Podcast 99: Menu Planning 101 with the Organizing Junkie

When someone tells you, “menu planning saved my life,” your ears perk up and you listen! Laura, from I’m an Organizing Junkie, is a menu planning guru, but that wasn’t always the case. Up until four years ago, Laura’s husband did all the cooking. After getting laid off from her job, however, Laura took over the daily task of getting dinner on the table for her family of five. A self-described organizing freak, Laura quickly realized that the benefits of planning a weekly menu far outweighed cooking by the seat of her pants!

Since the launch of our Cooking with the Moms podcast, we have talked about doing a show on menu planning. Ninety nine shows later (talk about being disorganized!), we have an interview with the Organizing Junkie herself, and you won’t want to miss it. In case you don’t have a chance to tune in, here are a few highlights from the show:

Laura’s top reason’s for menu planning:
> I never have to come up with a last minute meal idea off the top of my head.
> For the most part, our meals are healthier and well balanced, and it helps me avoid last minute unhealthy desperation meals.
> I always have the ingredients in the house for whatever I’m making because I make up my menu plan before going grocery shopping.
> I save money by not buying groceries I don’t end up using and by planning my weekly menu around what is on sale that particular week.

Laura’s strategy for menu planning:
> I sit down on Sunday night with my menu planning pad & pencil, a pile of cookbooks, the grocery store flyer and my laptop (so I can access the recipe favorites I have saved on my computer).
> I consider my recipe selection criteria — prep time of 30 minutes or less, simple, short ingredient list, healthy and not high in fat.
> Thursday is the day I always schedule for leftovers, I often choose a slow cooker recipe, and one meal per week is meatless.
> Once my menu is created I then make up my grocery list from the chosen recipes. I, without fail, go grocery shopping every Monday morning. This is essential for my plan to work.

Laura’s Menu Plan Monday blog feature:
Every Monday, Laura hosts Menu Plan Monday where she posts her weekly menu along with recipe links. Amazingly, the 300-plus other bloggers across the blogosphere who participate in Menu Plan Monday also post their menus. It’s a recipe swap like you’ve never seen!

A few weeks ago, Laura included our Teriyaki Salmon in Foil recipe in her Menu Plan Monday lineup. Her family loved the dish, so we decided to share it here on our blog.

Teriyaki Salmon in Foil

Makes 4 Servings

  • 1/4 cup lite teriyaki sauce
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger *
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 ½ cups snow pea pods (about 4 ounces), trimmed
  • 1 large carrot, cut into 2-inch long very thin “matchstick” strips (about 1 cup)
  • Four 5-ounce salmon fillets, skin removed
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, optional

1.  Preheat oven to 400°F.  Cut four 14-inch square pieces of aluminum foil and set aside.

2.  In a bowl, whisk together the teriyaki sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, ginger, and cornstarch until well blended.

3.  Lay the snow peas and carrots in the center of each piece of foil.  Lay the salmon on top of the vegetables and season with salt and pepper.  Spoon the teriyaki mixture evenly over each piece of salmon.  Seal each packet by bringing up the sides and folding the top edge over twice.  Seal the edges in the same way.

4.  Place the packets on a baking sheet and bake until the fish is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, about 18 minutes.  Open the packets (be careful of the steam!), place the salmon on individual plates, top with the vegetables and sauce, and serve. Top with toasted sesame seeds as desired (this dish goes great with rice).

*For convenience, use bottled minced ginger.

Nutrition Info per Serving: 240 calories, 7g fat (1g saturated, 1.6g omega-3), 450mg sodium, 12g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 33g protein, 110% vitamin A, 25% vitamin C

Print Recipe

We can’t thank Laura enough for taking the time to speak with us this week. To say she’s an inspiration would be an understatement. And though we’d be the first to admit we’re lacking the organizing gene, we do have a couple of free tools on our main site designed to turn your meal planning dreams into a reality: Supermarket Shopping List and 7-Day Meal Planner.

