When I didn't know the answer, I would whisper, "Shhh, it's a surprise" as put my index finger to my lips. It worked when the kids were little, the twins would giggle to themselves. But as the kids got older, my son started saying “MOM stop it, seriously, what's for dinner, I'm starving".
After many, many unplanned, dinner scrambles, I began thinking about food, cooking, and meals the week before and kept a list of the food I needed. (Yes, I am a list maker! Where do you think C got it from?) I decided that I would start to set aside 2-3 hours every Sunday to prepare meals for the following week. Then I thought to myself “ Seriously? You have got to be kidding, you don’t have time for this”, but I made time. I knew if I could “squeeze” them in on Sunday, the whole week would be less stressful. I could make enough for a meal during the week plus freeze the leftovers. Freezing immediately after making a dish is much better than looking in your frig and thinking “I better freeze that or it’s going to go bad”, then 2 days later, saying “**** now I have to throw it away” That was me, before The Sunday Squeeze. For tips on Freezing and Food Safety click here.
After going back to school to become a nurse, I started learning about nutrition and the role food plays on health and wellness. I wanted to prepare healthy meals for my family, but in reality we were eating out and eating boxed , processed crap way too much! "I don't have the time", I would tell myself. All 3 kids played base/softball, many times on more than one team at a time, along with cheer leading, volleyball, basketball, football, on and on. I was also working full time and my husband traveled with his job. We were a very busy family.
The Sunday Squeeze didn’t solve all of our food dilemmas. There were still nights there was no choice but to eat out. However, over time I had lots of meals in the freezer to choose from. Planning ahead meant I could pull a meal out of the freezer the night before and put in the frig to thaw; homemade chicken noodle soup that just needed to be heated, turkey taco meat the kids could assemble with some shells, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes, or my famous spaghetti bake and other goodies I’ll share along the way.
You won’t find anything fancy here, just simple meals and ideas you can put together with what you have on hand, a trip to the grocery store and a prepared grocery list. Although occasionally I use a canned or boxed items, I don't use a box or can for the whole meal. You’ll find my recipes and ideas are full of fruits, fresh and frozen vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, low salt and sugar and organic when possible…but I promise, they are still yummy! If you read my bio, you know, I am committing myself to writing these recipe down instead of a little of this and a little of that....WISH ME LUCK!
So, start by following my Wednesday's List, blog. Every Wednesday I will post a shopping list for the next Sunday Squeeze. This gives you several days to purchase the ingredients. Sunday, I will post the preparation instructions and my ideas for the week ahead.
This is one way we can help you “squeeze that lemon” and make your life less hectic,
more enjoyable and even more fruitful.
Don’t forget to do the “squeeze” with me on Sunday’s!
“You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces-just
good food from fresh ingredients.”
good food from fresh ingredients.”
Julia Child
Check out my Tips and Tools for the squeezing the most out of every minute!
Ready? Ok, now get squeezin!
