Since I don't have any recent recipes to share with you (shame on me), I thought I would focus today on creativity, and how creativity came to mind for me today.First, my story is: I have been really, really busy with school, church, and family.
That is my story, and I'm sticking to it....
I do have some plans for some really good food to bring your way over my spring break. I'm not going to share my menu because, life happens, things sometimes get in the way, and my routine may be interrupted.
But to tell you what brought me to creativity today is, my last trip to the grocery store.
The lady in front of me in the check-out lane had a total purchase of $209.00.
WOW!! You can get a whole lot of groceries for $209.00, right?
But what were the items that she was paying that amount of money for?
Cases of pop
Frozen pizzas
Frozen French fries
Frozen dinners
Bags of chips
Bags of cookies
Prepackaged foods
All I could picture in my mind were her children.....Are you with me here? Those poor kids...
As my soon to be purchases on the conveyor belt are coming up behind hers, I notice a tremendous difference.
100% natural juice
fresh vegetables
fresh meats
yogurt
olive oil
okay, a couple cake mixes and frosting
wheat bread
salad dressings
coffee creamer
$209.00 unhealthy, versus $88.00 healthy
There are things to consider: She may have a bigger family than I do, she may have a job that requires a lot of her time, she is lazy?, she treats her kids with garbage too much, her family may like to eat that way....and I'm sure there are many more considerations.
But, is it really that hard to feed a family by preparing good foods?
I used to work 50 - 60 hours a week when my children were small. Part of my creative life consisted of feeding them well, cooking for them daily, and sitting down to the table together everyday for our meals.
Let's see, how much time did that actually take out of my day? Home-cooked meal + family conversation = maybe 2 hours
What do you need to be creative?
Courage - try new things and risk failure.
Intuition -make decisions and produce ideas.
Play - humor and fun are the ultimate creative acts.
Expressive - injecting your personality into your work
Find Order - research and critical thinking are key tools the creative person
Motivated By A Task - persuading (healthy eating)
Find Solutions - the opportunity to enforce something new
Challenge Assumptions - take what others advise with a grain of salt
Make Connections - between old ideas and new ideas
Push The Envelope - expand the boundaries of what is possible
Test - new ideas (do not be afraid of being wrong or losing)
Do you think this creative list could be applied into everyday cooking? I do! And it can even be fun with the whole family involvement.
"Those who have been stealing must never steal again. Instead, they must work. They must do something useful with their own hands. Then they will have something to give to people in need." Ephesians 4: 28
Very very nice post today my friend... How hard is it to put something into the crockpot container (the take out kind) before you go to bed place it in the fridge and as you are walking out the door putting it into the crockpot and turning it on??? Not difficult. That way when you walk in the door you can finish whatever needs to be done in 5-10 minutes and viola dinner on the table... here is another tip... when I used to work lots I would buy ground sirloin in 5 lb amounts and on my day off have a couple of hour cooking marathon... I would have a cutting board out and cut several types of vegetables (onions, celery, carrot and have different pans going on the stove and several bowls placing the ingredients into to make, chili, spaghetti sauce, meatloaf and meatballs (all with that meat and veggie mixture. Here are 4 dinners in one day.... sometimes I skipped the meatballs and made Hobo packets too (meat and veggie packets cooked in the oven)... not hard.. maybe you and I should post some time saving getting meal on the table fast on our blogs... ;) I am going to start brainstorming now.....
ReplyDeleteWell, you know, it only takes 45 minutes to bake pork chops or boneless skinless chicken breast. In that 45 minutes while they're baking, you can prepare a potato and veggie. Or rice and salad. Or rice and veggie. A roast can be thrown in the crock pot...I can continue, but I would fill up the whole blog page. I will be anxious to see what you come with. Thanks Joelle.
ReplyDeletesorry my post was so long.... I am with you..taking takes little time and the benefits are so worth it...
ReplyDeleteNot a problem Joelle. Comments are good....
ReplyDeleteI love hearing from you.
Awesome creativity you shared today Ms Angie! Very nice - and oh so true! I hope it gets taken to heart. Looking forward to your spring break posts...MMMMM!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it crazy! I spend soooooo much money every week getting healthy stuff... lettuce is now 3.99 here I almost passed out. When my husband was on his way home from work yesterday I asked him to please pick up eggs and a gallon of milk.... he returned with....the eggs and milk PLUS Reese's Cups, two boxes of cake mix (he said he couldnt decide which he wanted me to make him) fried chicken, a bag of chicken tenders, mash potatoes and some of candy crap. He said he was hungry. The previous day I spent $150 on fruits, veggies and some other things. Now we have MORE crap here and he doesnt get it. Sooooo last night I might have mention him getting a double chin.... and he said eh its just marriage wait...keep eating the carbs buddy....ha
ReplyDeletexo
Carbs are the enemy....
ReplyDeleteI can't believe that lettuce costs that much....
Where do you live?
Here I can get it for $1.99