Next week on Cooking with the Moms, we celebrate our 100th show! Keep an eye on our Facebook fan page because we’ll be announcing a way you can call us (via Skype) to record an anniversary message!

April 7, 2010 | Filed Under Dinner, Misc., Podcast, Seafood | 5 Comments 

Podcast 91: Rancho La Puerta Adventure

We recently returned from a magical one-week visit to Rancho La Puerta, a destination spa in Tecata, Mexico. Just one hour south of San Diego, “The Ranch” is dedicated to health and wellness for the mind, body, and spirit. The meals were fabulous (60% of the food is grown on Rancho La Puerta’s six-acre organic farm), and we enjoyed a dizzying array of activities ranging from early-morning sunrise hikes and yoga to dance classes and jewelry making.

We were invited to Rancho La Puerta as guest instructors. We gave an evening lecture on The Secrets to Healthy Meal Makeovers, and we held a hands-on cooking class for guests at La Cocina Que Canta (translation: The Kitchen that Sings).

Our menu was based on seasonal ingredients. In fact, before the class, participants walked through the garden and picked arugula, salad greens, and even edible flowers (marigolds on your salad, anyone?). Our menu included the following:

> Shrimp Quesadillas with Pineapple Salsa
> Skinny Fish Chowder
> Bibb & Arugula Salad with Grapefruit, Avocado & Goat Cheese
> Braised Kale & Cranberries
> Lemony Red Quinoa with Butternut Squash
> Grilled Salmon with Avocado Cilantro Sauce
> Almond Agave Cheesecake

Grilled Salmon with Avocado Cilantro Sauce

Makes 6 Servings

  • 1 ripe avocado, pitted and peeled
  • 1/3 cup 0% fat Greek-style or plain yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (juice of 1 lime)
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 12 fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1 teaspoon honey or agave nectar
  • 1/2 teaspoon lime zest
  • 1/2 of a small clove garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Six 6-ounce skinless salmon fillets
  • 1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the avocado, yogurt, lime juice, olive oil, cilantro, honey, lime zest, garlic, salt, chili powder, and a few turns of pepper in a food processor and process until smooth.   Scrape down the sides as necessary. Set aside.

2. Preheat the grill to high and lightly oil the grate.  Combine the olive oil and honey and brush on both sides of the salmon.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place the salmon on the prepared grill and cook until easily flaked with a fork, 4 to 5 minutes per side.

3. Top each salmon fillet with a dollop of avocado sauce or serve on the side.

Nutrition Information per Serving:   370 calories, 19g fat (3g saturated, 2.0g omega-3), 230mg sodium, 8g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 39g protein, 10% vitamin C, 10% iron

Print Recipe

The key to the Rancho La Puerta experience is that no two visits are the same.  As a guest, you can spend the week relaxing with yoga, meditation, and contemplative hikes, or you can focus your energy on action-packed classes — cardio boxing, circuit training, and pilates. The element that brings everyone together, however, is the glorious meals shared in the main dining room or outside under the mountain-desert sun.

Lunch begins with a farm-fresh Citrus Salad with Caramelized Walnuts and Black Pepper Dressing

A naturally sweet dessert after dinner of Butternut Squash Pie with Pear Crisp

Janice’s Favorite Rancho Moments:

> The Food: The variety was amazing, and everything I ate was fresh, flavorful, and beautifully presented.  I was worried at first that I’d be hungry with the “spa” portions (hey, I love to eat!), but there was always enough food to comfortably fill me up.

> Sunrise Hikes: There’s something so nice about getting outside before the sun comes up.  I enjoyed talking to different people on the trail, and it sure made me hungry for breakfast!

> Stretch Class. For years, I’ve wanted to add stretching to my regular weight-training routine. It felt great to have an expert guide me through various stretches, and I now plan to do them at home.

