Get Your Kitchen Organized

Getting your kitchen organized will help you with meal planning. If you know what ingredients you have  on the shelves then you can better determine what's for dinner. Spring is a great time to clean out the pantry and refrigerator, but it is good to do once a quarter just to keep things fresh.

My Spice Cabinet

Now that you are thinking about getting healthier, here is a list to help you know what things to just throw away, what to donate to your local food bank and what to go ahead and eat.


THROW AWAY

1. Anything with artificial sweeteners (the pink, the blue and yes, the yellow)
2. Anything with hydrogenated/partially hydrogenated oils
3. Anything with monosodium glutamate (MSG)
4. Anything in a package that was opened more than 3 months ago
5. Anything in the frig. that has gone bad or was cooked over a week ago

DONATE

1. Anything that is unopened, non-perishable that no longer fits into your new healthy lifestyle
    a. food with ingredients you can't pronounce or don't know what they are
    b. Ramen noodles left-over from college
    c. canned goods with sugar added - read the labels (green beans)
    d. that box of Hamburger Helper - please!

GO AHEAD AND EAT IT  (if you have to) BUT DON'T BUY IT AGAIN

1. Anything with High Fructose Corn Syrup
2. Wheat products (pasta, crackers, bread, cookies)
3. Low fat dairy products
4. Sugary treats & drinks
5. Anything soy-based


So you might be left with a semi-empty pantry. Now you can fill those shelves with healthy ingredients to make yummy meals. Shop week by week and build up your pantry over time so your wallet doesn't go into shock.

cleaned out pantry

Buying in bulk will save you a lot of money. It also allows you to buy a small amount of something new to see if you like it before you commit to a large quantity. When you buy in bulk it comes home in a plastic bag. To keep it fresh it is best to transfer the food into glass jars. 


Up-cycle glass jars from other foods you regularly purchase, (sauerkraut, salsa, coconut oil, old Ball jars) instead of throwing them in your recycle bin.


Keep fresh ingredients, like bananas, avocados, tomatoes in separate bowls on the counter in plain view. This way they get eaten and won't cause each other to spoil.

Meal Planning Made Simple

One of my new year's resolutions was to start planning out meals for the week. I love writing it all out on our homemade chalkboard.

homemade chalkboard

I have found that the more structure I have in my life, the more freedom I have as well. When I plan out the menu for the week I know exactly what I need at the grocery store. This prevents me from making up meals as I shop and backtracking all over the store to pick up extra ingredients. So less time spent in the store means more time doing other things.


When I stick to my grocery list, instead of impulse buying, then I save money too. So more money saved on food means more money I can save for other things - or just simply cut down my grocery bill in general.


When the weekly meals are planned out in advance then everyone knows what's for dinner. When you have a plan then you feel like you have a since of accomplishment and feel proud that you are feeding your family a healthy home cooked meal.


So here is how I got started:


1. write out all the recipes your family likes & you like to make
2. keep all these recipes in an easy to find place (i.e.. type them all up or keep a recipe box)
3. get a chalkboard or dry erase board where you write down the weekly menu
4. then create your shopping list based on the ingredients needed to accomplish your menu
5. write out the list according to the sections of the store (i.e. produce, dairy, meat)

this week's menu

Some tips:


Remember that no week is ever perfect. You might get a spontaneous invite out to dinner or over to a friends house. You may feel like Friday night's dinner on Tuesday night. This structure will allow you to be flexible by always having ideas at hand.