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Angel
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| Posted: June 25 2009 at 8:30am | IP Logged
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Can any of you who follow a Nourishing Traditions and/or real food-ish diet share your routines for meal planning and prep?
What frustrates me in trying to eat a non-industrial diet is the planning involved. Planning (ahem) is not my strong suit. And unfortunately planning is involved to have home-made yogurt, homemade bread, soaked grains, and, um, chicken when it only comes whole and not in pieces.
Specifically, I am hoping to start making my own yogurt and bread. And tortillas. The kids eat a lot of tortillas and the only ones I can find have a lot of ick in them. (I'm hoping to make my own yogurt because we eat A LOT of it.) Then there's canning and preserving for the summer, but that may be a whole other thread.  I think my only hope of doing this is to make it routine, but... I'm not exactly sure where to fit it in or how.
Anyway -- if you could share some particulars on how you make this diet work on a daily basis with all your other responsibilities, I would be forever grateful. 
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Angela
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: June 25 2009 at 8:52am | IP Logged
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There is a recent thread about cooking one thing and repurposing the leftovers into something different. I do that a ton. I'll roast two chickens instead of just one and the pull all the meat off and make stock. I don't have to know what that chicken will turn into necessarily, but it is ready to go on top of a salad, in a quesadilla, in soup or stirfry, etc...
You do sort of get into the habit eventually of thinking "what do we want for breakfast" the night before so that soaking becomes easier.
Also, it took some time for me to become less obsessive and realize that if I forget to soak the oatmeal, unsoaked oatmeal is better than the boxed cereal I'm seeking to avoid and certainly better than not eating. We do eggs for breakfast often, though, which doesn't require planning ahead.
I'm pretty sure the answer to the bread thing is having a set baking day (or two, depending on how much bread you need to make) so that it becomes habit to prepare the dough the night before always. I was doing pretty well, but the past nine months with a new baby have had me buying Ezekial bread.
I also have my "real food" convenience foods I indulge in. Applegate Farm hotdogs and Ezekial buns in the freezer for "emergencies" for instance. Also, a big Costco bag of frozen mixed organic veggies that make a side or soup ingredient in a pinch.
If you are going to make tortillas, I HIGHLY recommend a tortilla press. Makes it SO MUCH easier. We keep corn masa (Mesaca brand is what I can find in our grocery store--not organic, but a NT friendly grain) in the pantry and I use our electric griddle to do several at once. They are so much tastier than corn tortillas from the grocery. Trader Joe's makes a decent corn tortilla if you have one. It just has corn, salt, and a hint of lime. The lime is added to the cooking of the corn to make the masa. Anyway, I will also buy corn chips that just have those ingredients. The oil isn't always my favorite, but having something that comes in a bag helps us keep our head above the water and I don't feel guilty.
Gotta go tend to a baby! HTH!
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Lindsay
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[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Mary Chris
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| Posted: June 25 2009 at 9:14am | IP Logged
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Angela,
I struggle with this! I have such good intentions and then life gets in the way. I say it is always good to start one thing at a time. Don't try to do it all at once. Maybe get a tortilla press and start with making the tortillas. Then add in making bread. As those routines get established add in yogurt making.
My mom always reminds me that I can do all things, just not all at the same time.
Oh we don't follow NT, but I TRY to eat whole grains, shop the perimeter and all that stuff.
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mom to MacKenzie3/95, Carter 12/97 Ronan 3/00 and wife to Jim since 1/92
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Angel
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| Posted: June 25 2009 at 9:15am | IP Logged
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That's one of my problems, actually -- no Trader Joe's, no Costco, no Whole Foods, no really good bread choices at Wal-Mart or the other grocery store. So most of the convenience food I can buy has stuff in it that I don't really want. 
I'm usually ok on veggies, though, because I freeze a lot of our garden produce or buy it local from a farm stand or farmer's market.
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Angela
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Nina
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| Posted: June 25 2009 at 12:07pm | IP Logged
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Could you have your children help out? When my son was 11 he was in charge of making the kefir,my dd,she's 12,helps to make yogurt and can make bread w/ the bread machine.I'm not sure how old your children are.
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Angel
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| Posted: June 25 2009 at 12:15pm | IP Logged
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My oldest is 12, next is 10. Everybody else is 6 and under.
Can anyone give me a sense of what your week is like in terms of food preparation? Like, do you bake on one day, make yogurt on another, etc? or how many days a week do you bake, make yogurt, etc.?
I'm just having a hard time wrapping my brain around the logistics, so specifics would help.
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Angela
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Milehimama
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I do as much as I can ahead of time (and use the crockpot.)
For example - after soaking dried beans (with whey if you please), freeze them.
I blogged that here:
http://www.milehimama.com/2009/05/19/dried-beans-are-conveni ent/
I make yogurt in a thermos. Fill thermos with milk (so the yogurt fits), heat milk to 180 degrees, cool to 110, add starter.
