tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post2790675384765965058..comments2024-03-28T15:55:53.792+10:00Comments on down to earth: A food revolutionUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-50586363120381282272020-03-07T18:03:07.107+10:002020-03-07T18:03:07.107+10:00... and yes, it is a good lunchbox filler and deli...... and yes, it is a good lunchbox filler and delicious hot or cold.<br />rhonda jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08962112306968959985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-11591165193545819572020-03-07T18:02:23.990+10:002020-03-07T18:02:23.990+10:00Hi Nicole. It's just a basic quiche - eggs, cr...Hi Nicole. It's just a basic quiche - eggs, cream or milk, cheese, onions, garlic, parsley, S&P, with the addition of whatever I had in the fridge at the time.rhonda jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08962112306968959985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-69106539962897770802020-03-07T17:32:52.098+10:002020-03-07T17:32:52.098+10:00I was just looking at your Simple Home tag for Mar...I was just looking at your Simple Home tag for March and came across this post. Couldn't agree more! Homemade always tastes best, especially for things like stock and gravy. Though, I'm still figuring out how to make the best gravy using the drippings. Practice makes perfect. Also, do you have a recipe on your blog for the slice photographed with asparagus on the top? It looks like it would be a good lunchbox filler for big and small kids. Is it? xNicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06540380146541193698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-43974636379367980182018-03-11T16:40:40.998+10:002018-03-11T16:40:40.998+10:00Thanks Rhonda! We cook basically all our meal from...Thanks Rhonda! We cook basically all our meal from scratch, and I like to freeze portions of soups, curries, fried rice, pasta etc so that if my husband and I are having a meal we know the kids won't enjoy (we are trying to follow a more plant based diet and the kids love meat!) that they can defrost something for themselves. I've seen the Country Table cookbook but haven't had a good look through it, will have a look next time I'm in the shops. Thanks again!Amandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00529619038642018119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-36906780297315850202018-03-09T11:16:49.699+10:002018-03-09T11:16:49.699+10:00Thank you for another wonderful post. I am really ...Thank you for another wonderful post. I am really going to enjoy this month in the series, as it is one of my goals this year to improve in the areas of meal planning and cooking more meals and snacks from scratch. I am finding that it really isn't that hard, but it is a matter of being organised and MAKING time for it. Thank you for sharing your recipes and knowledge with us Rhonda. I like using your recipes as I know its always going to turn out well and be delicious! Have a nice weekend, Kelly Kellynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-6687406763779501312018-03-09T08:10:43.146+10:002018-03-09T08:10:43.146+10:00After I posted here, I read an article in the Mar...After I posted here, I read an article in the March issue of Reader's Digest. For people who have never heard of the magazine, it's a collection of interesting and varied stories, some original and some reprints from other publications. In an original article called "40 Smart Ways to Save at the Supermarket" I saw this comment that reminded me of your grocery store trip. "...more than 25 percent of the average (US) family food budget now goes to easy-prep meals and grab-and-go foods, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture(USDA)" Another part of the article stated "We spend nearly 25 percent of our grocery dollars on processed foods and sweets, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics". So basically my take away from all of this is by becoming more self reliant, and following some of the things you have suggested, we will be able to stretch or reduce our food budget while eating better quality food.Debbie in PAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16638334788335810581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-13663377131544819752018-03-09T06:10:35.963+10:002018-03-09T06:10:35.963+10:00Hi Rhonda! I haven't posted in a while but ju...Hi Rhonda! I haven't posted in a while but just wanted to drop in and say that I have been reading along and enjoying the series. I have stepped up my cooking from scratch for both economic and good health reasons. A while ago I started on a ketogenic (low carb) diet and it's a challenge. For a while I was really making boring meals (baked chicken and salad for example) and thought that there was no way i was going to be able to sustain this lifestyle with such boring food choices! So I started searching the internet and am coming up with new recipes to incorporate here. And I love using a slow cooker, even though I am home. It fills the house with good smells all day long! :)Debbie in PAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16638334788335810581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-11697094253057784002018-03-08T14:01:01.173+10:002018-03-08T14:01:01.173+10:00My tip is to menu plan. We are a busy household, a...My tip is to menu plan. We are a busy household, and I have to know who's doing what each day of the week, so I know how much time