Brick #8 - Cook once, eat often

(Originally appeared on the old version of my blog, revised for this series)

You've shopped the sales. You've clipped the coupons. You've gotten a handle on what your kitchen contains, and how to make the most of it. But what now? How do you take everything you've learned so far and really ramp it up?

I talked about the importance of planning your meals to save money and time, but this takes that idea to the next level, and adds another brick to the wall:

Brick #8 - Cook once, eat often!

*OAMC*

They are 4 letters that intimidate me. A lot.

OAMC, or Once-a-month Cooking, is a common meal planning technique that is pretty self-explanatory. You set aside one day (or one weekend) per month, and do an all-out cooking marathon. You prepare an entire month's worth of dinners for the freezer in one fell swoop. I can't imagine surviving such an undertaking without several chocolate martinis...which means there's no guarantee the last few dishes would be edible. :)

However, the end result appeals to me a LOT. I imagine my basement freezer stacked to the brim with neatly packaged mini-meals. If I have to work at night, hubby can tap into a storehouse of homemade TV dinners and I don't have to worry that the peanut is getting hot dogs and mac & cheese AGAIN. Meal planning that just involves a quick inventory in the basement. And me, freed from the bonds of the kitchen for 28 days out of the month...where's that martini?

It does beg the question: will it really save me time and money? Is spending 8 hours in the kitchen REALLY worthwhile? In a guest post on The Centsible Sawyer, Tricia from Once a Month Mom brings up some excellent points...

Time:
"If you figure it takes about 15-30 minutes to prepare the breakfasts, 30 minutes to prepare the lunches and an hour to two to prepare the dinners, you are looking at nearly 30 hours in the kitchen over the course of the month! Because we are maximizing our steps and cooking process times, we are saving nearly 22 hours of time each month. What would you do with an extra 22 hours each month?"

Money:
"This past month we decided that we would shop the grocery sale ads all month long, use coupons and only buy items not on sale if we absolutely had to the several days before our cooking day. My cooking partner and I spent a total of $149.13 for the 58 meals (for a family of four)...it comes to less than $2.60 a meal!"

That definitely gets my attention...precious hours saved during the month, AND more savings makes one lonely day in the kitchen seem much easier to swallow. And it makes sense...you are cooking/preparing multiple base dishes at the same time, instead of preparing one-offs every day. And by using the shopping strategies you've already learned, you can make sure you're paying lowest price for your ingredients - you may even get better deals for buying in SERIOUS bulk!

There are lots of OAMC resources out there for those of us thinking of getting started:

Mom's Budget - a good quick reference FAQ list. Check out their recipe listings too!
Real Food for Real People - cookbooks listing complete with links to Amazon
Cook of the Month - a beta freezer cooking site that lets you select recipes, and organizes them to create a shopping list for you!
Bulk Cooking by Jennia Hart - a wealth of how-to links, recipes, and planning tips
Once a Month Mom - menu plans, freezer cooking resources, even baby food how-to's!

This is just the tip of the iceberg - because in truth, you can expand any of your favorite recipes to make them bulk-friendly. You can double or triple family favorites, and AllRecipes.com allows you to increase or decrease the number of servings on their recipes and adjusts the ingrediets accordingly, taking the math out of your hands. If I'm going to spend 10 hours cooking, I don't want to wrestle with a calculator too! The key to the whole process is PLANNING. Planning your shopping to maximize savings, planning your cooking day to be efficient in the kitchen, planning your packaging to freeze things in usable portions and label them for easy reference later.

I don't know if I will ever get to the point where I will make a whole month at a time, but it will definitely be worth my while to consider making three or four dishes in large batches to give me a buffer in meal planning. And when the produce sales hit, I can cook and freeze and not worry about either watching my savings spoil in the fridge, or serving 3 pounds of zucchini for dinner.

No matter what, it's another tool in my arsenal - whether it's used a little or a lot, OAMC (*shiver*) is definitely going to help take the mission to the next level. I just need to dust off those martini glasses....





Stumble It!

Brick #7 - Prudent Planning

Moms should be awarded medals for all that we keep track of and manage through the week. Schedules, appointments, homework - we've got to keep a handle on everything our loved ones are doing to make sure nothing gets lost in the mix...so can we really take on one more planning task?

