is flat. Never noticed how many hills are on the way to my house.

Weekly Report for August 30

1. Home- still a tornado. But I have a plan, a system, a written out routine for all of us. 2 hrs a day of cleaning- 1 hr for keep up, and one hour for catch up, to be replaced with projects later. Going with the daily docket from "simple mom" and the household binder and mom space from "JOY". This week's goal: organize living room to accommodate new compact corner unit desk so I can move the computer out to the living room (need to be able to keep an eye on the kids) and turn the office room into Andy's room.

2. Fitness- made it to the gym 4 of 5 days. Drum roll please- I have lost 8 pounds since returning home from vacation 6 weeks ago. Yeah me! If I could have the willpower to cut out the ice cream and chocolate chip cookies it would be more. Still can't get into my "old clothes" yet.

3. Spirit- Found new plan for family scripture study to implement tomorrow. Involves waking up 15 minutes earlier- I hope it works. Going to start Book of Mormon over tomorrow and start reading it with Lenna at night to fill her homework reading requirement. Hope to find a sitter and spend my 30th birthday at the temple.

4. Education- I learned to knit at enrichment Saturday. Have plan for square-foot garden to implement after house caught up, probably for spring plants. Going to try new recipe with the kids this week.

5. Family- Going to take my kids to the pool this week. Going to start getting up in the morning with Mike as often as I can. I think the few minutes together will make a difference. Starting with 2 letters/cards/emails per week to far away relatives. Sept is birthday month, so it will be just cards this month.

I am still feeling motivated. So far, so good.

What is Operation Joy?

Operation JOY is my new personal quest for, well, joy.

This past year has been a real struggle for me, and I am finally feeling motivated and energized enough to set up some new routines and habits that will bring some joy to my life.

No more waiting until the next phase- after the kids start school, after Mike graduates, after I lose 20 pounds, after we get a bigger house, after... what? After my life is over? No thanks. So I am trying to set up some systems to make it easier for me to enjoy my life now. How? Just Organize Yourself. This will be a place to set goals, track progress, and share results!

I have five basic areas that I need to organize:
1. Home
2. Fitness
3. Spirituality
4. Education
5. Family

1. First, my house. 2 years of working, a move, and a new baby have thrown things into chaos (can't have anyone over syndrome). Time to de-clutter, organize, deep clean, and keep clean. And time to share the load and let everyone who lives here start taking some responsibility for their own stuff! I have never been enthusiastic about my role as a homemaker,  but I am ready to step up and embrace my role as keeper of our home. Cooking, cleaning, and creating will be chronicled in this section.
I want my house to feel like home- a place to feel peace, a place to relax, and place to have fun and grow as a family, a safe-haven from the outside world where the Spirit of the Lord dwells.

2. Next, my body. Four kids and a year of inactivity due to pregnancy and the Georgia summer have taken their toll on my body. My metabolism has changed and I can no longer get away with eating the junk I used to. A new exercise routine, healthier eating habits, and a determination to fit into my old jeans are to be chronicled here.

3. Next, spiritual things. Time to re-read the Book of Mormon, strengthen my testimony, and magnify my calling. Now that baby is old enough to go without nursing for several hours and will take a bottle, I have no reason to not be at the temple regularly. I am making a renewed effort to be a good example for my children, to hold regular home evenings, family prayer and scripture study, and make our home a learning place.

4. Next, education. Not more formal schooling, at least for me. My learning will be done outside the classroom. I want to read more good books. I want to finish all those projects sitting in the closet, not quite completed. I want to learn to do simple home repairs. I want to grow a garden. I want to learn another language. I want to find something that I can be passionate about. I want to make sure my free time is filled with meaningful things and not simply things "to pass the time". No letting my brain "turn smushy" as my kids would say. I will share what I am learning here.

5. Finally, family. I have a big family. I have many roles to play in it- wife, mother, sister, daughter, granddaughter, in-law, aunt. I can do better at all of them. I want to be better at keeping in touch with far-away relatives and building relationships with those who I am not close to. I want to keep my marriage strong. I want to find joy in my role as a mother and learn to have more fun with my children. My adventures in my many roles will be shared in this section.

So there you have it. Operation JOY. Wish me luck- leave a comment! Want to help? Share an idea! Want to come along? Join me in your own operation joy and become a contributor.

Time to get started!

Jannet