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    • Feb 7
    • 2 min read

Celebrate Valentines with Red and Pink Foods!

I have never been out to dinner on Valentines day. We don't exchange romantic gifts or get "lovey-dovey" on February 14th.


But we do still celebrate!


We make food in the shape of hearts (toast, pancakes, pizza).

We make heart shaped crafts.

We talk about what we love about eachother.


and


We eat a lot of red, pink and purple foods throughout the month: Bell Peppers, Grapefruit, Beets, Tomatoes, Strawberries, Grapes, Cabbage and Radishes!


On the blog this month, I'm going to highlight my favorite red and pink foods.


Starting with BELL PEPPERS.


I couldn't live without bell peppers. They are one of my top 10 favorite foods. Not only are they sweet and crunchy, but they are also super nutritious.




One bell pepper has about 150mg vitamin C, which is 160% of your daily need for vitamin C.

Vitamin C is important for you immune system, getting enough vitamin C can keep you healthy!


Bell peppers are also loaded with antioxidants that help prevent chronic disease like cancer. Eating a diet full of vegetables like bell peppers can keep your body healthy!



I'll often slice up a bell pepper and eat it raw. Bell peppers are sweet and crunchy, like apples, and make a perfect snack. Hummus, ranch or cream cheese dips go well with bell peppers.


This video shows the fastest way to cut a bell pepper (and a fun way to cut them into hearts for valentines day).





We usually eat bell peppers chopped up into salads. Bell peppers make a good substitution for raw tomatoes if you have tomato-haters at your house (my husband hates raw tomatoes). So when a recipe calls for tomatoes, I'll use bell peppers instead to make my family happy. Here are my favorite salad recipes that feature bell peppers:


RICE AND BEAN SALAD



BURRITO BOWLS



GREEK SALAD


PASTA SALAD



Bell peppers also add a sweet flavor to a few of my favorite soups:






If you happen to have a bell pepper that needs to be used, it's easy to add them into tacos, on top of pizza or in scrambled eggs.





Those are a few of my favorite bell pepper recipes.


Do you have a favorite way to eat bell peppers? Send me an email and let me know!

    • Jan 29
    • 1 min read

Budget Friendly Cooking Class

Feeding America reports that Americans waste 444 billion dollars of food every year (feedingamerica.org).


The most important thing you can do to cut your grocery bill is prevent food waste!!!


Here's one surefire way to prevent food waste: take a weekly inventory of what's in your fridge/pantry and plan meals using what you already have. I discussed this in my meal planning blog post a few weeks ago.


But there's an even easier way to prevent food waste: Freeze old food BEFORE it goes bad.


There are two foods that go bad very quickly: #1 bananas and #2 leafy greens


Luckily, these foods also freeze extremely well.


They also make the yummiest smoothie you've ever tasted when blended together with peanut butter and milk.


On February 27 from 5:30-6:00 pm, I will be teaching a live zoom cooking class about green smoothies and how to use your freezer to prevent food waste.


If you want to learn with me live on zoom, click this link to sign up (class is free): https://forms.gle/Gro8YGfg62BEG9bi9



You can purchase ingredients and cook along with me, or you can just login & listen.


Either way, you will learn tips and tricks for saving money while eating well.


Can't join me for class?


Here's a link to one of the recipes we will be making: https://www.ddinutrition.com/recipes-2/green-smoothie


Have great week!


Wondering what I've planned to eat this week?


Here's my menu (it's typed up this week because I'm going to be away from home all week, and I needed everything to be very organized for the babysitter):


day

dinner

TUES

Tortellini soup

Rolls from the freezer

Apple slices

WED

Lasagna 

Option: bread from the freezer

Green beans from the freezer

Orange slices


*take barbacoa pork out of freezer for friday

THUR

Beef Stew

Rolls from your freezer

Apple slices


*take white chx chili out of freezer for saturdat

FRI 

Pork tacos (freezer meal, just reheat)

Sliced cabbage, chopped radishes, corn tortillas, avocados, salsa

Canned pineapple

SAT

Lunch: white chix chili w/leftover toppings from tacos last night + chips + frozen mangoes


Dinner: leftovers/clean out the fridge

SUN

Lunch: tomato soup/cheese sand/apple slices


Dinner: waffles + eggs or whatever you wanna make











    • Jan 22
    • 5 min read

How to make the most of your freezer to eat well and save money.



The fridge was empty again. I spent 200$ at the grocery store just days earlier.


Where did all the food go?


Did we get robbed by hungry bandits in the night?

Did someone have a party I didn't know about?

Or did our growing kids just eat us out of house and home again?


There were still things to eat in the pantry: noodles, canned beans, and that really good chocolate I keep hidden on the top shelf. But I was out of fresh produce to make a good meal with.


Luckily I still had good healthy food in my freezer: fruits, vegetables, and meats!


I strategically use my freezer as a “storage bin” for the foods we frequently eat. I buy in bulk when prices are good, and freeze the extra before it goes bad. My freezer helps me spend less money on healthy food.


