I get asked a lot how I manage to make basically everything we eat from scratch and still have the time to take a shower everyday. It’s not as difficult as you might think to prepare quality food 3X every day for a family of five. In fact, I am certain I spend at least half what most families our size spend buying and preparing processed foods in their home. My food budget for a family of five every month consistently ranges in the $600-700 range and I buy only top quality, mostly organic ingredients. When you eat quality food, you eat less because the food is really nutritious and you fill up more quickly. Eating low quality food is a recipe for overeating and weight issues as you eat too much more frequently than when you take the time to prepare a quality meal.

That being said, I definitely am in time crunch mode much of the time as most Moms in my position will attest. Quality doesn’t have to take much time, though. For example, dinner tonight will take exactly 10 minutes to prepare from start to finish. I literally opened the fridge and made this meal up from what was leftover from the past couple days of meals.

Here’s what we are having:

Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe

Ingredients

Organic green beans or other leftover veggie of choice.

The fried rice is made very fast .. it’s leftover basmati rice from an Indian dish I made the other night. To make fried rice, you MUST use cooked rice that is cold. You may use brown or the more nutrient dense wild rice if you prefer. So, whenever I make a dish that requires rice, I make extra rice to make fried rice a day or two later. This fried rice is healthy, as I use a healthy oil to cook with (unlike Chinese restaurants which use nasty, heart unhealthy vegetable oils to make their fried rice). To make fried rice, try this:

Several cups of cold, cooked rice (sources)

A few TBL of expeller pressed coconut oil (I rarely measure anything, just dollop some out into the pan until it looks like enough to thoroughly wet all the rice you’re frying) (sources)

Instructions

Heat the oil in a stir fry pan until it is hot.

Transfer handfuls of the cold rice into the pan and stir with a wooden spoon until the rice is thoroughly hot and well oiled (about 3-5 minutes)

Pour some Teriyaki sauce or unpasteurized soy sauce onto the rice and stir while it is still cooking (sources)

Mix in some wild precooked salad shrimp and your leftover veggies.

You are done!

Dinner in 10 minutes! Beat that Papa Johns!!

Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist