Food and Kitchen Brainstorm

I'm in the process of re-organizing our kitchen and re-thinking a lot of our food habits.  I've made some progress so far (bought a food processor, ordered lids for our mason jars, lined some of our drawers, cleaned out cupboards and got rid of lots of unused items and plastic stuff), but I'm getting to a place of stuckness (yes I just made that word up) because I'm overwhelmed with all of the possibilities and tasks I want to accomplish.  So, it is time to step back and put my thoughts on paper, er, online.  Like I always say, "when in doubt, make a list."  Here goes.

• Finish organizing the cupboards (especially the containers, bakeware, utensils, etc.).
• Create a "core foods" list of foods that we almost always want to have on hand.  This will help in grocery shopping, meal planning, and keeping the pantry, fridge, and freezer stocked.
• Use up or give away the foods we currently have that are not part of the core foods list.
• Figure out which of those core foods can be bought in bulk or made from scratch.
• Visit and become familiar with the bulk bins at our local co-op and health food store.
• Gather and test out recipes for core food items we want to make from scratch (I'm super excited about using our new food processor for peanut butter, almond butter, hummus, salsa, and so much more).
• Learn the best ways to store produce.
• Collect more cute and practical stuff to pack bento lunches for the kids.
• Make a list of lunch ideas so we don't get stuck in a lunch rut.
• Become a better (more consistent) meal planner and grocery shopper so that we don't resort to eating out so often.