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Menu | 4.1.2019

This week I want to get better at meal prepping for myself. I fell off that wagon here recently and I definitely see and feel the effects of it. I am mostly focusing on breakfast and lunches because dinners I always have a plan.

For my breakfasts this week I am going to do 2 days of a Turmeric Chia Pudding and then two days of Protein Pancakes from the TIU Detox Plan. These are both things I can make the night before or quickly the day of and feel good about eating.

For lunches I am making a big pot of the TIU Slimming Soup which is basically a carrot soup with red lentils. It’s so good and I just love it. I’ll also make a bunch of their Beet the Bloat salad which is beets and carrots. You can add apple to it as well with a simple dressing. I may also add a simple tuna salad on the side or a hard boiled egg. But both of these I can make on Monday and have all week.

For snacks I will make these muffins. I like having something that is carb like in the afternoons with tea while the boys have their snack too. I’ll be making these for them.

For dinners this week I am pulling a few things from my Fresh20 meal plan and then adding a few extras.

Roast Chicken with Asparagus and a lemon zucchini brown rice

Ham Roll Ups (using tapioca wraps)

Chicken Lettuce Cups (I’ll use leftover chicken from the first meal)

Sweet Potato and Black Bean taco salad

Portobello Pizzas 

There is usually a breakfast or leftover meal in there somewhere too. If you want to follow along with my cooking, I typically post photos on my Instagram feed.

 

 

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Menu | 3.25.2019

As I made my menu this week, I kept getting pulled towards salads. Fresh veggies. Crunchy things. So we are going with that.

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I didn’t get around to making this last week so I’ll keep it on the menu this week….Pesto Chicken. I may even make this ahead of time and serve it chilled, more like a salad with the tomatoes and mozzarella.

Italian Chopped Salad

Mediterranean Tuna Salad

Beans and Rice

 

Menu and Grocery Spending Thoughts

Looking back the past few months, I can tell our grocery bill has been out of control. I try so hard each week to stick to a certain dollar amount but somehow it only works one or two weeks. In talking to a friend recently, I decided to give a new money tracking app a try. It’s called GoodBudget and works like the envelope system from Dave Ramsey. We did envelopes early in our marriage but in the past couple of years we primarily used a credit card, which we pay off each month. It’s worked pretty well but I easily loose track of spending. I am hoping that by using GoodBudget I can get a better visual during the month of my spending and not have any surprises the last week of the month.

Getting back on a better menu and grocery list system will definitely help in my efforts so here we go…..

Friday | Chicken Salad (Mama’s eating out with a friend!)

Saturday | Family Party – taking Mexican Coleslaw as a side dish.

Sunday | Kids Eat Free at Dickey’s BBQ – dinner!

Monday | Labor Day : Ham and Cheese Tortellini with salad

Tuesday | Beans and rice

I am going to do shorter menus this month and see how that works. Instead of buying for 7 days, just do 4-5 instead. Maybe it’ll save some money and keep us from throwing out food/wasting. I am already super frustrated just trying to be creative with meals but also choose things the boys will eat too. 

Menu | 8.7.2017

My Blue Apron/Hello Fresh blunder last week was a blessing in disguise. I kept the Blue Apron one and oh my word, the meals have been so good. We have one more that I am saving for Monday evening. If you follow me on Instagram you saw the two we’ve already had, so good! I am still thinking about the beef.

Monday | Blue Apron/Salmon Meal

Tuesday | Cheeseburgers

Wednesday | Lasagna, salad, bread (with family)

Thursday | Beans, rice

Friday | Pancakes, bacon

Menu | 8.1.2017

We’ve had some crazy high temps here lately. Like triple digit hot. I actually don’t mind it too much. I’d much rather be warm than cold. It does keep me from wanting to do a lot of cooking though or turning on the oven. This week my goal is to find recipes that are not only easy but summer friendly. And maybe the kiddos will even eat them too. One can hope.

Trader Joe’s fish nuggets with veggies

Have ya’ll tried any of TJ’s frozen foods? We visit maybe once a month and I usually stock up on 3 or 4 different things. They are nice to have in the freezer as back up meals. We tried their turkey corn dogs this past week and yum! We also like their Mandarin Orange Chicken and Fried Rice with chicken.

