Back when I did a makeover on Melissa’s Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies, I had a request for a makeover on everyone’s all-time favorite: chocolate chip cookies. I accepted the challenge and got to work studying my favorite recipes. My go-to, no-fail recipe has always been the one from the Betty Crocker Cookbook. I have experimented with whole wheat flour in the past, but have never made any other adjustments. One of my new favorite cookies, Lisa’s Maple Pecan Breakfast Cookies (which showed up on this month’s menu) provided added inspiration, especially when it came to sweeteners. I will warn you that there is a small amount of sugar and some white flour, but this is a treat right? Self-control, self-control, self-control….

I’ll take you through my process incase you are looking to “make over” one of your favorite recipes. I chose 100% maple syrup over honey because I felt that the flavor would be complimentary to the chocolate instead of competing with the chocolate. Honey has a tendency to leave a strong flavor, which is sometimes desirable (for instance it played so well with the peanut butter in the above mentioned cookies!) and sometimes not. This is also the first time that I’ve experimented with coconut oil in a cookie. The old Betty Crocker Cookbook called for shortening (big whole food no-no) and butter. You could definitely substitute softened butter here if desired, but I felt that the coconut oil added a little bit of natural sweetness and softness of flavor instead of the salty, strong flavor of butter. Last step, I evened out my wet and dry ingredients for the right consistency and increased the rising agent (baking soda) just slightly to account for the density of the whole wheat flour. The result was a soft, cakey cookie full of quality ingredients. They were sweet enough to be a treat, but not overwhelming.

I’m engaged in a life long struggle with my sweet tooth. Even though I don’t think I will ever totally defeat it, I think that is ok. I believe we are created to enjoy good things in this life – even sweets! But one of my goals on my whole food journey is to adjust my tastes so that much smaller amounts of sweetener are still satisfying. Fasting from sugar, natural sweeteners, and “makeovers” of my favorite foods have been key steps in reaching this goal. How do you assuage your sweet tooth and still stay within your whole foods guidelines?

Whole Food Chocolate Chip Cookies

Author/Source:

Kim @ Onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:

• .25 cup brown sugar or sucanat
• .25 cup maple syrup
• .5 cup coconut oil, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• .5 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• .75 cup whole wheat flour
• .75 teaspoon baking soda
• .25 teaspoon salt
• .5 cups high quality chocolate chips
• .5 cup nuts (optional)

Directions:

In a medium bowl beat together sugar, syrup, oil, vanilla, and egg until smooth. In another medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda, and salt. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 12 minutes or until just lightly browned.

Freezing Directions:

Cool completely and store in freezer bags. Thaw to serve. Reheat for 15-30 seconds in the microwave if desired.

Servings: 18 cookies

**conversion chart image provided by Erik Spiekermann

This Post will be linked at:

• Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen’s Country Cottage
• These Chicks Cooked Weekly Recipe Collection at This Chick Cooks
• Pennywise Platter at The Nourishing Gormet
• Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS

I have never been a fan of stuffed peppers.  However, this different take filled with salmon, rice and zucchini made me curious to give stuffed peppers another try.  The result is a great mix for a lighter summer meal.  Salmon’s high omega-3 fatty acids and high protein content make it a healthy choice.

Summer Salmon Stuffed Peppers

Author/Source:

Abbi @ Onceamonthmom.com, adapted from Healthy Foodie Travels

Ingredients:

• 10 ounces salmon, grilled or poached
  
• 2 tsp garlic, minced
• 0.5 cup chopped onion
• 0.5 cup chopped zucchini
• 0.5 cup chopped yellow squash
• 0.5 cup chopped tomatoes
• 4 cups cooked brown rice
• 0.5 tsp dried basil
• 0.5 tsp dried oregano
• 0.5 tsp dried thyme
• 1 cup water
• 4 bell peppers, assorted colors

Directions:

In a large pan, cook the garlic and onion until light brown.  Add zucchini, squash and tomato.  Cooke 1-2 minutes.  Add brown rice and water, stir for 1-2 minutes.  Reduce heat, add salmon and season with salt and pepper.  Remove from heat.  Halve the peppers, removing stems and seeds.  Place peppers in baking dishes and add filling to each.  Proceed to freezing directions or bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes if serving immediately.  

Freezing Directions:

Freeze baking dishes with stuffed peppers.  To serve, thaw, bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until heated through.

Servings: 6

Nutritional Information:  Serving Size = 1 stuffed pepper. Calories – 463, Total Fat – 8.6 g, Total Carbohydrates – 76.6 g, Protein – 18.4 g.  Dietary Fiber: 4.8  WW Plus Points: 12

**conversion chart image provided by Erik Spiekermann

When summer rolls around, I like to cook outside as much as I can.  I also like meals that use as much of the bounty from my garden and farmer’s market as I can and are family friendly.  Tacos are the perfect meal for summer!  Not only family friendly, where everyone can customize their taco with just the fillings they like, but they are a perfect vehicle to add different veggies that kids might not otherwise eat.  All that, and Gluten Free Dairy Free Spicy-Sweet Pork Grilled Taco filling can be made on the grill, keeping the kitchen cool.  I like to serve with guacamole or avocado slices, tomatoes, shredded veggies (such as zucchini or yellow summer squash), salsa and salad.  Delicious!

If you don’t eat pork, substitute chicken breasts for the pork.  If you don’t have a grill, use your oven’s broil setting, turning the tenderloin partway through the cooking time.

Gluten Free Dairy Free Spicy-Sweet Pork Grilled Tacos

Author/Source:

Adapted by Angela from Mary @  glutenfreespinner.com

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons dried cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions:

Mix the spices and sugar together. Rub the spice mixture into the pork tenderloins. Cover and refrigerate for two hours before cooking.  Preheat grill on high and reduce to medium high before placing the pork on grates. Cover and cook 7 minutes, turn and cook another 7 minutes until it has an internet temperature of 145 degrees F.  Remove from grill and tent with foil for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve in heated corn tortillas with you favorite taco toppings.

Freezing Directions:

Mix the spices and sugar together. Rub the spice mixture into the pork tenderloins. Put the tenderloins into the number of freezer bags indicated. Remove as much air as possible, seal, label, and freeze.  To serve, thaw and proceed with cooking instructions, above.

