A little of this with a sprinkle of that...

Apparently it's been one week since my last "confession"...thank you bff, for that friendly reminder...

So I mentioned before that I'm not a fan of Rachael Ray. It seems though I would like her- she's okay, very down to earth, a little goofy, a good cook, seemingly real (from what I can tell from the four times I've seen her on TV). Still, she rubs me the wrong way. I don't know if it's the whole "EVOO" thing, or the fact that she's constantly making up words and phrases- I do that too. I'm not sure what it is. Dr Phil says the things you don't like about someone else are usually the things you don't like about yourself. Maybe I should examine that further. I have been known to say things like "easy squeezy", "tootie fruity" and "bees knees" and maybe to some, I'm as annoying as RR. (Puhlease.. I'm so NOT annoying- mwahahahahaha. I laugh in spite of myself). Maybe I'm jealous. I don't feeeeeeeel jealous of her. I just feel she's like nails on my chalk board. Oh well... there. I confessed- I don't like Rachael Ray. I feel so much better getting that of my chest. What's my pennance for being annoyed by a talk show host?

Sherri from PA was wondering how I plan, buy and prepare healthy meals for a family of 7. Well, I'm a list maker, a frugalista, and a label reader. I try to buy foods that we will eat, and use what we have here. Someone said to me once that my pantry wasn't that "full". I was thinking "how much food do we need?" I like to eat what we have and then buy more. I guess I'm not a food hoarder. And most of the food we eat comes from the fridge anyway- not so much the pantry. We do have canned tomatoes, beans, some soups, and always tons of cereal in there- along with baking supplies and pasta, rice, etc... Our snack shelf consists of the occasional (*gasp*) goldfish, pretzels, saltines, granola bars- sometimes whole wheat Ritz, and now there are some soy flaxseed tortilla chips. We aren't big on junk food. Here's what our pantry usually looks like...

I also joined a produce coop that is, imho, just awesome. I get a big basket of fruit and veggies for $15. You will have to check locally if there is something available to you. I know there is a coop near you Sherri- just ask our "mutual" friend about it.

I also meal plan before I shop. I buy things that go together- for example: salmon, quinoa, asparagus- veggie burgers, fixings, buns, fries- quiche, salad, bread. If I have items at home, I will shop around those.. like taco shells, I'll make sure I have the ingredients to have a taco night. This helps keep our food budget on track because I know the food we buy is the food we will eat.

So there's my secret. Hopefully you got something out of it... and if all else fails, tune in to Rachael, I'm sure she's got all my angles covered....