Eating Healthfully and Frugally

Ever since the day I played SAHM a couple weeks ago, I've decided that the kitchen is no longer the alien, enemy domain I had always regarded it as. I enjoyed being inspired by recipes I encountered not only in cookbooks and cooking magazines, but home decorating magazines, Reader's Digest, random blogs and other places on the Web. I enjoyed shopping for wholesome, fresh ingredients while planning those meals. And I enjoyed puttering around the kitchen, experimenting, trying different things, trying new things, learning from my mistakes.

As many busy households are prone to do, we found ourselves ordering takeout far more often than we liked. Instead of the occasional weekend treat, it was starting to become a staple. Not only was that less healthful all around, but it was definitely making a dent in our pocketbook! You wouldn't think it made that much of a difference, but a few dollars here, a few buck there, and it starts adding up! Trust me, I settle the bills every month, I see it all!

Now we're making a more conscientious effort to eat fresh, home-cooked meals as often as possible. And since I've discovered a newfound enjoyment in the process, I thought it might be a good idea to start cataloging some of my experiments. So I started up a food/cooking blog:

http://lycheesilk.blogspot.com

If you're wondering about the name, read the "About" section of the blog to learn more :-)

Chronicling the various culinary adventures was fun enough, if only to log the various things I'd tried, for future reference. Blogging about my newest creations keeps the motivation going. Then I discovered another motivating factor: breaking down the actual cost of each meal. It's amazing how cost-effective cooking at home can be! I mean, it's always been a given that it's cheaper than eating out, but I never truly realized just how MUCH you save. $5-7 for a home-cooked meal that serves all 3 of us (plus usually enough left over for Todd's lunch at school the next day)? You'd have to order solely off the dollar menu at McDonald's in order to get 3 meals out of that amount of money. And we all know how nutritious McDonald's is :-P

This afternoon Todd came home early, feeling ill and running a fever. I had to go home early and work from there while he rested on the couch. And since he would miss his swim lesson that evening, I suddenly had free time to make dinner. This time, instead of planning out recipes and shopping accordingly, I had to make do with what already had in the house. A quick search on the Web for some recipes, and I threw together my own improvisation of barley risotto. Although it wound up more soupy than intended, it still turned out pretty tasty :-9

Here's to more fun with future culinary adventures! And if you have any simple, nutritious, favorite recipes of your own to share, I'd love to hear them!

Bon Apetit!