The truth is, to shop smarter and make the absolute best use of the stocked pantry we've built, we can't afford NOT to plan! How many times have you found forgotten veggies in the crisper? How many science experiments get cleaned out of the back of the fridge? Planning your meals is an indispensible tool in your arsenal to prevent unnecessary waste...so add this brick to your wall:

Brick #6 - Planning smarter means less waste and more savings!

It might seem daunting, but planning your week's meals will become your best friend in a hurry. Imagine never EVER having the dreaded "what's for dinner" conversation again! Imagine preserving your great savings and hard work in the kitchen by using EVERYTHING you make and wasting nothing.

I've heard from so many readers that "I really need to start planning", or "I don't know if I have time for that"...but it's much easier than it seems at first! As with anything (including this series), you need to start small and take baby steps:

BEFORE YOU START - Clean out your fridge! Get rid of the rotten produce, science experiments, and expired foods! If you can time this out for the night before trash day, even better :) You will have a better handle on what you really have that is edible and what you need to buy for the week.

1. Choose two meals for next week that you will plan before Saturday. Take a look at what you have on hand, and pick two easy dishes that use mostly ingredients that you have on hand. If you did the food list exercise in Brick #1, you've already got a handle on what your family uses regularly and can choose recipes that make the most of that list. You don't necessarily have to pick the day you will make those dishes, though it's a good habit to get into! When you do your weekly shopping, make sure you check the recipes and add to your list just what you need to finish those two dishes.

2. The following week, plan three dishes ahead of time, using the same method (check your stuff on hand, work as much with that as you can). This time, choose the days. Write the game plan on your family calendar. When you make your grocery list, this time START with what you need for your planned meals, then flesh out your list with the other stuff you need for the week.

3. To maximize your savings - stick with 3 planned dishes the next week, but before you plan check your stockpile AND the sales flyers. Try to work in dishes that only use what you have and what's on sale (or what you can get cheap with coupons!). Use recipe sites like Allrecipes.com and Supercook.com to search out at least 1 new recipe by ingredients. You can also check my Recipe Blog for recipes I've tested!

4. Add one day to your planning each week until you can comfortably plan your entire week's meals before your weekly shopping trip! Don't forget - not every night has to be a brand-new dish....many folks (including myself) are sure to include one "leftover night" or "CORN" (Clean Out Refrigerator Night) in the weekly plan. Check your family activities - are there nights you plan to eat out, or share a meal at family or friends' house? That's one less night you have to cook for!

Eventually, the more you do it the easier it becomes. Knowing what you REALLY need before you shop will help you shop smarter and reduce the waste in your fridge, and money in the pocket is always a great motivator for me! If you need additional motivation, try participating in I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday meme! I post my own menus there and it really helps keep me on track! It's also a FANTASTIC resource for recipe and meal ideas - with over 300 participants each week there's no shortage of help!

Next time, I'll talk a little bit about four kitchen letters that kinda freak me out :)

Some recipe resources that I have found VERY helpful when planning:

My trifecta of recipe sites: Cooks.com, Recipezaar.com and Allrecipes.com - I can almost always find good recipes with short ingredient lists (meaning they don't cost a lot!) on these sites.

Supercook.com - I recently found this one - it's a meta-search engine for recipes...but what makes it great is that you enter the contents of your kitchen, pantry and freezer, and it lists recipes based on what you can make with what you HAVE. If you're missing something it will tell you what it is before you get to the actual recipe.

$5 Dinners - the bloggy maven of good, cheap eats! I love her site, who wouldn't when every recipe can feed a family for five bucks? Great for folks with dietary restrictions too - her kids are GFCF.

A Year of Crockpotting - See your crockpot. LOOOVE your crockpot. Visit her site for every recipe under the sun.

Brick #6 - Making it last...and last

You've loaded your shopping cart with enough goods to get you through the next Ice Age. You've patted yourself on the back for your smart shopping...but what to do with all of this stuff once you get home? And as you make your way through your impressive stockpile, how can you make the most of your leftovers?