I'll have in the kitchen. I use every one of my appliances to make life easier - especially the crockpot, pressure cooker, breadmaker, rice cooker and microwave. Doesn't have to be expensive - two were gifts, one a hand me down, and I bought the pressure cooker at half price!Rebeccahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02722756245115622662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-11729890732336670242018-03-08T13:05:34.056+10:002018-03-08T13:05:34.056+10:00Your food looks divine! I love the homemade raviol...Your food looks divine! I love the homemade raviolis. How sweet that your grandson enjoys a piece of cake with a glass of milk. That image made me smile...TheAwakenedSoulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11636961399581011120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-24315017395684322102018-03-08T10:08:26.345+10:002018-03-08T10:08:26.345+10:00Love this post. This week I have made beef stock, ...Love this post. This week I have made beef stock, vegetable stock and currently have chicken stock on the go. I freeze it in either cup or 2 cup lots - so much tastier and preservative free than bought stuff. I do mine in the slow cooker, so it doesn't use up much my time. I've gone back to home baking to fill the young adults work lunch boxes - cheaper than buying bought biscuits and muesli bars. Now that the weather is cooling down, I'll start planting the vegetable garden up with leafy greens, beans, zucchini and salad vegetables, which is what I eat most of. Cheers LyndieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-14701481876694889162018-03-08T09:42:25.037+10:002018-03-08T09:42:25.037+10:00The kitchen is the last place I want to spend my t...The kitchen is the last place I want to spend my time but I do like good tasting food and I want to know what is in my food so I force myself to spend time preparing good meals for my family. Every once in a while I feel I am missing out by not dining out so we go out to dinner and each time we are disappointed because the food just doesn't taste as good or it taste good but later causes health issues- not sure what chemicals they put in restaurant food here in the United States but I know it can't be good for us.<br />Due to the climate in my area, I can only grow food about 3-4 months of the year but I try to grow as much as possible during that time and use it throughout the year. That way I know how the food was grown. I think most of the food grown in the U.S. is not really 'food' anymore. They like to grow things in labs-currently they are growing meat in labs and selling it as 'food'. <br />I will stay in my garden and grow my own real food and stay in my kitchen and prepare meals that don't make us sick.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-14475821748016488202018-03-08T09:11:58.317+10:002018-03-08T09:11:58.317+10:00I'm not that great at completely cooking/bakin...I'm not that great at completely cooking/baking from scratch, but the more I practice the easier it gets. My mom has often said it's a shame she didn't teach me and she regrets it. I think so too! That's why I'm making it my mission to teach my daughter, and if I have a son I'll teach him as well. Thank you for reminding us of why we do this, encouragement is so important! 😊Lonihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09225942193334861131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-25908499289629694242018-03-08T06:07:49.473+10:002018-03-08T06:07:49.473+10:00Great topic, love reading everyone’s posts. I have...Great topic, love reading everyone’s posts. I have always enjoyed cooking for my family. But when my kids grew up and I was alone I started eating out more. Then when I remarried I cooked 4-5 nights and ate out the other nights. Most lunches came from one of the many food trucks around where I worked. Then 2 years ago a family member became very sick. My days were taken up with work and living at the hospital. I only came home to shower and sleep for 6 months. All meals was eaten out. We tried to eat healthy but that’s was hard and expensive. I gained 30 pounds by husband 25. We both missed eating meals cooked at home. Now we only eat out once a month if at all for our date night. <br />The USDA says I should be spending 80+ dollars a week on food for my husband and myself to eat thrifty. I’m spending around 50 a week and we eat well. I buy in bulk and do batch cooking. Make what I can from scratch. I’m hoping my food budget goes down when my garden comes in this summer. Right now I buy everything. <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04802781228063625195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-30159042633413144332018-03-07T23:45:09.749+10:002018-03-07T23:45:09.749+10:00I (or husband) do cook from scratch most nights. W...I (or husband) do cook from scratch most nights. We use double batch cooking or cooking double on Sunday nights to help us a bit during the week. We also use a menu plan, which I plan out weekly. I make it according to what our weekly veggie-box has to offer (we have a subscription on a weekly veggie box). The menu plan tells us what to cook, which saves time and energy. <br />We are in a very busy phase of life - both of us working and small children (under 5). So I/we do use short cuts. No shame in using stock cubes, bake off bread or eating cookies or yoghurt from the shop. I even buy a mix with beans and sauce for very busy nights when I go out after dinner to