Meal Plan Monday

I love to meal plan. I like to sit on my comfy couch in my sweatpants and moccasins with my little black dog (who seems to take up way more of the couch now than she used to...) with a cup of coffee and figure out what I'm going to eat. All. Week.

There's something about planning that I just love. Like, planning my wedding. I just LOVED it. I had such a great time making sure everything was in order.

Okay, that's a post for another day.

Meal planning is amazing. I had a professor in college who told us "Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance." Professor Backer...you were so right. Meal planning prevents the "let's just order out" syndrome. It prevents grabbing a bagel and saying "I'll figure dinner out later." It just prevents unhealthy habits. 

So here's what we're eating this week. Chad and I are on opposite schedules until Friday, so I'll be cooking meals probably the night before or in the morning and portioning them out so that he and I can both eat.

Breakfasts:

Fiber One Bar, coffee, & tea (yes, AND tea! I love starting the day with coffee, but I love a cup of herbal tea, too!)

Toast, oatmeal, or a fruit smoothie with spinach.

Lunches: Leftovers from the night before usually...or salad with some protein! 

Snacks: Popcorn, apples, celery & carrots with fat free dip, and yogurt. 

Dinners:

Monday:

Dinner: Cheesy Pastitsio (from Eat Yourself Skinny)

Tuesday:

BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad (from Eat Yourself Skinny)

Wednesday:

Guilt-Free Chicken Taquitos (from Eat Yourself Skinny)

Thursday:

Beef Stew (from Eat Yourself Skinny)

Friday:

Southwest Flank Steak with Peach Salsa (from Eat Yourself Skinny)

If you can't tell yet, I've fallen in love with a blog called "Eat Yourself Skinny." The recipes she posts are just so healthy and EASY! I struggle sometimes with cooking because recipes I find are so involved. After working an eight or nine hour day, taking care of the pony, making sure Gracie gets a walk and trying to break a sweat myself, the last thing I want to do is spend a long time preparing dinner. These recipes are perfect for an on the go wife like me! I'd totally recommend her blog if you want to meal plan but just don't have the time to gourmet it up.  

Oh, and not to mention, her recipes are AFFORDABLE. I spent $78 at the grocery store this week. (I still have to get steak- but I wasn't going to get meat 6 days in advance- catch my drift?) And that was when I was hungry. And picking out some extras here and there. (I LOVE Biscoff. And Clear Choice carbonated waters. And husband loves Swedish fish...ok, I got some extras. See? Told you.) For five big meals with enough for leftovers for lunches the next day, I'd call $78 a big old WIN!) 

        So, that's what we're eating this week. I'm pretty excited about it :) Do you meal    plan? What is your favorite "go to" meal? 

Paleo.

I was a vegetarian for 10 years. My lovely then-boyfriend even joined me for a few months before sitting me down for a serious conversation stating "this isn't working." After regaining my composure having realized all he needed was a burger & not a break-up, I began joining him on his meat-ful adventures.

We are both healthy people, for the most part. We do enjoy the occasional nacho plate at our favorite restaurant, & we are Guinness lovers for sure, but we've always eaten well & with the intention of nourishing our bodies.

Recently I decided to take the dive into something a little more... paleolithic.

The Paleo Diet  consists primarily of meat & vegetables. There is no processed food, no bread, no dairy, & no legumes allowed and most of the recipes I've come across have copius amounts of bacon involved in some way or another. While meat is not something I eat with every meal, I had been eating a lot of processed, canned & packaged foods recently & had been feeling the effects with fatigue, headaches, and the inability to concentrate for too long. I took the plunge, vowing no more bread or packaged foods and avoiding sugar besides fruit.

I've allowed myself one "fat girl" day a week. This past week was Sunday, where Chad and I shared a bottle of soft red wine from Trader Joe's. (For $3, you can't beat the deal. So. Delicious!)

So far I'm happy with the results. I eat much less but I'm more full from the natural fiber and the protein. I find I actually crave water & the natural foods taste so much better to me than the meals I'd been eating before. I'm way less bloated & puffy, too.

