Thursday, April 23, 2026
Tuesdays are my new Fashion Files Day so Thursday will be my random day going forward.
Today I thought we would talk food – grocery shopping, meal prepping, cooking, eating, and lots of other random and “deep” thoughts by Amy.
I have been making a dressing that involves apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, olive oil, and just a smidge of dijon mustard. I add a little minced garlic, and some salt and pepper. I think I do about 1/4 cup of each of the first three items. I have been a little obsessed with this atop spring mix, pumpkin seeds, feta, hardboiled egg, and a piece of salmon or grilled chicken on top sometimes. My inspo was my amazing restaurant salad from a couple of weeks ago.
I love to make my dressings in a Mason jar or a Bonne Maman jam jar and shake it up really well. Tom complimented the dressing so that was good, too!
I made Greek Bowls this week. I made my chicken and Tzatziki sauce in the morning and cut up all my veg in the morning, too.
I sometimes get really lazy when 5:00 rolls around so doing some elements in the am really helps me.
This week I baked up a couple of baking potatoes for meals or to dice and cook and I also did a cookie sheet of sweet potato cubes.
I baked these to take to Mah Jong:
I don’t really have a set grocery day now.
I have so many grocery choices. I have a Kroger within walking distance. I have Trader Joe’s, Aldi, Publix, Fresh Market, and Whole Foods nearby. You name it and we have it. I have tried Walmart and just Walmart Neighborhood Market (just the food part of a Walmart) and Meijer. We also have a place called Paul’s Fruit Market that is fabulous for prepared foods, beautiful fruits and vegetables, gifts (love a foodie gift), and specialty things. We have a healthy store called Rainbow Blossom and I have gone there a few times recently.
I think I will always do a weekly pick up from Kroger since we use so many Kroger brand items, we get our fuel there and receive fuel points, and it’s just so convenient to our house.
I have been avoiding Trader Joe’s because I tend to buy impulse things and snacky things and not really meal things. I tracked all my spending including groceries in February and March. In April, I will just look at grocery and see how I did.
I have a new love….
Whole Foods! It’s in a horrible location – on our busiest street for retail shopping with a mall next to it – but if I go on a weekday morning it’s not bad at all.
I discovered their family meals:
My friend has been using these to take for meal trains. She said one family reported that the salmon, broccoli, sweet potato meal to be their favorite that anyone had brought.
I love their bags. They are great to save and reuse.
I bought one piece of salmon and one piece of chicken at the prepared food counter. They each provided two servings for Tom and I. This was to put on tops of the salad I’ve been making. Now, this isn’t practical for a large family but for the two of us it’s a great option.
I bought fresh pizza dough and made my own pizza. The center was too doughy so I think I should have used less of the dough so it would cook fully.
I love their sourdough bread since I’m a sourdough failure. Anyway, I am enjoying getting some odds and ends there. You pull up your Amazon app on your phone and there is an in store code for Prime members.
I made my own chicken for our Greek bowls using this method I really like. I almost always buy tenders for things like this since they cook up so fast. I pat dry the tenders with paper towels, salt, garlic powder, pepper, and for these I added Greek seasoning. I put them in a pan with some olive oil and cook on one side for maybe 5 minutes, on the other side for another 5, turn off heat and leave on the burner for a few, then move off the burner for a few, then let rest of cutting board and chop. I also include the juices if I’m storing it to use later.
I also bought fresh pita bread at Whole Foods and made my own pita chips. Tom loved them.
I did all this prep in the morning and it really helped me out on a day I had an obligation from 4:15-5:15.
Homemade tazatziki:
I try to take EO on some errands with me. He sits in the way back of my small SUV and can’t jump to the back seat or the front with me. He gets right in the vehicle and is pretty good. When I take him to do a Kroger pick up, the employee puts the groceries up front with me.
Look at that cute little head!
I try to reward him with a walk somewhere new after doing the errand with me.
I picked up this half loaf of Lewis cinnamon roll bread. It’s really good! This would be a great quick breakfast for your school kids.
Someone talked about chocolate Riesen candy on a podcast and it’s been on sale at Kroger. Tom and I are both enjoying these! Have you ever had one? It’s like dark chocolate on the outside and caramel in the middle. They are from Germany.
Final “Deep” Thoughts:
I love eggs and I still do my one egg, some egg white, and some cottage cheese mixture. I microwave it and add it to my chicken breakfast sausage, sweet potato cubes, and avocado many mornings. Sometimes I add a little parmesan or other cheese I have on hand.
Sometimes I make an egg sandwich or something different. I wake up hungry but just have coffee and water for the first hours that I’m awake.
I’m going to try this in lieu of my cottage cheese:
Sounds a little scary!
