The Winners....And The Losers.

One week down! Actually, more like 10 days.

A lot of people think that buying all organic is expensive. I think my experiment has proven that this is not the case. I believe the processed, packaged, convenient foods are what break the bank. Grains and legumes are relatively inexpensive, as is produce - organic or not. Meat, especially good quality beef, now that's another story. But before the industrialized food revolution, our grandparents, or great grandparents, paid a premium for meat. But they also didn't eat it every day (unless they were wealthy). Meat, Beef in particular, has been relegated to a "once in a while" luxury in our house.

I have wholesome-ness over flowing from every crack and crevice of my kitchen. Some of these recipes would feed a family of 5 for three days. I think I spent about $175 and have enough food for two (sometimes three) people for well over 10 days. As far as the recipes, there were some hits...and there were definitely some misses!

First up, the Thai Chili!

Yes, you caught me, I photographed the Thai Chili photo from the magazine. But look at mine....

It turned out sort of "peach" colored. But it's definitely a keeper. Even Jacob tried it! It also thickened up quite a bit by days two and three!

Then there was the Halibut Burrito Casserole.

This (brown rice, black beans, corn, cilantro, scallion, roasted red pepper, et al):

Plus this (halibut with cumin and lime juice):

Equals this:

Rob "liked" it, and I ate it for two days so as not to waste it, but it wasn't the most pleasurable meal I've eaten. Sadly, this one is a "miss" in my opinion and will not be going into the binder. It was very dry...and tasted like cardboard.

Next up was the Slow Cooker Curried Chickpea/Rutabaga/Hearty Greens over Brown Rice debacle:

It was good, don't get me wrong. The reason I call it a debacle is because I like variety, and this, much like the Thai Chili and Halibut Casserole, would feed a larger family for a few days. Two dinners and a lunch, and I  had to toss about a half gallon out. Ouch! It was "OK", but I don't think I'll make it again. It's true "hippy" food, if you know what I mean. A little too "crunchy" for my taste (and I don't mean the chickpeas...although they could have cooked a little longer).

The Stuffed Portobellos are a definite keeper! Yummy giant portobellos stuffed with zucchini, onion, garlic, tomato, roasted red peppers, whole wheat bread crumbs, fresh basil, and plenty of Parmesan cheese! Yes, this one is going in the binder:

One of my top three faves is a Weight Watchers recipe that I "made clean" by choosing the ingredients carefully. The cheese and spinach enchiladas are divine:

Oops! It was so good I forgot to photograph it until it was almost too late! It looks like a hot mess, and it was!

Another excellent Weight Watchers recipe, easily converted into "clean", is the Mushroom Risotto: (this photo is from our NYE 2011 dinner party, but it's so good that I make it at least twice a month!). I'll be making this again tonight:

So my picks:
Mushroom Risotto
Cheese and Spinach Enchiladas
Thai Chili
Stuffed Portobellos
Hearty Green over Quinoa (from an earlier post):

And my pans:
Halibut Burrito Casserole (it doesn't even sound good, what was I thinking?)
Slow Cooker Chickpea and Rutabaga (even if I cut the recipe down, it was too much work for one meal, and not tasty enough to eat for multiple days, so there you go.)

Now, time to start on my shopping list for next week!