Servings:  6

**conversion chart image provided by Erik Spiekermann

This Post will be linked at:

• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed With Grace
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Tuesdays at the Table with All the Small Stuff
• Delicious Dishes at It’s a Blog Party
• Tip My Tuesday at Tip Junkie

Quinoa (pronounced Keen-Wah) is a super nutritious, gluten free grain that makes a great addition to any baby food puree.  Typically introducing to your baby between the age of  6-9 months, this grain is packed with fiber, iron, calcium and folate.   As a great source of protein, quinoa can also be a option for the vegetarian baby.

Quinoa with strawberries

Lisa @ Onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa, cooked per package directions
  
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• .5 cups strawberries
• .5 cups formula, prepared

Directions:

Combine quinoa, cinnamon and berries. Puree, adding formula a Tablespoon at a time. 

Freezing Directions:

Transfer mixture to a nonfreezer gallon bag. Cut a small hole in the bottom corner of the bag and use it to pour/squeeze the purees into ice cube trays. DO NOT OVERFILL. Only fill each cube up to the sides and not overflowing the sides. Cover each tray with aluminum foil and label. Freeze for at least 24 hours before transferring to quart or gallon freezer bags for long-term storage.

Servings: 10

**conversion chart image provided by Erik Spiekermann

This Post will be linked at:

• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed With Grace
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Tuesdays at the Table with All the Small Stuff
• Delicious Dishes at It’s a Blog Party
• Tip My Tuesday at Tip Junkie

Back before Mr. Meaty, the husband, and I were married, we lived like a couple of bachelor’s, or Frat boys, when it came to our meals. We ate A LOT of frozen bean and cheese burritos, frozen “party” pizzas and the like. We were both working long hours (my old life in as a cops and courts reporter in journalism pre-kids wasn’t exactly a 9-5) and we didn’t feel like we had time or energy to cook much ourselves back then. Ah, if only I’d found once-a-month cooking back then, I’m sure we would’ve been much healthier. But I digress.

One of our absolute favorite go-to foods were those big packs of frozen bean and cheese burritos. We’d slap a few on a plate, top them

Freezer burritos, filled

with extra cheese and microwave. Dinner was done, man.  So simple and strangely delicious. Sometimes I still crave them, but I know that I shouldn’t revert back to that eating lifestyle, so I was so excited to find this crazy easy freezer bean burritos recipe. The best part: versatility. We can pretty much customize everyone’s burritos with what they like, mark the first letter of their name on the outside of each person’s burritos, and throw them all in a freezer bag. So feel free to use this recipe as a “jumping off point” for your own favorite, freezer burritos! And reheating them in the oven, or the microwave, is a snap for those much needed quick meal days.

Freezer Bean Burritos

Author/Source:

Kristi @ Onceamonthmom.com Adapted from Make Your Own Freezer Burritos 

Ingredients:

• 0.38 cups brown rice
• 0.63 cups vegetable broth
• 7.25 ounces canned diced tomatoes, undrained
• 0.50 cups onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoons garlic, minced
• 0.50 tablespoons taco seasoning
  

  Freezer Burritos Ingredients

• 7.25 ounces refried beans
• 7.25 ounces black beans
• 5 ounces corn
• 0.50 cups cheese, shredded
• 0.25 cups Greek yogurt
• 0.50 tablespoons hot sauce (or salsa)
• 8 small (6-inch) tortillas (or 4 large tortillas for families with older kids and bigger appetites)

Directions:

Place rice, vegetable broth, tomatoes, onion, garlic and taco seasoning in rice cooker and cook on brown rice setting. Mix hot sauce or salsa and

Freezer burrito, rolled

yogurt. When rice is finished, warm tortillas in the microwave with a damp towel. Spread salsa-yogurt mix onto tortillas and then layer on remaining toppings. Fold into burritos and wrap individually in foil sheets. Warm any to be immediately in oven for 10 minutes at 350. Place remainder in freezer.

Freezing Directions:

Divide among freezer bags and freeze. To serve: Thaw. Warm in oven at 350 for 10 minutes or unwrap, wrap in moist paper towel and microwave for 3 minutes.

Servings: 4 (4-8 burritos, depending on tortilla size)

**conversion chart image provided by Erik Spiekermann

This Post will be linked at:

• Mouthwatering Mondays at A Southern Fairytale
• Monday Mania at The Healthy Home Economist (Real Food)
  
• Just Another Meatless Monday at Hey What’s For Dinner Mom? (Vegetarian)

(Angela)  Tis the season for end of the school year activities!  You all know what that means for me: plan, plan, plan your menu.  Having a menu plan for my week means that I don’t have to try to figure out what is for dinner on a busy night with all the other crazy activities going on.

This week is the last week of track at the high school, the last week of newspaper club at the middle school and the last week of piano lessons for all my kiddos because there is a piano recital next week.  The final band concert was this past week, and the last orchestra concert will be on Tuesday.  Soccer practice is in full swing with the first game in the next couple of weeks.  Fun!  We have ordered chickens and they will be arriving on Thursday.  My kids and I are so excited to start our chicken adventure and have set everything up for our new family members.  I can’t wait!

Menu Plan Monday

The Gluten Free Menu Swap is being hosted this week by Heather at Celiac Family.  She has picked chocolate for the theme this week.  Ya know I love me some chocolate!  Mmmm…  This past weekend my big kids had two different activities I made big gluten and dairy free Texas sheet cakes for (chocolate cake covered in fudge frosting).  Other chocolate goodness we like are Gluten Free Dairy Free Mocha Chip Muffins and Babycake’s Allergen Free Brownies.  Yum!

