my week in meals ~ week four

week four a day late.  the week has felt nuts.  busy in a good way.  i'm glad i write down what i eat. otherwise, i wouldn't have remembered a single bite.  i'll make it quick:

sunday

workout: rest day

(breakfast) blueberry coffee cake

(lunch) the kids had turkey sandwiches, chex mix, a pickle and strawberries for lunch.  i made some weird chicken veggie wrap using leftovers from the fridge (apple chicken, brown rice, spinach, swiss cheese and mango salsa).

(dinner) we crashed my parents house for dinner (again).  costco chicken pot pie and cottage cheese.  not my favorite but, it was free and took zero effort on my part.  plus, my dad loves pot pie and, i love to hang out at my parents house.

i ate a lot of m&m's at my parents house and then felt sick to my stomach all night.  one of these days i'll learn my lesson.

monday

workout: 4 miles on the treadmill in the a.m. and yoga in the p.m.

(breakfast) fruit (strawberries, blackberries and banana's) with soy milk and 1/2 bubba's whole wheat bagel with almond butter.

(lunch) salad (grilled chicken, spinach, romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers and balsamic dijon vinaigrette)

(dinner) teriyaki meatballs with asian veggie mix and brown rice.  SO GOOD! recipe to come soon.  

tuesday

workout: early morning run with maxine (4 miles ~ taper for 1/2 marathon)

(breakfast) same old breakfast.  exciting.

(lunch) turkey sandwich on a bagel (turkey, romaine, swiss cheese & banana peppers) with cottage cheese and tomatoes.

(dinner) grilled chicken with garlic pepper seasoning. pasta with tomato sauce (carb loading!): whole wheat farfalle with homemade tomato sauce, shredded parmesan and steam fresh green beans.

pasta sauce:

1-2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2 large tomatoes, peeled", seeded and chopped

1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 tbsp tomato paste

1/4 cup reserved noodle water

heat olive oil in a heavy bottom skillet over medium high heat.  add onions and saute until soft (6-7 minutes). add garlic and saute until fragrant (1 minute).  add tomatoes and saute for about 2 minutes.  add broth, wine, tomato paste and noodle water.  simmer over medium-low heat for a few minutes to allow liquid to reduce and alcohol to cook off.  add noodles to pot, toss to coat and then add fresh parsley and shaved parmesan to top.

*before adding noodles to boiling water to cook, throw the whole tomatoes in the boiling water for 1 minute and then immediately put them in a bowl of ice water.  they will peel easily after this.

wednesday

workout: rest day/taper

(breakfast) chobani topped with cherry almond granola

(lunch) spinach salad (spinach, whole wheat farfalle, toasted slivered almonds, mandarin oranges, cucumbers and newmans light sesame ginger dressing)

(dinner)  husband made himself and the kids dinner tonight.  i wasn't feeling well.  cold? stomach flu? i couldn't decide.  either way, i didn't have much of an appetite.  i had 1/2 a grilled cheese sandwich.  he is the KING of grilled cheese around these parts and he even obliged me by taking pictures of his creation.

{campbell's tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches}

thursday

workout: rest/taper .. lower back on the verge of going out.  taking it easy for race on saturday.

(breakfast) same old thing.

(lunch)  today i had an appointment for my annual physical.  my mom helped me with the kids so i dropped them off to her at my grandma's house where they were just cleaning up lunch and i happened to be starving so i ate what was left of my grandma's chicken and broccoli casserole.  not a low fat meal by any means but, a super yummy one! 

(dinner) another attempt at enchilada's.  i make horrible enchilada's.  i admit.  i try to "healthify" it but, it never works.  seems i should take the hint.  i also gave mexican rice a chance using ingredients from scratch and brown rice.  it actually turned out really good.  i could have let it cook a little longer though.  next time.  once i perfect this recipe, i'll post it.  as far as enchilada's go, i'm all ears. do you have a healthy-ish version you can share with me?

friday

workout: rest/taper

(breakfast) same old thing.

