Last year, I wrote about how I was going to try to plan a weekly menu instead of shopping daily. Back then, the plan lasted all of one week. That’s right: we couldn’t even make it work once. So I just kind of accepted it, and we went back to daily shopping. Fast forward to two weeks ago, and I decided it was time to try weekly planning and shopping again. This corresponded perfectly with the arrival of a book for review I requested from Blogging for Books: Supermarket Healthy by Melissa D’Arabian. The premise: It really is possible to make wholesome, healthy meals using whole-food ingredients found in a regular grocery store.
The book, like any standard cookbook, is divided into types of meals: snacks, breakfast, pasta, sandwiches, poultry, beef, soups, etc. We haven’t tried recipes from every category, but we have from several of them. Some of the ingredients aren’t as readily available as I hoped, at least in my area, so I’ve had to make a few substitutions (kale instead of Swiss chard in a soup, for example). But despite that, I have definitely found that the recipes in this book are absolutely amazing. And doable with “normal” ingredients. Out of the 15 or 20 that we’ve tried so far, all but two have gone onto a list for regular rotation. To have found at least a dozen new recipes that we all love is a wonderful thing.
My main complaint of this book is that it’s a trade paperback. I think cookbooks should always be printed with spiral binding so that it will stay open to make following the recipes easier. Additionally, I would like to see a photo of every recipe. I know this isn’t always feasible, but it’s very helpful in making sure you’re building everything correctly. These criticisms are minor in the long run, though. The book is so full of amazing recipes that I’m happy to overlook the problems.
So, what have our favorites been? I can think of three offhand that were exceptional. First, the sausage-lentil soup with chard (we used kale). The soup was very flavorful and hearty, and making it with brown-n-serve turkey sausage made it easy and healthy. We were all kind of sad when the pot ran empty. Next, the garlic chicken with potatoes. Oh, my goodness, that was amazing. Start by roasting some potatoes (whatever kind you like – we used slices of Yukon gold) and (a lot of) garlic in a roasting dish (I used my deep dish 9×13 baking pan) with a little bit of olive oil. About a fourth of the way through the roasting time, lay some fresh herbs atop the potatoes, then top with bone-in chicken pieces. Continue roasting until the chicken is cooked through. This was a wonderful meal that was super easy, and very hands-off. The potatoes barely needed chopping, and everything was cooked in one pan in the oven. And within just a short time, my house smelled absolutely heavenly. Hardly any dishes just makes it all the better! Finally, the chicken with fennel and onions, which is the picture included with this post. The picture in the book for this one looked like it was being served with pasta, but upon closer look, that was just the onion and fennel slices. But it gave me an idea anyway, and I served it over some angel hair pasta. The sauce from the vegetables was so amazing with the pasta, and the vegetables, though unconventional, were really delicious.
The recipes are only part of this book though. Ms. d’Arabian also includes “blueprints” for recipes throughout the book where she outlines a variety of ways to create your own meal from whatever you have on hand. This might include something like “Pick one of these three meats {pork, fish, or chicken], add an aromatic vegetable and some herbs {with examples of these}, add a sauce base {broth, juice, or wine}, and cook one of these ways {again, with examples}.” I haven’t utilized a blueprint yet, but I appreciate their inclusion in the book. As I get used to this style of recipe, I’ll definitely start experimenting more.
All this to say, I heartily recommend this book. If you have it in your budget, the $24.99 purchase price (less on Amazon) is well worth it. At the very least, head over to your library and see if you can borrow it to try some of the recipes. You won’t regret it!
Blessings,
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are those of myself or my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.
Oh my gosh, Wendy! I want this book!
Sadly (sort of) I’m already reviewing “Bread Revolution” for them or I would go and order it immediately! 🙂
Mmm, bread! Are there lots of good recipes in the bread book, Wren? At least you know which book to explore next now, though. 🙂
Yumm! This sounds really good. I need another cookbook like I need a hole…well you know. I’ll have to put it on my list to check out though.
Haha, that’s funny, Kemi. You should definitely try to find it at your library though. The recipes are well worth a look, even if you don’t own the book.
I think I recognize this woman from a TV show from years ago??? Your daily shopping is so interesting to me! (Probably because I hate grocery shopping and have been known to not go for 6 weeks before. HA!) 🙂 Do you ever buy things in bulk? Are you going for just a few specialty items each day? Curious to know more!
I recognized her name, but had never seen any of her shows. According to her bio, she was a winner on “The Next Food Network Star.” So I guess that’s where people would know her from. *shrug*
For two weeks in a row now, I’ve done all the weekly shopping at once. We went to the store once or twice each week for a couple of things that I either forgot or didn’t get enough of. But so far, it’s working really well going once a week. I don’t know that I could go less than that at this point. I’m not that busy, even with three kids, so I just might go crazy if I didn’t have to spend that hour a week doing the shopping. But I do like going weekly. I feel like we’re spending less money this way, which is better for the budget. Not only are we spending less money at the store by shopping weekly instead of daily (which I don’t understand, because the same amount of food needs to be purchased, but whatever lol), but because our cupboards and fridge are stocked, and there’s a plan in place for what meals to eat, we’re eating out less. That alone is a huge win for our family. When there’s little or no food in the house, it’s too easy to say “Let’s just grab something.” Which, for a family of 5 – one of whom is a boy rapidly entering puberty (!) – is expensive.
Even when we shopped daily, I would still buy things like chicken breasts in bulk and keep them in the freezer. Then on day 2 (or 3 or 4 or whenever), I would just buy other things to pair with the chicken.
The next thing I need to tackle in this quest is using coupons and shopping the ads at stores. That may be a ways off though!