Skip the Chocolates for V-Day: Make This

We don't really make a big deal about Valentine's Day around here, so the delicious simplicity of this recipe grabbed me. Instead of buying overpackaged & overpriced chocolates, why not make your own chocolatey treat? Made with quality dark chocolate & a few surprising ingredients you might not think of first when you're planning to make dessert, this one is sure to impress. Here's how you make it:

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New Meal Planning Tool: Foodfolio

Since I started meal planning a few months back, I've been seeking out new recipes for easy dinners. I tend to look online, rather than in cookbooks. However, because I'd bookmark the recipes on different devices, I had trouble finding them again. Then I discovered a new tool: Foodfolio. I signed up for free & started collecting the recipes I was finding on sites like AllRecipes, or friend's blogs like Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Foodfolio runs on a freemium model, so you can use the basics at no cost, or subscribe for more functionality. So far, I'm quite happy with the basics. It's simple to add recipes--you can just copy the link to the blog or recipe site & Foodfolio will usually grab a photo, title, etc, for you. If it's one of the big recipe sites, Foodfolio will import the ingredients & method in so you can access it within the app. If the recipe comes from another blog, it'll just save the link & an image for you. You can type in your own recipes if you like. I'm a visual person, so I really like having a page of images that I can scan easily to access the recipes I've added.

You can share recipes & browse for new ones. Once you've added them to your foodfolio, you can organize them by tags or categories. There's also space to add notes if you changed things when you made it, or other details. Foodfolio felt pretty intuitive to me, I didn't spend a lot of time figuring out how to use it.

Do you use a recipe aggregator like Foodfolio, or do you prefer actual cook books? If you try Foodfolio out, let me know what you think!

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The Magic of Meal Planning

 Back in October I started meal planning. I know, I know, I'm late to the party on this one. I knew for a long time that being more organized about our food would really help with food waste, nutrition & just the stress of trying to make dinner at the last minute, etc (more on all that later). But I resisted, because it felt too... I don't know... housewifey? Too Pinteresty? Not sure exactly.

So, anyway, I decided to do it, but in my own half-assed way. No fancy apps or calendars, I just make a short list on Evernote on my phone. I only plan meals Monday to Friday, leaving weekends to chance, restaurants, &/or my husband. I only plan dinner, leaving breakfast & lunch to habit (lots of toast, oatmeal, leftovers, fruit, yogurt & cheese). By plan, I come up with a meal (I'm a big fan of one pot meals, casseroles, & pastas with lots of meat & veg all in one dish) for each day, then figure out what groceries I'll need to order or go to the store for. I usually peruse the sales at our local grocery store & online at SPUD.ca, then plan a meal or two around something that's on sale.

Another trick I like to use is to plan at least two or three meals a week with overlapping ingredients. By that I mean, I'll cook up a big batch of rice or quinoa, then use it for two different meals. Or if we have, say, a whole roast chicken, I can turn that into wraps the next day, then chicken caesar salad the next day, or whatever.

Now that it's been about three months, I can say that I really do see a difference. We waste less food, I guess the leftovers are getting eaten for lunch more often, but more importantly we're not ordering a bunch of veggies & then forgetting about them in the crisper drawer. Dinner time is generally less stressful (though with a four-year-old & a 15-month-old at the table, nothing is ever all that calm) & we're eating a little earlier.

I've found a few new favourite recipes too. Skillet Cheeseburger Macaroni is the perfect comfort food. Quinoa Tuna Casserole (I substituted peas for mushrooms & tossed in a bunch of parmesan) is pretty healthy & a great budget meal.

What about you? Have you ever tried meal planning? Or online shopping for your groceries? If you're interested in trying organic grocery delivery, check out SPUD.ca. Use the code CRVAN-CORLIS when you sign up & you'll get $20 off an order of $50 (& so will I--thanks!).

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