Project time...

My brain has been spinning. And I've been making other people's brains spin too for a few days now.

Why? I'm in project mode. I have a big, fun, slightly secret project that will be launching in September. Which means I only have TWO more months to get my act together! And this project involves so many things: food, and money, and nutrition, and time....basically all the things I'm always rambling about on here. So you won't mind if I sort out some of this info here, would you?

Oh, good. I wasn't in the mood to disappoint anyone today.

And not that it makes much difference, but we're gonna work backwards.

So - today's topic: Healthy Substitutions. We've all encountered the whole food movement, trying to eat  only foods that contain ingredients that you can name, in their simplest form. And off all the eco-friendly, green, hippie movements out there, this one might be the most legit.

And it has a bonus feature - cost! Organic food tends to cost more, but when it comes to making your own "convenience food" you can actually save a lot of money! For instance, a while back, I made my own taco seasoning out of spices I already had (which means I spent no money to make it) and I have used that seasoning for four separate meals, and probably have enough left for eight more.

So, no MSG, not much salt, and virtually free for 12 meals VS. $1.00 per packet of seasoning, and lots of chemicals I can't name.

This is a win-win.

Here's the thing though: for my September project, I need more of these ideas!! Are there things you have found that can be made easily at home that are either healthy or inexpensive, or maybe both? And these ideas need to be simple - or, if they are complicated, I need to know why you feel they are worth the time and energy.

So talk to me - what ways do you keep whole foods in your diet simply?