Monday -

• Lunch – Zucchini & Ham Corn Muffins, pea pods and apple slices
• Dinner – Deviled Egg Salad and Gluten Free French Bread

Tuesday -

• Lunch – Hummus, veggie sticks, GF pretzels and blueberries
• Dinner – Barbecue Glazed Chicken and Apple, Bok Choy and Carrot Slaw

Wednesday -

• Lunch – Banana Bread sandwiches with sun butter, orange slices and broccoli
• Dinner –  Stuffed Burgers with Mediterranean filling, roasted potato wedges and stir-fried Bok Choy

Thursday -

• Lunch – Corn dog muffins, spinach salad, strawberries
• Dinner – Slow Cooker Asian-Style Pineapple Chicken, quinoa pilaf and snow peas

Friday -

• Lunch –  GF Chibatta Rolls with turkey and spinach and pineapple
• Dinner –  GF Taco Pizza 

Saturday & Sunday – Lunch –  leftovers

Dinners – these are still up in the air depending on what is happening in my garden and what I find in my freezer.  I need to reorganize my freezer stash and update my freezer inventory so I will do that Friday and make a plan for the weekend based on that.  :)

For more great Menu Plan Monday menu planning ideas visit orgjunkie.com!

Vegan Pepperoni

**This post is part of the Get Real series. Please remember that this is meant as a learning community. We know that many of you are passionate about what you do and we want you to express that, just please do so in a way that will be an encouragement and aid to others making a transition. We want this to be a “safe space” for participants to learn. For that reason, we reserve the right to delete any comments that are not handled in this manner.

For vegetarians, vegans and those with meat allergies, a Whole Food lifestyle can be a bit more of a challenge. After all, we can’t just buy our “meats” in the grocery store and have them meet Get Real guidelines.  There are some great pre-packaged meat alternatives out there, some of which are all natural, but not exactly what most would deem “minimally processed.” In my personal journey to whole food eating, the “meat” has certainly been the biggest lifestyle change.

For me personally, I could eat vegetables and quinoa Every. Single. Day. I don’t really NEED meat substitutes.  But, of course, I’m only one part of a larger family. And my family includes myself (a vegetarian), my husband (a meat-eater) and our two undecided kids (ages 2 and 3). So we’re what I call a blended-eater family. We’re much more likely to be able to eat the same meal, together, without making four individual meals, using our meat alternative recipes. So, I’ve developed a few recipes of my own and refined a few recipes from others to suit our family’s needs. These recipes are all of our “family favorites,” meaning that the meat-eaters, vegetarians and undecided kids alike, all enjoy these meat substitutes.

These are all also vegan and whole food friendly and can make a great choice for meat-eaters trying to reduce their meat consumption a bit, too:

• Ground Beef: this is probably the most popular meat substitute for non-vegetarians. In a rich sauce, like a bolognese or in
  

  Vegetarian Pepperoni Pizza

  chili, it is disguised really well and often even fools meat-eaters into thinking it’s “real” meat.

• Steak Bites: great for Chinese stir-fry dishes.
• Bacon Strips: good for a mock BLT or anything calling for strips or chunks of ham or bacon.
• Bacon Bits: excellent on salads and as a topping for soups and casseroles.
• Pepperoni: so incredible on pizza and on sandwiches!

A few other good, no muss no fuss substitutes include:

• substituting grilled portabello mushrooms for steak strips,
• substituting brown lentils for ground beef;
• substituting avocado slices in recipes that call for ham; and
• using quinoa egg noodles (vegans can use quinoa non-egg noodles) or quinoa instead of regular noodles or rice under a recipe where you leave out the meat altogether (quinoa is a complete protein, so allows you to leave out the protein in the entree).

May Week Three Action Item:

May Get Real:

Please take a moment to thank our guest authors by clicking over to their sites and/or liking them on Facebook and/or Twitter.

Paleolithic, Paleo, Primal, Caveman, Hunter-Gatherer, Stone Age Diet, are just a few of the names for this diet/lifestyle. Increasing in popularity worldwide partially due to the increase in gluten and dairy allergies, and elite training programs such as CrossFit, the Paleo diet is popping up everywhere. You asked, and we’re delivering. I have spent the last few weeks doing some research to provide you with the first ever OAMM Paleo Mini Menu.

My reading has been nothing short of intriguing and eye opening. I had a lot of misconceptions about the diet, but now I understand the principles completely. While starting the research I found myself eating quite Paleo to pin tummy issues and reflux with my newest son. I eliminated dairy, grains, starchy vegetables and some nightshade vegetables. I felt like I was eating nothing, but as I started digging into these books and blogs I was finding recipes everywhere. Everywhere including right here at Once A Month Mom! A lot of our vegetarian, whole foods and gluten/dairy free menus fall within Paleo guidelines.

Therefore below you will find a compilation of Paleo recipes from popular Paleo blogs and even a few from right here at OAMM. I followed the stricter rules of primal eating with no dairy, no sugar, no hydrogenated oils, no legumes and no grains.I also only bought free range organic chicken and pork as well as grass fed beef.  Stayed true to the dirty dozen for my vegetables and fruits. I did include two recipes with potatoes, which from what I’m finding in the paleo world is a debatable addition. One has sweet potatoes which are acceptable from what I’ve read. But after reading this and this from Mark Sisson himself, I chose to keep the russets in the stew as well. I kept the menu seasonal as well with easy recipes to put on the grill or let sit in the crock pot so you’re not heating up your kitchen as the temperatures rise.

After my adventure in the paleo lifestyle, I can honestly say that I will keep some of the principles in our lifestyle. Will I follow it 100%? Not yet. I believe in the 85/15 rule that Dr. Cordain outlined. That 85% of your diet should be paleo, but 15% can be other. I still like to make desserts, breads and pizzas with my family although we have cut way back. I love to have a glass of wine, or a cocktail after a long week of work or on the weekends. And I still like to go out to eat with my family and friends and not feel restricted. But it was educational and I’m happy to have had the time to dig deeper.

Here you go folks! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have getting it ready for you!

What are Mini Menus? Mini menus are a fraction of the meals you would see on a normal menu and can be completed quickly and efficiently in a few short hours, in the evenings when you are preparing the meal for dinner or during small bursts of times like naps. Mini meal plans are designed for the busy family who wants freezer meals in their freezer but doesn’t have time to do a full months worth of meals. If you are new and not sure how to get started we have a wonderful series starting with 5 easy steps to get you on your way to once a month cooking. Good luck!