One Pot Ranch Chicken and Rice

Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice

Leftover Night!

Pizza Night – another yummy frozen option from Trader Joe’s

Looks like I am going Instant Pot heavy this week! If you haven’t added this tool to your kitchen yet, you are missing out!

And my menu went through a bit of a change on Monday night when I realized I forgot to pause Hello Fresh AND Blue Apron deliveries. So those will be our weekend meals and thankfully a friend is taking the Hello Fresh off my hands.

Took this photo a week ago when Oma was here for a visit.

Menu | 7.12.2017

I have not felt like cooking in forever. Our dinners have consisted of eggs, beans, frozen meals, pancakes, chicken salad or pizza. Maybe it’s just the busy summer days or the heat. Or maybe I am just lazy. Haha! I don’t want to make big messes or clean them up. I am trying to be ok with the current state of things too. My boys don’t complain and to be honest, they prefer the simple meals anyway.

One Pan Crispy Chicken

Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas

IP Beans with rice and toppings

Use leftover beans for Crunchy Bean and Cheese Tacos (like a quesadilla)

One Pot Zucchini Mushroom Pasta

Hot Dogs

Photo taken at Ivywild School in Colorado Springs. Gem of a spot for lunch or afternoon snack!

Menu | Week of 5.15.2017

Since Sunday was Mother’s Day I goofed off and didn’t do any of my normal things to get ready for the week ahead. Well, I pretty much goofed off all weekend and it was great. So all this goofiness led to me not making a menu, grocery shopping or doing any meal prep. We were also out of milk this morning and oatmeal. Two things my boys can’t live without. Oops.

 Chicken Lettuce Wraps

 Spaghetti with Meatballs

 Leftovers

 Pancakes, eggs and bacon

Beans, Rice, Cornbread

It’s a very basic, simple menu this week and a little more budget friendly too. I did get my lunch meal prep in today so that was good. Trying to stay on track to being a bit healthier.

Here are some photos of last week’s meals from Instagram. The salmon salad was amazing and I’ll be posting that recipe this week!

Menu | Week of 5.8.17

I have been seeing this Whole30 thing for a while now and want to give it a try this week. It’ll be a “light” version as I just want to dip my toes in a bit before committing to a full 15 or 30 days. I, of course, went to Pinterest to find ideas for meals and snacks.

The boys won’t really be doing it, I’ll add a carb or dairy to their meals as usual. James will go along with it except for his cereal needs. I am not sure I can completely give up my cheese either….

Sunday | Leftovers/Eggs (we are pretty low key with meals on the weekends)

Monday | Whole Roasted Chicken in the Instant Pot  
Will roast some veggies for a side and maybe try some cauliflower rice. 
– I can use the leftover chicken the rest of the week as well for lunches.

Tuesday | Jalapeno Turkey Burger with Sweet Potato Fries and Guacamole

Wednesday | Salmon, Avocado, Kale and Sweet Potato Salad

Thursday | Do something creative with leftover chicken…. 🙂

Friday | Date Night!

Breakfast Ideas | Hard Boiled Egg, Avocado, Grapefruit, Tomato

Menu | Week of 5.1.2017

If you are new here, you may not know that I blogged all my menus for a long time early on. It was a great place for me to link to the recipes I wanted to use and be able to access them easily. I thought I’d start doing that again. I’ll also be saving recipes to my “This Week” board on Pinterest.

I am totally in a rut this evening as I try to come up with ideas for the week. I don’t want to cook at all. Makes it hard to plan a menu. James suggested I go back into my menu archives and pull up some old favorites…..

Buttermilk Roast Chicken (easy and yum!!), mashed potatoes and peas

Chicken Carnitas Tacos

Meat sauce over pasta with fresh veggies on the side

Use leftover chicken carnitas for layered enchiladas

Pancakes and bacon

Cheesy Spinach Baked Egg Sandwiches

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This will take care of our Monday through Saturday!

Feel free to use this same menu for your week or if you need ideas!