Cooking With The Seasons : Spring & Summer

I'm a list-making-crazy chick. There is just no denying it. I have always made to do lists (for home work assignments, chores, and researching fun activities or party planning), and I have always found them helpful. Especially helpful for keeping on schedule; be it task, schedule or time. I was so nuts about maintaining an organized life, I had a table of contents in all of my school notebooks and binders. Unfortunately I was never so organized when it came to healthy food choices. As a kid, and high-school-er, I gave into the peer pressure and the embarrassment of being a square peg in a round hole. The kids around me could eat whatever they wanted. Why was I put on slim fast and the Zone diet when I was 10? Now that I can be in charge of my own kitchen, it has become so much easier to be in control. With no one buying the junk food, the house is stocked with only healthy foods! If Claus or I want the junk, we go out for it, but we never bring it home. Sometimes we go for long walks to a specific ice cream place, each get a single scoop cone and walk home. The only difficult part of being in charge of your own kitchen is when you have no time to plan ahead.
When it comes to doing the weekly shopping, I always recommend making a shopping list to prevent the dangerous impulse of buying junk food. Think about it. How many times have you gone to the supermarket without a list and accidentally over bought? Or worse, caved into the impulse and bought that tub of ice cream or that bag of M&M's. Around this time of year, fresh produce is abundant! If you have a tiny fridge, like me, you will need to keep your list short and very fresh! Always keep yourself stocked with fresh produce, especially this season! I mean, if you only have veggies in your house then you wont choose that brownie staring back at you from that tiny little baking tray. Head down to your local Farmer's Market with your empty basket (or in my case my backpack), and get ready for the fun. 

Right now, you can buy almost anything! Buying with the seasons will help you have varied dishes all year round. Right now, its JULY! Everyone is grilling meat, and eating Pop-sickles, and in need of sun block. Watermelon seeds are being spit on the ground, cherries and peaches are being made into preserves, and other summer-y foods are just everywhere!

Eat 'em while you can y'all!

Around this time of year, our shopping list usually looks like this:

Fruits

Nectarines, apples, oranges, lemons, tomatoes, bananas, plums, grapes, blue berries, strawberries, cherries, pineapple (small), watermelon

Veggies

Carrots, Celery, Basil, Lettuce, Onions, Zucchini, avocados, green beans, Leeks, broccoli, cauliflower, beets

Meat / Poultry / Seafood

Steak (low fat), Pork Loin (low fat), Chicken Breast, Thighs, or a Whole Bird, Frozen Shrimp, Halibut, Tuna Steaks

Dairy

Greek Yogurt, 2% Milk, Mozzarella Cheese, Cheddar Cheese

Pantry Items

Tuna in water, chickpeas, Olives, Quinoa, brown rice/gluten free pasta, Nuts and Seeds (specifically almonds, pistachios, cashews, pumpkin seeds)

I would even take this one step further and say you should ingredients for anything. Cook your healthy food in advanced! Prep your produce for snack and meals! Fight the laziness! Like with cleaning and working, a schedule for groceries helps you not to obsess. When you have a seriously over scheduled life, it leaves very little time to make smart food decisions. If you clean the kitchen before you go out shopping, it will be easier to prep the food once you're back. Once your sink is clean of dishes, and your tiny kitchen is ready for prepping, it is time to begin. Wash all your produce very carefully in cold water. Pat dry carefully, and then get out your storing materials. I use Chinese takeaway plastic boxes, since they are clear and reusable. I also put post-its to date the veggies, to make sure that they wont go bad on us. You can buy containers to keep organized, but some are clunky, difficult to clean, and expensive. If I had a bigger fridge, then I would be buying more things to organize my life.

 How do you organize your kitchen? Do
you use fancy equipment in your kitchen?
Do you have a different method
or more than one you would recommend?
Any method is better than a messy kitchen
leading to not so smart food choices. 

Well, I'm off to the Market!
Hope I'll see you there!

Bye For Now xx