My Whole Foods Leap - You Can Do It Too!

Our free range chickens

Well, I did it. I made the leap into cooking from whole foods. We all know it is good for us but we feel time strapped. I DO NOT like to cook and I am a one pot girl, but I have a husband, myself, and three hungry children to feed, so I finally made that big step! I now meal plan two weeks in advance and only go to the grocery store once in a two week period. I like to cook a healthy one pot meal that will last for two days so I don't have to cook EVERY day. It's nice coming home some days with everything all ready to eat!

I have found I can make most anything by keeping the following ingredients in the house:

1. Flour - my favorite is spelt from a whole foods store

2. Butter - real butter

3. Milk - whole, organic, produced locally

4. Onions

5. Potatoes - organic (potatoes are on the top 12 eat organic list)

6. Assorted Fresh Vegetables

7. Eggs

8. Rice

9. Beans - beans you cook, not from cans
10. Fresh Fruit

I am lucky in that we have a small farm so we get fresh eggs on a daily basis and I have herbs that I have continued to use through the winter. As you can see from my list I'm not a big meat eater. I'm not a vegetarian, I just prefer vegetables and beans over meat most of the time. 

My free range chickens cute nest they made from bailing twine in the barn!

I do not claim to be a cook by any means but I make a different soup every week. Soup is so easy, takes little effort, and you can throw together leftovers and make something of it! To make a soup you can cut up vegetables or potatoes and put them in a big pot with some type of liquid. Water with herbs, Chicken Broth, Vegetable Broth, Water with bouillon cubes, or coconut milk. I use whatever I happen to have at the time. You want that liquid to not quite cover your soup contents so the nutrients that cook out stay within that liquid. Add whatever spice you want (curry, italian seasoning, etc.) and cover to boil. Boil until your soup contents are soft. At the end consider adding fresh herbs like cilantro or cut up green onions to add. You can also look around the house and see what you have. You can add milk, tomato puree, tomato paste, pre-cooked beans or rice, or tomatoes at the end as well. I just experiment and end up making something different each time I make a soup!

Here is a soup I made this week with some ingredients I had on hand. What I had:

cauliflower - a large head 

small red potatoes - a bag

green onions - 2 chopped

curry powder

turmeric powder

chicken broth

milk

fresh cilantro - chopped

1. Cut up the small potatoes in fours and put them in the pan

2. Cut up the cauliflower and add it to the pan

3. Pour in a box (about 4 cups) of broth to just cover the contents

4. Add more water if you need to in order to barely cover the potatoes and cauliflower 

5. Mix in a couple of teaspoons of curry powder and one teaspoon  of turmeric

** I also added 4-5 drops of Sambal Oelek*** It makes everything taste GOOD! I add it to ALL the soups I make!

6. Bring to a boil with the pot covered

7. Once the cauliflower and potatoes are soft, add the cilantro and green onions. I admit I add the whiter parts of the green onions sooner because I like my onions "dead"

8. Add a half a cup to a cup of milk, and then simmer for a couple of minutes

Now I have a big pot for several days! Take the step towards whole food cooking. It is easy and actually quite inexpensive. Happy Fresh Eating with what you had left over in your refrigerator!