Meal Planning Lineup #15: 30+ Recipes Which Don't Come From A Box

Making any meal to some is not easy. Maybe you grew up in a house where meals where made out of a box or found at a local restaurant. You might of grown up in a house where the TV was the center of your day and not gathering at the table. 


Following any recipe is not hard, it just takes time. Time away from the computer, TV, iPhone and work. Yes making your own meals is harder than stopping by McDonalds or Applebees. You have to make an effort but the end result is so rewarding. I love making our meals because I know exactly what I am getting. Yes, 3 out of 10 times it does not turn out right. Darn recipes sometimes need a little tweaking, but at least I made it. What do you enjoy about making your own meals? What do you struggle with? Maybe I can help get you on your way to home prepared, delicious, nutrient dense and enjoyable meals. 


This week I have found over 30 meals which keep to the tradition of healthy, unprocessed ingredients. I am loving the snack and treats section. Plus I have included four Helpful Links which might make your heart race with excitement. You can find those below the recipes. 




Meal #1 

Tasty Trials

Coconut Curry Turkey Pitas

&

The Perfect Pantry

Greek Pasta Salad with 

Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette

Meal #2

Oh She Glows

Tomato Basil Cream Pasta

&

The Cooking Photographer

Oven Roasted Garlic Brussells Sprouts

Meal #3

Wishful Chef

Corn and Potato Soup

Meal #4

The Taste of Koko

Herbed Salmon

 &

The CopyCat Cook

Herbed Potato Salad

Meal #5

Meghan Telpner

Mediterranean Fish Dish

Ezra Pound Cake

Red Beans & Rice Salad

Worth Trying


Drinks {3}

Raw Food Recipes

The Chlorophyll Bomb

101 Cookbooks

Grapefruit, Lime and Ginger Juice

For The Love of Food

Kale and Pear Smoothie w/ Herbs

Breakfast {5}

Joy the Baker

Spinach and Potato Breakfast Hash

Lauren's Latest

Whole Wheat Waffles

The CopyCat Cook

Baked Banana Breakfast Pudding

101 Cookbooks

Toasted Four Grain Cereal

Family Fresh Cooking

Chocolate Bread Pudding Breakfast Cake

(Gluten Free)

Lunch {2}

For The Love of Food

Raw Broccoli Crunch Salad

Joy the Baker

Crunchy Kale and Coconut Bowl

Dinner {3}

Jess Thomson

Kale and Pasta

Gooseberry Mooseberry

Norwegian Fish Cakes

Snacks/Treats {5}

The Kitchen Addiction

Homemade Oreo Cookies

(there is 1 c sugar in this and powdered sugar for cream. If anyone would like to share in comments some alternatives to these ingredients please do so. I would use applesauce for the sugar but I have not researched a good alternative, other than tofu for the powdered sugar)

Raw Food Recipes

Orange Maple Walnut Granola

Food Doodles

Coconut Cream Filled Chocolates

Burpees in the Kitchen

Chai Spiced Banana Oat Cookies

Cooking Classy

Healthy Cookies -Applesauce, cranberries, carrots etc)

For The Love of Food 

Cranberry Pecan Power Bars

Sides {3}

The Rawtarian

Raw Flax Meal Crackers

For The Love of Food

Raw Zucchini Sushi Rolls

Miss Anthropist's Kitchen

Spinach Stuffed Twice Baked Potatoes

Misc {2}

Vegalicious Recipes

Amazing Apple Dip for Veggies

The Two Bite Club

Pizza Sauce

Helpful Links {4}
1. The Alkaline Sisters: Ginger & Hemp Dressing and the benefits of Salad
2. The CopyCat Cook: 6 Ways to Eat Raw without going broke
3. 101 Cookbooks: Build a Natural Foods Pantry
4. Meghan Telpner: Homemade Sunscreen 


On to find more recipe for you to enjoy and share with your friends. Have a wonderful week. Spend time away from the computer, iPhone, TV, work, and enjoy making memories with your friends and family. 


If you would create something,
you must be something.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


Namaste


Linda Jacobson
The Helpful Sister

Recipe Lineup #9: Pinterest Pinfest of Yumminess (70+ recipes)

So my motivation to make a weekly recipe list (over 70 recipes this week) for my family took off early fall of 2011. Some how, I came across a website called Pinterest. It is the new craze for social media. It truly is the mother ship of visual information. So, this is where I get most of my weekly recipes (the secret is out.) I also have found, over 400 other recipes sites, I stumble through when Pinterest has given me my fill. 


