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Some tips:  How my brain thinks of dinner

In my opinion, all meals need to have at least 1 vegetables (color), and some form of protein.  I am also a fan of healthy carbohydrates as well.

1.       Produce:  what produce do I have?  And what will go bad first?  I usually make my meals around what produce I have/should use.  A good starting point.  If I have no fresh produce, I use my frozen and think about anything else that is perishable and needs eaten…

2.       Anything else that is perishable and needs eaten?  Ie. An open jar of leftover pasta sauce, leftovers from another meal, cottage cheese, half can of pumpkin, etc.

3.       Protein:  Anything that I need to use?  Otherwise I go through all my options and figure out which would be best.  We don’t really eat meat so my options are usually this: beans, tofu, tempeh, fish sticks (the natural and eco friendly kind!), lentils, quinoa, eggs, whole wheat pasta, any other grain I might have, etc.

Examples:
1. If I have cabbage, I will base my meal around that.  I might think to make a cabbage and carrot salad if I have both or even just a shredded cabbage salad.  I can make it a salad meal if I add garbanzo beans, onion, maybe some frozen peas, or hardboiled egg.  That would be great stuffed into a pita or burrito.  Or cabbage is good sauteed with butter, black pepper, and some pasta.
2. If I have some leftover marinara from spaghetti last night, I might think to make polenta to use it up.  Then I go through which vegetable and protein to use.  If I don't have a fresh vegetable, or not one that will easily go with polenta, I use frozen.  Lima beans, broccoli, spinach or peas to name a few that would be good. For protein, quinoa or beans would blend well with polenta.

KITCHEN STAPLES

FOOD

·         Frozen vegetables (next best to fresh)

·         Brown rice

·         Beans; dried and canned

·         Pasta

·         Pasta sauce

·         Boxes of macaroni and cheese (try to make it natural or organic…no one wants food coloring for dinner!)

·         Lentils

·         Onion

·         Garlic

I buy as often as can:  fresh vegetables, eggs, quinoa, tofu, tempeh, cheese

CONDIMENTS

·         Tamari

·         Sriracha sauce

·         Cholula (or favorite hot sauce)

·         Dijon mustard

·         Vinegars (balsamic, red wine, etc)

·         Extra virgin olive oil

·         Butter

HERBS/SPICES

·         Dill

·         Oregano

·         Sage

·         Rosemary

·         Cumin

·         Cayenne

·         Garlic powder

·         Cinnamon

·         Nutmeg

·         Ginger

·         Coriander