Be honest- how many of us made a resolution to eat healthier or lose weight?  Probably the same one we made last year, right?  But we don't have to give up on it mid-January.  There is a way we can make this a year-long reasonable change.  We can start cooking at home. 

It doesn't have to be complicated or time consuming. There are many simple but quick recipe ideas for making healthier meals in our own kitchen. Making it yourself will take the mystery out of what you are eating and help to save some dollars too.  One tasty dish is our chicken-penne-pasta.
Another time saving idea- You're at the store and don't remember what ingredients to get.  Just grab your mobile phone and and look up the recipe and ingredients on the our web site. How slick is that?!

Well this was an interesting  year! Looking back to January 2008, do you think we could have predicted some of things that have happened this year?  Probably not.   But now let's look forward to 2009.  We will  be making some lifestyle changes.  For example, trying to be more green and to be a bit more frugal. 
One of the ways we are planning to do this, is to eat at home more. We know that eating at home saves money so we will be looking for  easy ways to cook more economically  and have fun doing it.  And you know what - it will probably be healthier too.
We'd love to hear from you with your ideas for living smart and having fun in 2009.

 

The fall is breezing in and soon summer will be a distant memory….No need to fret (or freeze)!  There are many exciting fall activities that can be enjoyed outdoors- it will just take one more layer of clothingJ 

 

Since we have discovered the fun of cooking, what better way to do so than with fresh ingredients that you can find at your local farmer’s market! 

Most farmers’ markets are usually open until the end of October so there is still plenty of time to make a trip and get busy planning a fall feast!  Among the produce you’ll find in season this time of year include: Apples, Squash, Garlic, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Swiss Chard, Pumpkin, Pears, Mushrooms, Parsnips, Ginger, Cauliflower and Figs. 

 

 

You can throw together a simple sauté of garlic, squash, swiss chard, and mushrooms tossed with a little olive oil and salt…. serve it with a grilled chicken breast and you’ve got a tasty and healthy fall meal!  For the more experienced- try your hand at a basic apple pie recipe, you’ll be sure to have all the neighbors lining up at your door!  For more ideas check out our FK DVD! 

 

 

 

False, False, False- How often do we hear “It is too difficult and it costs too much to eat healthy”. 

Good news- studies of young women  have shown that the more meals we eat at home, the healthier our diet will be. And we know it certainly costs less to eat home than to eat out and it really doesn’t have to be time consuming- a little prior planning goes a long way! 

 

Have a good morning-

Warning: you may have to refrain from hitting the snooze button but it’s worth it!

For example, we used to go to the coffee shop every morning for coffee --- and a muffin.  Depending on the drink you order that adds up to over $5 a day, and that's just breakfast!  Now we make and take our coffee (if you like cream, buy a flavored kind at the store like French vanilla or hazelnut) and bring along a maybe a juice and cereal-to-go bar, or a yogurt or sometimes our own homemade muffin.  Yes, occasionally on the weekend we make our own muffins-you’d be surprised how easy they are - freeze them and grab one as we go out the door in the morning. 

 

Pack your lunch the night before-

Packing a lunch like a veggie wrap or an entrée salad made with the leftover chicken we grilled for dinner are couple of ideas for simple, healthy and low cost options. And the added bonus of bringing our lunch –it gives us time for a walk on our lunch break.  How healthy is that?  It feels good on your pocket book and your waistline… not to mention how great it is to get outside now that summer has finally arrived! 

 

We can help you learn to cook with our many healthy and low cost ideas and recipes on our First Kitchen DVD  but we’d love to hear your ideas for making healthy and money saving meals.