Meals By Betsy - More Meal-Building Basics; More Staples
By: Betsy Banks
Saturday morning grocery shopping. The mere thought is enough to make me pull the covers over my head and try to convince myself it's still Friday night. Nothing appeals less than crowded supermarket aisles and long lines. But today, the task was simple. As I do once a month, I accomplished my shopping in mere minutes-in my jammies! Propped up with pillows, cozy comforter tucked around me and hot coffee at my side, I stocked up on a month's worth of the basics from which I will construct my family's meals. You can do this, too, if any of your local schools participate in Market Day (www.marketday.com). Market Day is the one school fundraiser that doesn't make me cringe. Unlike the usual PTO beggary, it is a convenient, high-quality, and competitively priced way to get things your family already needs. I like it for a number of reasons. First, I can peruse nutritional information before making selections. Secondly, I am spared the blast of bakery aromas and sample pushers that descend upon me in the supermarket---and the stealth items that sneaky family members always slip into the cart. And finally---and most importantly!-I can shop any time, with no muss and no fuss. It doesn't hurt that the kids in the elementary school at the end of my block benefit, too; a portion of the proceeds from every sale is given to the participating school.
I've used Market Day since my oldest was in early elementary school-and continue to do so long after elementary my kids moved out of participating schools. It's that good! Here's how it works. Visit the Market Day website, and enter your zip code. A list of participating schools in your area will appear. Choose the one closest to you, or the one you'd like to support-and get shopping! Then all you have to do is pop into the school at the designated time to pick up your boxed order.
No Market Day in your area? If you're the parent of a school-aged child (or even if not), ask your PTO to consider it. There's nothing better than providing families with a way to support the schools with things they really need (and, in fact, already buy). Or, place an order with Market Day Direct. You can also find many Market Day items at Peapod. (This takes things a step further than ordering in jammies; the foods are delivered, too!)
What do I get from Market Day? They offer an array of appetizing prepared foods, but for banded eating purposes, the real meat and potatoes are the....meat and potatoes! Well, minus the potatoes. The meat, poultry, and fish selections are high quality, frozen (often in individual portions-another banded eating bonus), and their quality easily rivals the best in grocery stores. For well less than $50 per week (for the whole family), I lay in enough meat, poultry, and chicken to fill up the hungriest low-carb eater three times a day. My order rarely varies much. I get almost all of my protein from Market Day; I stock my freezer so that all I have to do is reach in, pull out the number of portions I need, and bam! Dinner's at my fingertips. When it comes to band success, the importance of having good staples on hand just can't be overestimated. As Johnnie Cochrane might have said, if you have what you need, you will succeed. Here is my suggested list-there are many ways you can tailor this for your own tastes, but these are the things I build my meals upon. As we move on, I will share my recipes using these basics.
Ground beef (85% lean)
Flat iron steaks
Boneless pork chops
Peruvian bay scallops
Large shrimp
Cod
Salmon
Individually-wrapped chicken breast portions
Rack of pork
Diced chicken tenderloin (cubed white meat chicken)
Oven-ready boneless turkey breast
What's left? A quick weekly trip to the store for other mealtime staples: fresh veggies and fruit, canned tomatoes and broth (for sauces), legumes, dairy, whole grains, any seasonings and condiments that are running low, and household items and sundries. There's always something on hand for dinner, and the savings are tremendous.
So, what's for dinner? Tonight, I might pull out a couple of pork chops, and hit my pantry and refrigerator door for the ingredients to make a raspberry-balsamic glaze-super-simple, and super-tasty. I serve this with a nice green veggie and, for my family, brown rice. My teenage Food Critic is happy with these-and so are my band and taste buds. I don't remember where I originally got the idea for these chops-I've been playing with this "recipe" for years. Don't agonize about the measurements-just eyeball. It's not necessary to be precise.
Raspberry Balsamic Pork Chops
Serves 4
4 boneless pork chops
2 shallots, finely minced
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons raspberry preserves (I use all-fruit; I also substitute other fruits-cherries are delicious)
¼-1/2 teaspoon thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Drizzle olive oil into a nonstick skillet. Heat on medium-high heat, and brown pork chops on both sides. Reduce heat, and cook until chops remain just barely pink; do not overcook. Remove chops to a plate. To the same skillet, add the shallots, and briefly sauté. Deglaze the skillet with the balsamic vinegar, then stir in the preserves. When they are melted, season with thyme, salt, and pepper. Return the chops to the skillet, and turn to glaze them. Briefly warm them, then serve.
Betsy Banks
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