Eat at home

[CherylA]

Well i hope everyone is doing alright !

For us we are doing great! I had my cousin over last night and we had spaghetti and sauce and i went to Trader joes for some more fruit and picked up a wonderful whole wheat beget it was so good! I have also made rice krispie treats for a snack this week. I like making little snacks instead of buying a big box of junk food.

Friday-home made pizza and a salad with a Disney movie
Saturday-Either pancakes or mac and cheese whatever the kids want
Sunday-Either pancakes or mac and cheese and to the supermarket we go

So far we are on day 13/30 of no eating out!
And bonus i have lost 3lbs! Only 17 more to go!

Good work! And nice bonus loosing the 3 lbs!

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

I just wanted to comment...I was looking for a new crock pot last winter. I wanted one w/ a delay timer and couldn't find one at all. Seems they don't exist because of the "danger" of leaving the food just sitting out (bacteria). I got a crock pot that switches over to warm either when the food is the right temp or after a set amount of time.

 

[figment3258]

Good work! And nice bonus loosing the 3 lbs!

Thank you!

 

[CherylA]

I just wanted to comment...I was looking for a new crock pot last winter. I wanted one w/ a delay timer and couldn't find one at all. Seems they don't exist because of the "danger" of leaving the food just sitting out (bacteria). I got a crock pot that switches over to warm either when the food is the right temp or after a set amount of time.

Yeah I guess it makes sense that they wouldn't make them that way. Guess my $3 timer is better for what I want to do anyway then. With regard to food safety that is a good point and it should be kept in mind when using any kind of a delay. Personally I buy all my meats in bulk and then freeze them in usable sizes. When I use my crockpot I always add my meat still frozen so as long as it isn't a super hot day I'm very comfortable leaving my frozen chicken breasts in the crockpot with a can of soup or a "brick" of frozen ground beef with some beans tomatos and chili seasoning for 3 hours. Of course if you don't want to end up with a cooked "brick" of ground beef you have to stir it at some point in the cooking process but my MIL is usually at my house for a while during the day so she stirs for me

My crockpot is an older cheap one with a dial so it doesn't switch to warm. I have a newer larger one that does have that feature with a built in timer (no delay) but even when it switches to warm it seems to keep cooking the food, plus it's so big I find it hard to fill. My problem is that I leave for work at 8:30 and some nights we don't arrive home for dinner until 7:30. Those are the days when I most need my dinner waiting for me but nothing does well with 11 hours in the crockpot Using the timer to start things 3 hours after I leave for work brings the cooking time down to 8 hours and I can shave a 1/2 hour off the end by having it shut off a half hour before I get home from work. Everything is still pipping hot.

Your message is not missed though, many food products are not suited to being left in a crockpot while it is off for 3 hours.

 

[ski_mom]

Last night I asked DH what he wanted for dinner tonight and he said takeout pizza, I told him "skillet taco bake it is" He likes skillet taco bake anyway. So the ground beef is defrosting and I'll make that tonight when I get home from work. It's a pretty quick meal, it just takes about 1/2 hour to prepare.

Ohh, that sounds good - could you share the recipe? Sounds like something my family would like!

 

[Darcy03231]

I leave my house at about 8 am and get home by 5:30 pm. DH is usually home by 4-4:30 pm. I use my timer so that the food starts cooking by 8:30 a.m. and is done by 4:30 p.m, and, like a previous poster the meat is usually frozen or partially frozen. I've never had any issue with the cooked food sitting in the crock pot for the extra hour. It's usually still hot at 5:30.

 

[DawnM]

I am happy to report that we only allotted $50 for eating out for the month of September and so far I have only spent $35. YEAH!

I have also stayed within my $500 grocery limit this month!

My parents are visiting and will be taking us out for dinner next week (on them!) so we will have another dinner out, but I found my dad a BOGO coupon and kids eat for $1.99 that night so he shouldn't have an outrageous bill either.

Dawn

 

[figment3258]

I am happy to report that we only allotted $50 for eating out for the month of September and so far I have only spent $35. YEAH!

I have also stayed within my $500 grocery limit this month!

My parents are visiting and will be taking us out for dinner next week (on them!) so we will have another dinner out, but I found my dad a BOGO coupon and kids eat for $1.99 that night so he shouldn't have an outrageous bill either.

