Plan your meals around seasonal foods with Pure Food
With her new cookbook, Pure Food, Veronica Bosgraaf encourages moms to clean up their family’s eating by focusing on seasonal, healthy ingredients (Amazon, $10). Bosgraaf knows trying to balance healthy eating with a busy schedule isn’t easy, but her tips — and fantastic recipes — will help you find ways to bring simple, clean eating foods into your meal plan.
5 Meal planning tips to make life easier as a mom
Veronica Bosgraaf shared some of her favorite meal planning tips that are sure to make clean eating a little easier at home:
1. Think simple: There are days when dinner is organic pasta, steamed green beans and cut up oranges, and my family loves it!
2. Keep a few constants always stocked: I know that if I always have fruit, baby spinach, rice and lentils I can whip up a quick meal. These thing are always in my kitchen!
3. Make more than you need: If I’m making chili I double or triple the recipe, which doesn’t add much more work. We can either eat the leftovers later in the week or freeze them to pull out in a pinch.
4. Plan ahead: On Saturdays, I make a list of meals and the ingredients I need for the week. It makes cooking much more manageable!
5. Make meal preparation fun: Turn on some music, pour yourself a treat, and enjoy your time in the kitchen!
About Pure Food, by Veronica Bosgraaf
A busy mother who was seeking solutions for healthy, organic snacks for her kids, Veronica Bosgraaf decided to make one herself, the Pure Bar. Now nationally available, the bar kick-started a nutrition overhaul in Veronica’s home with clean foods and a simple way of cooking, replacing anything overly-processed and loaded with sugar.
Organized by month to highlight seasonal produce, Pure Food shares Veronica’s easy vegetarian recipes, many of which are also vegan and gluten-free.
With eighteen color photographs and tips for cleaning your kitchen and lifestyle – from drying your own herbs to eliminating chemical cleaners – Pure Food is the ultimate resource for living a healthy life.
Plant-based recipes take advantage of seasonal foods
I genuinely appreciate a seasonal, plant-based approach to eating. I don’t eat red meat at all, and I think plant-based meals have a little more versatility as leftovers — which is important when my five-year old changes his mind daily about what he likes and does not like to eat. Pure Food focuses on clean eating, which is helpful for families trying to reduce their reliance on processed foods.
I’ve been tempted for a few years to try a food co-op share for produce, but I haven’t yet tried one because I worry about what to actually do with the food that comes and is outside of my normal menu plans. With Pure Food, finding the right recipes for each time of the year is simple. It’s organized by month, and I like the way the recipes incorporate familiar foods with ones that might be new ones for your family — like the watercress salad found in the May section of the cookbook.
Keep the Pure Bar stashed in your bag
Honestly, there are days when I rely on some sort of bar for at least one my meals. I do my best to get the kids fed in a nutritionally balanced way, but sometimes I find myself running out of the house without having made anything for myself to eat. I’ve tried a variety of protein bars, and I really love the ingredients in the Pure Bars. Chocolate always catches my eye, but my current favorite Pure Bar is Cherry Cashew. Organic cherries and salty cashew perfection combine for a truly satisfying bar!
You can find more from Veronica Bosgraaf, The Pure Bar, and Pure Food on her website, as well as on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