I try to eat breakfast around 10 and then I have a small lunch around 1. Lately I have been craving a half of a turkey sandwich with lettuce and tomato on the Whole Foods thinly sliced sourdough. Isn’t that weird? The good ol’ sandwich. We eat dinner around 6:30 and it’s just whatever I feel like. Tom tells me he just wants a meat and two veg and sometimes that’s kind of freeing.
I eat almost all of my meals at home. I rarely use a drive thru. I have been surprised that I haven’t gone out for breakfast or lunch more in my retirement.
I plate every meal even if it’s just me. I take the time to sit down. I don’t eat in my car. This is a luxury that I didn’t always have. I like to read my book while I eat lunch. Bonus points if I can sit outside.
I’m still getting used to cooking for two. We both will eat leftovers and sometimes we have two totally different things for dinner. Sometimes I buy too much – I forget that we will have leftovers or that there are only so many days in a week!
I tried the Whole Foods pick up and it was great!
I don’t do well with an overcrowded freezer or fridge. I can’t see what I have and I get a bit overwhelmed. That’s exactly how I feel about my closet!
Sometimes simple is the best – I have to remind myself of this when I try to make dinner too complicated.
The most expensive food is the food that gets thrown away – just heard this from Debt Free Mom on IG when she said buy a few more luxury food items if it helps you eat up your food at home.
Sometimes buying a little higher quality or more special food items keeps you from the drive thru or from using Door Dash I think.
We all have to learn to do what works for us in our current season. In the words of the great philosophers of our current times – “you do you, boo”.
Anything you want to talk about?
Amy
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 
Ok this post made me hungry- ha! Love Whole Foods prepared meals- they are always so delish and healthy. Your homemade pizza looks dynamite!
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Ha – sorry! Thank you!
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I have been less and less interested in cooking these days but we do need to eat! I need to go to Fresh Market and take a look, the Whole Foods we have is a hassle because of traffic.
This post is making me hungry!
xo,
Kellyann
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Fresh Market can be a great option. I go in spurts. I’m feeling more like cooking again!
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We definitely pack our fridge to the brim on the day we grocery shop; sometimes I even have to put some fruits and veggies in the mini fridge in the basement but by Wednesday it’s usually pretty bare so we definitely eat it all. It’s rare for me to throw anything away. Your new favorite dressing sounds like one I started making last summer and it is for sure a favorite– though I am the only one that uses any of my homemade dressings. I figure it just lasts longer that way!
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I bet you really do need a lot of food. Homemade dressing is so far superior!
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You have a ton of grocery store options near you! We have a Whole Foods, a Sprouts, and a Fresh Market within 15-20 minutes from me. I need to try those more often, but I think I forget about them since they’re off my beaten path. I really need to do more cooking at home now that Noah is at home with us. I haven’t done this yet, though. Maybe next week is the week! I enjoyed reading this post; I love how you do things now.
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I have never been in a Sprouts! Yes, you should just for that newness/new experience/out of routine thing.
I think you would like cooking one big meal a week and if you cook it, they will come – lol.
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I usually go to 2 different grocery stores, Whole Foods and Harris Teeter. Sometimes it will be Fresh Mkt. It gets hard trying to find recipes for dinner each night. I love the Eddie Otis photo of him in the way back. So cute!
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We don’t have Harris Teeter but that name makes me giggle. It really is hard. I’m trying to do salad with a protein or like Tom says – a meat and two veg and not overthink it. And, hey – sometimes one veg!
Thank you!
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Enjoyed this post, it helps hearing/seeing what everyone else cooks or buys for meals. After awhile I get so tired of deciding and cooking for dinner, it can become a hassle especially if you have some picky people. I love salads and the dressing recipe sounds really good, going to have to try.
Thanks
Dianne
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Thank you! I get ideas from IG posts and blogs, too. Decision fatigue! I am loving the idea of picking up already cooked chicken or salmon and topping the salad with it.
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Hi Amy!
Honestly, trying to figure out what I’m making for dinner is something I dread. My husband is a 3 meal a day person and a midnight snack, he is physical all day at work, he’s a big guy and loves to eat. Usually breakfast is easy 5 scrambled eggs. Lunch which I pack every morning which is big usually a salad which is a whole bagged lettuce deli meat cheese avocado tomato and cucumber, and a couple protein bars and 2 ice teas. So by this time I have NO interest in eating. Dinner has to be a main 2 veggies and mashed baked or pasta. I spend so much money at the store and I pretty much have to go everyday! When I’m out in the morning I always eat lunch out. I will have anything from Taco Bell to a cafe to a restaurant like Chili’s. I love that time I scroll my phone, shop, watch YouTube.
Well I just wrote a book!
Cheers! Missy💐
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You have your work cut out for you!
It sounds like going out for lunch is a really self-care/downtime for you. That is so nice. I have a goal next month to do that more on my own.
My only advice for you would be to make some sort of dinner routine with Monday – beef, Tuesday – fish, Wed. – chicken – streamlining it?
