This week I will be using the contents from my pantry, freezer, and donations from my mother’s house to create our meals for the week.  I’ll post recipes & photos as I make these items.

Monday – Finish off the Chicken Rollups from my mother

Tuesday – Thursday – Crawfish Etouffee

Friday – Homemade Pizza

Saturday – Company over so probably eating out

Sunday – Sushi (with a coupon!)

So this is my first week with Freezer Food Friday.  The purpose of this meme is to share a meal that you can make ahead and freeze to eat later.  So this week, my recipe is for Red Beans and Rice.  It is an old southern favorite and one that freezes very well.

Red Beans and Rice

• 3 cans of Green Giant Red Beans, drained**
• 1 small onion, diced*
• Smoked sausage, diced (use up to 1 pound)
• Celery, diced*
• garlic, minced (to taste)
• Cajun seasoning (to taste)
• Brown Rice

Saute the onion, celery, and garlic in olive oil.  Remove.  Brown the sausage in the same pan.  Drain sausage on paper towel (pat to remove excess oil & grease).  Put beans in a stock pot and then stir in the sausage, onion, celery, and garlic.  Add 2 cans of water to pot and let cook for 30 minutes.  Add cajun seasoning for flavor.  Serve over brown rice.

I tend to do 1/4 cup rice, 1/2 cup bean mixture.  You can serve with cornbread or muffins.  The Vitatop Corn muffins work well and they are only 1 WW point.

This recipe will make 6-8 servings depending on how you serve the rice/bean ratio and the points will be around 5-6 per serving depending on rice/beans.

*frozen, diced onion and celery will do.  If you have a Kroger, look for the Recipe starters bag that has celery, onions, and green bell peppers already diced and use that.  It saves time and money.

**any brand will do but they should be red beans if you absolutely cannot find them you can use Kidney beans but there is a taste difference.

Meal planning is one of those tasks that I am terrible in doing.  I always have the grand idea to sit down and think about what to cook but then I head to the grocery store and it all falls apart because I didn’t plan right.  I tend to buy items but none of them go together and when I do have a recipe in mind I’ll forget an ingredient.

After not planning appropriately, the next downfall of mine is making enough meals to get from Monday through Thursday.  Typically that is just one recipe stretched out over 4 days with 2 people.  So by the time Friday hits, I’m tired of eating the same thing or we’ve run out and I don’t want to cook.  So I’m going to try the cook and freeze half method.  I think this will help with the budget as well as help with the weekend revolt I tend to have against the kitchen.  The revolution leads to eating out which blows the budget and packs on the pounds.

I’m excited to start this meme on Friday.  I am going to try and ensure most of my recipes are Weight Watcher Friendly as this is my healthy blog.    My first recipe will be for my favorite – Red Beans and Rice so come back and grab this freezer friendly, and heart healthy recipe!

I have to admit I am a little surprised in the findings. For many years, I have read articles and news releases making claims that organic food was much healthier and provided additional vitamins and minerals. I just assumed they were correct. These researchers though not only did scientific tests on the food, they also combed over more than 162 other studies and their results. Everything pointed to the same thing – these foods are all equal.

So what do you think? Will you quit buying organic food? Did you ever buy organic food? Does any of this matter to you?

Personally, I did buy organic produce and milk for a while but have since stopped. With the rising prices, something had to change so I decided organic would be one of many things to change. I figure if I watch the processed food and wash my produce thoroughly, I can cut down on chemicals and pesticides without having to pay the extra money for organic.

Article below courtesy of Yahoo! News.

Wed Jul 29, 12:29 pm ET

LONDON (Reuters) – Organic food has no nutritional or health benefits over ordinary food, according to a major study published Wednesday.

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said consumers were paying higher prices for organic food because of its perceived health benefits, creating a global organic market worth an estimated $48 billion in 2007.

A systematic review of 162 scientific papers published in the scientific literature over the last 50 years, however, found there was no significant difference.

“A small number of differences in nutrient content were found to exist between organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs, but these are unlikely to be of any public health relevance,” said Alan Dangour, one of the report’s authors.

“Our review indicates that there is currently no evidence to support the selection of organically over conventionally produced foods on the basis of nutritional superiority.”

The results of research, which was commissioned by the British government’s Food Standards Agency, were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Sales of organic food have fallen in some markets, including Britain, as recession has led consumers to cut back on purchases.

The Soil Association said in April that growth in sales of organic products in Britain slowed to just 1.7 percent in 2008, well below the average annual growth rate of 26 percent over the last decade, following a plunge in demand at the end of the year.

(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; editing by Simon Jessop)

Unfortunately, I haven’t been too good lately with the Wii Fit.  I weigh myself once a week for Think Thin Thursday and that is about it.  Part of the reason is because I started using Jillian Michael’s 30 day shred and part of it is pure laziness.  Enter Fitness Friday.

I’ve been looking for new Wii games to play and came across the Wii Mommies.  It is a group of moms (and non-moms) using the Wii to lose weight and it can be any game not just the Wii Fit.  I am super excited and I am going to start joining in on Fitness Friday to talk about how I am using my Wii to get fit and stay in shape.  I have my afternoon mapped out since work is slow.  Leave at 12, eat lunch, hop on the Wii, then go run a mile on the treadmill.  I might give Jillian a run for her money this afternoon but I’m not too sure.  I might have to bring her to San Antonio with me instead.  So happy Friday and if you have a Wii come join in the fun with the Wii Mommies.

So let’s get going.  I did weigh myself last Thursday with every intention of blogging about it.  I was at 150.4 per my Wii Fit which is the scale I am using.  This morning’s weigh in had me at 150.1.  So a .3 pound loss.  Not a huge loss but a move in the right direction.  I think eating soup for lunch and light dinners has been working in my favor.  There is also the dvd workout I’m doing – Jillian Michael’s 30 day shred.  I’ve only done 4 days but I am feeling really good doing it.  I was hoping for a larger loss but I have been eating out quite a bit with a friend as she is going through a rough time at work – layoffs and pay cuts.  She’s made it through all of that with just a 5% cut so hopefully things will get better and we will quit meeting up frequently for drinks and gorging on food.

I am hoping to hit 146 before my friend’s wedding on April 25th so it will be back to the gym, more 30 day shred, and running on the treadmill.  I am going to try and trade soup for fish or other protein based meals.  Wish me luck!