> The People:  I loved meeting new people at every meal.  I hope to keep in touch with some of my new friends. Two of the many amazing women we met during our trip were Debbie Travis, host of several TV shows including From the Ground Up and Face Lift and Louann Brizendine, M.D., author of the soon-to-be released book, The Male Brain (we know what you’re thinking! …).  Since my daughter wants to study neuroscience in college next year it was fun to pick Louann’s brain!

> Spa Treatments. What can I say?  The treatments were great, and I was particularly surprised by how much I loved the hot stone massage; it was so relaxing.  I could definitely get used to weekly massages!

Liz’s Favorite Rancho Moments:

> Yoga: Almost every day, I took a Yoga Fundamentals class. I’m a yoga newbie for sure, but after just a few short days, I could feel the positive effects in my neck and lower back. My usual aches and pains miraculously disappeared.

> 100,000 Steps: Experts recommend we all walk 10,000 steps a day which has always been a tough goal given my work and family commitments. During my seven-day Ranch visit, I clocked over 100,000 steps. There was a pedometer in our room when we arrived, and I wore it the entire time.

> Art Appreciation:  On the third day of our trip, I decided to take a break from the exercise with a two-hour Mexican folk art and sculpture walk. I learned about the tree of life, a popular form of folk art in Mexico, and the gorgeous sculptures that dot the Rancho landscape.

> Dance with Yuichi Sugiyama: Dancing to Broadway tunes is definitely out of my comfort zone, but that didn’t stop me from taking this high-energy class, led by Yuichi, an L.A.-based choreographer. I smiled the whole time!

> The Meals: It’s hard to say which meal I loved the most. But if I had to pick three dishes, I would choose the Vegetarian Lasagna with Roasted Baby Vegetables & Putanesca Sauce, Oriental Brown Rice with Mini Spring Roll & Edamame Bean, and Chocolate Flan with Macerated Strawberries & Roasted Guava. Yum.

Our plan is to keep the spirit of Rancho La Puerta burning bright, so we have set individual fitness and mind/body goals that we vow to follow for the next month (it takes about 20 days to form a new habit). On February 24th, we’ll devote a podcast and blog post to tips for “bringing the Ranch home” (something everyone can do), and we’ll offer an update on our progress (hint: Liz is going to find a yoga studio and take a class twice a week and Janice will be adding stretching and deep breathing to her workout routine). We’ll also have an exciting giveaway to share, so stay tuned!

For all of our Rancho La Puerta photos, visit our flickr page.

February 3, 2010 | Filed Under CulinaryAdventures, Podcast, Seafood | 7 Comments 

Podcast 90: Casseroles with a Twist

Gooey and gloppy are just two of the words that come to mind when we think about classic casseroles.  Typically made with creamy soups and lots of butter and full-fat cheese, casseroles get a bad nutrition rap because they have a tendency to stick to the ribs … and to the waistline. In this week’s Cooking with the Moms, we add a contemporary twist to casseroles by skimming away some of the bad fat and the excess calories and by incorporating some good-for-you ingredients … and we do it without sacrificing the time-honored flavors. The inspiration for the show came from a casserole article we just wrote for Kiwi magazine.  The February issue hits newsstands soon, so be on the lookout.

For the Kiwi story, we featured three recipes: Crushed Tortilla Chip Casserole, Sweet & Nutty Rice Casserole, and a makeover of the classic kid favorite, tuna noodle casserole. For this recipe, we added an updated twist by switching from tuna to boneless, skinless canned salmon (salmon is one of the richest sources of brain-boosting omega-3 fats), using a whole wheat blend pasta versus white, and by adding peas for a kick of color and fiber. We also topped it with a mixture of Panko breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese. We promise you won’t miss the crushed potato chips on top!

Silly Salmon Noodle Bake

Makes 8 Servings

The soy sauce in this recipe may surprise you, but it adds a deep, rich umami flavor to the dish. Leftovers freeze really well.

  • 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • One 12-ounce package whole wheat blend egg noodles
  • Two 5-ounce cans boneless, skinless pink salmon, drained and flaked
  • 1 cup frozen petite peas, thawed
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 8 ounces mushrooms, coarsely chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried dill
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 ½ cups 1% lowfat milk
  • 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.  Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese in a bowl and set aside.

2. Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain and return to saucepan. Stir in salmon and peas and set aside.

3. While pasta is cooking, add butter to a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until melted. Add mushrooms, salt, pepper, dill, and onion powder and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes (there may be liquid from the mushrooms in the saucepan, but that’s okay).

4. Stir in olive oil and flour and cook 1 minute, whisking constantly (it may look lumpy at first, but keep whisking). Whisk milk slowly into flour mixture. Add soy sauce. Raise heat and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat and continue to simmer and stir gently until mixture thickens, about 2 minutes.

5. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream. Pour sauce over pasta mixture and stir to combine.  Place mixture evenly into a 9 x 13-inch baking pan or dish. Top with breadcrumb mixture.

6. Bake until casserole is bubbly and topping turns golden brown, 15 to 17 minutes.

Nutrition Information per Serving: 370 calories, 13g fat (5g saturated, 0.4 omega-3), 600 mg sodium, 22g protein, 47g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, 25% calcium, 10% iron

Print Recipe

We have other heatlhy casseroles on our website and blog.  A few you may want to check out include Simply Delicious Shepherd’s Pie, Chicken & Broccoli Casserole with Crunchy Almond Topping, and The Whole Enchilada Bake.

January 19, 2010 | Filed Under Dinner, KiwiMagazine, Pasta, Podcast, Seafood | 5 Comments 

No Whine with Dinner: Whole Baked Red Snapper with Herbs

The Yummy Mummy is one of those food blogs you’ll want to visit a lot.  The Yummy Mummy is Kim and her approach to feeding her two girls, 4-year old Lucy and 3-year old Edie, is right up our alley. According to Kim, “I don’t cook ‘food for kids.’” Instead, what she does prepare are fresh, delicious meals that appeal to adults. As for the kids, she expects them to eat what she and her husband eat, and she has a great sense of humor too!

If you’re wondering how Kim manages to get her family to eat the same meal happily — even the whole baked snapper recipe below — read on. We guarantee you’ll find lots of new ideas and a refreshing approach to mealtime.

Whole Baked Red Snapper with Herbs

  • One 2-to 2 ¼-pound whole red snapper, cleaned
  • 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or a few generous squirts from a lemon
  • 5 or 6 sprigs of lemon thyme
  • 10 chives (uncut)
  • Parsley, minced and used at the end for presentation
  • 1/4 stick butter, cut into pieces
  • 2 lemons, cut into wedges (save a few for presentation)
  • Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a good size baking pan. Butter the pan a bit to keep the fish from sticking. Wash fish, pat dry with paper towel and place it in center of a pan.

2. Season cavity of fish with garlic, salt and pepper, and lemon juice. Dot cavity with butter. Arrange some lemon wedges, lemon thyme sprigs and chives inside cavity. (You really can use whatever herb combination you like – I won’t yell at you). Season outside of fish with salt and pepper. Squeeze lemon over outside of fish. Salt and pepper the outside. Top with a couple lemon slices, if you like.

3. At this point, you can store the fish in the fridge for up to a day. If you can prep the fish ahead, dinner is just putting a pan in the oven. Simple.

4. Bake fish in oven until cooked through, about 35-40 minutes, depending on the size of the fish. Transfer fish to platter. Serve with a sprinkle of parsley and a generous little pile of lemon wedges.

Q: Where did you get the recipe?
A: Well, I made this myself without a recipe, but I hardly created it. Better cooks than I have done this dish in their own way. The great thing about this recipe is that you can use whatever combination of herbs you have on hand and it will turn out beautifully. You can be the creator of the dish.

Q: What do you like best about this recipe?
A: This is a really beautiful dish that you can bring to the table whole out of the oven, with juices bubbling and herbs crisped. And no one will ever know how ridiculously easy it is to make. It’s great for a special weeknight dinner because you can prep the fish ahead in the morning and just pop it in the oven after you get home from work or a busy day. I think it’s also important for kids to see that “fish” does not come from a fish stick box. And this is great way to have that discussion without actually having to have that discussion.

