Lately I've been feeling like this alot.....
Two days off just don't seem like enough! By the time I get all the everyday stuff done, I barely have time to squeeze in some fun and some R&R! I'm thinking that we need to start a petition for 3 day weekends. Whaddya think? Are you in?!
I actually spent a great deal of time this weekend working out a meal plan for the next week to week and a half. I've been wanting to do this forever, but I never sit down and do it and then stick to it. Lately, I've been finding myself at the grocery store ALOT. I'm spending WAY too much each week on groceries. My problem is that I have a rough idea of what meals we're going to make each week, but then I see a recipe online or a friend tells me about something new they've tried and I can't get it out of my mind, so I just make it. The result is food being wasted because it spoils before I use it and a pantry that is so stuffed full of unused things that I can barely move a can without something falling out! I'm telling you, I am totally out of control.
My dad is waiting to get a date for a surgery he has to have and as soon as we know when, I'm going to be taking off to Nashville to spend a few days with him and my mom....so I tried to keep that in mind when I was planning our meals. Derek is busy and doesn't take time to cook for himself, so I'm planning to make big batches of things I can freeze and I bought things like chicken and burgers, so that he could easily barbecue himself some healthy foods while I'm away instead of picking up fast food every day (that's the idea anyways LOL)!
You'll probably be seeing alot of link love in my future posts because I'm planning to try some recipes that I've bookmarked from some of my fave bloggers. Here is the meal plan that I came up with:
Breakfasts
Chocolate Greek Yogourt
Vita Top Cranberry Bran Muffins
Green Smoothies
Berry Smoothies
Oatmeal
Lunches
Salads
Veggie Sandwiches with Hummus
PB & J for Derek
Soup
Leftovers
Snacks
Microwave Popcorn
Raw Veggies with Hummus (Ranch for Derek)
Hard Boiled Eggs
Fruit: Kiwis, Oranges, Bananas
Plain Greek Yogourt with Fruit
Girl Guide Cookies (Derek bought 'em, so he's gotta eat 'em up!)
Lindt 70% Dark Chocolate
Dinners
Stuffed Acorn Squash
Barbecue Burgers (for Derek)/Chickpea Burgers (for moi) with Veggies on the Barbie
Marinated Tofu w/ Steamed Sweet Tater (for moi)/Marinated Chicken with Baked Tater (for Derek) & Veggies
Grilled Cheese & Homemade Tomato Soup
Pasta with Artichokes, Black Olives & Tomatoes (recipe coming!)
Eggs and Toast
Veggie Stirfry with Rice
I did a huge grocery shop on Sunday and now I have most of the stuff I'll need to make every single thing on this list. I also took the time to wash and cut up some veggies so we have lots of healthy food ready at our fingertips.
I hoping that meal planning will help me to stay within a budget and I feel that it will help me stick to a healthy eating plan ---- I've given myself lots of healthy options, which will help us to stay on track and away from not-so-healthy munchies that have been finding their way into our fingers now and again.
Someday I would love for my fridge to look like this:
A girl can dream can't she??
Now that you know what I'll be eating, tell me a couple of meals that you have planned for your family in this coming week?
Do you find your weekends fly by right before your eyes or do you manage to carve out some time to stop & smell the roses?
I hope you have a fabulous day! Let's start this week off right, okay?!
Andrea
xoxo
I'm awful at meal planning-- which seems like an even bigger problem now that baby is here. I need to start planning meals and taking ONE grocery store trip a week, as opposed to the four or five that I usually take!
ReplyDeleteI always have the intention but there are so many twists and turns in my week (and late nights...thanks, grad school) that somehow the best I can do is a very pathetic sandwich for dinner. I also struggle because I live alone and leftovers often become repeat meals instead of cooking new ones.
ReplyDeletePS: My inner OCD girl loves that fridge
I'm a huge meal planner. I usually know what my schedule is going to look like and plan around that. I try to plan it so that meals can double as dinners and lunch without getting boring. This week we will be having Hawaiian grilled chicken and since the salsa is kind of a lot of work, two days later we will have Hawaiian grilled tuna steak. :)
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