Menu

• Below is a linked list of items we have hand selected for this menu. The links below are to the original recipe. We include these so that you can get a look at what you might be preparing and to give these wonderful blog authors some traffic (they work hard to create great recipes). However, to see our freezer cooking adaptions and to alter the servings to meet the needs of your family you will need to VIEW and PRINT the printable Specialty Paleo May 2012 Mini Menu Recipe Cards.
• This plan gives you 10 recipes that you will make for a total of 10 meals for breakfasts, lunches and dinners. For more details and examples please see the printable Specialty Paleo May 2012 Mini Menu Recipe Cards first page, instructions.
• Having trouble using the Recipe Cards or YELLOW BOX? See this post!

Breakfasts

Energy Bars

• Southwestern Frittata
• Energy Bars
• Banana Pancakes

Lunches

• Italian Meatballs
  

  Roasted Red Pepper Soup

• Beyond Easy Pulled Pork**
• Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Dinners

• Cilantro Lime Chicken**
• Hawaiian Chicken Skewers**
• Butternut Squash Lasagna
• Paleo Beef Stew

Add Ons

• Salsa Verde
• Marinara Sauce
• Printable Specialty Paleo May 2012 Mini Menu Recipe Cards

**Indicates meals that require NO COOKING on your OAMC BIG DAY aka “throw and go” meals, perfect for the family who needs to adjust to just do the quick meals!

Grocery List

• Included in this spreadsheet you will find a listing of all the items you will need to complete your 10 Day Specialty Paleo 2012 OAMC BIG DAY by area of the grocery store. For more instructions on how to use this, go here.
• Specialty Paleo May 2012 Mini Menu OAMM Grocery List

Instructions

• These are the step-by-step instructions you will need to quickly and efficiently approach your OAMC BIG DAY. After all, if you are going to be in the kitchen for awhile, you best make the most of your time.
• Specialty Paleo May 2012 Mini Menu OAMM Instructions

Labels

These customized labels are designed specifically for this menu. They contain the name of the dish and serving instructions for preparing the dish on your serving day. They make preparation of the dishes hassle free and staying to your eating plan a cinch.

These labels are designed to be printed on Avery 8163 or equivalent! Readers who didn’t have labels available suggested just printing them on paper and taping them.

• Specialty: Paleo May 2012 Labels 1 - Southwestern Fritatta, Energy Bars, Banana Pancakes, Italian Meatballs, Pulled Pork
• Specialty: Paleo May 2012 Labels 2 - Roasted Red Pepper Soup, Cilantro Lime Chicken, Chicken Skewers, Butternut Squash Lasagna, Beef Stew

Pinterest:

Are you a person that likes to see the menus visually? Perhaps you should check out the 10 Day Specialty Paleo Menu 2012 via Pinterest to see the yummy goodness you will be cooking up on this menu. Not sure what Pinterest is all about, check out what Once A Month Mom has to say about it.

Get Started

Are you new to Once A Month Mom or once a month cooking (oamc) in general? If so, you might want to spend a few minutes (or hours) on the Get Started Series. If you are in a real hurry to catch on we have written some simple steps for getting started. Welcome!

If you are feeling abundantly blessed and generous feel free to donate.

• Included in this spreadsheet you will find a listing of all the items you will need to complete your 10 Day Specialty Paleo 2012 Once A Month (OAMC) Mom BIG DAY. You can make a copy of this list and customize it for yourself and your family or use it as is.
• Printable 10 Day Specialty Paleo 2012 Grocery List

Having trouble using the Grocery List or YELLOW BOX? See this post!

Google Document of Instructions – 10 Day Specialty Paleo 2012 OAMM Menu

Meat used:

• Beef, ground – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Southwestern Frittata, Italian Meatballs)
• Chicken breasts – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Cilantro Lime Chicken, Chicken Skewers)
• Italian sausage – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Italian Meatballs)
• Pork butt roast – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Pulled Pork)
• Beef, stew cuts – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Beef Stew)

Thaw (in refrigerator)

• Beef, ground – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Southwestern Frittata, Italian Meatballs)
• Chicken breasts – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Chicken Skewers)
• Italian sausage – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Italian Meatballs)
• Beef, stew cuts – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Beef Stew)

Night Before:

• Prepare and cook in slow cooker the Marinara Sauce for the Butternut Squash Lasagna.
• Prepare and cook the Salsa Verde.
• Grind almonds to make almond meal for Energy Bars and Italian Meatballs (see Chopping Amounts tab for yield)
• Optional (but HIGHLY recommended) – chop up all vegetables. (See Chopping Amounts sheet on Recipe Cards)
• SEE STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS BELOW

Day of:

Sweet BBQ sauce, melty cheese, and smoky grilled chicken = YUM. My husband likes to take these to work for a quick lunch.

Grilled BBQ Chicken Quesadillas

Author/Source:

Pam @ Onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked chicken
• 0.5 cup chopped red onion
• 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup BBQ sauce
• 10 large tortillas

Directions:

Mix BBQ sauce, onion and cooked chicken. (For even more smoky flavor, grill chicken first.) Heat grill. Spray tortilla with cooking spray, and place on hot grill. (You could also use a lightly oiled skillet if desired.) On one half of the tortilla, top with shredded cheese, chicken mixture, and more shredded cheese. Use tongs to carefully fold the other half of the tortilla over the filling. Then carefully flip the folded tortilla with tongs or a spatula. Quesadilla is done when tortilla is grilled and cheese is melted.

Freezing Directions:

Prepare as above and allow to cool. Place in freezer bags, seal, label, and freeze. To serve: reheat in microwave until hot and cheese is melted. Or, you could prepare the quesadillas with filling and fold over, but do not grill. Flash freeze in a single layer, then place in freezer bags, and return to freezer. To cook, place on hot grill or oiled skillet and cook until both sides are slightly crisp and cheese is melted.

Servings: 5

**conversion chart image provided by Erik Spiekermann

This Post will be linked at:

• Weekend Wander at While He Was Napping

It feels a bit like cheating to call this a “recipe.” Maybe we could call it a method? The method I’m talking about it is to pre-marinade your meats by dumping them in a bag with a bottle of vinegar-based dressing, and storing them in the freezer. The meat soaks in the flavor, and the marinade helps tenderize the meat. I’m using an Asian-flavored vinaigrette and chicken drumsticks for this post, but feel free to change it up with YOUR favorite dressing and chicken, pork, or beef!