Q:  What do your kids think about this recipe?
A: The key part of this dish is that you serve the fish whole at the table “with eyes.” My kids love all things fish, but the first time they saw a roasted whole fish at a Chinese dinner party hosted by a friend, they completely freaked out. Now, they ask for “fish with eyes” regularly. They are tickled to see the whole fish, to be able to inspect it, touch the scales, the gills, even pick up the fish head and put it on their plate and look closely at the eyes. The adults can flake the fish off the bone and put it on their plate while they are mesmerized by the fish itself or they can dive in with their own forks. It’s such a tactile dish and perfect for curious, young ones who haven’t quite figured out that a fish head might be “gross.”

Q:  Other than the fact that this recipe makes everyone in your family happy, do you have any other tips for taking the “whine” out of dinner?
A: I have a pretty un-orthodox approach when it comes to family eating. I don’t spend a lot of time making my kids eat or worrying about how much they eat. I try to recognize that sometimes kids are hungry and clean their plates and other times, they don’t. I trust they know when they’ve had enough and when they want more. I have friends who follow their kids around the table with forkfuls of food begging them to eat “one more bite.” That just makes dinner painful for everyone. I want my kids to learn to be responsible for their own eating. I’m not saying this works for everyone, but it makes our meal times much more fun.

Here are five other clever mealtime tips from The Yummy Mummy:

> Make Soup: One of the best things I ever did was introduce soup as a lunch time meal when the kids were babies. They eat some kind of home-made soup at least every other day. This has helped me feel good about what they are taking in and it has become a go-to meal for us. There is always a pot of soup in the fridge or freezer, ready for a quick, healthy meal. If they don’t like dinner, for instance, they can have some soup. When I know they’ll eat nothing else, I know they’ll eat a bowl of soup.

> No Box Mac and Cheese in the House. Ever: Nothing kills a palate like the box. It is never in our house. They can enjoy it to their hearts content at their friend’s houses and it is a real treat for them, but they don’t have any expectation that it is served at our house. Why? Because once they taste it, they’ll want it all the time. And you can never go back. It’s like a drug. So, I just don’t introduce it in the first place.

> Never Order off the Children’s Menu: Shrimp cocktail is our go-to restaurant meal for the kids. If you start ordering chicken fingers and pasta with no sauce, you’ll have to do it every time you go into a restaurant. If you start this when they can’t read the menu, they’ll have a better shot at ordering more varied items as they get older and can choose for themselves.

> Say No to Carbs Whenever Possible: Limit carby snacks, no Goldfish or Wheat Thins to curb hunger. Fruit and nuts are great as snacks, but crackers are too filling and offer no nutrition. And that’s room in their stomachs that can house fish and meat and vegetables.

> Buy Parsley: Keep a bottle of dried parsley in the fridge. Dust every dish with a little dried or even better, fresh parsley. This helps kids realize there is no such thing as “white food” and it gets them used to the idea that herbs are supposed to be in food. Nothing goes out of my kitchen that is one color. Ever. And my reward for this is that they don’t pick the rosemary out of the chicken when we are at a dinner party.

Q: Tell us about The Yummy Mummy. By the way, we love your tag line: In the Kitchen with a Couple of Spatula-Wielding Toddlers:
A: The Yummy Mummy is a humor blog that focuses on parenting and cooking with small children underfoot. I don’t cook “food for kids.” I do cook fresh, tasty, dishes that appeal to adults and we expect our kids to eat what we eat. No gimmicks, no angles, no food with smiley faces. I have some big victories, but a lot of the time, the kids just throw food at us. And that’s okay too.

If you want to follow Kim, here’s a link to The Yummy Mummy.

November 21, 2009 | Filed Under Dinner, NoWhineWithDinner, PickyEaters, Seafood | 2 Comments 

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