Catching a great sale on pantry goods, meat and produce feels like a victory against the rising cost of food, but it becomes a lost cause if things are stored improperly. We've all done battle with freezer burn. We all have the science experiment in the back of our fridge - you know, the one you're afraid will bite back if you remove it. But fear not - there are plenty of great resources out there to help preserve your findings!

Brick #6 - Store your loot the right way, make your stockpile last!

To begin, you need the right tools. If you have a vacuum sealer, make the most of it! I have not invested in one just yet, but it is a fantastic, and proven, means for keeping food at its freshest. If this is one appliance NOT gathering dust in your closet, here's a short list of basic storage items:

- plastic wrap (Glad press & seal is great if you can splurge, but any basic Saran wrap is fine)
- Heavy duty aluminum foil - don't scrimp here, no thin cheap foil.
- Ziploc freezer bags in quart and gallon size
- airtight containers, several sizes and shapes - I personally prefer the Lock N Lock line - they open and close easily, are spillproof and completely airtight, everything safe, and virtually indestructible. I've found them at Wal Mart, Christmas Tree shops, sometimes Ocean State Job lot. Worth the extra cost. In a pinch, any Rubbermaid, Ziploc or Gladware container will do.
- a dry erase marker, or a Sharpie and masking tape

Let's start in the pantry....

Your dry goods need to be protected as much as your fresh goods. Rice, flour and sugar shouldn't be stored in their original bags, they should be put in airtight containers or canisters. To prevent weevils or other bugs, place a couple of bay leaves in the containers - the flavor won't be affected. If you bought flour in very large quantities, it can actually go in the freezer for a couple of months to extend its shelf life. For very large quantities, Home Depot actually sells small and medium paint buckets with lids that seal very tight, and direct from the store they are certainly clean enough to hold food.

Loaves of bread can be frozen, if you hit a good sale then go ahead and buy 3 or 4 loaves. You will want to leave the bread in its original bag and then put a SECOND bread bag around that. Extra wrapping will seal in the moisture and prevent drying. DO NOT thaw in the microwave, just put a loaf in the fridge with enough time for it to thaw completely.

Pasta that won't be used within a couple of weeks should also be stored out of the original box in a sealed container - this will prevent mold as well as over-drying.

Any canned goods that have been on the shelf for a while should be checked periodically for denting or expanding. Store them out of extreme temperatures, as canned goods that have frozen inside the can are not safe to eat.

Potatoes can be tricky - you want them to be stored AWAY from your onions, in a breathable bag (paper bag, burlap, or plastic with holes). Do NOT put them in the fridge, as they will sweeten. They should be put in a cool, dry place and only kept for a month or two. Onions should also be in a breathable bag and stored in a cool dry location. I read here about using a leg from pantyhose to hang onions - drop one in the toe, tie it off, drop one above that, tie off...etc until you have a onion daisy chain. Neat idea!

On to the freezer...

Freezer burn is not the end of the world, but while the meat is still edible it can be tough, dry and just not as good as fresh-from-the-store. This is where the vacuum sealers REALLY shine, but if you don't have one you can still keep the burn away. Meat should be double wrapped - first in plastic wrap then in foil to seal out moisture. Ziploc freezer bags work equally well, but I would still wrap in plastic wrap first. Clemson University actually has a very comprehensive guide to freezing meat and seafood that I have found VERY useful. Did you know that freezing your meat as quickly as possible actually PREVENTS ice from forming? The water doesn't have time to form the six-sided crystals. I use my chest freezer in the basement as the temperatures are much colder and more consistent than the freezer in the kitchen.

Muffins and quickbreads should also be double wrapped - I individually wrap muffins in plastic wrap and then put several of them in a gallon Ziploc bag so that I don't have to defrost the whole lot of them for one breakfast.

Veggies and fruits are temperamental little things in the freezer. If you don't prepare them properly, the expanded water in the cells will make them mushy once you thaw them. I am not overly ambitious about freezing produce just yet, but for those with the desire - check out the National Center for Home Food Preservation. No joke - they have a complete list of canning, freezing, drying and pickling techniques for a huge variety of foods. Very handy if you find a crazy sale at the market or local farmstand. If you buy your veggies already frozen, just make sure the bag is well sealed after each use - I keep a bunch of twist ties handy just for that purpose. And don't make the mistake of storing them in the door shelves of the freezer - the repeated opening and closing of the door causes enough thaw to create ice in the bag. The only thing I keep on the freezer door are ice packs for the lunch boxes.

