Let’s Begin!

My adventure in cooking began around the 7th or 8th grade.  My mom had gone back to work after being a stay at home Mom for many years.  My sister and I always had a list of things to do once we made it home from school.  Many nights I had to help start supper.  Fast forward some years and I was a young bride.  My husband loved to eat and I realized I loved to cook.  However, my meals were full of processed items like mashed potatoes from a box and Hamburger Helper.  At the time, it was what we could afford and we had amazing metabolisms (aka early 20s and no kids).  Balanced meals were not on my radar.

As our family grew, my body changed and I realized that I would have to start watching what I ate.  The older I got, I also started thinking about family history and what I needed to watch out for in my own health.  Regular meal planning became routine and I tried to start balancing our meals.  I am currently trying to cut out processed foods, but it is a very slow and steady journey.  Some days are a success and other days boxed mac and cheese is an easy side dish to make on a busy night.  While I would love to have a 100% healthy blog, the reality is that some of my recipes use all-purpose flour (gasp!) or real sugar (the horror!).  I believe in everything in moderation.  This is real life and I do not sit around and eat tofu and vegetables every day (although there are more and more vegetables).

Through this blog, I would love to show my readers that many intimidating ideas from the kitchen are actually attainable.  My step-by-step instructions will guide you in the kitchen and hopefully inspire you to want to try more ideas on your own!  Many of the convenience foods that we purchase in the stores are actually very easy to make on your own and they are much better for you.   Here are just a few of the ideas that I am going to explore:

– homemade pizza crust and sauce

– homemade noodles for Thanksgiving

– homemade whipped cream

– make your own spaghetti sauce

– homemade apple cider

– how to roast a whole chicken and then make your own chicken broth

– how to make the best homemade cinnamon rolls

Since I will be encouraging my readers to try new recipes, I want to push myself to try new things as well.  I want to show you the shed where I now buy cash and carry organic eggs.  I want to buy some fresh cow’s milk from the dairy next door.  I want to learn how to use some vegetables that are native to Germany like kohlrabi.  We’ll learn together.  I’ll share some of my favorite kitchen tools and recommendations to make your life easier in the kitchen.

Meal planning and bulk freezer cooking help me stay organized.  Look for posts that will help encourage you in that direction.  One of my least favorite things to do is think of something to make for dinner at 5 pm.  Things go much smoother at our house if I am prepared.  I have done many rounds of freezer cooking and I hope to share what has worked for my family and what has not.  I’m always looking for new freezer meal ideas!  Since it will be a few days before my next post, I am going to leave you with one of my favorite meal planning websites.  Just explore it and start to get some ideas.  This blogger has Menu Planning Mondays on her page.  People post links to what their meal plans will be for the week.  I have made many new recipes from this site.  There is a great variety and I always find something I like.  http://www.orgjunkie.com

Here we go!  I’d love to hear your comments and suggestions.  I’d also love to know if there is a food item that you would like to explore.  Let’s change-up some ingredients and make the dish healthier.  Let’s try a vegetable that you have never tried before.  Ideas are always welcome!  Happy cooking!