Monday, September 20, 2010

What's Cookin?

Well, I guess technically lots is cookin around our house but what I was referring to was my plan and effort to get back to cooking more and the dreaded...meal planning! I can grocery shop all day long and stick to my budget but meal planning is a whole different animal for me. I like being spontaneous and I have to be in the mood to certain foods, and how on earth am I going to know a week in advance what I am in mood for? So my plan has been to shop and plan 5 dinners and then of course all the other things we need to breakfast, lunch and snacks. I started last week and it was a success and kept us from going out to eat! I'm always looking for good ways to get more raw vegetables in our diet but also simple and tasty recipes. This kale salad has become a new favorite in our house and I'm thrilled about that! I had never tasted raw kale but liked it cooked so I was a little hesitant. It is wonderful! Today for lunch I shredded a cabbage and then dressed it with this recipe of dressing and toppings and it was amazing! I love the sweet yet tangy flavors all blended together! Really, you should try it. Don't let kale scare you.

Photo Credit

12 comments:

  1. This actually sounds pretty good, even with my pregnancy nausea. Which brings me to a questions - how did you handle cooking in the house with your nausea? If I can tolerate actually cooking the food, the cooking odors that linger all night make me sick! Did you find a way to get them out of the house, or did you guys just eat out everyday? I'm so sick of eating out, yet I'm so sick of smelling food all day! LOL! :)

    Kelly

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  2. this recipe looks tasty! i love kale but i've never thought to have it raw. i can't wait to try this!

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  3. PS you should share your menu plan.. pleeease!

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  4. Kelly, I didn't find a way to do all that and not get sick from it. We ate out a lot more then normal for those 8 weeks or so. I too was sick of eating out! I would cook something and feel so proud of myself and then be miserable cause I had to smell it all evening!I would light matches in my kitchen to try and make the smell go away. Not sure it helped but I tried! Even putting stuff in the crockpot in the morning didn't work cause then by night I couldn't eat it!

    My husband is a great cook so he did lots of cooking too. Although even then I would tell him he couldn't cook certain things cause I couldn't smell it. Such a hard season! Praying yours is over soon!

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  5. This looks GREAT! I'm definitely going to give it a try.

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  6. Hannah,
    Thank you for at least not making me feel like a weirdo! I can totally relate to everything you are saying. I feel guilty sometimes because I think of those pioneer women that didn't have Applebees and had to cook over open fires (the worst smell when preg.) - I don't know how they did it! Maybe they threw up a lot. Anyway, thanks for your reply, and yes, I'll be so glad when this part is over!!

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  7. Looks delicious! Can you bring some for our next family dinner? If the boys skip it - us girls can enjoy it. :)

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  8. Going to try to get the ingredients tonight.

    Love ya!

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  10. I like your blog! Have you ever tried using the book "The Sneaky Chef" or Jessica Sienfield's cookbook for toddlers? It's great! I actually just wrote on my family blog about my kids scarfing down brownies with spinach, beets, and blueberries in them! They LOVED them! I loved it to cause the treats were packed with nutrition. Anyway, I find it easier to plan the week by picking recipes from these books (or from their web-sites) and making my shopping list at that time. Good luck and blessings!

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