I was thinking tonight about how excited I should be about being in my hometown for Thanksgiving. We have traveled back this way once or twice for thanksgiving in the last 6 years, but for the most part, we have lived too far away to come. My mother LOVES Thanksgiving and always does it up big, so there was never a chance at my family coming to visit me during this special holiday.
However, as I was driving home tonight from cooking with my mom at her big beautiful house, I realized something. As much as I love my family, and I do love them tons, I couldn't wait to get home to MY OWN little family in our cozy little apartment. I pulled into my apartment (just down the street from my moms) and thought how grateful I am to be with my husband and kids. We have lived a pretty hectic life since my husband and I have gotten married. We have dealt with YEARS of separation due to military service, and have moved more times than I care to count. I realize how true it is when God says "And he shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife". My husband and I have had our issues for sure, but the one thing we have been able to do well is leave our fathers and mothers and cleave to one another. My husband, my daughter, my son, and I are so very very close. Wherever we go, we make it because of God, and because of the blessing of being a family unit. We are small, but we are strong in the Lord. So tonight, as I reflect on Thankfulness to the Lord, I realize that being here in Cali near my mom and brother and sister, is not what I am most thankful for. It is being where God has placed me, WITH my precious family. "Thank you God that my husband is not in a foreign country this year. Thank you Father for granting us health, that we are not confined to hospitals or beds, and thank you God for healing a broken marriage and making all things new. Lord please be with my Dad in Oklahoma, bless him this day and open His eyes to see and know you. Please show all my family their great need for your Son. Amen.
My own family UNIT.
Using what you got.
I have found that with the ongoing issues concerning the food we eat, I am finding it more and more necessary to fork out much more money to buy healthy, fresh, organic, and preferably local foods. This is not a cheap task. It does bite my bank account quite a bit more than my old shopping days at Walmart did. But with information that has been brought out about what exactly is in our foods today, I find I have little, to no choice, in the matter. Health is far more important than almost any other thing we can buy. We are just so used to spending so little on cheap packaged foods, with our coupons, that when we see the price of "organic" or natural/fresh foods, we panic and say "sheesh!! that is double what my -fill--in--the--blank--- cost!
But I digress......
The topic of this post is about saving money by using what you have. OK ladies, just so I don't feel totally alone and guilty, raise your hands if you ever let any good food just sit and go bad and are forced then to throw it away. Or how about, raise your hands if you throw away leftovers because you just don't want o go through the trouble of saving it and trying to re-eat at another time. Well since I cannot see your "hands" I will assume that I am not alone in this. I cannot even count how many times I bought those good veggies only to put off using them because....well....everything always looks more appetizing to cook and eat than healthy stuff. Can I also admit....*gulp*....that I also throw things out on a pretty consistent basis because I refuse to plan my meals? OK now, stop shaking your head in disgust, I am just not that kind of person. Organization is a fun "hobby" for me, but it is not something I like to do on a regular basis. For instance, I love to sit down and organize a messy room. I just don't want to do the work it takes to keep it from getting messy again. Are you getting what I am saying? I love to organize a project, but I just cant seem to organize my life.
Soooo..... it's baby steps for me. Instead of telling myself that I have to organize everything, I have simply challenged myself to do one thing. USE WHAT I GOT!
See this is all going to tie together soon, just watch ;)
So I figure that with the organic and natural foods prices being what they are in Southern California, I have to do something to keep the costs at bay. One way I am doing that is by making sure NOTHING goes to waste. If we make lunch and have something left over, it gets used in an "in-between" snack, put into the freezer for a later date, or put into the next meal. Simple as that. Have I mentioned that I like simple? ha!
I have to say I really really really like how this is turning out. I even get to use my creative side in my cooking! Almost daily I look at my food and say (for example)"what can I make with this ground chicken, my leftover vegetables, that box of crackers that needs to get eaten before they go stale, and all those organic potatoes I bought in bulk from Azure?"
That leads to making a "Shepherds pie/casserole with crackers cooked on top". Was it the best thing ever? Not really. Was it culinary excellence? Ummm not much. Was it a pretty darn good tasting meal that used what I had, filled my family up, and made enough to use for two meals? you betcha!!
Truly though, I challenge you to look in those cupboards, freezers, and pantries, and get busy cooking some yummy and interesting meals.
For more info on the state of our foods, you can watch some of the following documentaries...( I do not agree with all things in any of these movies, but they definitely make an excellent point about nutrition, and what is lacking in our foods at the super market)
1~Food Inc.
2~Corn King
3~Food Matters
4~Fresh
5~The Future of Food
P.S. most of these are available on Netflix.
