Meal Planning - Getting Started

This month, I am taking tips and tricks revolving around buying in bulk, budgeting, meal planning, and meal prepping. I think this follows the theme of the last few months well and I think they are very helpful tricks and tips that not everyone thinks about. All of the things I mentioned really work together. If you meal plan you can budget things out if you have a budget you know if you can buy in bulk, if you buy in bulk you can save money and meet your budget. It is a vicious circle sometimes. And each part of the cycle has things that affect everything else.

Today we are going to look at meal prepping. In my option, the best way to start meal prepping is to be prepared. Preparing to me is simple. You want to be ready to store your food. So you need containers or bags to store what you are going to buy so that it stays fresh, and keeps longer. So the first thing I recommend is Glass Storage. Now there is nothing wrong with plastic to an extent. However, I find glass so much more reliable and versatile. You don't have to worry about what you store in these, they will not stain, and you can pop them in the microwave, in the oven, in the fridge and the freezer and not worry about them. Personally, I love Anchor products, and they have so many different sets you can buy. I threw all my plastic stuff and replaced it all with these dishes.

Set of 12

Set of 4 (Round - Extra Small, Small, Medium, Large)

Set of 4 (Round and Square Mixed)

To piggyback off of that. I also suggest glass bakeware. Again I like the Anchor ones so that's what I go with. But if you have glass bakeware you can make meals in them ready to go. A lasagna for example can be made right in the dish and then stored in the fridge if it will be eaten within a reasonable time frame or frozen even for another time. I recommend ones with lids (especially if you are freezing them), but tin foil would work also.

Red Set

Blue Set

I also suggest a food sealer if you can afford it and you buy in bulk often. These food sealers will help keep your meat or even vegetables fresh in the freezer. They work a lot better than just freezer bags themself and it is a great way to save money. You can rest easy knowing that even if you buy a lot of meat all at once, it will stay good and fresh this way. (This is the one I have but anyone should be fine.)

Coming off of that comment, my next tip is ironically to buy the sandwich bags or "ziplock" bags. Even though I don't trust these in the freezer they are great when meal prepping. If you have a lot of chopped-up vegetables this is a great way to store them. If you make salads ahead of time, this is a great way to measure stuff that you want to add later (for example croutons, which would get soggy if added right away. I also love to use them to portion out my homemade trail mix. I portion them out, and then just grab a bag when I want a snack.

Mario Monday - Items - Potion Door

Today and all this month we are sharing some of the items from the game. Last month we started the Character graphs and these items are going to be what they are holding except they will be by themselves. So no surprise this month, we are sharing the Door Potion, the POW Block, the Key, the Onion and the Bomb This week we are focusing on the Potion Door. All these graphs are going to be 20 by 20.

Colours Recommended/Required:

- Red

- White

- Black

- Blue

- Background Colour

Month Long Special - Challenge #8

 At the end of last month, we shared a Writer's Block Challenge that was Day One of the Reader's Digest Boot Camp of Writing Prompts document. And that inspired this Month Long Special. So all this month the challenges are going to come from the Writing Prompt Book Camp Document here.

Day One's prompt was to break up with Writer's Block. Day Two the Theme was "The One That Got Away." Again, for more information you can find a little more in depth stuff from that document or their website. So I wrote this about "The One", I change a few details for privacy sake, but for the most part this is exactly what I wrote.

I recognized you, even from behind I could tell it was you. My heart started to pound and I had a hard time catching my breath. I shouldn’t have been surprised that you were with her. I saw that you got married again, I guess I should have seen that coming. But after the hoops your first wife had to jump through to get you to settle down, it is still a surprise that after only a little over a year together you got married again. I expect you to run off, just like you did last time we ran into each other. Maybe you didn’t hear my voice this time. Or maybe you don’t care this time.

As we come face to face, I can see the surprise on your face. It’s obvious almost immediately that you are uncomfortable. “How are you.” You rub at the back of your neck and I smile knowing that you only do that when you’re nervous.

“I’m good,” I lie with a fake smile.

I don’t want to ask you how you are because frankly I don’t want to hear that you’re doing well and that you are happy with your new wife and new life. She’s pretty, not your type usually but still pretty. She’s a city girl and that’s never been your thing. You always were a small town boy, a farm boy. And it matched up with my dreams too. Living with a beautiful house in the middle of nowhere. A place where the kids could grow and play. Who would have thought you’d decide to move to New York and marry a woman who looks like she’s never seen a farm or a back country road in her life.

“This is Sherry.” I smile and nod at her but don’t pay her much more attention than that. “Go get our seats, I’ll be right there.” You dismiss her and she seems a little insulted by it but takes her leave of us.

We just stand there looking at each other for a while. I can’t believe how much you have changed. Your hair is thinner now and you have contacts instead of glasses. You’re much tanner now too. Living in the city has changed you it would seem. You hug me unexpectedly and I can smell your new cologne, It’s not the masculine stuff you usually wear, or used to wear I guess. This smells more like a teenage gym class. Again, not something a man who can name the type of fertilizer in the field should be wearing.

“Listen, I-.”

We both go to start talking at the same time and stop. I blush and wait for you to talk first. “I’m sorry that things went the way they did.” I am too but I am not going to say that to you. Frankly, I don’t believe you anyways. It was made pretty clear that one of us was in love and the other moved to New York and into a new life.

“Is everything okay,” the new voice brings a smile to my face, the way yours used to. My husband smiles as he wraps his arms around me and cradles my belly.

The look on your face says it all. Up until this point I don’t think you felt anything. I don’t think you were sad or remorseful. I think you were saying what you thought was right in the situation. But I think you thought you won. That I was still pinning for you and you won because you had started your new life and I was still the same pathetic girl in the small town you left behind.

I know my husband knows exactly who you are. We have talked about you often. Funny how unbeknownst to both of us you were a major thing in my life. You taught me a lot, your presence and your absence. And he had to repair the damage you did. So yeah, he knows exactly who you are.

“Why don’t you go grab our seats babe,” he kisses me and smiles. “I’ll bring supper when I am done here, I am sure the baby is getting restless.”

This gets your attention. And I have to try to hide a smile. I wonder if you’re thinking that I should be pregnant with your baby or worried about what my husband will say to you. I would say goodbye to you and head to our seats and wait for the love of my life to join me. I think he would thank you, because he is an asshole like that. He would thank you for being stupid enough to let me go.

All Rights Reserved by A.L. Keegan (2020)

Basic Theme Challenge #4

 Today's challenge is chicken. Plain and simple, just make a dish (main course) with chicken as the star of the show. Today, we are sharing a spice blend to help inspire you! You can feel free to use this recipe or create something completely on your own!

This recipe is super simple. It is basically all ones. Again this one can be as spicy or mild as you want. Feel free to play around with the mix to your liking.

1/4 cup of Chili Powder

1 tbsp Paprika

1 tbsp Thyme

1 tbsp Brown Sugar

1 tbsp Garlic Salt

1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper (can sub for Paprika or eliminate along with half the Brown Sugar)

1 tsp Black Pepper

1 tsp Salt