exercise, which I could easily make, but not in 10 mins. I realised in reading your post that we use a lot more ready made products than I woud think, they are that normal to me. I mean yoghurt, cookies, bread, tortillas or muesli bars. (Note, these are all relatively healthy products which are mostly used in cooking meals, except for cookies, but hey, home made cake and cookies would not be healthy either...). <br />Yes, I could make all of that myself. However, it would take too much time and energy at the moment. I love cooking, so I can imagine very well that in later phases of life I will go back to baking our own bread (I used to do this), making yoghurt etc. <br />I really liked the post about phases and stages in life and that you included the stage 'double income with kids'. I strive for simple living, and do not want to keep wanting more stuff/nicer house etc etc, but I do love my job and would not want to miss it. - Hannah<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-64719468081410802462018-03-07T21:25:35.575+10:002018-03-07T21:25:35.575+10:00What a great post Rhonda. I have managed to stock...What a great post Rhonda. I have managed to stock my freezer with a number of meals. I only use these when there is nothing left over from the night before ie when a freezer meal has been eaten for tea. I usually cook of a weekend and always do enough vegetables for a large family (it's just my son and I) which we eat the next night and again I freeze what's left. We generally eat vegetables during the week and eat lasanges, savoury mince,, zucchini fritters and a number of other dishes in between. I think it is so quick to put together a meal of vegetables, slice some cold meat and make a quick cheese or whatever takes your fancy sauce. Of course I understand there is some preparation that goes with this as in cooking a roast the day before and having the ingredients for a tasty sauce. I don't have a slow cooker but I manage well with freezer meals. It's definitely cheaper for me.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02859010161960431695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-18506327387070469712018-03-07T14:04:06.413+10:002018-03-07T14:04:06.413+10:00Oh yes, I know where Blackall is. It's way out...Oh yes, I know where Blackall is. It's way out the back of our place. It sounds to me like you're very good at home and time management, Andrea. xxrhonda jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08962112306968959985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-1116644115736109612018-03-07T13:48:31.049+10:002018-03-07T13:48:31.049+10:00Love it Rhonda! I have gone from a stay at home w...Love it Rhonda! I have gone from a stay at home worker to the primary income earner working 40+ hours per week and I still manage to bake cakes, biscuits, slices and bread from scratch. I also try and support my husband in our small business, so my time is extremely limited. Not to mention that where I live we don't have the options of the larger cities or towns. All it takes is good time management and priority setting. Eating well and healthy is a priority to me and therefore I make the time.<br />As always your posts are so supporting and helpful.<br />Regards<br />Andrea Saunders<br />Blackall QldAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-45943964000683499942018-03-07T08:27:09.565+10:002018-03-07T08:27:09.565+10:00Hahaha. Love your comment on not so long ago dini...Hahaha. Love your comment on not so long ago dining out or take away foods were looked on as inferior to home made meals! I think in some cases it still is. I personally find foraging in my fridge/cupboards and cooking from scratch quite satisfying. As for batch cooking, there is nothing better than leftovers to add to a quick meal for another day.Brigiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17890031667317084577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-11598916277756442012018-03-07T07:06:53.867+10:002018-03-07T07:06:53.867+10:00A couple of cookbook suggestions. These have been ...A couple of cookbook suggestions. These have been very helpful in getting back into making my own meals.<br /><br />Anything by Alana Chernila<br />I have her latest, Eating from the Ground Up:Recipes for Simple Perfect Vegetables<br /><br />The Kitchen Ecosystem and Well-Preserved: Recipes for Putting up Small Batches of Seasonal Food<br />Eugenia Bone<br />Terihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13382050215676302342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-79945856126509531052018-03-07T03:02:36.635+10:002018-03-07T03:02:36.635+10:00I love these comments on your fabulous post Rhonda...I love these comments on your fabulous post Rhonda! I commented on your financial post about getting out of debt, retiring, and becoming a domestic goddess (which you are the queen). I grew up with all home made meals, learned to cook from my mother (all of her food and desserts looked like they came out of BH&Gardens and were divine), we never ate out growing up, but once I started working I wanted to eat out all of the time. I enjoyed someone else preparing the food and cleaning up; I was not focused on the future of finances or health. I paid for that service all of my adult life with several dinners out and several lunches out a week, with a family of 4. I would not eat left overs and I wouldn't batch cook. Fast forward to today, after having your books for several years and reading your blog: we