Menu Planning and Mustard Greens

Through our many financially-frugal phases, we've learned a lot about reducing our grocery and food bill. We tried shopping loss leaders at all the big stores, using store coupons with manufacturer coupons on double coupon day, comparison shopping to make sure we were getting a deal, cross-referencing with our detailed price book, and menu planning based on these items. But we grew tired of living on tuna, cans of mystery food from the sale cart, pasta and one pound of free grapes per week.

And we saved some money, but WOW, did we become cranky despite our best efforts. Nope -- no microwave popcorn for us: we'll pop it on the stovetop and save big! After three months of our apartment smelling like burnt popcorn and tuna, we caved to this plan, knowing it just wasn't in us.

And then we met Susan. Susan is a syndicated columnist and creates the 7-Day Menu Planner.** Susan outlines what to eat everyday, has busy families in mind when creating the menus and provides a grocery list to boot.

Her menus are as varied as my family's eating habits: Twin A is allergic to eggs and peanuts, Twin B has some mysterious feeding problems, Husband is like a garbage disposal and will eat anything -- the meatier the better -- and I prefer no meat at all. So, we customize Susan's plans. A lot. But, aside from some of her super-weird-to-me-meaty-weeks-featuring-lamb, it seems to be working for us.

Susan's plans probably aren't always the most frugal -- we try to take out the expensive food days and replace with them tuna, pasta, a mystery can of food and free grapes, but for us, planning does help reduce impulse spending and eating on the fly. Generally, the plans are diverse, healthy, fairly simple, and realistic despite every Saturday for her being "entertaining Saturday" usually featuring some fish item that we've never heard of. It also begs the question: just WHO is entertaining EVERY Saturday. And why aren't we invited?

This past week the plan called for White Bean Winter Soup with the usual soup ingredients: broth, beans, carrots, onion, bay leaf and what's this? -- garlic and teriyaki marinade? Mustard greens or kale? In soup? What in the sam hell are mustard greens, anyway? And what are they doing in soup?

But ever since Susan told us to make Strawberries Supreme -- something we reluctantly prepared based on ingredient bias (balsamic vinegar, Splenda and strawberries over ice cream??) and it turned so heavenly that Husband and I flipped a coin to see who got to lick the pan, we both agree to just do whatever the woman says. Susan wants marinade and kale in a soup? Sign me up!

So I head off to Big Grocery Store and start poking around the produce section. What IS kale? Aren't vegetarians supposed to inherently know this stuff?

After doing a dozen laps around the produce isles, convinced anyone watching a store security camera has me marked as suspicious, I look at my cart. I already have the majority of the ingredients and I remember that Husband invited a co-worker and her baby over to go through some toys that were bound for the thrift store the night soup was on the menu. My understanding was that Husband had already told her she was welcome to join us for soup, so I should at least try... Besides, I had to give Husband credit for looking at -- and remembering -- the menu plan. But then again, isn't this why Campbell's is in business? Adding up the cost of the ingredients so far, I could have bought four cans of bean soup, throw in some lettuce stuck to the bottom of my produce drawer at home and called it fancy.

Remembering the Strawberries Supreme and that, more often than not, Susan's concoctions turn out pretty good, and with a stubborn determination that borders on unhealthy, I head off to the canned veggie section. Carrots, beans, spinach... getting warmer... something called Mixed Greens...

I call Husband, tell him I can't find Mustard Greens ask him to Google it. He reports to me that they are in stock at Whole Foods, to which I remind him, we don't have in Nice Midsize City. Next, he discovers an organization called the Leafy Greens Council** and said that they have mascots for different greens -- so for Kale they have Kal-O-Don, Cabbagesaurus, Lettuceratops etc. and even have trading cards for all the Green characters. We discuss the "who knew?" factor for Greens Council. What must their annual conference be like? Does the event coordinator need to work in as many leafy greens as possible into their menu? What happens if they serve a pesticide and herbicide enhanced iceberg lettuce salad? And just how many trading cards are really out there? Are the kids of the members of the Leafy Greens Council swapping with each other or is it just the kids at the Waldorf school**? Or are they the same kids?

Eventually, he suggests the food coop, which is 10 minutes away, and we determine that it would NOT be frugal to drive 20 miles round trip for greens. Still online, he tells me all about Sylvia's Southern Cooking and that she has canned mustard greens. I look for Sylvia's Greens and figure that while Sylvia might make them, she didn't bother to deliver any to this store. Frustrated yet grateful to know that, during a future Greens Crisis I can turn to the Leafy Greens Council for help, I return to the can of Mixed Greens and this time take a minute to read the ingredients: mustard greens, kale...! NO WAY! HOORAY!

The next day, making the soup, I re-read the recipe. "Discard stems and center ribs from 8 ounces of mustard greens, cut leaves into 2 inch pieces, stir in and cook 25 more minutes." CRAP. After all that, the can of greens isn't going to work after all and Twin A is napping leaving me housebound with company arriving shortly. I call Husband asking him if he can run to the Coop and get the greens AND come home early. He bursts out laughing and tells me I've become obsessed with soup. No, I tell him, I'm frustrated that the ONE thing in my day that, in theory, I thought I could control, just failed.

I pull it together, decide to forge ahead with the canned greens and ask Husband what time his coworker will be stopping by. He says he wasn't sure, but probably around 6. And by 6:30, with the soup simmering, slimy greens and all, no company in sight, and a very hungry family, we dish up the soup. And just as the spoons hit the bowls, the doorbell rings. It's Husband's coworker, with a pizza in one hand and a baby in the other, apologizing for being late.

Surprised, but delighted, I dumped the soup back in the pot, trying to shoot Husband a look that says "what the...??" Later, with company gone, Twin A and Twin B dreaming of Cabbageasaurus, and me content with a tummy full of cheese pizza, we're cleaning up and putting lukewarm soup in individual containers. I calmly ask Husband if he knew she was bringing pizza. "Well, she mentioned it but it wasn't for sure, so I didn't say anything to you." I casually tell Husband to be sure to check out the menu plan for next week when he gets a chance.

"It says I'm eating the Winter White Bean Soup everyday for lunch next week..." "Well," I tell him, "You know the rule -- whatever Susan says."

Recipe for STRAWBERRIES SUPREME
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high. Stir in 1 quart halved fresh strawberries, 1/4 cup granular no-calorie sweetener (such as Splenda) and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar. Cook one minute until mixture is thoroughly heated. Serve immediately over vanilla ice cream.

Link to Susan Nicholson's 7-Day Menu Planner
http://www.uexpress.com/7daymenuplanner/?uc_full_date=20060115
Hint: use the "next date/previous date" link to view all menus. Don't be turned off immediately if you're a veggie. On average, we can use 3-4 meals per week, which is better than pasta (again).

Link to the Leafy Greens Council Cruciferous Crusaders Trading Cards
http://www.leafy-greens.org/tradingcards.html


**Susan is not a relative of mine and I am not receiving a lifetime supply of strawberries supreme for mentioning her. MommySavers and FrugalJo cannot be responsible for helping find any odd ingredient at any time for any recipe and cannot be responsible for the outcome. Personally, I didn't care for the greens in the soup, but maybe had I driven 20 miles for the actual ingredient, it might have tasted better. MommySavers and FrugalJo have not fully evaluated the cost-effectiveness of her menu plans, but absolutely think that's a great idea. And, despite being a strong supporter of most things green, I am not a board member, a staff member, nor is anyone in my immediate or extended family connected to the Leafy Greens Council. Finally, I'm just bitter because we can't afford to send our kids to a Waldorf school.