Wish I could say it's affected my workouts but I've got both an injured ankle & a roughed up shoulder so I'm not able to do a whole lot at the moment!
Stay tuned. I'll hula hoop or something. 

With love,
Janelle

Simply..simple.

Yesterday was post #50...That's just an itty bitty milestone in my little blog life...but anyway.

Last night I felt oh so very homemaker-ish. It was about 10pm. I was sitting on the computer, bored, with a mostly-clean apartment and not a ton of ambition. What I normally do when I'm bored is reach for the handle on the fridge. (I never said I was perfect.) Well, tonight when I did, I noticed a lovely little cauliflower, sitting all alone.

Remember this post? Well, I decided to roast some cauliflower and then mash it up with my awesome hand mixer (still don't know the actual name...) and whip up some diet mashed potatoes.

Then, the oven was still hot, and I looked in my pantry. Chick peas. I could totally roast those. So I drained and rinsed the huge can, sprayed 'em with some pam, and salt and peppered them before roasting for about 15 minutes. They're so good, and an awesome snack!

I realize I didn't cook up a turkey dinner with homemade cranberry sauce and gram's secret gravy recipe, but this was a milestone for me. Oh, and in case you're wondering, I had a small cup of veggie juice and had a couple bites of my creations. Not bad for reaching for the fridge door, huh?

Let's backtrack for a second- back to the mashed "potatoes." Whenever I use that mystery hand mixer that my mom gave me, which belonged to my great-grandmother, I think of her being in her apartment in Brooklyn teaching my mom how to use it. How simple (and maybe more difficult!) it was to "make-ah-da-sauce" (Italians talk funny sometimes.) They didn't have processors. I know what you're thinking- duh...

I looked around my own apartment. We live so simply. Yes, Chad has his big TV, but we have a small kitchen table that was my grandfather's. Our couch is a love seat from my parents' set. We don't have much. It's mostly second hand.

But I wouldn't trade this life for much else.

I'm a simple person. I don't need "things" to be happy or survive. I thrive off of love, happiness, laughter, (weird, isn't all that in my blog address?) and family. I mean, let's face it, I went into a pretty selfless career path.

Sometimes Chad says "must be nice to have a big house and a boat and three SUVS and a private jet and a town named after your first dog" but I don't think it would be. Money is nice, but it's not what makes a person. I know that even given the chance, I would not be interested in the slightest in having a huge house. (A huge yard is another thing. My only dream is to have Callie in my backyard and a nice garden.)

It almost makes me sad to hear him say things like that. I want him to see the beauty in the small, simple place we have. Sure, we don't own it, but that's not entirely important. There's a little saying "Home is wherever I am with you."

That's how I'm feeling today.

The diet-er's mashed potatoes, running, & photography

I need WAY better titles. Anyway.

A few weeks ago, my mom posted a comment to my blog. I was glad she figured out how to comment, but I didn't truly acknowledge the brilliancy that she left on xo, me.

Fast forward- this morning I had nothing to do. No work until 3. I woke up at 8 (major sleep in day, loved every second of this...) and had a cup of coffee, debated getting a haircut (but haircuts get me all nervous now since I can't find a place to get a trim for under $60...hence why I look like a ragamuffin...) & then decided against the haircut. I tidied up, went for a run, (okay, whatever, it was more walking then running, I can't help that I'm TERRIBLE at all things athletic) & got home. I sneezed nineteen-hundred times, then looked into my fridge and found the lovely cauliflower that was whispering, "prepare me."

Maybe it didn't say prepare. I was too mesmerized to actually listen to it ;)

Anyway- I remembered my mom's brilliant comment and decided to make the following diet-er's mashed potato recipe.

Cut up a head of cauliflower.
Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray it with cooking spray.
Spread the cauliflower out evenly and season with salt and pepper.
Cover with another sheet of foil and make a package.
Roast in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes until soft.
Carefully take off the top piece of foil and roast 15 more minutes.
Puree in a food processor with a half cup non fat plain Greek yogurt until smooth.
Yum! There's your new mashed potato recipe!
Love, Mom

Yum is right, mom! I don't have a food processor, so my mom gave me a family heirloom- my great grandmother's tomato sauce maker. (Nope, I don't know the real name, but I'm sure someone knows exactly what it is called besides a "handheld food processor" :) It took me a little longer, but all I could think about was my great-grandmother showing my mom how to make tomato sauce as a little girl- I love family stories like that.

