More in the kitchen!

So I have been blogging more lately about what's cookin in our kitchen.  If I haven't explained before, We are striving to eat a more whole foods diet, cutting out as much processed foods as possible.  I have really gotten into looking at the ingredients list on the things I buy for us to eat.  It is crazy the amount of things I used to feed our family that I can't even pronounce half of the ingredients listed.  CRAZY.  I know I have shared about the coffee creamer, chocolate syrup, and dressing.  Today, I made my own taco seasoning.  I am sitting here looking at my old container of taco seasoning and the list of ingredients are normal, but add on to that a few things that I really don't understand why they are in there.  LIke why is there sugar in it?  and what exactly is "natural flavor" and "sulfites".  Plus, it really is crazy what we pay for a little bit of seasoning.  Therefore, I made my own.  Super easy and much cheaper than buying those packets or containers of it. 
Here is the link for lots of seasonings, where I got the taco seasoning recipe!

Next, I plan to make ranch mix. 
It might require a little more time in the kitchen on my part to not have processed foods, but I see it as well worth it.  And over all, we really haven't had a huge jump in our grocery bill.  I love finding different kinds of snacks.  Like for instance, the chick peas.  Those have become great snacks for me and SK.  She loves them.  I can make them for less than a $1 too!  (I actually get chick peas on WIC, so they really are free for me to make!)
SO, what else do we eat?  I thought I could share some meal ideas that we are eating this week.

For breakfast:
Zucchini muffins
Chex cereal with homemade chocolate granola
egg wraps

For lunch:
homemade hummus with raw veggies
yogurt (still have to try to make that again...)
cheese sticks
fresh fruits like strawberries, apples and bananas
the quinoa recipe I shared last week or some other thing with quinoa and beans

Dinner:
Monday: Taco Salad--made with farm raised beef (got at a local farm!), corn chips, cheese, salsa (homemade), salad greens, and black beans.

Tues: bbq chicken in a potato--the chicken is already cooked and shredded in our freezer, just have to cook the potatoes, top with cheese and such.

Wed.: beef stew--already made in the freezer (when I make beef stew, I make a huge pot and freeze half for another time).

Thurs: Salsa chicken rice bowls--chicken is already cooked and shredded in the freezer, so I just heat up some beans, and cook the rice.  Top with salsa, cheese, cilantro, ect.

Fri: Might be a homemade pizza night...not really sure yet :)

Snacks through the week:
roasted chick peas
homemade potato chips
zucchini chips
raw veggies and fruits

So there ya go.  Maybe someone found this interesting or gave someone an idea :)  I am really having fun coming up with new ideas on things to do with fruits and veggies and making things from scratch.  It feels good to be eating whole foods and not the processed junk that we used to eat all of the time.

Happy Monday everyone!