Stay at Home Parent advantages

That's what is on my mind today.  I've been working pretty hard to lose the baby weight.  I took part in my own little "diet bet", aiming to lose 7 lbs in 30 days (I lost 7.2).  I haven't decided to start the next round, mostly because I'm feeling busy and overwhelmed.  Full time job, husband, 2 kids - counting calories to 1500 a day and squeezing in exercise.  I kinda need a break.  And I have PMS.  And I keep thinking that if I weren't working, there would be a lot more time for all of this.

Last weekend was another banner cooking week.  While I cannot seem to find the photos, I can give you a list of what was on the menu.  We actually didn't finish all of the leftovers until Friday.  It's a good thing I made so much because my spouse had a day trip one day - didn't get home until 9 pm.  It's nice to be able to heat food up in the microwave those days.  Who am I kidding, I do that a lot.

Last week's menu:
Broccoli ramen slaw.  Frugal (the slaw mix was $2 for 2 lb).  So, ramen isn't the healthiest thing, but I never use the flavor packet.  I ate this for lunches and took it to our neighborhood pot luck.  Total cost for this dish (1 lb of slaw, 2 ramen packets, dressing, cashews) was $2.

Sausage, onion, potato egg casserole.  Also took this to the pot luck, brought most of it home, had it for breakfast.  Total cost for an 8 inch pan: $2.12.

Pasta salad with pesto, roasted tomatoes, and chicken:  1 lb pasta, plus chicken, probably less than $5.  We ate this all week.

I also poached 6 lbs of chicken in the crockpot.  I totally overcooked it.  Definitely destined for casseroles.  The cooking time seemed too low in the recipe.  Whoops.

I had to laugh at the kiddos this week.  My son's friend was having tacos for dinner.  She was complaining that she wanted to go out for burger.  Then my son started complaining that he didn't want  his favorite chicken,  he wanted tacos.  Anyway, 7 year olds.  Always want something else.

So back to the stay at home parent advantages.  (with regards to food anyway)  When it comes to feeding your kids - HUGE advantage. I am always impressed with the amount of cooking that The Prudent Homemaker gets done with homeschooling her kids.  But the trick is - she's at home.  I am not at home.

The baby is now on a lot of table food.  But still, 1/3 of his meals are "baby food" purchased in bulk in jars.  1/3 of his food are "snacks" that are simply more expensive than regular food: crackers, freeze dried fruits.  The rest of his food is table food - bits of chicken, steamed potato, string cheese, fruits.  I haven't been all that great about introducing new foods like my SAHM friends.  It's just easier to buy the freeze dried raspberries and whole wheat crackers.

Today, in an effort to change that a bit (let's face it, home cooked food is way cheaper), I have bread in the bread machine.  Most of the bread we buy has seeds in it - he's too young for seeds.  I did give him a few bites last weekend of our storebought seeded bread, and let's just say his digestion was way off.  It may have been due to something else, but I'm not taking chances.

I am going to make it a goal to make and introduce one new homemade food per week.  Bread, beans, lentils, rice, other cooked vegetables.