We generally average about $250 a week on food and a Costco trip every six to eight weeks that hits between $500 and $600. We've been shopping primarily at Aldi's & Trader Joe's because we go through so much fruit. A year ago, that $250 a week would actually last close to two weeks.
I just make protein a priority. I try to get it in every meal and every snack. Research suggests these amounts are best for staying full and supporting muscle health.
My dad would be up at dawn, not to prepare some elaborate feast, but to set up the treasure hunt he'd created using clues written on the backs of old envelopes. Each riddle led us kids to another spot in the house, building anticipation for modest gifts hidden in creative places. The whole thing probably cost him nothing but time and imagination, yet thirty years later, I remember those hunts more vividly than any expensive present I've ever received.
To prepare, I spent a lot of time meal planning, before combing through Aldi's website to compile my shopping list and get a price ballpark for everything. I made swaps to keep costs down - IE buying uncooked beans, or white bread instead of whole wheat - and was able to stay under budget. Still, these meals are pretty limited when based purely on the serving size on the nutrition label.
You can't do it all. And early on as a parent, I found that out by burning out completely while trying to be the perfect mother. One of the first things I abandoned to reestablish my sanity? Not trying to cook three from-scratch meals for my family every day while also trying to parent, work, and clean. Let's face it: if you're in the parenting business, you better have a few incredibly easy go-to meals up your sleeve
"Life is chaos," she said. "Mornings in my house are unimaginable. I have to get the kids up and fed, more or less, and out to where the school bus picks them up. At the same time I'm getting myself ready so that I can leave for work once I know they're on the bus. I don't leave before, because if the bus doesn't come, which happens more frequently than it should, I have to take them to school."
The smell hits you before you even open the door. That rich, warm aroma of garlic and herbs mixing with something deeper, something that makes your stomach growl even if you just ate lunch. It's the same smell that filled our house every single Sunday growing up, and now, years later, it still has the power to bring us all back to my mother's kitchen table.
I can't help but think of this time a year ago when I was looking forward to a party we'd planned. I didn't know it was the last one we'd host for so long. When I look back at what I cherish and miss the most about what we did during pre-pandemic life, gatherings small and large are high on the list.
Barley, the grain that is featured in this dish, is one of our most nutritious grains; it contributes protein, thiamine and niacin. Barley also is a rich source of dietary fiber. For a vegan rendition, use vegan yogurt and maple syrup instead of honey in the dressing and use olive oil instead of butter when sauteing the mushrooms. The dish is a main course salad and should be served at room temperature.
Making homemade stock isn't just a sustainable exercise in zero-waste cooking; it's also (basically) free. By stashing stray vegetable odds and ends in a resealable gallon bag in the freezer, when stock o'clock strikes, home cooks will already have everything they need on hand. From onion scraps to bits of shallots, celery, carrots, leeks, mushrooms, herb stems, and even peels and roots, you can toss it all in the bag, and (later) into the stock pot.
As soon as the weather takes on a chilly edge, and until the heat of summer is in full effect, nothing hits the spot quite like a pot of soup. Soup also happens to be one of the easiest things to cook, especially if you have a flavor-building shortcut so that you don't have to start quite from scratch. All it takes to really jump-start a warming pot of soup is a jar of Aldi's Specially Selected Vodka Pasta Sauce.