Do you want to spend less on healthy food too? Here's a list of money-saving freezer friendly foods:


#1 Discounted Produce:  Smiths has a discount bin with fruits/vegetables for $1.00 in red mesh bags (see lemons + peppers in photo below). The produce is sometimes old or bruised. It's fine to use right away, but if you can't use it right away, freeze it! Below is a list of my favorite clearance items to freeze for later (and a link for the recipes I use them in)




Lemons + limes:  


Frozen lemon, lime and ginger. No need prep required: just stick them in the freezer.

Peppers:

  • how: Chop then freeze in a ziploc bag. Use in recipes that call for cooked peppers.

  • cost savings: usually 3/1$ on discount, normal price: 1$ each

  • recipes:


Bananas:


Frozen bananas in a reusable ziploc bag.

Spinach:

  • how: Place an entire bag or container in your freezer for about 3 months. If you have spinach going bad in your fridge, put it in the freezer for smoothies! I always have a bag of spinach in my freezer.

  • cost savings: Entire bags are sometimes on clearance for $1.00, normally a bag is $3.00. I often find the big bins for $2.50, they are about $6 regular price!

  • recipes: 

  • crustless quiche (use spinach instead of broccoli)

You can get big boxes of spinach for cheap! Just stick them in the freezer.

Squash and pumpkins:


I grew 20 pie pumpkins this year. I roasted them all and put them in freezer bags for pumpkin muffins!

Berries

  • how: Buy bags of frozen berries instead of fresh, defrost in the microwave

  • cost savings: 6oz fresh berries = 2.99 (.50cent/oz), 48oz frozen berries = 10.99 (.22 cent/oz). Fresh berries are DOUBLE the cost of frozen berries.

  • recipes:

  • Pancake topping instead of syrup

  • In oatmeal (I eat a bowl of oatmeal with frozen berries almost every morning)

  • Inside crepes

  • On top of yogurt

  • Defrost and serve on the side of dinner or lunch


Cut out extra sugar by using frozen berries instead of pancake syrup. Start now while your kids are little.

Mangoes

  • how: Buy frozen bags of mangoes instead of fresh, defrost in microwave

  • cost savings: fresh = 1$/.5 cup, frozen = 1$/1 cup Prices vary, but usually frozen is more economical, and you don't have to bother with cutting them or worry about them going bad before you can eat them!

  • recipes: 

  • smoothies (mango lassi)

  • defrost and serve on the side of meals (I do this at least once per week)


Broccoli + Cauliflower + Brussel Sprouts


I keep a bag of frozen broccoli in the freezer at all times.

Fresh Ginger

  • how: Buy fresh ginger and stick it in the freezer. It doesn't even need a bag on it.

  • cost savings: No savings, other than having it on hand so you don't have to run to the store when making the recipes below

  • recipes:



#2 Meat Dairy and Bread




  • Discounted meat:  I don't eat a lot of meat. However, I know most people do! Meats are good past the expiration date if you put them in the freezer before they expire. I will buy discounted sausage and bacon that is about to expire and put it in my freezer for later (see bacon in photo above). It's still good if I use it within 1-2 months. I do make sure it hasn't already spoiled before I buy it!


  • Bulk meat:  I like to keep bacon on hand to give flavor to recipes. It is much less expensive per ounce to buy bacon in bulk. The same is often true of chicken. I rarely buy meat but if I do, I buy it in bulk.


  • Butter:  A few months ago my local smiths was discounting butter for $1.50 a pound. It's usually $4.00 per pound!! I bought 20 pounds for the freezer. The checker thought I was crazy. But I know that butter stays good in the freezer for a year or two and saved myself at least $50 in butter costs!


Butter freezes well for about 1 year. Buy in bulk when it's inexpensive.

  • Milk: Gallons of milk will often get marked down at my local Smiths. I will buy a few extra gallons and freeze them. Previously frozen milk does have a different texture, so I only use pre-frozen milk for cooking (pancakes, waffles, oatmeal). Other dairy products, like cream cheese, sour cream, yogurt and cottage cheese do not freeze well in my experience.


  • Cheese: Cheese prices change a lot! One week 2 pounds will be $5, the next week it will be $8. When the prices are low, I buy several bags and freeze it for later. I find that shredded cheese freezes nicely, bricks of cheese do not freeze as well.


#3 Bread

Stonefire naan bread tastes best with hummus or curry. I buy it on sale and freeze it. Pre-shredded cheese also freezes well.

  • fancy bread: Stores often discount baguettes and "fancy" sourdough loaves for less than 1$. They stay good in the freezer for about a month. I toast frozen bread before eating it.

  • naan bread: I often serve stone fire naan bread with curry and hummus. If it's on clearance, I'll buy it and stick it in the freezer for future meals.

  • bread loaves: When sandwich bread is priced well, I will buy a few loaves and freeze them. Then I always have bread for pbj's.


I hope a few of these ideas will help you save money and eat healthier too!


Remember that the key to saving money is to avoid throwing food away, so make sure you rotate through your freezer stash frequently. I always check what needs to be used in my freezer BEFORE I make my shopping list and go to the grocery store.


Speaking of shopping lists, here's mine for the week (we cleaned out our parents freezer and are using up all the old meat we found - hence the corn beef and pork - I rarely cook meat).




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