Pour boiling water in thermos to sterilize and heat. Dump water out, pour milk w/ starter in. Put the lid on and leave overnight.
Make broths overnight in the crockpot. After we eat the chicken, dump the bones in the crock, add vinegar/water etc. and let it go!
I haven't tackled homemade tortillas, and it's too hot to bake bread, but I usually do bake in the winter. I throw the dough together while the oatmeal is cooking in the AM and hopefully don't forget and let it overproof while we're doing spelling - a breadmaker or mixer to knead it is a lifesaver.
Right now we have a newborn so I do things in snatches throughout the day. For example, yesterday we ate lentil enchiladas. I had 5 minutes free, I started the lentil and rice filling. Another few minutes after nursing (while waiting for lunch to cook) and I cut up onions and carrots. Later, I came back and started assembling them... dribs and drabs throughout the day.
I guess, for me, it's a matter of habit (because it is surely NOT a matter of organization!). Every morning, I get up, change babies, start a load of laundry, come downstairs, make oatmeal, and while the oats are cooking, do something else in the kitchen (start beans, dough, put away yogurt, etc.) And at night, before turning on the dishwasher, etc., doing the same thing (make blender batter, start yogurt, etc.)
I didn't have a set baking day. If I baked, we ate bread... and we didn't have bread everyday, maybe 3x a week? I made 2 loaves at a time.
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Milehimama in Houston
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KackyK
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| Posted: June 25 2009 at 6:12pm | IP Logged
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I bake bread. I tend to do it about every other day or so. I make 2 loaves at once. I got a tortilla maker for Christmas. This is a summer project of mine...figuring out how to make them!
Back to the bread, I make it in the morning or the evening right after dinner. It's such a routine now that the kids can finish it for me if I have to go out and they are at home. I just have to make the dough and get it rising, then they can do the rest.
I'm very interested in the thermos for yogurt. What kind and size do you use? How do you, or do you even, sweeten the yogurt? I've tried making yogurt, just in a big stock pot and putting it in a warmed (but off) oven overnight. It's so "plain" I can't get the kids to eat it. I find it difficult to transfer the yogurt from the pot. So I think a thermos would be much nicer!
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Milehimama
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| Posted: June 25 2009 at 6:17pm | IP Logged
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I think it's a one-quart Thermos brand; I got it at WalMart. I haven't tried to make it sweet, but I do add things like chopped cucumbers, garlic powder, toasted sesame seeds, etc. to make "dip". A fave is to add it to leftover pico-de-gallol and eat w/chickpeas or hummus.
We also drain it to make "yogurt cheese" and the kids like that too.
I've heard of other people sweetening yogurt with honey and or fruit puree (or jam). I HAVE added it w/ berries or peaches to oatmeal to make "Peaches N Creme" or "Strawberries N Creme" oats.
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ladybugs
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| Posted: June 25 2009 at 6:41pm | IP Logged
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Milehimama wrote:
I've heard of other people sweetening yogurt with honey and or fruit puree (or jam). I HAVE added it w/ berries or peaches to oatmeal to make "Peaches N Creme" or "Strawberries N Creme" oats.
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Could you add vanilla extract to make vanilla yogurt?
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stellamaris
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One thing we do here is belong to a wholesale organic food cooperative. The one that delivers in No. VA is Neshaminy Valley out of Pennsylvania. They also deliver to PA, DE, MD and north. I buy Ezekiel bread, WW organic tortillas, organic whole milk yogurt, and lots of other items from them at wholesale prices. There is only so much time in each day, and I can't make EVERYTHING from scratch. Also, it is good to have a few "back-up" items just in case you get sick or are out of commission for a season. There is a minimum order per month, but a few other people order with me from time to time. There are several different distributors that cover different parts of the country; I'd google "organic food distributors" or "natural food distributors" and see what pops up.
I started NT by adding just one thing at a time. I also used "Eat Fat, Lose Fat" which has a few more meal plans and recipes in it to get ideas. I try to stick to a regular weekly schedule (like soaked oatmeal Tues. and Thurs.) and then I make up a list of tasks for the week (such as, Mon p.m. and Wed p.m. soak oats, and as long as you are in the kitchen with the yogurt out, toss a new batch of yogurt into the Thermos or strain some for yogurt cheese). I just use a simple list of the week days and divvy up the tasks. I do the exact same thing with chicken as Milehimama, except I use a stock pot.I pretty much always have either beef or chicken stock going when I'm in full NT swing! I try to schedule roasting nuts and making pickles every month. Some of the recipes can be simplified as well, a lot of them are really gourmet level and that's not necessary. The point is to eat real food!
I will need to begin baking bread again because we don't have a freezer at our new location, so even though I can still order Ezekiel, I can't store it! So sad...I'm thinking about using the Artison Bread in 5 Minutes approach...isn't leaving the dough in the frig going to have the same effect as soaking the grain overnight? Or maybe soak the grain first and then make the dough and refrigerate it? Anyone try this?
