Another Grocery Store Post Resource

Ms. Sally Parrott Ashbrook writes one of my favorite blogs over at Aprovechar. She integrates mind, body, and spirit, plus she writes about it beautifully. She's dealing with several restrictive food allergies, but handles it quite well as she's always posting about yummy things she's made. This whole grocery store/food spending is on all of our minds, for sure. Check out what Sally's doing for her Grocery Store Planning.

We wrapped our first day of shooting "Free Radio." Ed Begley, Jr. was on the show today, and he was hilarious, wonderful, and up for anything. I learned a ton since Ed is the Guru of the Green Makeover (my term, not his). Did you know it's OK to put printed cardboard (like cereal boxes) in the blue recyling bin here in LA? I had always heard that they didn't get recycled, but Ed set me straight. He also knows the names of all the different types of plastic according to what numbers are printed on the bottoms of the bottles. Genius.

I promise to respond to the comments to the previous Curbing Food Spending post very soon. Very soon. I promise.

Curbing Food Spending

I'm really loving Ms. Mary Frances' series on cutting back on food spending. She is interviewing Heather, a GF gal feeding a family of 6 on a budget of $275 a month. If y'all don't already subscribe to Gluten Cooking School, you must do so immediately as Ms. Mary Frances is a super smart lady who knows her GF stuff.

I ran the numbers for what we spent on groceries and restaurants last year, and it was SHOCKING. I'm too embarassed to say the amount, but if Suze Orman were here in the room, she would rip me a new one like she does to those clueless couples on Oprah, who are still spending what's left of their HELOC like it's June 2005. Speaking of, here's the link to Suze's free download, which will be up on the Oprah site for another few days or so: http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20081119_tows_bookdownload

I thought I had spent less in 2008 because I made sure to make more meals at home and to eat out less often. The numbers reflect that restaurant meals have gone down, and grocery bills now account for 66% of our food bill. Husband and I hardly go to lunch anymore unless they are business meetings, as we are consciously and regularly eating all lunches and breakfasts at home. Coffee shops are only for business meetings as well. Dinners are where I get weak with my discipline. It's too tempting to have a cocktail or a glass of wine with dinner, and we all know how much that jacks up the bill (and the waistline). My dinners with my girlfriends are celebrations of epic proportions that include a multitude of booze, food, and laughter. A lot of my dinners are business dinners, and I don't really want to cut back while taking an agent to dinner, or a voice over client, or anyone else I'm wanting to treat for that matter.

So while there's some room to limit dinners out that aren't necessary business dinners, I need to get my grocery store spending under control. Here are my red flags:

1. I know that I overbuy every time I go to the store. I go to three grocery stores since there's not one store that sells everything I need. That means that I don't stick to my grocery list at three stores instead of just one.

2. I go to the store too often, which means I need to plan meals and stock up better (that's where the MacGourmet Deluxe Software comes in).

3. I forget to eat leftovers, and they go bad and get tossed. I vow to eat all leftovers in 2009!

4. Even worse than throwing away leftovers is having to throw away food that went bad because I didn't have time to get to it, or I forgot to freeze it! I'm so ashamed of this one. I don't want to throw away any more unused food in 2009.

All four of these points lead to one theme: conscious consumption. I want to consciously shop, cook, and consume in 2009. Even if we cut our food bill by a few hundred per month, that means saving several thousand or more per year. Heather is feeding a family of 6 for under $300 a month. For our little family of three, we have no excuses anymore.

Free Radio Season Two Shoot

It's time. Season Two of Free Radio begins filming on Wednesday. The flurry of phone calls has begun to coordinate schedules, hair, make-up, guests, publicity, character development, script approval, etc. My personal flurry of researching guests, watching what I eat, and getting back into a full-time work schedule is in high gear as well. The most work fun I've ever had is on this show.

I will keep y'all posted with pics of our guests as well as pics of the food. Whoever the caterer is this season is in for a learning experience. New Caterer gets to learn what Gluten-Free means and how to prepare foods for my diva GF self. Luckily, our director is GF, so that dilutes the diva-ness and takes some heat offa me.

As an added treat to my week, Husband and I are attending the Critic's Choice Awards tonight as guests of VH1. I still gotta find somethin' to wear. Somethin' pretty with a little color. I promised Husband I wouldn't overly stalk the stars, but his stalking threshold is much lower than mine.

Pittsburgh 5-Way Turkey Chili

What else to make on playoff day but Turkey Chili???

Cincinnati style...but with rice instead of spaghetti...and a little cayenne 'cause it can't be too sweet...oh, and of course there's the turkey instead of beef. We live in a Steelers/Redskins household, so this is in no way an endorsement for the Bengals. So screw it. I present to you Pittsburgh Five-Way Turkey Chili.

Pittsburgh Five-Way Turkey Chili

1 pound ground turkey
1 large brown onion, finely chopped
1 celery rib, thinly chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 28 ounce can peeled chopped tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 ounce dark chocolate, finely chopped

white rice
1 can kidney beans
2 cups grated colby-jack cheese
chopped raw onion to serve
creme fraiche or sour cream
Fritos (yes, they are GF!)

1. In large pot or Le Creuset dutch oven, heat olive oil. When shimmering, the celery, garlic, and most of the chopped onion and saute until softened. Add turkey, breaking up lumps of meat, until it loses its pink color.

2. Mix together all dry spices in a little bowl until well blended. Add the dry spices to the turkey, cook and stir for about a minute.

3. Add the entire can of tomatoes, 1/2 cup of the chicken broth, red wine vinegar, and the chocolate. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for about an hour. Add in some chicken broth if the chili gets too thick.

4. Uncover and stir, letting chili simmer for another 1/2 hour.

5. Warm the kidney beans in a separate pan or microwave. Place the kidney beans, grated colby-jack, remaining chopped onions, creme fraiche, and Fritos in separate bowls. Serve chili over white rice and let everyone choose their own toppings.

The Terrible Towel is up for next week's game!! GO STEELERS!!!!