Dawn

Woo Hoo! great job!

 

[MandM-Mom]

Does anyone have any good ideas for picnic food besides cold sandwiches? We may be going to a family reunion in a few weeks and everyone brings their own stuff. Usually we just get pizza or something but this time I want to pack it from home. It will have to be something that can be kept cold because we have soccer games out of town before that then going straight to the reunion.

BBq chicken is very good cold with some cut up fruit and pasta salad you have a great picnic. Something my dh likes is kielbasa and cheese cubed up to pick at with some crusty bread and good grainy mustard add a macaroni salad or tossed salad instant picnic! Have fun!

 

[CherylA]

Ohh, that sounds good - could you share the recipe? Sounds like something my family would like!

BEEF TACO RICE SKILLET

1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1 envelope (1 oz) Old El Paso® taco seasoning mix
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup Old El Paso® Thick ‘n Chunky salsa
1 cup Green Giant® frozen whole kernel corn (from 1-lb bag)
1 1/2 cups uncooked instant rice
3/4 cup shredded taco-seasoned cheese (3 oz)
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped (3/4 cup)
Sour cream, if desired

In 10-inch skillet, cook beef over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown; drain.
Stir in taco seasoning mix, water, salsa and corn. Heat to boiling; stir in rice. Boil 1 minute; remove from heat. Cover; let stand 8 minutes.
Fluff rice mixture with fork; sprinkle with cheese. Cover; let stand 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle lettuce around edge of skillet; sprinkle tomato in circle next to lettuce. Serve with sour cream.


The above is the same recipe as the one I have linked below. The link has a picture though
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/beef-taco-rice-skillet/0e99e785-454d-415b-a1b7-649d489f1039

 

[charming23]

The taco bake sounds delish, I will give it a try.

So last night was good. I made a mandarin orange beef stirfry with rice. I had the leftovers today for lunch.

Tonight we are headed to the Cleveland Indians Game and the promotion tonight is "Dollar Dog" night so we will have dinner there.

Tomorrow I have a class that I am attending at the cleveland metroparks zoo so I am going to cook vegetable beef soup in the crockpot and make cheddar garlic biscuits when we get home.

 

[tinkmom2]

Well it's been an eventful week here! My DH was diagnosed with diabetes. His blood sugar was over 500. At that point you can collapse into a coma. Thankfully we caught it before then. He was put on insulin and pills but now the fun begins. He isn't adjusting to the medication too well and has really blurred vision. I also have to revamp my recipes and look at carbs now. Any recipes you can pass along would greatly be appreciated

 

[MandM-Mom]

Well it's been an eventful week here! My DH was diagnosed with diabetes. His blood sugar was over 500. At that point you can collapse into a coma. Thankfully we caught it before then. He was put on insulin and pills but now the fun begins. He isn't adjusting to the medication too well and has really blurred vision. I also have to revamp my recipes and look at carbs now. Any recipes you can pass along would greatly be appreciated

Hope he gets feeling better soon

 

[smokeyblue]

Well it's been an eventful week here! My DH was diagnosed with diabetes. His blood sugar was over 500. At that point you can collapse into a coma. Thankfully we caught it before then. He was put on insulin and pills but now the fun begins. He isn't adjusting to the medication too well and has really blurred vision. I also have to revamp my recipes and look at carbs now. Any recipes you can pass along would greatly be appreciated

Sorry your family is going through this. My bf has type 1 diabetes. Between being with him for 6 years and working in nursing (clerical) I have learned so much about diabetes. You willl too. It will take time, but it will become second nature. You'll be able to eyeball pretty much any meal and know how many carbs are in the serving. It's almost like a game to us figuring out carbs. We're almost always withing 1 carb of each others estimate.

Recipies can be tweaked to make them more diabetic friendly. Instead of lots of pasta, you can do a controlled portion and make sauce that has meat and lots of veggies. It's just as filling, but just not so carb heavy. I don't know how much your husband likes things like yogurt or cottage cheese, but they make a great snack along with a peice of fruit.

Last week I made carrot bars from a Penzey's catalog recipie (sorry I don't have it handy). The original recipe had 360 per bar! I used mostly Splenda, applesauce for the oil and low fat cream cheese for the frosting and it was only 160 calories and 22g of carbs per bar and the were so good you'd never know I'd made such huge substitutions.