Asian-Marinated Drumsticks

Author/Source:

Pam @ Onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle Asian-style Vinaigrette dressing
• 12 drumsticks

Directions:

Place drumsticks in resealable bags. Pour dressing over chicken and squish around to coat. Allow to marinate 4-6 hours or overnight. Remove chicken from marinade, and grill or broil until no longer pink inside.

Freezing Directions:

Place drumsticks in freezer bags. Pour dressing over chicken and squish around to coat. Seal, label, and freeze. To serve: Thaw in fridge. Remove chicken from marinade, and grill or broil until no longer pink inside.

Servings: 6 (2 drumsticks per serving)

**conversion chart image provided by Erik Spiekermann

This Post will be linked at:

• Weekend Wander at While He Was Napping

This all in one pizza combines many of your breakfast favorites – sausage, eggs, hash browns & cheese – all atop a flaky crescent roll crust.  Big kids will ask for it, and toddlers will be thrilled to munch on these tasty bites.  A short minute in the microwave and you have a hot, delicious breakfast ready for the family on those otherwise hectic mornings.

Breakfast Pizza

Lisa @ Onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:

• 1 tube refrigerated crescent rolls
• .5 lb pork sausage, browned
• 1.25 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
• .25 tsp garlic salt
• .25 tsp pepper
• .25 cups green onions, finely chopped
• .75 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
• .75 cups egg substitute

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. Unroll crescent rolls and lay onto a greased cookie sheet, creating a rectangle shape, pressing the perforations together to seal. Bake 5-8 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, brown sausage if you haven’t already done so. In a skillet, cook the potatoes, garlic salt and pepper over medium heat until browned. Sprinkle the sausage over the crust, leaving about 1/4 inch of crust. Layer with potatoes, onions and cheese. Pour the egg substitute slowly over the top, as not to spill over the edges. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until egg is set and cheese is melted. Cut into 8 pieces and serve.

Freezing Directions:

Cool completely. Cut into 8 pieces and flash freeze. Divide among indicated number of freezer storage bags. TO SERVE: Microwave 60 seconds or until heated through.

Servings: 8 slices

**conversion chart image provided by Erik Spiekermann

My mom’s family is 100% Italian, but believe it or not, I’ve never had homemade pasta. I guess enough generations have passed for everyone to use modern conveniences like boxed pasta and store bought canned tomatoes. But after some encouragement from Kristen and Kelly, I decided to take the plunge. Ravioli is one of my all-time favorite dishes (I can seriously eat them until I’m sick). So on my last cooking day, I worked on adapting a summery pasta dish for you. I love this combination of flavors. They’re delicate, but satisfying. You won’t be left feeling hungry. Shop your farmer’s market, CSA, or back yard garden for maximum fresh flavor! I don’t grow squash, but I do love snipping fresh chives from my container garden.

Honesty shot. My first try was a little messy because I made my squares a little small.

Since this was my first time, don’t judge my pictures too harshly, and I’ll share with you what I learned. First, if you’re making your ravioli the same day you eat them, make sure to choose a day when you have plenty of spare time (maybe you’ll have better luck finding it than I do!) However, if you assemble on your big cooking day, serving day will be a breeze. Next, a well floured surface and lots of parchment paper are your friends! I also used a cookie spatula to transfer my ravioli from the counter to the parchment paper. Begin the project prepared, and you will minimize your losses. Finally, don’t be afraid to make your ravioli large. I decided to make smaller ravioli, thinking I’d end up with more, but they ended up being over filled and quite messy to seal. It all came out ok in the end, but next time I will opt for larger ravioli since they’re easier to work with. My final assessment: they were delicious, and I knew exactly what I was eating. Well worth the effort in my book.

Now break out that rolling pin and have some fun!

Homemade Ravioli and Summer Squash

Author/Source:

Kim @ Onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups flour (plus additional for work surface)
  

  One of my herb containers, containing chives.

• 2 eggs egg (add 2 tablespoons of water for egg wash)
• 1 cup ricotta cheese (filling)
• .5 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (filling)
• .25 cup Parmesan cheese (filling)
• 2 eggs (filling)
• 1.5 teaspoons parsley, chopped (filling)
• pinch nutmeg (filling)
• salt and pepper to taste (filling)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cups summer squash (zucchini and yellow squash), thinly sliced
• .5 cup onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cups cooked chicken, chopped (optional)
• 1 cup heavy cream (for serving)
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest (for serving)
• .5 cups grated Parmesan cheese (for serving)
• salt and pepper to taste (for serving)
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped chives (for serving)

Directions:

I was so glad my kids were asleep while I had fun doing this messy experiment. Again, remember that mine are too small, but you can get the basic idea. See Kelly's post for prettier pictures.

To make pasta, measure flour into a medium bowl. Make a well and add eggs. Stir together until incorporated and dough is stiff. Generously flour a large cutting board and turn out dough onto it. Knead adding additional flour until it is thick and smooth. Dough will not get overworked. Divide dough in half. Allow dough to rest while you assemble filling. In a medium bowl stir together ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, parsley, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. On a generously floured surface, roll out both halves of pasta dough until quite thin. Trim with a pizza cutter or sharp knife to shape dough into an even rectangle. Without cutting all the way through, carefully draw lines on the dough to indicate where you will cut ravioli into squares. Place a tablespoon of filing into each square. Brush the egg wash around the filling using your finger or a small brush. Carefully lay the second rectangle of dough on top of the ravioli. Press down the seems with your finger and then cut using a pizza cutter or sharp knife. Press each ravioli with a fork around the edges to create the final seal. Follow freezing directions below or proceed to cooking fresh ravioli. Boil a large pot of salted water. Cook ravioli 2-3 at a time until they float (about 5-7 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon. Reserve up to one cup of cooking water.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet. Sautee squash and onions until tender (5-7 minutes). Add lemon zest and heavy cream. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until cream begins to thicken slightly. Stir in chicken and mix until heated through. In a large pot or serving dish combine squash/cream mixture, ravioli, Parmesan, salt and pepper to taste, and enough reserved cooking water to make sauce smooth and creamy. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

Freezing Directions:

Ready for the freezer.

