17 Apr Inside the Fridge welcomes Cookie ChRUNicles blogger Meredith!!

Meet Meredith. Meredith is a single mom to an adorable, witty and active 9 year old son. An avid runner and vegetarian, she chronicles her daily mileage through single motherhood in her entertaining blog, The Cookie ChRUNicles. She is on a never ending quest to raise her son on healthy, wholesome foods!

ITF: Where do you shop for food?

MV: The more appropriate question is -where don’t I shop for food. In order to get the best deals and price, I routinely shop at four local supermarkets, sometimes five each week. I can be found at Trader Joe’s, Shoprite, Fairway Market, Best Market and occasionally Stop and Shop and/or Whole Foods.

ITF: Do you love food shopping or dread it?

MV: Tough question. I can’t say that I hate food shopping because I do enjoy new product finds and scoring a great deal. It can be draining though because I can never purchase everything I want from just one store. My grocery shopping involves a lot of planning in terms of reviewing circulars, seeking out the best sales and deals, making a list of which stores have what on special and then getting the opportunity to shop at each location. I sometimes think of just buying everything in one or two of the stores to save myself some trips but at the end of the day, I would rather have the additional $20 in my pocket and take a little bit longer to finish up the food shopping than spend more money than necessary.

ITF: What is the single most important thing on your mind when you are shopping for food?

MV: Ingredients. While the majority of my purchases tend to be fresh produce, frozen vegetables, organic beans, dairy and poultry, I do still need to stock my pantry with some snacks for my son. I do my best to purchase snacks that are minimally processed and free of added preservatives and ingredients I can’t pronounce. While fresh foods are best, I won’t raise my son to live in a bubble where all prepackaged snacks, chips and cookies are off limits. I believe in moderation. There are times when we need to have a bag of snack chips, cookies and granola bars readily available so I ensure that the prepackage products that I purchase are as “healthy” as possible.

ITF: How many do you shop for? Ages? 

MV: I shop for myself and my 9 year old son. 

ITF: What is your weekly food budget? 

MV: I don’t really have an exact budget nor do I stop to see exactly what I spend each week. If I had to guess, my total weekly grocery shopping bill comes in at $100 or less. Sometimes that number can be drastically less or on occasion I am sure slightly more. Sometimes I wonder if I spend too much on groceries, however, since I cook more often than not, I figure I am still saving money than if I picked up prepared dinners or ordered in a pizza.

ITF: How do you plan your weekly meals? Create a spreadsheet of fly by the seat of your pants? 

MV: I believe in “Freedom of Meal”. I refer to Freedom of Meal often on my blog. It simply means that I don’t want to feel forced into eating something if I am not in the mood for it. I am not against meal planning; meal planning for the week is a great way to get you cooking and preparing your own meals at home. It not only helps people to eat healthier, it is also a money saver because it is much cheaper to prepare your meals at home than rely on restaurants and quick service food establishments. 

ITF: Do you believe in leftovers?

MV:I hate to waste anything and it is always great to cook something fabulous and have plenty remaining to create another meal for another day. Often times I will make a big batch of chili or baked ziti with the intention of freezing the leftovers individually for a quick meal for another time rather than making us eat it until it runs out. I much prefer to have leftover ingredients that can be mixed and matched for a later meal than a full meal ready to go. For example, I like to roast up a variety of vegetables, cook up whole wheat pasta, brown rice and/or quinoa and store them all separately in the fridge. Each day these “leftovers” give our palate and appetite the option to create a different tasty and delicious meal according to my mood, rather than according to what is “leftover”. 

ITF: When you hear the word “homemade” what is the first thing that comes to mind?

MV: Fresh ingredients. And a close second thought – my signature (and secret) homemade chocolate chip cookies…I am all about everything in moderation so of course cookies come to mind.

ITF: What food/s are important when recalling food memories?

MV: I am not going to lie – food memories to me are absolutely all about dessert. I may be a clean eating vegetarian raising my son to understand the importance of eating whole foods but let’s face it – food memories do not involve carrots. Growing up I always loved cookies, cakes, and desserts. To this day it gives me such joy to bake a special treat or pick up a special birthday or celebration cake. 

ITF: How have your cooking/shopping habits changed over the last 10 years?

MV: While I always loved a good coupon, I now focus on couponing only for the products  I already buy. I often say, “how much is your health worth”. This applies to couponing as well because I refuse to buy a yogurt simply because I see a coupon for it – I make sure to only buy the brands I typically stock in my fridge based upon their ingredients and nutritional make up. Having said that, my product choices have changed over the years as well in terms of not focusing on caloric values any more so much as the ingredients. I would rather purchase a product today because it is free of artificial ingredients, preservatives, added hormones and made without ingredients I cannot pronounce versus focusing on whether the product is low enough in fat and/or low in calories. I have found that focusing on nutrient dense, whole foods is much more important to me today than it was a few years ago. It is not all about calories.

ITF: What was the last meal you cooked from convenience products?

MV: Convenience products to me include organic cans of garbanzo beans, black beans and kidney beans. Beans are a quick, easy and healthy source of protein that can easily be added to a variety of dishes.  I typically throw them into salads, stir fry dishes, chilis and my son’s favorite “stuffed potatoes”. While I do keep a few frozen Trader Joe products on hand (fish sticks, meatless meatballs and ravioli), I tend to use those products more in emergency situations rather than as a regularly scheduled meal.

ITF: Anything Else?

MV: I am convinced that the architects who designed my residential community were under the assumption that people don’t really intend to use their kitchens or actually eat anything at home other than prepackaged, processed foods. Why else would they give you a small refrigerator but a super large pantry? My kitchen comes equipped with a beautiful and extremely spacious pantry. There is plenty of storage space in this pantry which is great for my several jars of peanut butter, canned goods, grains and snacks. But, a majority of my food purchases are fresh fruits and vegetables. I cannot fit all of the fruits and vegetables in the small drawers therefore the produce overflows on to the shelves. My fridge never looks too pretty or organized. As a neat freak, I have needed to come to terms with this situation and accept it for what it is.

Thanks Meredith! If you’re interested in participating in Inside the Fridge please contact Leah@robinplotkin.com.