Sorry I don't have more recipe advice, but really we just wing it. It will come to you how to make your meals more diabetic friendly. My biggest advice is keep it simple, don't overanalyze your meals. Just make good food choices and you will be fine.

Oh BTW . . . if you are having trouble calculating carbs for your recipies at first this is a good calculator to use http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp It will add up each ingredient and tell you how many calories, carbs, grams of fat ect in the recipe and each serving!

 

[dreamin_disney]

Thursday- Rosemary chicken with potato, carrots and onions
Friday-Mexican beef/veggie soup aka "caldo de res"
Saturday- leftover beef soup
Sunday- Shredded beef tacos

Monday-beef, bean and potato burritos

Tues- Fastfood

9/22 Wed- $5 lil ceaser's pizza and order of bread sticks

9/23 Thursday- Beef with stir fry green squash, bell pepper and onion over White rice

9/24 Friday- Pork chops, mojo potatos and salad

9/25 Meeting friends for dinner

9/26 Hopefully some slow grilled mexican adobe chile ribs, fresh white corn(mexican), and maybe macoroni salad or potato salad.


Nextweek I will go through my cabinets and pick meals from there. I do need to buy some meat

I notice i do better if I shop week by week. If i try shopping for two weeks or the whole month I dont cook it all or some goes to waste. I prefer my vegggies fresh for the week.

 

[polkadotsuitcase]

I am happy to report that we only allotted $50 for eating out for the month of September and so far I have only spent $35. YEAH!

I have also stayed within my $500 grocery limit this month!

With three boys in the house, I'm very impressed!

 

[pampam]

I found our eagerness to eat out was feeling like something different, a change of scene, seeing other people. Now we have a potluck once a week. We do this at the senior center, with whoever wants to be there. Last week we had 5 people, this week we had 14 people. Whoever can come comes, and of course we don't say what we are bringing. Every meal is a surprise. I'm on a strict diet, so I always bring a casserole, and a dessert. That way I know I'll have something to eat. And we eat. Lots of laughs, food, good times. Of course one could always do this in each others homes, just taking turns, if it would better for you.

 

[karengr]

May i join in your fun ? we could do with saving a bit of money. was doing very well till thursday( 18 days of NO takeaway) when husband and i went out for lunch, then yesterday we went out for breakfast just the 2 of us while the kids were at school ( we have been on annual leave for a couple of days ).

last night:- BBQ pork done in the crockpot, with corn and potatoes.
Tonight :- Mexican chicken wraps. Cook whole chicken use leftover chicken for sandwiches (lunch) and stew on tuesday .
Sunday :- Lamb chops, potaoes and veg.
Monday :- Chili and rice.
Tuesday :- 12 hour shift so Chicken stew in crockpot.
Wednesday :- 12 hour shift so leftover Chili (from monday)
Thursday :- Chicken curry and rice (cook whole chicken again and use leftovers later)
Friday :- Egg and sausage and homemade chips(fries).

 

[DawnM]

I have a fairly good stock pile still though......enough rice to last for months, bread from the bread outlet store (they have whole wheat and whole grain for $1 loaf). I also already had quite a few snack items on our pantry shelf.

We also had quite a bit of meat in the freezer and I have joined the produce co-op.

I have just stayed away from pre-packaged a lot this month unless it is on a huge sale.

Dawn

With three boys in the house, I'm very impressed!

 

[figment3258]

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

So I have a problem. I feel like I am failing. Some friends of our that we have not seen in two years asked us out to diner next Friday. Which normally is wonderful but I won't make my 30 days of no eating out. Bummer. I know i should not feel this way but we just doing so good. As of today we are on day 14/30 of not eating out. And believe it or not we have never gone more than 14 days with out any type of eating out. So I guess we are doing well and I will just have to start over next Friday.

Anyways we had a wonderful family movie night last night. My oldest picked beauty and the Beast and i don;t think my youngest ever saw it. It so nice just eating pizza a popcorn and sitting together. Its really the simple things in life that make you the happiest.

Tonight is mac and cheese and a another movie night. My dd just picked and said UP so UP it is.