The dollars spent added up quicker than the days did this month...meaning there were more meals to be made when we'd spent most of our food budget. It's discouraging to be sure...but on a day where I felt more determined than defeated...I saw the bright side.

• The bright side is that I'm pretty resourceful, and I'm willing to bet that you are too!
• The bright side is also that our fridge's + cupboard's state of bareness was a great time to get in there + clean.  :)
• One more bright side is that getting to the bottom of things brings all the left over bits + bobs into the spotlight. 
• I can get a bit excited about using it all up + not wasting things that have been waiting to be used.

And so...making the most out of all those bright sides...the last four meals we ate were made with a laugh + what must have been a bit of magic. Oh, and they got compliments too! Ha! Here's what I've got to say about that:

• Make it a challenge! Might as well have some fun with it!
• Meal 1 :: Add cheese + call it a casserole. A can of beans, a few handfuls of frozen corn, 4 tortillas + a can of enchilada sauce layered with cheese. (A hit!)
• Meal 2 :: Call it (almost) risotto. Rice, two kinds of cheese (because there wasn't much of either left), peas, butter, salt + pepper flakes. Add a second course of the last carrots + the last of that chip dip. 
• Meal 3 :: I was asked if I needed anything at the grocery store...Oh, can you grab me a box of pasta? Pasta, lemon, parmesan, chives from the garden, half a can of chick peas, salt + pepper flakes. (Well, this is pretty close to one of our favorites...so...winner.) And also...a few kiwis. 
• Meal 4 :: Add cake (that egg is only a few days past the expiration date) + sun tea. All the last bits of beans + two kinds of salsa + corn + cheese + were mixed into rice + topped off with hot sauce. (I think the tea + cake saved the day on this one!)

A few good meals to consider when seeking to stave off the next trip to the grocery store:

• frittata :: when I've neglected to use most of the eggs + have a bit of veg to throw in too
• roasted vegetables topped with nuts + seeds :: can save some of those past-their-prime veggies
• cereal :: oatmeal, if ya wanna get fancy :)
  
• soup :: stone optional
• fried rice :: a couple of eggs = protein
• taco casserole :: I try to keep beans on hand + often have some left over tortillas...add some cheese + salsa = a favorite​
• salad :: the last of the veg (fruits too), bits of beans, nuts, seeds, cheese, a squeeze of citrus + a glug of olive oil...anything goes
• pizza or focaccia :: sauce + cheese optional

​
Love,
Jane

Climate action is about choices...not about a list of special, new items to purchase. It's about our perspective + questioning our habits. Fun!  :)

• 57 :: saving the leaves for later. dried leaves are a crucial part of composting...making them treasures to be saved + bringing a different perspective to spring clean-up.
• 58 :: choosing glass packaging (rather than plastic), when I can't buy spices from the bulk jars. it would be great to have some standard glass jar sizes that could be cleaned + reused commercially. for now, we recycle it. 
• 59 :: choosing unpackaged rather than packaged. it doesn't get much easier than that.
• 60 :: returning a set of towels I bought, because I could just replace that one discolored one.
• 61 :: saving water. you know how it's good to wash your jeans less often? can I apply that logic to my sheets + wash them tomorrow instead?  ;)
• 62 :: composting peels. they will eventually transform into fertile soil to grow more food!
• 63 :: putting unpackaged fruits + veg into the cart + skipping the plastic bag. sometimes it's strange to realize why we do things...habit? because everyone else it doing it? question the status quo.  :)
• 64 :: using glasses rather than contact lenses + contact solution in plastic bottles. 

Simple suppers are my favorite any time of year...but simple, summer suppers might just be the best. A box of pasta. A couple of quickly sautéed, spiralized zucchinis. A few tomatoes from the garden thrown into the hot pan to blister + carmalize just a bit. A sprinkling of salt, pepper flakes + parmesan cheese. Simply delicious.

Love,
​Jane

Ok, it might be a little premature to call this a ritual quite yet...but it has great potential. This lovely, loose, blueberry tea was a gift, and I just know that it will make delicious sun tea. 

Heatwaves + drought lead my thoughts to any way we can use less electricity these days, and sun tea is such a humble way to harness the power of the sun. A jar, a tea ball, some tea + a few hours in the sun is all it takes. 

We've been spending most evenings at a nearby park overlooking the lake these days. We chat about our day + read to each other from a book that we've agreed on together. The sky turns pink with cotton candy clouds as the sun sinks behind the trees. I think ice clanking in a couple of jars full of blueberry tea will be a good addition to that ritual.

Love,
Jane

The sun has been shining + the rain has been falling + the seeds are starting to turn into food in our little spring garden. I can't tell you how excited I was to add this extremely local, zero-waste color + flavor to the quick meal we ate last night.

The radishes + chives were the perfect addition to this what's-left-in-the-cupboard meal. Our go-to parmesan pasta got a little upgrade from a packet of miso + it was delicious. Sitting in the sun on the back step was the perfect compliment. 

Miso Pasta ::

box of your favorite pasta
packet of miso
parmesan cheese
pepper flakes
whatever extras are on hand, we used radishes + chives from the garden this time

Boil pasta + drain all but a little of the pasta water (maybe 1/4 cup). Mix miso packet into the pasta until well coated. Top with other ingredients + enjoy.

Love,
​Jane

It's mango season + we're loving these mango smoothies right now. 