In other news, Chad and I got out of the house the other day, despite the gross rain...and we went to a beautiful set of trails a couple of towns over so that he could go fishing. I had the camera and decided to practice some photography. It's just a little Canon Powershot SD780 IS, and Chad has a pretty good Nikon at home, but here's what I came up with with his point-and-shoot.

Hoping you all have a marvelous Monday!

Big News!

I just wanted to let all of you know something BIG.
Like, REALLY. REALLY. BIG.

I just made lunch.
Chad sat down.
Chad bit into lunch.
Chad loved lunch!

and...for one of the first times, I LOVED what I made!


Thank you Emma @ She Got Married once again for posting such a deelish recipe for your squash & tofu veggie burgers!

Tofu Squash Burgers
Makes 6 patties

1/2 pound tofu -- crumbled
1 pound yellow squash -- grated
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1 small onion -- minced
1 teaspoon tarragon
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon oil

(Serves 3)

Mix all the ingredients (except oil) in a bowl. Form 6 patties and fry in
oil over medium-high heat for 5 minutes until brown on one side. Turn and
fry 5 minutes longer. Serve hot on whole wheat buns.

Per Serving (2 patties) : calories 247, Protein: 14g, carbohydrates: 30g, fat 10 g

Alright- there will never be a day I follow a recipe the exact way it calls for it- so here were my subsitutions.

I used spaghetti squash. It was what I had.
Instead of wheat germ, I used 100% natural oatmeal.

Ok, that's it. Oh, and I didn't have whole wheat flour so we used the white. (I'm using my white flour up and switching to wheat- okay?)

Chad and I had some light wheat bread so we used that as "buns" but I ate my second burger with no bread. Deelish, full of veggies, and my boyfriend had a yummy start to his day. This means I'm one step closer to being an ultimate home maker.

Sunny Sunday...time to indulge.

I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed today (surprise!) & I had one thought on my mind. "What's for breakfast?" I could have done oatmeal...meh. I could be healthy and have a fruit salad and a slice of toast...meh.

Today, my friends, is a banana bread day.
I looked at my recipe, at the stick of butter, at the flour, and thought about finding substitutes for this morning's breakfast.

No.

Not today.

I was amazing all week. I went out for dinner with my friends and got a salad and a water. No wine. No beer. No (ok, maybe I grabbed a couple off of Danyelle's son's plate..) french fries. But I DIDN'T use ketchup. It's fine, right?

This morning, I made my banana bread just as the recipe called for. And, I added in the chocolate chips.

This is my recipe, in case you're feeling indulgent.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, plus more for the pan.
1 1/2 cups flour, plus more for the pan.
1/2 cup sugar.
3/4 teaspoon baking soda.
1/2 teaspoon salt.
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
3 ripe bananas
1 large egg
1/3 cup plain yogurt (I used non-fat, it's all I had.)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.
1 cup chocolate pieces.
3/4 cup walnut pieces.

Preheat oven to 350. Melt the butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Cool slightly.
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a large bowl.
Mash the bananas (strangely my favorite part!) in a medium bowl. Beat the egg in small bowl then mix into the bananas. Mix in yogurt, vanilla, and butter.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts as the batter comes together. Don't over mix!
Scoop the batter into a buttered/floured pan.

Bake 30-40 minutes. (It says 60-70, but my oven is small and usually 30 does the trick. Basically until a toothpick comes out clean.)
Cool for 20 minutes before un-molding and slicing.


And, I'd love to have shown you a picture, but I yet again had a bit of a blunder. It's not BAD, but it's....not fluffy on top. And no fluff = unhappy banana bread. When it's done cooling, I'll be sure to have Chad test this Sunday's indulgence experiment ;)

Happy Cooking, even if you flub ;)

Update- the vegful life of me.

(Not my photo- found with google.com- doesn't it look great though?!)