might eat out once every two weeks for dinner (Mexican food or pizza, once a month for lunch for me at work. It is now a game for me to use left overs and see how creative I can get. I meal plan to a slight extent, but always keep on hand simpler ingredients to make a nutritious meal. I don't even crave going out anymore and I cringe when I think about how much money we wasted on food out over the last 38 years. I use my crockpot at least once a week, sometimes twice, but do not cook with canned soups or soy; I have food sensitivities. I can look in my freezer and take out a meal to defrost on a night when I am too tired to think. My point to all of this is that I had to have a goal to change, and that goal is to become debt free and retired. Our food was a great place to start that journey. Thank you so much, Rhonda, for showing me that home is where I want to be.<br />Robin (Montana,USA)Robinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14842687744957795132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-27218656988754057412018-03-06T22:26:12.488+10:002018-03-06T22:26:12.488+10:00I totally agree that cooking from scratch is the b...I totally agree that cooking from scratch is the best: nutrition wise, taste wise and economically. We don't go out to eat much, it is too expensive, and if it isn't, it's not very good. As our freezer is too small to stock up on pre-prepared meals I try instead to make the dishes look a little different from day to day. For instance with a boiled chicken we get the thighs and drumsticks one night in a bechamel sauce with carrots, leek, root celery and parsley. The breasts the next day in a tomato sauce with chick peas and different veggies and rice, And a minestronelike soup with the wings and the rest of the meat and lots of vegetables. Even when the two kids lived at home I managed to make three meals out of one chicken this way. I also freeze parsley- and dill stems, the greens from root celery, fresh thyme and so on to have flavour to add to soups, sauces and just boiled potatoes. If you need to shop for things like that in the winter (here in Denmark) it is expensive, as many vegetables will have to be imported. But if you freeze a supply of greens, variation gets easier.Helle from Denmarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-70191702479089580012018-03-06T19:04:12.800+10:002018-03-06T19:04:12.800+10:00I agree Rhonda, there are ways to make scratch coo...I agree Rhonda, there are ways to make scratch cooking easier and I use my slow cooker at least once a week to make a big batch of something that we will take for lunches or eat for dinner sometimes several days in a row. Liz (Eight Acres)http://eight-acres.com.aunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-53783921938082306432018-03-06T18:53:27.032+10:002018-03-06T18:53:27.032+10:00I wish fast food restaurants would go away too, Al...I wish fast food restaurants would go away too, Alice. A while ago, near where we live, a lovely little greengrocer, with wonderful fresh fruit, veg, milk, cheese etc. closed down. The building was bulldozed and we wondered what would be built there in its place. A fast food restaurant it seems. I just think that is sad. MegMeghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11573371198907761962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-30898982286166187562018-03-06T17:16:07.186+10:002018-03-06T17:16:07.186+10:00What a great post Rhonda, and what great advice ...What a great post Rhonda, and what great advice and strategies to take on board.<br />I am a real mix of cooking processes here, much from scratch,plenty of bulk cooking for freezer and pantry and lits of short cuts<br />. Mind you , I do enjoy a meal out now and then too ..lol.<br />I will look foward to your next post.<br />Cheers<br />Jane.<br /><br />ozzibethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01537238271583629320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-51313344491667008922018-03-06T16:17:54.793+10:002018-03-06T16:17:54.793+10:00Thanks Rhonda for such a good topic. I had a very ...Thanks Rhonda for such a good topic. I had a very similar home cooking experience growing up as you, Meg Hopeful, so I started out with all good intentions as an adult. However, there came a time in my Corporate Career days where lunch at the fancy restaurants in the city were a weekly or often more frequent occasion. It derailed me into some terrible shopping and eating habits for years, which weren't helped by meeting hubby with the same sort of "champagne taste". Luckily, we eventually came to our collective sense and I am back to cooking from scratch and apart from the occasional bit of fancy cooking, our meals these days are rather simple and costed accordingly, and the freezer and leftovers-creativity get a real workout. Even without much storage in our small apartment, I'm starting to stockpile pantry staples that come on sale, but I think the only prepared food I have bought in a couple of years would be tinned tomatoes and some crackers for cheese. The truth is that I prefer my own cooking to cafe and restaurant fare, in spite of the amazing chefs out there. If I'm really lazy or am cooking for myself for some reason, my favourite fast food is spaghetti alio e olio and it can be whipped up faster than any takeaway could be possibly purchased, and is costed in cents not dollars!Pipistrellohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07904613196101010022noreply@blogger.com