Meal planning made easy!

Well, I just showed you how to make a meal planner, now I will give you a few ideas how to plan - by showing you my meal plan for the week.. I usually sit down on Saturday with the kids and plan meals because they are a major factor in deciding what delicious gastronomy will be created the whole week! We start with breakfast - I give them both a choice of their fav breakfast and dinner - since they have lunch at school, I usually don't bother them with lunch decisions. So both kids will give me one option each which is usually something like pancakes or waffles! So we have two calorific breakfasts and five healthy breakfast in the week. Everyone is happy! We usually eat traditional Indian breakfasts that are healthy and complete like Poha, Idly, Dosa etc. I try to plan one Dosa day so I can use the same batter to make Uttapam or Appe (recipe later) on another day, two meals - one recipe!!. I also include one fruit (which I pack with their breakfast) and yoghurt cups as my kids are not too fond of milk and drink it once a day at snack time and one glass in school. I try to ensure they have 3 servings of dairy in the form of milk, curd, paneer or cheese. For dinner, they get to choose one meal and it's usually pasta or noodles - so the next 3 dinners are usually roti and curry or occasionally pulao or rice and curry. I try to include pulses and dal once or twice a week and vegetables in the form of curries and salads. We try to make simple salads that go with dinner. For snack time it's milk with a sandwich or French toast, or baked potato wedges. Usually something simple and non fussy. Cereal and milk is once a week or once in two weeks as I avoid the highly sugary cereal and give them classic cornflakes. Lunch is usually roti and curry or rice and dal and sometimes leftovers - which I consume the next day itself. Weekends lunch and dinner are usually left blank because inevitably we go out or friends come over so it's a last minute thing but hey 4 meals out of 28 is not bad at all ! :) I write down the groceries I have to buy accordingly in the "To buy list" to make sure I don't run out of them and I write down any prep like batter or dough that needs to be made in advance in the "To Do list" to make sure I'm prepared ! I usually browse my recipe books to try and find a new recipe to make, to keep my family happy and satiated! I keep it in mind and include it in the next weeks menu. I'm planning to make a recipe index an easy recipe reference, some day - that's another project :) I hope you can make your own plan according to your families tastes, keep everyone involved, not only will they feel happy but you will not have to worry about what to cook, you will have suggestions from your family and you can be assured their plates will be clean :)

Sanity in the kitchen - Meal planning !

How many times have you walked into your kitchen and opened your refrigerator, staring blankly at its contents, wondering what to cook for breakfast, lunch or dinner - or when your kids come home hungry from school..you reach out for a bag of chips or cookies, only to feel guilty later? I know I've been there many times ! I tried planning meals for the whole week - only to wonder what's the name of the dish under all that scribbling or finding out I don't have the ingredients to make that special dish I planned ! No more - I've figured out a way to meal plan and be prepared to serve my family healthy hot meals ! No more wondering, lots of time to spare and peace of mind at last - and I will show you how! OK - I made this planner but forgot to take step by step pictures but its relatively easy. All you need is some chart paper, sketch pens and ruler. Start by cutting out a comfortable size rectangle / square ( I used a piece of cardboard that came with a product around 12" x 12"). I drew a grid to write down the days of the week and 4 meals - breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. The extra space I used for two boxes - "to buy" and "to do". My kids drew some eatables in the meal boxes and colored it to make it look pretty. I laminated the sheet to make it stronger and easier to clean or make corrections. Voila! My planner is ready! I use fridge magnets to keep it on the side of my fridge where it's easy to see and write on. I use a whiteboard marker or sketch pen, it wipes clean with a damp rag or duster. The picture of the planner is here, next I will share my ideas how to meal plan ! I hope this helps you in saving a lot of time and help you plan keeping your family's dietary needs in mind. Happy planning !

Seasons

This Christmas season has got me thinking...its usually a time when we celebrate but Christmas also gets me thinking in a lot of ways...about my childhood because I miss my mother at this time, about friends with whom we used to have so much fun at Christmas time and also about a lot of people who are needy...Christmas is the season of giving and I make it a point to try and give as much as I can this season, but really this time I started thinking that its a season like any other season in our life...not weatherwise!

