SISTER WISDOM : build a better life

Hey, you can even have a better salad for breakfast during your better morning.

I refuse to believe that trading recipes is silly.  Tunafish casserole is at least as real as corporate stock. ~Barbara Grizzuti Harrison

Smart Moves for Morning

1. Get into a breakfast routine. It's okay to eat the same thing every day for breakfast, and it will help you be prepared and be sure you're eating something. Switch out week to week if you get bored.
2. Do some prep the night before: get the coffee ready to go, put out breakfast plates, go ahead and unload the dishwasher so it's not waiting for you.
3. Come in to a clean kitchen. At the minimum: put away food, wipe down counters, and put dirty dishes into hot, soapy water to soak. A step above: wash the dishes or load in the dishwasher. Leave only the dirtiest pots/pans soaking overnight.
4. Pack any to-go lunches the night before when you're putting food away. You're in the kitchen already; just get a lunch-sized Tupperware, plop in the leftovers, and put it in a lunch bag along with an apple, side salad, or baggie of carrots.
5. What you eat for breakfast doesn't have to be "traditional" according to American standards. Try something different: a boiled egg instead of scrambled, chicken salad in a pita, a grilled cheese sandwich, a cup of broth, fresh fruit salad, peanut butter on whole wheat crackers.

Save Time and Money

• Teach your kids to set the table and clear the table. Even very young children can set out place mats, napkins, and silverware. A 3 year old can learn to carefully carry her plate and scrape the scraps off of it, then set it on the counter. A 2 year old can take cloth napkins to the laundry room. Use the help you have!
• Simplify lunches at home for the kids. You don't need an elaborate spread. Leftovers always work. A sliced apple, a couple of pieces of cheese, and a few crackers make my kids happy. Or try a simple bagel sandwich, leftover veggies and a helping of cottage cheese, boiled eggs and fresh fruit.
• Always figure out dinner before lunch time. That way you have time to thaw meat, ransack the pantry, borrow a cup of sugar, whatever you need to do to get it ready without a freak-out at 5 p.m. And if you need hubby to pick something up on his way home, you can let him know sooner in the day; he can get it on his lunch break if he wants to and avoid the end-of-day rush at the store.
• Buy spices at the local Asian or Indian market. Curry, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, and lots of others: good quality, low price.
• Don't buy vegetables and fruit you don't like unless you have a specific recipe to try with them. It's a waste to purchase food and let it rot, so go with the stuff you know you enjoy. When you find a recipe that looks appealing with a "new" food in it, try it along with other stuff you know you like. Give yourself a few times of trying before you decide if you like it or not. Familiarity is a powerful part of how we react to food.

Make a Better Salad

Copy the prepackaged salad concept - the ones with lettuce already washed, a little bag of toppings and a little bag of dresing - with your own salad ingredients.

• Wash, dry, and package your lettuce (see here for ideas on best ways to keep it fresh).
• Wash and chop your veggies; sort out your toppings into zip bags
• Make a batch of your favorite home-made dressing for the week.

When you want a salad, just...

• dump the lettuce in a bowl
• tear into pieces
• throw on some veggies
• add the toppings of choice
• and dress.

For a lunch bag, put the lettuce and veggies in a container, then add the bag of toppings and a small container of dressing on the side.

Try these topping/dressing combinations:

• dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, raspberry vinaigrette
• peanuts, shaved coconut,  diced cilantro, Asian lime dressing
• pecans, fresh blueberries, poppyseed dressing
• walnuts, dried apricots, fresh pear slices, poppyseed dressing
• garlic croutons, red pepper flakes, Italian or roasted garlic dressing
• sundried tomatoes, bacon bits, ranch dressing

Give it some heft with one of these babies:

• boiled eggs
• grilled chicken
• broiled fish (tilapia is awesome)
• tuna
• cheese
• beans

Remember that herbs add the zippydidooda. Keep fresh cilantro, parsley, basil, whatever your fave is: throw some chopped in with your lettuce or minced in with your dressing. Yum.

30-Minute Meals

Shrimp Stirfry and Rice. Make 4 cups of rice according to package directions; meanwhile, chop an onion, a bell pepper, and a head of broccoli; saute in oil until crisp-tender; throw in a package of frozen snow peas and some peeled shrimp; cook; season with garlic, pepper, soy or teriyaki. Serve veg-shrimp over rice.

Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce. Cook pasta according to package directions; meanwhile, mince 4 cloves of garlic; heat olive oil in a large saute pan; add the garlic, cook till fragrant; add a 10 ounce can of tomato paste, 2 cups of water, and 1/2 cup of cream. Whisk together; season with salt, pepper, basil, oregano. Serve sauce over pasta.

Sausage Potato Soup. Peel 4 large potatoes, chop, and add to a pot of boiling water; let cook just under a boil for 20 minutes; meanwhile, slice a pound of kielbasa or smoked sausage into pieces. Drain the potatoes, reserving 2 cups of water; return potatoes and water to pot, add sausage and a can of creamed corn. Heat through, add a cup of milk, and season with salt and lots of pepper.

Ranch Burger Soup. Cook a pound of ground beef; drain off grease. Add beef to large pot; pour in 1 quart of chicken or vegetable broth and add whole kernel corn, cooked navy or kidney beans, diced tomatoes (fresh or canned, undrained), and a packet of Ranch seasoning. Add more water if you want it soupier. Cook until heated through. Serve over corn chips, top with grated cheddar.

This Week's Menu

I'm linked up with OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday; you should be, too!

• Winter Squash Soup, Deviled Eggs
• " Real Food" Hamburger Helper, Salad
• Cheesy Chicken Quesadillas with Homemade Tortillas
• Creamy Cajun Pasta, Salad
• Broiled Tilapia, Dilled Potato Salad, Sauteed Kale

Image courtesy of Zoha N.