Summer ends and we are back to school and work. The French refer to this as - Rentrée. We lead busy lifestyles and cooking weekly meals is always a challenge. Organization is the key to success! Build your "go to list" of recipes with healthy staples that are easy to prepare. Involve your children in the planning, shopping and cooking process as often as possible.
Rôti de Porc aux Herbes
This fall, look for seasonal vegetables such as: Apples, cranberries, pears, herbs, peppers, beets, broccoli, green beans, cauliflower, squash, carrots and potatoes. Frozen fruits low in sugar and vegetables work well too.
Chou-Fleur
Planning
-Design your menu by choosing 3-4 recipes with less than 5 ingredients that share items such as fresh herbs.
-Double recipes if they are freezer friendly.
-Photocopy recipes if possible to have for building shopping list and to have handy on cooking day.
-Build a shopping list with recipes and take inventory of what you already have.
-Organize list by department and store layout.
Shopping
-Go to grocery store once a week.
-Call ahead to your butcher to arrange items to pick-up quickly.
-Double check your list before leaving store.
Cooking
-Yes you can! Plan 2-3 hours to cook and utilize your time by preparing many items at one time.
-Freeze food which will provide options for when you do not have time to cook.
BASIC WEEKLY MENU
-Roasted chicken with fresh herbs, sweet potato and haricot vert
-Pork with herbs, roasted cauliflower and glazed carrots
-Pasta with peppers and turkey sausage
-Pizza night with veggies (grocery stores have fresh dough, gluten-free options, ciabatta or baguette can also be used).
-Baked sliced apples
Cooking Day
-Plan to prepare sauce for pasta and pizza, chicken, pork, cauliflower and baked apples.
-Items such as baked potatoes, haricot vert can be prepared right before serving.
-Have a timer ready for multi-tasking.
-Plan your baking dishes.
-Adjust oven racks to leave space for cooking multiple items at one time.
Get Ready to Multi-Task!
-Pre heat oven to 375 F.
-Wash and prep all vegetables for recipes and place cauliflower in oven (see recipe below) leaving space for other items.
-Set timer for 20 minutes and check.
-Brown turkey sausage and saute the peppers with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add peppers and sausage to sauce and simmer for 15 min.
-While pasta sauce simmers, prep and season the chicken and pork and place in oven.
-Set timer for 30 min and check.
-Seal, label and freeze any food to use at a later time.
Roasted Cauliflower
Kids and adults love this recipe! When cauliflower is roasted, it has a flavor similar to buttered popcorn. Cauliflower is a great source of vitamin C and dietary fiber. Turmeric is in the curry family of spices, but does not have the strong taste or aroma. Golden in color, turmeric has numerous health benefits as well including anti-inflammatory. Try it, you will like it!
Ingredients
Serves 4
1 Head cauliflower
2 T olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/4 t turmeric (OPTIONAL)
Cooking Instructions
-Preheat oven to 375-400 F.
-Wash, trim stem and remove leaves.
-Cut cauliflower head in half and in smaller pieces if time.
-Brush with 1 T olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
-Spray baking dish with non stick spray.
-Season half of the cauliflower with turmeric for a taste test if desired.
Baked Sliced Apples
Apples are a fall favorite. This recipe is quick and has very little sugar or fat. Use the sweetener of your choice. Add pearl onions for a savory flavor.
Serves 4
4-5 red delicious apples, peeled
Grape seed or olive oil spray
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t cornstarch
1/2 t sugar (use sweetener of your choice)
1/2 t brown sugar
1 Dash if salt
1/4 C dried cranberries (OPTIONAL)
Pearl onions (OPTIONAL)
Instructions
-Preheat oven to 375 F.
-Peel, core and slice apples.
-Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
-Spray baking dish and place in oven for 30 minutes.
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