So this week, what have I pinned? Oh a little of this and a little of that. Some great recipes for your little ones. A little selection of snacks and treats. A salad in the middle of it all. You will find some take out or restaurant recipes, which you can make in your home. Find some smoothies that will refresh and revive you.  Scroll down to find over 20+ recipes for you, your family, friends, co-workers (if you have leftovers to take to work) to enjoy. Plus a link to find 50 healthy recipes to jump start your 2012 off from Two Peas & Their Pod. 



Meal #1

Taste of Home

Cinnamon Apple Pork Chops

The Family Kitchen

Hasselback Baked Sweet Potato 

Apples & pork chops, you just can not go wrong. I have never had a sweet potato cooked this way so it will be fun to see how it turns out. Let me know how it goes at your house. 

Meal #2

Zen Family Habits

Veggie Laksa

The Family Kitchen

Homemade Pot stickers

This just seems like a fun pairing. I am hoping the finger food will be enjoyed by the our kids as much as us. I love it when I can find a delicious recipe that is a typically ordered for take out. Who here loves this pairing?

Oh, The Zen Family Habit link is not just for the Laksa. You can get 4 other quick recipes using 5 ingredients. The Laksa is the second recipe, so you might have to scroll to see it. 

Meal #3

Eating Well

Baked Cod Casserole

Turntable Kitchen

Roasted Squash with Mint, Pepitas and Balsamic

Pepitas....or no shell pumpkin seeds. Had no idea that was what they were called. What a rich meal. I think I will be using Talapia instead of the cod. Like Trader Joes selection of that kinds of fish over the cod. Might have to follow this one up with something sort of sorbet to get the taste buds back to normal. 

Meal #4

Mama Loves Food

Corn and Potato Chowder

Nicole Hunn

Cornmeal Dinner Rolls -Gluten Free

Yah, me and Dry Active Yeast are not the best of friends. Every time I try to use the stuff, the product never makes it to the oven. It might be that I don't have the patience or the skill. I would much rather make a muffin or a bread stick. Those always turn out. :) I probably will not try this because of our past experiences. However, I did think it was a fun recipe. Will any of you going to be mixing it up and putting these Gluten Free Rolls in the oven? 

Meal #5

iVillage 

Chicken and Lasagna Roll-Ups

paired with 

Iowa Girl Eats 

Homemade (3) ingredient Spaghetti Sauce

Seasoned with Love

Bucca Di Beppo Apple Gorgonzola Salad with Italian Vinaigrette

This is going to be an Italian meal for friends to enjoy as well. Happy to find this recipe for Bucca Di Beppo, which is a family style Italian Restaurant.

Worthy Trying

Drinks

Wishful Chef

Dandelion Green Smoothie with Pears & Coconut Water

Jeannette's Healthy Living

Green Tea Smoothie

Epicurious

Joint Relief Green Juice

Treats/Snacks

Thursday Night Smack Down

Meyer Lemon Curd

Fat Free Vegan Kitchen

Skinny Figgy Bars

The CopyCat Cook

Fruit Roll-Ups 

The Wannabe Chef

Raw Dark Chocolate Peppermint Pudding

Weelicious

Avocado Honey Dip

Breakfast

Martha Stewart

French Toast Kebabs 

The Kitchen

Apricot Yogurt Scones

Salad

Oh She Grows

High Protein Quinoa Almond Berry Salad

Happy times in your kitchen and stomach!


Isn't it a much better experience when you step into that grocery store and you have a list with you? Even better, isn't a great feeling to have meals planned out? Are you making any changes to how you are planning, shopping, preparing your meals since 2012 is so fresh? Do share in the comments. 


I would love to hear what your favorites were. Ones you just won't try or maybe something you tweaked. Come on, don't be shy. If you knew me you would be jumping on the comment bandwagon and shouting from the laptop all you feel. 


Many thanks to YOU, for making it all the way down to this sentence. I know your days are filled with your everyday ventures, so thanks for seeing what I do each week. If you liked this, share away. If it helped you, it might help your circle of cool people.


Want even more inspiration to have a healthy new year? Here is a great link from Two Peas & Their Pod which has 50 recipes with ingredients that could make it on your grocery list. Oh they all sound yummy. 




Munch, Munch, Yum, Num, Mmmmm Good. 


See you next week. 


Linda Jacobson
The Helpful Sister