Make and assemble ravioli as instructed above. After cutting ravioli apart, transfer onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Create the final seal. Let ravioli rest 20 minutes. Flash freeze, then store in freezer bags. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and blanch squash for 1-2 minutes. Drain and flash freeze on another baking sheet. Store in freezer bags with raw onions and cooked chicken. TO SERVE: Boil a large pot of salted water and cook frozen ravioli 5-7 minutes or until floating. Reserve up to one cup of cooking water and drain. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet. Sautee frozen squash, onions, and chicken until tender. Add lemon zest and heavy cream. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until cream begins to thicken slightly. In a large pot or serving dish combine squash/cream mixture, ravioli, Parmesan, salt and pepper to taste, and enough reserved cooking water to make sauce smooth and creamy. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

Servings: 4

**conversion chart image provided by Erik Spiekermann

This Post will be linked at:

• Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen’s Country Cottage
• These Chicks Cooked Weekly Recipe Collection at This Chick Cooks
• Pennywise Platter at The Nourishing Gormet
• Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS

In our house, pancakes are always on the weekly meal  plan rotation.  However, for the littles, getting the yumminess of pancakes and syrup is unachievable without a BIG, STICKY Mess!  These little pancakes bites are perfect to serve to your toddler for breakfast or even a snack.  The aroma of banana as they bake is mouthwatering, and one bite will have you wanting more.  You can always substitute the banana for your favorite fruit of choice, or even mini chocolate chips!

Mini Banana Pancake Muffins

Lisa@ Onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pancake mix
• 2/3 cup water
• 2/3 cup syrup
• 1 whole banana, sliced and quartered

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Mix pancake mix, water and syrup together.  Divide equally among greased mini muffin pan.  Top with banana pieces.  Bake 12-14 minutes or until golden brown.

Freezing Directions:

Cool completely.  Flash freeze. Transfer to gallon freezer bag, label and freeze.  TO SERVE:  Remove desired number of muffins from freezer, let thaw on counter, or briefly on defrost setting in microwave

Servings: 24 mini muffins

**conversion chart image provided by Erik Spiekermann

We exchanged emails and I thanked her for her linking kindness. Then one day I found out that she was heading to the same blogging conference I was in Nashville, Blissdom. I also found out that it was her first conference and she knew no one personally. So I adopted her. Oh, and I am so glad that I did.

Turns out Stephanie is a wealth of knowledge, energy and encouragement. We talked things that bloggers talk and had fun living it up at the conference. We were fast friends.

But why do I go on and on about Stephanie to all of you? Because she has a great ebook that she just released and I think it will be right up YOUR alley. It is From Your Freezer to Your Family, Slow Cooker Freezer Recipes. That is totally something you are interested in, right? Of course it is!

The ebook is packed with recipes and suggestions for doing some easy freezer meals that can go from freezer to slow cooker to the dinner table. It also has a focus on whole food recipes so no worries about artificial or processed ingredients either.

From Your Freezer to Your Family, Slow Cooker Freezer Recipes is $5.99 and includes 20 recipes, grocery lists and even labels. Be sure to get your copy today!

Samples of some recipes you will find in this eCookbook include:

• Cumin-Cinnamon Beef Stew
• Summer Veggie Soup
• Thai Chicken Curry
• Stephanie’s Goulash
• Cranberry Chicken
• Italian Beef
• Chicken & Cherries
• Peanut Stew
• Orange Beef
• Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken
• and much more!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

One reason I love freezer cooking is the easy clean up.  I’d rather make one large mess of dishes and clean them up all at once rather than doing so each night.  This is the same reason I love grilling as much as possible – easy cleanup.  Flatbread pizzas on the grill are great because you get a nice grill flavor to the crust along with the freshness of vegetables.  Topping with a variety of vegetables allows you to use very little cheese but still satisfy the pizza craving!

Grilled Veggie Flatbread Pizzas

Author/Source:

Abbi @ Onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:

When you eat gluten free, sometimes you just need to mix it up.  So many GF recipes use rice, cornstarch and gums and you may be sensitive to those or you may just want to try something different.  There are many types of gluten free flours, so try some different ones and mix it up!  This week’s recipe for Gluten Free Dairy Free Strawberry Buckwheat Muffins uses buckwheat, millet and tapioca.  No rice, no cornstarch and no gums and yet has a tender crumb and doesn’t crumble – Thanks, Stephanie!  This muffin would be great with any ripe juicy fruit, like peaches or any berries.  I hope you enjoy it!

Gluten Free Dairy Free Strawberry Buckwheat Muffins

Author/Source:

adapted from Stephanie @ glutenfreehope.blogspot.com

Ingredients:

• 1 cup buckwheat flour
  
• 1 cup millet flour
• 1 cup tapioca flour
• 1 tablespoon flaxseed (I used ground golden flax because that is what I had on hand)
• 2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sucanat or brown sugar
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon gluten free vanilla
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/2 cup gluten free dairy free dairy free milk substitute
• 2 large eggs (or use flax egg substitute)
• 1 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon zest, finely minces
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, washed and chopped

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Well oil a muffin tin or line with paper liners. Set aside.

Whisk all of the dry ingredients until well blended. Add the wet ingredients and blend well. Gently fold in two-thirds of the fresh strawberry pieces. Divide batter into well oiled or lined muffin tins, filling batter to the rim of the tins. Top batter with a few of the leftover strawberries pieces for some beauty.

Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes. Allow muffins to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Freezing Directions:

Divide muffins among the indicated number of freezer bags. Remove as much air as possible, seal, label and freeze.

To serve:  Thaw.

Servings:  12

**conversion chart image provided by Erik Spiekermann

This Post will be linked at:

• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed With Grace
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Tuesdays at the Table with All the Small Stuff
• Delicious Dishes at It’s a Blog Party
• Tip My Tuesday at Tip Junkie

The 10 Day Mini Menu – Diet version gives you a variety of healthy dishes to stock your freezer for easy, diet-friendly weeknight meals.  It is less overwhelming to make and freeze a smaller menu and get you started on the right foot.  This menu focuses on lean proteins that can easily be paired with a simple salad or a quick vegetable side dishes.  There are no excuses now!

