7-Day Menu Planner for DUMMIES - Rebel Review

"New-NEW Culinary Classic...NOT Just For Dummies!"

7-DAY MENU PLANNER FOR DUMMIES
by Susan Nicholson, RD/LD
(Wiley, 2010)

[Paperback, 342 pages, $19.99 U.S. - buy for less on Amazon.com]

Being a woman "of a certain age" and married for 20+ years, I have been cooking for a long time. I admit, I am far from gourmet: I don't specialty shop; I don't watch the TV cooking shows or reality shows starring angry chefs and their desperate-to-please minions; glossy gourmet food and recipe magazines make me nervous.

I do have skills. I have one small shelf of cookbooks in my kitchen. I can cover the basics, having more or less successfully fed and nourished a healthy family of five for some time now. Culled from a 25-year-old, well-worn copy of the cooking classic: BETTY CROCKER'S COOKBOOK (1987), family magazines and, in more recent years, recipe searches on AllRecipes.com for the iPhone and iPad, I have compiled my very own cookbook: a mish-mash of photocopies, hand-written classics and typed recipes, all carefully preserved in plastic page protectors and haphazardly "filed" in a white, plastic-coated (easy wipe!), 3-ring binder.

However, having said all of that:

Even with my vast and very practical culinary knowledge and experience, I love, Love, LOVE Susan Nicholson's 7-DAY MENU PLANNER FOR DUMMIES. An instant new-NEW classic, this book should be a treasured kitchen bible for every man, woman or young adult trying to prepare and serve nutritious, delicious, affordable and do-able meals for a family, couple or even healthy meals for one.

Susan Nicholson is a registered dietitian and creator of the 7-Day Menu Planner newspaper column, featured in major newspapers and in online syndication, too. She is a culinary professional and a talented writer with a lot of experience and a great sense of humor, which makes 7-Day Menu Planner for Dummies more than just another cookbook.

7-Day Menu Planner for Dummies gives you a year's worth of weekly dinner idea and recipes that "take about 30 minutes to prepare, contain an average of 30 percent calories from fat, and use common ingredients to save time and money." It is a well-organized and simple roadmap for menu planning, offering great recipes, practical instruction and tips, and a very consistent weekly plan of coordinated dinners: Family Night; Kid's Night (not just for children!); Express Meal; Budget Night; Heat and Eat; Meatless Night; and Easy Entertaining. I love the fact that the week's meals are coordinated to use ingredients in common and a central philosophy of reduce, re-use, recycle and re-format throughout the week's plan. (Trust me, not repetitious, you will not get bored!)

7-Day Menu Planner for Dummies makes planning and preparing meals less of a chore and more fun: simple, easy, quick, healthy and delicious. Whether you are an old pro in the kitchen or a culinary "noob" (as my kids say), make room on your cookbook shelf for a new classic:

7-DAY MENU PLANNER FOR DUMMIES
★★★★★

New Year's Resolution #1: EMEALZ

It has been A Monday, spent mostly at the vet with Mocha-the-Dog. Before I get to THAT (next post), have to talk about food, recipes and meal planning; one of my New Year's Resolutions (yes, we're back to THAT this year, although I thought I had aged out of that particular angst...guess not).

I got a Crock Pot for Christmas (among other, somewhat more glamorous gifts, I assure you), which I am actually very excited about. I am going to be (kind of) homeschooling our 9yo ADHD/Aspy Phenom for the rest of the year, and I need to establish some order amidst our typical chaos and get a little more organized about running the house and feeding the animals around here. Fortunately, Santa also brought a great cookbook:


Yum, with pictures!

Beyond that, even, I came across an unbelievably terrific -- and CHEAP! -- meal planning service for busy Moms (thanks to a Twitter mention from @ConfidentMom two weeks ago): E-MEALZ Easy Meals for Busy and Frugal Families - I signed up today using advertising code "dave" for 20% discount (working as of 12/28/2009). I subscribed to the Publix Family Meal Plan (they have several options) for $5/month and I get a complete 7-dinner plan, menu and grocery list each week, coordinated to the sales in the Publix flyer that week - wow!

Armed with my awesome new Crock Pot, a great cookbook and menu & meal planning help from EMEALZ, I am ready:

New Year's Resolution #1
I will plan, research, shop and make wonderful, healthy meals for my family this year so we can lose a little weight, save a little money and enjoy greater health & happiness in 2010!

Yeah. I'll let you know how it goes...

Camp Mommy 2009 - FREE Summer Movies!

Regal Theatre's terrific summer program is back:

REG’s Free Family Film Festival is Now Showing!

When school’s out, kids around the country visit selected Regal Theatres for the Free Family Film Festival. It’s a fun-filled nine weeks of movies for kids and parents. Since 1991, Regal has provided this service to the community, and best of all it’s FREE!

Selected G & PG movies start at 10AM each Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. First-come, first-served seating is limited to theatre capacity. The Free Family Film Festival is safe, lots of fun and a great way for kids to spend a weekday morning in the summer.

Check out the details and participating theatres at:
www.regmovies.com

MomsMinivan.com - Stretch Your Dollar on the Road

This is a terrific article on Family Vacation - Saving Money on the Road by Laurel Smith (a.k.a. Road Trip Mom) -- don't miss it!

www.MomsMinivan.com:
Stretch Your Dollar on the Road

You might also want to see Laurel's Hurricane Katrina Evacuation Experience, which was horrifying, but an incredible piece of writing that she began and continued day-by-agonizing-day on a separate blog during her family's evacuation, devastation and recovery after Hurricane Katrina rolled over Slidell, Louisiana in 2005. Wow. I wish I could read the book! (I don't think there is one...yet???)

Back To School: Office Depot

We've been Back To School three weeks now, and I'm still buying school supplies, for yet another class binder or project. GOOD DEALS this week at Office Depot :

10¢ Elmer's Glue (Limit 5)

15¢ Notebook Paper (Limit 5)

25¢ Crayola 12-Pack Colored Pencils (Limit 5)

Merchandise, prices and promotions in the ad good in-store through 9/1/07
Those are the deals you stock up on, whether you need them or not -- take the extras to school for always-needed and much-appreciated teacher/classroom supplies.

I think there must be a name for Office Supply Store addiction? I don't know what it is, and I know there are others who will understand: I love Office Depot and Staples almost as much as Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com...well, maybe not quite that much!