About this Blog

This blog was created as place to share complete meal combinations guided by the 'Plate Method' (not simply recipes or discussions about food) by featuring a photo and/or list. I collect submissions from family, friends, you? and I feature them here. These may give you an idea of what you could eat that day, week or month.  You can view a meal combination and look up your own recipes or use recipes that may be available on this blog. My hope is that this will help people with families and or busy lives plan out food shopping, cooking and eating well. It also will provide an opportunity for a diverse cultural offerings from different parts of the world, and styles of cooking. Think of it as your very own 'world flavor' food planner.

What motivated this blog?

In the past months I had gotten bored and  frustrated with food. Not quite with the eating of it (I'm doing a good job of that), but with making and eating healthy food that I was excited about. About a year ago my husband and I did a 'menu for the week' where we planned out what we would make for meals that week and shop based on that. This gave us a chance to try different things, keep to somewhat of a budget for food, and be deliberate about eating healthy. I would also explore other food blogs to figure out different ways to cook specific items. It also lasted for barely a month. It was too much of an organized thing to do, and we were still trying to sort out the balance of work, social, art & love into this idealistic schedule where we had 'house' meetings on Mondays and in-house movie nights on Sunday (ha!). And then there was the challenge of combining enough diverse 'real people' meals and flavor offerings. A year later and we are still trying to figure it out, with a major ringer now added. Another mouth to feed. Oi!

When I was growing up I remember my mom would make a monthly food 'timetable' for meals which I think is an amazing idea. Although for the life of me I can not figure out why she had us eat literally the same thing for lunch every weekday (even she has no real explanation for this). I had been thinking for a while that this is something I would want to do (minus the weekday-lunch fiasco). Although a seemingly greater task, I imagine that it would work better than trying to remember to come up with something weekly.

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What if I got other folks to share their meal ideas?" After the birth of our child, we had the pleasurable opportunity of friends and family bringing us food and it was great to eat different flavors, styles and combinations of food. I wanted this to continue, I thought this blog may be a way to do it. 

(Read more About Me)

What is the Plate Method?

"The Plate Method is an easy way to plan healthy, well-balanced meals. You don’t have to measure or weigh foods. You just fill your plate to match the suggested amounts of vegetables, starch, and protein. Add a piece of fruit and/or a glass of milk, and you have a balanced meal" (Source). A plate= 9-inch diameter dinner plate. click here to read more about the Plate Method

Why the Plate Method?
To be honest the plate method makes me feel hella fancy. I feel like my plate looks pretty, it increases the odds that food will taste yummy, and creates an opportunity for left-overs that can be eaten later or used for even more meals. It also an easy way to get in essential nutrients (hello 5-A-DAY!), watch portions/calories, diversify your flavor palette and is very flexible to different dietary restrictions/choices.

Really it's kinda cool. Think of what your instagram photos would look like if you always had a 'Plate' of food.

How to 'Grub a Plate'

Get a Plate. Divide it into 4 parts. Put in:

• 1/4 lean protein
• 1/4 healthy carbs
• 1/4 low-carb cooked veggies
• 1/4 fresh vegetables

Certain dishes such as soups, wraps and salads can also be 'plate' worthy if they include a combo of two or more 'sections' of the plate.

Keep in mind that ideally meals should be:

• Healthy + Nutritional (Avoid/Minimal deep fried, refined & highly processed)
•  Easy + Accessible (Consider foods that can be made in reasonable amounts of time, with ingredients that can be found easily) 
•  Tasty + Edible (please!)