I add a little honey and vanilla to the kids' yogurt to sweeten it. I know it's not perfect, but the kids won't eat plain.
A lot of using NT is finding resources and then setting up a schedule to consistently make the food your family will eat. Mary Chris is absolutely correct! She said, "I say it's always good to start one thing at a time."
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Caroline
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Bookswithtea
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This is timely for me, because I've been trying to work out both real food and economizing. My local options don't include places like TJ's or Whole Foods, either (they are over 40 miles each way for me).
I've been thinking about a rotation that involves some kind of homemaking job each morning.
Bread baking 2ce a week
Yogurt making 2ce a week
Granola making once every other week (my recipe is BIG).
Something else on that Granola rotation
That's 5 days a week. Maybe soaking beans and making them into something once a week for the 6th, or canning/freezing when its that time of the year?
This is all prep for meals in general and doesn't include dinners, which are the bane of my existance.  I am always trying to find better ways to get dinner done. My current thought is to find ways to cook 2 night's worth of meat 3 days a week and use the second portion the next day, with one day for leftovers.
Finding the time for this, plus laundry (and now I've taken on cloth diapers which makes the laundry issue more urgent) and homeschooling...I am actually considering getting out my MOTH book and working up a mom schedule to see if it can realistically be done. I think its going to involve cutting back on activities and driving, which is fine with me, but we'll have to see how my kids feel about it.
I feel your pain. This is something I really want to do. I believe it is the best way for our family, but its going to involve some real changes here...
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: June 26 2009 at 2:03pm | IP Logged
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We do Neshiminy Valley, too, Caroline. It is where I get most of my "convenience" foods!
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Lindsay
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Kristie 4
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I find yogurt, and bread for that matter, gets easier to fit in as you get more experienced. Around here, the yogurt if easy because I have been at it for so long. I put the milk in a pot with a lid on pretty low, that buys me alot of time for it to heat slowly without burning. When it is ready I smack the lid on again and this alwo buys me alot of time for the cooling. I put mine in a one gallon glass jar with towels around it.
This is all just to say that as it becomes more of a habit it gets easier...
I start my bread dough with my morning tea about twice a week- I boil enough water for both! If I begin early enough, say 8, we will have it for lunch. We also run out of bread alot- then we have bannock, biscuits, pasta, etc. until I pull it together again (I am a horrible planner as well).
Yogurt is more hit or miss here- but I would start it during the school year in the morning first thing as well- that way I am in and out of the kitchen all morning with breakie and school etc. so it is easy to keep it going.
The key with the bread and the yogurt is to estimate your completion time- nothing like starting it late until to realise that soccer begins before it is into the oven!
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Milehimama
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| Posted: June 26 2009 at 8:07pm | IP Logged
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Ladies,
You might be interested in The Nourishing Gourmet's new carnival, Pennywise Platter. All NT/real food tips from recipes to techniques.
http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2009/06/pennywise-platte r-thursday.html
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Milehimama in Houston
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stellamaris
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Great link, Milehimama (which I thought was some kind of Hawaiian name until I looked at it more closely  ) I loved the tutorial I accessed from the carnival on how to make the sourdough starter.
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Caroline
Wife to dh 30+ yrs,ds's 83,85,89,dd's 91,95,ds's 01,01,02,grammy to 4
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CrunchyMom
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stellamaris wrote:
| Great link, Milehimama (which I thought was some kind of Hawaiian name until I looked at it more closely ) I loved the tutorial I accessed from the carnival on how to make the sourdough starter. |
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I totally thought it was a Hawaiian name as well until yesterday!
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Lindsay
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Milehimama
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| Posted: June 27 2009 at 1:14pm | IP Logged
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I WISH it was Hawaiian! LOL
Instead, I'm just from Denver. And living in Houston where my online name makes no sense. Oh well!
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Milehimama in Houston
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mayappleridge
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| Posted: June 29 2009 at 3:13am | IP Logged
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Try incorporating just one thing at a time. Work on making all your own bread first. Once that is an ingrained habit, start something else.
Kefir is super easy, though. Just a jar of milk with grains in your cabinet that you shake when you think of it and drain off every so often.
Yogurt can be made in the crockpot I hear.
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mariB
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We kind of started cooking and eating in a "4 Real" manner out of necessity. Our rule of thumb was to make everything from scratch we possibly could and to use lots of fruits and veggies. (We wanted to spend our money there.)
Started with:
-pizza dough
-granola
-pinto beans
-growing own sprouts-
-plain yogurt smoothies with blueberries thrown in or any fruit for that matter.
-lots of salads with honey, lime, and olive oil dressing
I just love our health food store because the prices are just so reasonable there for the bulk items.
I would love to make bread more. Our children just go through it so quickly! One son likes to dip it in olive oil and pepper...yummy!
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: real food routines?
