Step 1: The Plan

The first thing you need to do is to make a plan. Sure, you can surf recipes and just make them on the fly and there's nothing wrong with that, but it's way easier on you if you have a fixed plan. You don't need to cook everything at once, but have something to work towards.

For us, I made the following list:

• Mince meat (cooked)
• Meatballs
• Beef stock
• Chicken stock
• Marinara sauce
• Bolognese sauce
• Breakfast muesli bars
• Yoghurt
• Carrot Apple Nut Muffins
• Pear Streusel Muffins

Meals:

• Basil Eggplant Parmesan
• Butternut Macaroni & Cheese
• Sweet & Sour Meatballs
• Stuffed Pasta Shells
• Quiche
• Chicken Alfredo Casserole
• Chicken & Bean Enchiladas
• Beef Stew
• Lasagna

I will add more meals as I go along and as we eat the rest :-)

For now, this is my starting point. All of these dishes get loads of vegetables, so I try to buy in bulk and whatever is on special or I go to the farmer's market.

My basic shopping list will include:

• Mince meat (I use beef, but sometimes I add pork as well. Buy whatever your family likes)
• Chicken pieces, both with bones and boneless
• Stewing beef
• Soup bones (beef)
• Whole chicken (for roasting. Save the carcass for chicken stock)
• Bacon
• Carrots
• Onions
• Celery
• Tomatoes
• Peppers
• Potatoes
• Mushrooms
• Garlic
• Any other veggies that are on sale
• Apples
• Pears
• Eggs
• Milk
• Cheddar or Gouda Cheese
• Mozzarella
• Parmesan
• Pasta (Since we're on whole foods, I buy whole wheat. If you want true whole wheat pasta, though, you'll have to make it from scratch)
• Canned beans
• Whole wheat flour
• Variety of nuts
• Variety of dried fruits, including raisins and dates
• Whole wheat tortillas
• Honey

I'll need most of these ingredients in bulk, so I watch for sales and go to large stores or the farmer's market. I usually don't get all my ingredients at once, but what I do get the first time is lots of onions, carrots and celery, since these will be the base of a lot of my dishes.

The first thing I do is to chop the onions, carrots and celery and keep them in airtight containers. These can be frozen and pulled out whenever needed. To make this step easier, I grate and chop with my food processor. You can do it all by hand, but I try to make the work as little as possible. The containers I use are 1, 2 and 4 cup sizes, so if I need only 1 cup, I'll pull that out and defrost.

This saves a lot of time later when I actually start cooking.

Another thing I recommend to make things easier, tastier and cheaper, is to have a few herb plants. If you can't plant them in the garden, they work well in pots on a windowsill. I love using Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, Parsley, Chives, etc. Pick whatever you prefer. Just one plant will put a punch of flavour in your dishes and save you money in the long run.

Note: These dishes are what my family loves and things we eat/use regularly, so feel free to tweak your list to suit your family's needs and tastes.
There are loads of wonderful recipes out there that can be frozen. Surf the web and gather some recipes you like to help your list along. Check out http://onceamonthmom.com for ideas.

What it's all about

Hi there and welcome to Hungry Family blog!
I just want to introduce myself and what this blog is all about so you know what to expect.

I am a new mom to a beautiful 5 month old boy and I've recently jumped on the whole foods band wagon. After two and a half years abroad, we've returned to South Africa and moved into a new house a month ago so we're busy fixing and customizing the house to our own style. Between a baby and renovations, things can get a bit hectic and mealtimes come as an afterthought.
When I was pregnant, I started thinking about the best way to feed my new family. With obesity, malnourishment and so many other health problems out there, I really started to research what the best diet is out there. Of course I'm not talking about a weight loss diet, but a lifestyle diet that my whole family can follow every day.

With so many schools of thought out there on the "real" human diet, I've come to my own conclusion which is: if it is possible to make it from scratch (like they did 5 generations ago), then I can eat it. Roughly. This doesn't mean that I am going to get a milk cow and make my own cheese and butcher my own meat. No. But if someone can make it without industrial processes and weird chemicals, then I can eat it.

This posed a problem for me, because I love food. And I love sweets. I've never really had a taste for vegetables. Hmmm, it seemed as if my journey was going to end before it began! Because sugar is refined (and refined food is a no-no) and veggies should be part of just about every meal I eat... Nevertheless, I was sure that this was the way to go and I was just going to have to give up sugar and swap them for veggies.
Yes, I cheat sometimes, but I try to stick to this as much as possible and hopefully in the near future I won't want those naughty treats anymore and I'll be eating 100% whole food. That's the goal anyway.

With my food philosophy out of the way, I've also found a way to make cooking easier on me. Don't get me wrong, I love to cook! But when there's no inspiration, I'm not in the mood, or I don't have the ingredients at hand, things can get a bit sticky when my husband asks and hour before dinner "What's for dinner?"
And so I stumbled onto once a month cooking or freezer cooking, whatever you like to call it. I am now in the process of getting my freezer cooking as streamlined as possible. And that's what I hope to share with you: organised freezer cooking, the whole foods way. I hope you enjoy the journey with me! :-)