I admit. I haven't had a CLUE of what I wanted to blog about the past couple of days. Yesterday I considered telling you all that a 15 minute Biggest Loser workout absolutely did me in and I was sore instantly. Nope, why would I EVER admit that?
So here's a little taste of what I've been eating as a vegetarian: (list is not huge as I've only been "back" a few days!)

Breakfasts:
Oatmeal with nuts & dried cranberries + squash
Egg white omelets with spinach
Protein Shakes on those busy days!

Lunches:
Tofu-pup (soy hot dog) in light wheat bread
Salad with lots of veggies & tomato

Dinners:
Spaghetti Squash
Veggie Burgers (home made!)
Veggie pizza ;)

This was originally going to be my only posting today.

But this morning I got to thinking about my lovely coffee date yesterday with a friend. Okay. This friend. As we were leaving, she said, "I think you should go home and cook." I laughed at her. But...I went home and decided to cook a fantastic vegetarian dinner for my lovely boyfriend and I to enjoy before going out for a couple drinks at this place.

I started by cutting a spaghetti squash in half, generously putting sea-salt and pepper over it and put it in the oven for about 15 minutes. Then, I saw that I had tofu in the fridge. Right then and there, I yelled to Chad, "we're also having vegetarian meatballs."

I'm slightly embarrassed to say that my tofu-mixed-with-onion-&-rice meatballs did NOT hold one bit, and it ended up being some flavourless, rice-y and tofu-ey mixture. I'm new at this. I wasn't thinking. Woops!

The spaghetti squash, tomato-basil sauce, and my weird vegetarian mixture were on the table. I promised Chad I wouldn't be upset if he didn't eat the weird mush I made.

I LOVE this boy for trying my concoctions regardless of how they may look, and for always finishing his plate and telling me how wonderful my food came out. This is true love. And I'm honestly not completely sure if he MEANS that it is so wonderful, but it's definitely a motivation to keep trying!

When mixed with the spaghetti squash, we had a delightful and flavourful meal that was packed with protein from the tofu and got plenty of veggies from the "pasta."

Afterwards, we went out on a wonderful date and enjoyed Guiness at the Irish Pub down the road, along with Irish music & Trivial Pursuit. I love our nights off together.

Enjoy your Sunday!
xo- me

The trek back to Veg

As those who know me personally are aware, I was a vegetarian for about 10 years. On-again-off-again (but mostly on again), I consumed fish, dairy, and eggs.

About a year ago, I decided to try a burger. My boyfriend was an avid meat eater and had tried being a vegetarian for about 3 months for me. I never asked him to, he just did, out of respect I suppose.
Back to me. The burger was fantastic. I mean...really, really good. I kept eating steak and chicken and fish and steak and steak and chicken..(I tried pork, STILL hated it, and I won't touch lamb.)

Lately, though, I've been having the same "feelings" as I did when I was a vegetarian. (Think Food Inc. . Nothing about the meat here is ethical. The way chickens are raised isn't ethical. The FDA "standards" are not ethical.

So, where I love my burgers and I love my steaks, I think it is time for me to go back to where I had been comfortable for so long.
Vegetarianism.
Will I miss my burgers? Yup. Will I miss steaks? Sure. Do I love chicken? Yes. But there are ways to create the same dishes out of different types of foods. This will also force me to stand in the kitchen for longer than five minutes and cook. To get out of my comfort zone of the microwaveable food section.

Part of me has that "I'm too busy to make my meals! WhatamIgonnado?!" feeling, but as I write this, keep in mind I'm sitting on my butt waiting for my laundry to be finished. (Okay- I'm also sitting on my butt while being super duper sicky. Not the point.) I think this is actually quite doable for me again.

Just to officially "start" my trek, here's what I've eaten so far today:


Breakfast-
Squash & oatmeal with dried cranberries, walnuts, and a small squirt of maple syrup (Thanks Emma @ She Got Married ! )

Lunch-
Planning on a "tofu pup" hot dog. Not sure what else yet. Possibly just a serving of veggies to be thoroughly fantastic and veg-ful.

Feeling light and airy already...
xo-me