The Bible says there is a season for everything -
1 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.....

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

I have been going through a season of uprooting, and mourning, a season of refraining and searching, and sometimes downright tears....but I can rejoice knowing that seasons are not permanent and that after these seasons comes seasons of planting, rejoicing, embracing and giving up on searching questions...

This Christmas I can look forward to lots of good things coming my way...and so can you... Wishing you a very happy Christmas and lots of good seasons in your life...

Christmas Season

Christmas season has been my favorite time of the year ever since I was a child. It brings back memories of my mother making cake and cookies and sweets that would fill the whole house with a distinct "Christmas" smell...in fact the whole lane we lived in would be aromatic!
Times were simpler when I was a child, my brother's job was to get the Christmas tree and he would go and ask a kind person to allow him chop off a branch of their Christmas tree..so the tree would usually be 3' feet tall and we would decorate it on Christmas Eve with home made decorations. We would each get one gift each and that would be the gift that we were just "dying" to get...These days, I use an artificial 8' tall tree decorated with beautiful shining baubles and lights put up much earlier to bring in Christmas much earlier, stacks of gifts pile up under the tree. It was different then but its still good now and I have a few handmade ornaments that remind me of our childhood! Christmas traditions are a wonderful way to celebrate this festive seasons..though we had different traditions then, I have made new traditions with my own children for them to remember and carry on...One such tradition is the "Advent Calendar" - every year we make a calendar with a countdown to Christmas! And on each day we do a Christmas related activity/craft or some holiday special deed..This way we remember Christmas each day and do something special. It is a fun time and the kids really look forward to it..

The spirit of Christmas is about love, joy and peace which our Savior came to give. So this year we made a calendar with the exact same words. And everyday we will change the number of days by writing on an icecream spoon we stuck into the gifts !
So get ready for 25 days of activities !
Merry Christmas !!

Mi Amore..!

Week 3..

Time to celebrate the love in the air and the power that is "My Love"
My Love  i realize is Potent! Each of my thought , word and deed that stems from love will create magic, am assured!

and I say it with Chocolate here!
Want a bite ?!

Pooja.. This one was (!) for you..

You inspire me to express my love in a myriad ways in your own silent way ! You certainly did inspire me to pick up the heart shaped baking tin !

Go love some more ..Sprinkle the magic dust every where ....

Doodle Pro!

Pooja, Thank you so much for the zentangle!

Guess what , i realise i have been doodling too!

I find doodling highly relaxing.. and thanks to Zentangle.. this otherwise unassuming artform has just got elevated to zen heights!  What a  way to beat boredom...

Talking about boredom.. I think  boredom that festers makes you blue !
No stranger at fighting some serious blues , i find doodling can steer you out of  even a very blue spot(!)

Heres' one such of my creations (!)... It did pull me out of a deep blue moment and that moment did pass!

Zen tangle..

Week 2 .. Beat that boredom!

To beat the boredom and  add some funk to the  mundane is... to Zen tangle.

If you're wondering what on earth is a Zen tangle, do not worry because it's nothing but 'yoga for the mind' !

I've been a compulsive doodler all my life drawing on paper, jeans and my arms and legs too...I was always fascinated by Mehendi (henna tattoos) too but didn't like the way it gets patchy after a few days and so would do it with a pen and wash it off or just create Mehendi like designs on paper.....

I recently learned that doodling just went the zen way! it's called Zen tangle ..the zen way of creating tangles to relax, create or even develop certain intelligent skills! And here I was oblivious that I was Zentangling all my life!

I'm going to show you how to create a Zen tangle step by step. All you need is paper, pencil and a black ink pen...and lots of creativity....

First you draw an outline (I drew a box) but you can draw a circle, heart any random shape or just make up shapes as you go along.















Then you fill the spaces with a repetitive design like waves, circles, dots or checks...

Fill up the box and then add a border and sign it! Your Zentangle is ready! However, if you begin to feel bored its better to put it away and come back later and draw, because the designs might get sloppy and untidy....so go ahead and Zentangle.....