Here's where the marker comes in handy. A pile of neatly wrapped packages in the freezer is great, but it would be helpful to know what's inside. Label and date everything you store, not only so you know what you're thawing, but when it was put in there - it's probably not a good idea to cook up that lost chicken thigh if you vaguely remember buying chicken thighs in 2007.

The fridge is where you want to make the most of the plastic storage containers. I actually have a system in my fridge - most of the leftovers are stored on the right side of the fridge with main dishes on the bottom, side dishes on the middle shelf. I use a dry-erase marker to write the contents and the date on the side of the container. And I put the newest leftovers toward the back, so that I'm always using the older stuff first. Leftovers never last more than a week in my house but this system keeps me from serving the same dish twice in a row, and ensures that I don't end up with a new species of animal growing in a dark corner of the fridge.

The FDA has posted that detail how long certain foods can be stored in the fridge. Our friends at Clemson University have also made a great reference tool for storing leftovers - you have to scroll down a bit to get to the timeline grid.

It might seem like a lot of unnecessary work, but if it means holding onto your savings instead of having to replace food because it spoiled, it's well worth it!

So many meds, so little time...

It's no secret that moms have the uncanny ability to know EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING...or so we allow our unsuspecting families to believe. The truth is, we aren't just worrying about the things we know are going on, we spend a lot of time wondering what's falling through the cracks. I'll be the first to join the 12 step group for Overcommitted Anonymous :)

Having a husband with diabetes, a toddler in tow, and a pregnancy in process means I have a LOT to keep a handle on - especially when it comes to medications. Hubby has Type 1 Diabetes, which means he has insulin, testing and treatment supplies, and the looming possibility of blood pressure and other meds to keep his body working as it should. The Boy Wonder has escaped any major illnesses so far, but I overanalyze anything that goes into his body when he IS under the weather. And all the mommies know how pregnancy puts you on high alert for EVERYTHING that goes into your mouth, especially medications and supplements.

Enter Drugs.com. Not nearly as unseemly as it sounds, this site has become a FANTASTIC resource to me and my family. The main site is a comprehensive search engine for medications - you can search by condition (which lists most common prescribed meds for a given diagnosis), by drug name - they even have a Pill Identifier which lets you describe the pill and helps figure out what the mystery med might be...handy if you are helping an elderly friend or relative sort through bottles that may have lost labels, or meds that may have become separated from their bottles.

Not sure if the information is reliable? Drugs.com "is powered by four independent leading medical-information suppliers: Wolters Kluwer Health, Physicians’ Desk Reference, Cerner Multum and Thomson Micromedex. Individual drug (or drug-class) information content compiled by these sources is delivered complete and unaltered by Drugs.com." (from their "about" page). Every day I work, I see a doctor, nurse or pharmacist using the PDR and Micromedex to help them in treating patients, so I trust the sources and have no reservations using Drugs.com as my own reference tool.

I used it right off the bat to look into prenatal vitamins. I have an issue with high iron pills (my insides don't react well) but I know that folic acid is important for spinal cord growth. I was able to go into my first prenatal appointment with some real information and work with my doctor to find a vitamin that met all of my needs.

Drugs.com also has a neat little feature called MedNotes - an award-winning online medication log that allows you to build profiles for your family members, input any medications they are taking, as well as allergy and medical history info. The site will track drug interactions, provide user reviews and FDA alerts, and even send reminder emails for refills or renewals! MedNotes even has a few report tools - if you or a family member change doctors, or is hospitalized, you can easily print up a comprehensive medication list for the treating doctor. This feature alone is worth the time setting up an account - I work in a hospital, and I can't tell you how frustrating it can be to watch a nurse try to unravel a patient's medication history, which usually involves interviewing several family members, trying to obtain records from primary care offices, and wasting a LOT of precious treatment time.

Creating an account is free, and once you're in the site is extremely easy to navigate. Setting up the MedNotes profiles for all my family members took just a few moments, and updating information is quick and painless. Try it out!