​Blend:
frozen mango
yogurt
oat milk
cinnamon
cardamom
ginger
honey

Love,
​Jane

Indecision is not my usual mode. I (usually) know what I like + I (usually) trust my instincts. This year, however, I've noticed that indecision has become a sort of recurring theme. I can't decide which trainers or bed frame or job or city to commit to...these don't fit quite right, I don't like the legs on that one, I don't know if we can afford it. As I put off decision after decision...they pile up + it all starts to feel overwhelming. So I'm starting with a plan to decrease my decision making when it comes to meal planning.  :)

As usual, I don't know if my personal thoughts will be helpful to anyone else, but...here are a few of my recent thoughts on forming (or reforming) a system for meal planning:

• Up until now, my system has looked pretty much like this. 
• I'd been wanting to update this system in order to establish a little more structure + make it a little easier + quicker to plan our meals + grocery lists. Even with my system, I am often just a little too stumped when it comes time to make my list. I feel guilty about repeating meals too often, but then end up doing it anyway.
• I watched a video by Minimal Mom the other day + it just felt good to hear that Dawn makes a lot of the same meals over + over. She said that our moms used to do that + didn't apologize for it before recipe blogs + food shows, etc. Sometimes it's just nice to know that other people are doing something. (I don't really know why.)  :)
• When I sat down to work on my system, my mind was still resisting making it more specific. I realize that I often balk at creating a system, because I'm not sure I want to fully commit to it. I think I'll probably fail anyway...or that I'll want more variety...or that I just won't like it. Well, I just had to tell my brain that I want to try this + I can make changes anytime I want to. (duh.)

So...I decided to keep the plan I've been using...but to give myself two actual meal choices in each supper category...for each season. Right now the categories I'm using include:

• pizza
• rice
• soup/salad
• pasta
• root vegetable
• fish
• for 3 (one less for dinner)

Other categories I have used or considered include breakfast for dinner, frittata/pizza, grain bowl + sandwich/burger/taco. I've also considered using origin flavor categories like Mexican, Greek, Italian, Japanese + Indian.

Right now, we eat mostly vegetarian + gluten-free + considering some other food sensitivities, so coming up with meals can feel like a long checklist of can-we/can-we-not. I decided that two meals in each category would allow for many weekly combinations. I also left a few options in the meals. For example, one of our favorite meals lately is lemon rice. The base of it is jasmine rice, a little butter, lemon, parmesan cheese + scallions (because they are in season now!) + salt + pepper flakes. We would all enjoy eating it just like this, but adding peas, asparagus, broccoli +/or radishes along with some protein offers an opportunity for both variety + for using fresh spring produce.

Making seasonal iterations of this plan will offer even more chance for variety + for using the season's offerings. For spring, I chose lemon rice + broccoli/cashew rice as our rice meals. In the summer, I may choose a deconstructed sushi bowl + rice with peanut sauce as our rice meal choices. I've put some suggestions on the other season's lists, but I'll leave those decisions for those seasons.

This process reminded me of what Courtney Carver is doing with her 333 wardrobe challenge. The three month blocks in 333 have always seemed a little arbitrary for me weather-wise, but I recognize that it's more about dealing with the system (+ the vast majority of the decision making) all at once + then living + resting within its boundaries for the following three months.

I hope it's obvious that we can eat whatever we want to...whenever. This system is not meant to be restrictive in any way. It just exists as a helper for coming up with meals week after week.

A few questions I asked myself along the way:

• What would I like to eat every day? What feels nourishing + delicious + healthy? 
• What do my people like to eat?

Answering these two questions released me from feeling like I would not be offering meals that I am supposed to offer. I know this sounds ridiculous...but I had to process that. If I am offering the nourishing things they most like to eat = great! When I think about what I would most like to eat, the answer is short...not varied + long. (A grain bowl.) Great...sweet release.

• Are we getting enough protein?

This allowed me to look at my plan + to see the holes in that one area. I decided to address this by looking at the whole week in order to add a few things to incorporate throughout the week.

I have to say that I feel pretty good about crossing this task off my list. My list looks nourishing + delicious + budget-possible. I don't have to make my shopping list until Friday + it's only Wednesday. I feel like I've done my future self a favor. 

Love,
Jane

A great way to avoid food (+ money) waste is to make the produce we bring home last longer. It doesn't take long for carrots to look like this, though a flabby carrot is still edible...to a point. When I take a little time to prepare my produce for storage after my weekly shop, I can be sure it will last the week. Meal prep goes faster too.

A few ways to make produce last longer:

• broccoli :: wash, cut + put into a jar without letting it dry off first, refrigerate
• carrots :: wash, cut into the shapes you'd like to use + cover with water, refrigerate
• scallions :: wash, cut them up + refrigerate, shake every day

• bananas :: brown bananas can go straight into the freezer with their peels on to be used for banana bread or smoothies, but I find it easiest to peel them when they have spots, break them into a few pieces, put them into a jar + freeze :: when I want to use them it is easy enough to break out as many as I'd like
• apples, lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit :: we keep in them in the fridge (apples separated from other produce, because they accelerate ripening...which can be used to advantage when desired)
• mangos :: I put them in the fridge until the night before I want to use them, when I put them on the counter
• berries + other fruit :: wash + freeze to use in smoothies, muffins or pancakes

My goal is to eat fruit fresh, but I'd rather freeze it than let it go bad.

Love,
Jane