The Joy of Cooking (and shopping?)

I love the weekend.  With it is a new-ness, even if it is the "end" of the week.  There is the joy of being unfettered from what we do every day, of avoiding the "work" requirements.

For my family, Saturday means some of the same things every week.  We are going to go out to breakfast, followed by shopping and then cleaning the house.  Shopping has gotten so it is taking much longer than it has in the past back in NY.  My family is starting to eat much healthier and we have a lot more choices of stores to shop at.   We are buying far more produce (which means Wegmans, or if we go to Annapolis - Whole Foods Market and the Fresh Market), and some items specific to health food stores (Mom's Organic Market if we didn't go to Whole Foods), and then probably Safeway for the remainder.  If we need some basic essentials, we might also hit Aldi's.

Hitting multiple stores has become even more important with our new outlook on the New Year.  While we were at Wegmans, we had a cart that was around 2/3 full (the full size cart) of produce.  The cart was topped off with tabouli, hummus (spinich-artichoke,) black bean dip and the like.  It cost around $100.

After Wegmans, we headed over to Safeway to pick up some things we need that were on sale there - and it was around $100.  Now, if eating health is supposed to be so much more expensive - shouldn't that have been the other way around?

While I generally dislike shopping for to long, this one was kind of exciting.  Why?

1) Tonight's dinner - Confetti Enchiladas.  We haven't had these in ages, and they are sooooo good!

2) Tomorrow Night's Dinner - Ratatouille - Never made this before!  Thank you for the suggestion Bopspeed!

3) Mashed Cauliflower - Everyone says it tastes like Mashed Potatoes.   I'm very excited to try it!  We are even going to use almond milk in it to help cut back on the Dairy!

[caption id="attachment_2108" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Well, it LOOKS like mashed Potatoes.[/caption]

4) Gluten Free Bread - I made the plunge, and bought Gluten Free bread for myself.  From what I have been reading on line, it seems like a good thing to try-out!

[caption id="attachment_2109" align="aligncenter" width="250"] Little Nervous about this..[/caption]

5) Awesome Snacks for work - I have Salt & Pepper Pistachios (these things were made by the gods themselves - had to be!  Bet Ultra-marathoners helped design them..), all sorts of fresh veggies, Tempeh (ok, thats actually for sandwiches at work, but still), Greek Yogurt and Oreos. (ok, not really on the Oreos.. Just seeing if you are paying attention.)

[caption id="attachment_2111" align="aligncenter" width="150"] Yum! Yum! and Yum again![/caption]

It looks like a yummy week! Not only did we get a lot of healthy food - but I got a lot of healthy food I can prepare the night before. For example, we are going to do "pasta" but with spaghetti squash instead of pasta. I will bake it the night before, and then toss it in the fridge. Then all I have to do is heat it up, steam some veggies and toss it all together with pesto - TA DA!

I really enjoy cooking - and I am looking forward to jumping into it again. I have to admit, it is a bit odd to cook at night AFTER eating dinner - but it has worked OK this week!