What are Mini Menus? Mini menus are a fraction of the meals you would see on a normal menu and can be completed quickly and efficiently in a few short hours, in the evenings when you are preparing the meal for dinner or during small bursts of times like naps. Mini meal plans are designed for the busy family who wants freezer meals in their freezer but doesn’t have time to do a full months worth of meals. If you are new and not sure how to get started we have a wonderful series starting with 5 easy steps to get you on your way to once a month cooking. Good luck!

**For a full Diet menu seasonal to the month of may check out the Diet May 2012 Menu. Also, don’t forget to check out the 5 Day Mini Menu that debuted on the 5th of May or the 10 Day Mini Menu, you might enjoy that one as well.

Menu

• Below is a linked list of items we have hand selected for this menu. The links below are to the original recipe. We include these so that you can get a look at what you might be preparing and to give these wonderful blog authors some traffic (they work hard to create great recipes). However, to see our freezer cooking adaptions and to alter the servings to meet the needs of your family you will need to VIEW and PRINT the printable 10 Day Mini Diet Menu May 2012 Recipe Cards.
• This plan gives you 5 recipes that you will make for a total of 10 meals. For more details and examples please see the printable 10 Day Mini Diet May Menu 2012 Recipe Cards first page, instructions.
• Having trouble using the Recipe Cards or YELLOW BOX? See this post!

Dinners

• Almond Strawberry Chicken
• Pure and Simple Crab Cakes
• Slow Cooker Apple Cherry Pork Loin
• Lime Marinated Flank Steak
• Sweetfire Chicken

• Printable 10 Day Mini Diet Menu May 2012 Recipe Cards

**Indicates meals that require NO COOKING on your OAMC BIG DAY aka “throw and go” meals, perfect for the family who needs to adjust to just do the quick meals!

Grocery List

• Included in this spreadsheet you will find a listing of all the items you will need to complete your 10 Day Mini Diet May 2012 OAMC BIG DAY by area of the grocery store. For more instructions on how to use this, go here.
• 10 Day Mini Diet Menu May 2012 OAMM Grocery List
  

  Slow Cooker Apple Cherry Pork Loin

Instructions

• These are the step-by-step instructions you will need to quickly and efficiently approach your OAMC BIG DAY. After all, if you are going to be in the kitchen for awhile, you best make the most of your time.
• 10 Day Mini Diet Menu May 2012 OAMM Instructions

Labels

These customized labels are designed specifically for this menu. They contain the name of the dish and serving instructions for preparing the dish on your serving day. They make preparation of the dishes hassle free and staying to your eating plan a cinch.

These labels are designed to be printed on Avery 8163 or equivalent! Readers who didn’t have labels available suggested just printing them on paper and taping them.

• 10 Day Mini Diet May 2012 Menu Printable Labels

Pinterest:

Are you a person that likes to see the menus visually? Perhaps you should check out the May Diet 2012 10 Day Mini Menu via Pinterest to see the yummy goodness you will be cooking up on this menu. Not sure what Pinterest is all about, check out what Once A Month Mom has to say about it.

Test Cooks

Each month we have some wonderful volunteers who “test” out the menu prior to publication. They do an amazing job of helping to eliminate confusion and mistakes. They may not catch everything but they sure do catch A LOT! If you are interested in test cook, feel free to volunteer.

Get Started

Are you new to Once A Month Mom or once a month cooking (oamc) in general? If so, you might want to spend a few minutes (or hours) on the Get Started Series. If you are in a real hurry to catch on we have written some simple steps for getting started. Welcome!

If you are feeling abundantly blessed and generous feel free to donate.

• Included in this spreadsheet you will find a listing of all the items you will need to complete your 10 Day Mini Diet May 2012 Once A Month (OAMC) Mom BIG DAY. You can make a copy of this list and customize it for yourself and your family or use it as is.
• Printable 10 Day Mini Diet May 2012 Grocery List

Having trouble using the Grocery List or YELLOW BOX? See this post!

Google Document of Instructions – Specialty Diet 10 May 2012 Mini Menu

Meat used:

• Boneless Pork Loin Roast – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Apple Cherry Pork Loin)
• Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts –  it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Almond Strawberry Chicken, Sweetfire Chicken)
• Flank Steak – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Lime Marinated Flank Steak)
• Lump Crabmeat – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Crab Cakes)

Thaw (in refrigerator)

• Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts –  it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Almond Strawberry Chicken)
• Lump Crabmeat – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Crab Cakes)

Night Before:

• Optional (but HIGHLY recommended) – chop up all vegetables. (See Chopping Amounts sheet on Recipe Cards)
• SEE STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS BELOW

Day of:

Designed to be printed on Avery 8163 or equivalent! Readers who didn’t have labels available suggested just printing them on paper and taping them.

The labels come two per recipe to a sheet with five recipes on each sheet. If you are only cooking for 1-4 people you will need 1 copy. For every 4 people you will need a second set of labels. For example if you are adjusting your recipe cards to 6 people you will need 2 sets of labels. If you need extra labels for some reason print out a set of the blanks to use. Make sense? I hope so! Enjoy

• 10 Day Mini Diet May 2012 Labels – 1 – Almond Strawberry Chicken, Pork Loin with Cherries, Crab Cakes, Lime Marinated Flank Steak, Sweetfire Chicken.
• Blank Labels

Filled with whole food goodness including fresh apricots, honey and yogurt, these Apricot Yogurt Scones are the perfect nutritious, delicious late Spring/early Summer breakfast. And our kids LOVE fruit. Like, addiction-level love. They also obsess over homemade yogurt. So these scones just called out to us, “We are the perfect breakfast…make us and devour us, now.” Now, no one call the looney bin, I don’t REALLY talk to scones…much.

Apricot Yogurt Scones

Author/Source:

Kristi @ Onceamonthmom.com Adapted from Apricot Yogurt Scones

Ingredients:

• 1.25 cups apricots, pitted and diced (can’t find fresh? use 1 cup dried apricots)
• 2 cups whole wheat white flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 0.5 teaspoon baking soda
• 0.25 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 0.5 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoon butter, unsalted, frozen
• 1 large egg (or egg substitute)
• 0.75 cups yogurt, plain
• 0.25 cups milk, whole
• 1 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

If you haven’t frozen your butter yet, throw it in the freezer now.The colder the better, but half an hour will suffice. Preheat the oven

Wet and dry ingredients (dry ingredients included frozen, shredded butter)

to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment (or grease and flour). Whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, honey, cinnamon, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Send the butter through the shredder of your food processor. Immediately toss into flour mixture and mix lightly to combine. Add the apricots and toss to coat with flour. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, yogurt, milk, and vanilla. Pour over the dry mix and use a spatula to gently combine them together. Mix just until there is no more dry flour visible in the dough. Use a 1/2-cup measure to scoop out the dough and drop it onto the baking sheet. Space the scones about an inch apart. Use floured hands to gently pat the mounds into disks. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the scones are firm to the touch, golden on top, and browned on their bottoms.