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I agree about Whole Foods. If you buy the right things there, it can be economical. I want to try the meals you mentioned, as I think we could eat that for at least 2 nights. Great post – love getting meal ideas!
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So true! For two, especially. Let me know if you have any good tips. You could!
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I loved this post, Amy! Thanks for the dressing recipe – I’m always looking for a clean one. Your idea of taking a prepared family meal from Whole Foods as a meal train donation is brilliant! When my husband needed to go gluten and dairy free I started shopping at Whole Foods. Since we were empty nesters, shopping there has been pretty economical and I love how I can purchase the quantities I need (from produce, the deli or the meat counter) plus I enjoy the experience. I also buy one chicken breast (we love the lemon/rosemary one) and one piece of salmon for salads! I learned a few tricks from you – the pita and chicken tenders will be in my cart next time! Thanks!
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Thank you! I hope you like the dressing! Good point – Whole Foods is more economical for two. Their salad mixes are really great, too. You are so smart to have figured out the buying one piece of chicken thing.
I hope you like the homemade pita chips. I am doing that again this weekend.
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Fun post to read! And I think that as to writing, writing interestingly about a mundane topic is a good brain exercise :). I mean it’s a mundane topic but one everyone is interested in to a certain degree so that helps (but your writing is genuinely enjoyable which makes it even better!). We don’t have a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods in our town so I don’t go to either one often. Alyssa loves TJ’s so we’ll go there this summer. It’s fun to go with someone who really likes some of their offerings. Agree that it’s not a place to get made from scratch meal ingredients. It seems like it’s a lot of frozen stuff. I will try your salad dressing!
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So true! I can write about the most boring mundane topics, too. Thank you. I am enjoying the additional time to write this year – my blog friends probably are like – whoa, Amy, you do not need to write this much.
It’s fun to have Alyssa – your foodie -with you I bet. Some people brag about TJ”s frozen or prepared meals but honestly most of them are bad to me. I hate buying a bad item and feeling like I wasted my money. Maybe it’s good for those young ones that can’t cook and think it’s good food?
I think you will like the dressing – play around with less or more maple or dijon. I like a very little dijon. I also want to put it atop a “harvest bowl” with rice, sweet potatoes, chicken, pumpkin seeds like I ordered from a restaurant.
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Oh, you are so lucky to have all those places close by. We have Kroger, Aldi, and Walmart. I think there’s a Fresh Market in Avon. Trader Joe’s is about 45 minutes away. So, I usually just use Kroger. I got spoiled by the order online and pick up during covid. But, it also keeps me from impulse purchases. I know I could google it, how do you make tzaztiki (obviously don’t know how to spell it)? I love it and could see putting it on grilled chicken. It’s just about time to open up the back porch and the grill. We use a place called Food Florist in Fishers to order frozen entrees. My son lives there and brings them to us on the weekend. I don’t like a crowded freezer or refrigerator, either. Got any great ideas for organizing the freezer side of a side by side?
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
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My freezer is so hard to organize!
My sister lived in Avon after Butler U, then Plainfield. Now she lives in Martinsville but still teaches in Plainfield.
You grate cucumber into paper towel and squeeze all the moisture out. Then you mix it with plain non fat yogurt and a bit of mayo . Add lemon juice, water, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and I add the yellow shaker of Greek seasoning that is at Kroger.
It’s super easy and I like mine better than the store bought.
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This was a great post! I love the “randomness“ of it. I rarely, rarely cook dinner… It is just the two of us and my Tom does not like to eat after 5 PM so he usually grabs something when he gets home at four. Many nights I am out playing tennis or pickleball and I’m not even home at dinner time. This works for us in our season of life 🙂 I miss the ““routine” of dinner but don’t think it’s bad that most nights I don’t eat. I rarely ever miss it! You do inspire me to eat at home more… I get very lazy cooking for myself. I’ve done very well this week, though.
Getting to eat and read is the best, right?
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I am nothing if not random!
4 pm is so early! I want to be home at dinner time so that is my struggle. If I play mah jong on Mondays I miss dinner and if I can do an early mah jong game or happy hour I can still be home at dinner. My Tom is not demanding in that and I am sure he likes some nights at home alone now.
Treat yo’self to the food you want since you do have that freedom!
I would wake up hungry if I didn’t eat something at 6. Then, I am done for the day. But, I read to have a scoop of peanut butter before bed because it keeps you from waking up? Idk. I tried it one night and then forgot about it.
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Agreed….this is a great post! I still need to eat a lot of food I have in my freezer and I have such a small freezer space. I may need to invest in a small freezer to put in my garage. But first, I need to hang curtains, get furniture and organize clothes, ha! The meals from Whole Foods are a great idea for a meal train. The chocolate, the cookie/brownie bars, the chicken and pita chips….man, they all look good!
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Did you move freezer food? I guess you wouldn’t waste it.
Aren’t they a great idea? I know – it was some good food this week!
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