Freezing Directions:

AFTER baking, divide among freezer bags and freeze. To serve: Thaw. Heat, if desired, in microwave

Servings: 8 scones

**conversion chart image provided by Erik Spiekermann

This Post will be linked at:

• Mouthwatering Mondays at A Southern Fairytale
• Monday Mania at The Healthy Home Economist (Real Food)
  
• Just Another Meatless Monday at Hey What’s For Dinner Mom? (Vegetarian)
  
• This Week’s Cravings at Veggie Converter

Menu Plan Monday

What a crazy busy couple of weeks coming up!  We have the school year ending in two weeks, and there are a flurry of activities associated with that: field trips, volunteer breakfast, field day, end-of-the-year party, etc.  Throw in a softball tournament beginning, our 15-year anniversary (yay, us!), doctor appointments and a couple of birthday parties, and surely you can see why a menu plan is imperative this week! Having a great menu plan to follow with a few freezer meals thrown in makes me feel a little less anxious when looking over my calendar at the upcoming week.

Monday -

• Toddler Lunch – Mini-Pizza Meatloaf
• Dinner – Roasted Red Pepper Soupand ham & cheese quiche
  

  Veggie Packed Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Tuesday -

• Toddler Lunch -Mini bagel pizzas
• Dinner – Crock Pot bacon wrapped chicken

Wednesday -

• Toddler Lunch – Chicken crescent rolls
• Dinner – Spaghetti (from freezer), garlic bread

Thursday -

• Toddler Lunch – grilled cheese sandwiches
• Dinner – Anniversary Dinner Out!

Friday -

• Toddler Lunch -meeting Daddy for lunch
  

  Chicken Pesto Shells

• Dinner – tacos

Saturday -

• Lunch – leftovers
• Dinner – Sausage Loaf

Sunday -

• Lunch – pick up Bar-b-que after church
• Dinner – Chicken Pesto Shells

For more great Menu Plan Monday menu planning ideas visit orgjunkie.com!

I’d like to welcome Vanessa from Chefdruck Musings our blog partner this month! Today she’s going to help us to answer our questions on everything beef.

But I love my meat too much to give it up, so instead I began to educate myself and make more mindful choices of the meat and milk I purchased for my family. I consulted websites like EatWild.org to find resources for purchasing natural meats. I went on farm tours to learn about why there are so many corn fields, to see how milk is produced, and to understand why so much US cattle is now fed grain. I spoke to farmers big and small to try to understand their point of view. And then I started thinking more at the supermarket, making more mindful choices, and figuring out what were my big issues, the ones I was willing to spend more money on.

Because while it would be nice to simply buy all organic all local, it simply is not possible for us, or for many other families, all of the time. Choosing an all organic, all local diet is simply too expensive for most families. It certainly is for mine, and we live very comfortably in the suburbs of Chicago.

Instead, we all make decisions of what to buy every week. We make trade offs, opting for expensive organic milk but settling for vegetarian eggs rather than cage free. While we all worry about antibiotics and humane treatment of animals, we still need to feed our families, and there’s only so many dollars we can spend each week at the supermarket. Choosing what type of meat to buy is confusing, and there are many different routes you can take when buying beef, many different issues to consider.

Grass Fed vs. Grain Fed: The difference seems clear cut, cattle are either allowed to graze or fed grain, but the standards around what constitutes a grass fed animal vary. Cattle can spend 2/3 of their life in pasture and then be finished on feed lots getting fatter on grain but still be called grass fed.

Organic vs. Conventional: Cattle can be grain fed, but still be organic and antibiotic free. Some cattle are fed organic grain, and no antibiotics are added to their feed or used in their care by their farms, ensuring that the beef you eat has no traces of antibiotics or synthetic growth hormones.

Humane Living Conditions: Temple Grandin has done amazing work to improve how cattle are slaughtered in America. She has helped farms big and small get a better understanding of how cows experience the slaughterhouse. Humane living and dying conditions are a factor to consider in the meat you purchase. If you want to learn more about this issue, check out the amazing HBO documentary starring Clare Danes about Temple Grandin’s life and how her autism gave her a unique way of understanding animals.

With so many issues to consider and so many choices to make, it can be overwhelming. So how can you get started with changing the type of beef you buy?

Grinding your own meat is easy!

Start Small. Begin with your ground beef. Find a local farm or a local meat buying club and purchase your grass fed organic ground beef from them. The price tag will not be too steep and you’d be surprised at what an impact you’ll be making on your diet. Ground beef is the bulk of the beef we tend to purchase, and just having some in your freezer can make a big difference. You can also grind your own beef from cheaper cuts and make a much tastier burger.

Experiment with Cheaper Cuts. Grass fed beef can taste drastically different than grain fed. Rather than committing to buying an expensive steak and risking having your family not enjoy it, start with cheaper cuts like stew meat or tougher roasts. The Beef Council website has some great recipes for leaner, cheaper cuts that you can even access on your cell phone in front of the butcher case.

Join a Local Meat Buying Clubs: Through Google, word of mouth, or your local farmer’s market, you can find local meat buying clubs through which you can purchase individual cuts of meat or quarter, half, or even entire cows. This is a great option if you want to be more certain of where your meat comes from. You’ll need a large freezer to store the meat, and you’ll need to pay more. You’ll also need to get used to having unusual cuts and small quantities of the steaks and cuts you do want.

Purchase your Meat at Whole Foods or other Natural Stores: Whole Foods now uses the 5-Step Animal Welfare rating system and tries to be very transparent about all the meat available there. Each time you shop, you can make a more educated decision about what you are choosing to buy.

May Get Real:

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*This post contains affiliate links