(lunch) for the life of me, i cannot remember what i ate for lunch today!  my mom went with me downtown to pick up my race packet for saturday.  we stopped at gateway for a little browsing and enjoyed ourselves some juicy berry.  i had "original tart" with strawberries and graham cracker crumbs. it was okay.  so far as i know, nothing beats red mango.

(dinner) kids slept at my parents so the husband and i could go birthday shopping for our little guy and get the fixin's for easter baskets.  we stopped at noodles and company while out and i ordered pasta fresca with grilled chicken and cleared my plate.  more carb loading! very important (heehee).

saturday

workout: ran the salt lake 1/2 marathon (that's 13.1 miles folks)

(breakfast/lunch = brunch) the hub and i went to the blue plate diner after my race with my brother and sister-in-law and little baby nephew.  i ordered eggs benedict with spinach, mushrooms and avocado.  i'd never tried eggs benedict.  it was really good.  i'm certain not even a little bit low fat or low calorie but spinach is good for you, right?

(dinner) oven fry chicken with a minute brown rice steamer cup and steamed broccoli.  quickest dinner ever which is the most i could muster with such little energy. (i can't get the underline off.  really making me angry!)

the end!

my week in meals ~ week three

week three.

sunday (4/3):

workout: rest day

i was rather rebellious today and slept in way too late.  this meant that no one had a nice warm breakfast, including myself.  i can't even remember what i ate.  probably the same old thing.  i'm certain i didn't have much for lunch because my mom was making dinner for my birthday and i was saving room.

(dinner):  my mom has always has us choose our own birthday dinner.  even as i get older, she wants to serve me something i love for my birthday.  this has become more and more tricky as i (seemingly) get more and more picky.  my poor mom.  in the end, she ordered the delicious house pasta salad from red butte cafe and then made an entirely separate meal on top of it so everyone would have something to eat.  it was nice of her. i felt truly high maintenance (sorry mom)!  

for dessert: "nothing bundt cake" red velvet cake. OMG. love!

monday (4/4):

workout: date night at the gym with my hunk of a husband.  4 miles on the treadmill and then yoga together (which was a little bite of heaven for me = yoga with my man!).

(lunch): leftover bday dinner

(dinner): the kids had dinosaur chicken nuggets and i had a pb&j sandwich.  not in the mood to cook.  it happens.

sissy had to have two teeth pulled and was afraid to eat anything that might get "stuck in the holes" so i made her a yummy shake; 1/2 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt, 1 cup vanilla soy milk, 1 banana & 1 cup frozen berry blend (coscto).  she gobbled it up.

tuesday (4/5):
workout: 10 mile run on the treadmill.  movie required: "love and other drugs" two thumbs up (out of five?).


(breakfast) typical; fruit, milk, 1/2 bagel & almond butter

(lunch) massive salad using the leftovers in the fridge; grilled lemon pepper chicken, whole wheat linguine, spinach, romaine, cucumbers & tomatoes with chipotle cheddar dressing.

(dinner): i had really high expectations for this recipe when i put it together in the slow cooker earlier that day.  sadly, it was only okay.  okay enough that we ate it but not something worthy of it's own post.  sniffle.

{those are raisins, apples, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, apple juice and chicken atop brown rice}

wednesday (4/6): my birthday!  look who's 30!!

workout: p90x "kenpo" dvd with weighted hand gloves

(breakfast): typical but, i didn't have lunch.  out running errands and i treated myself to a "chaicicle" sans whipping cream from my favorite beans and brews.

(dinner): we had family over to celebrate my birthday.  my sweet mother in law brought a lemon cream cake from the olive garden and i made teriyaki chicken, my favorite sesame noodles which is an adaptation of this recipe from the pioneer woman (i'll post my version one of these days) and steamed asian blend veggies.

thursday (4/7):
workout: 4 miles on the treadmill in the morning and yoga after dinner.


(breakfast) same ol' same ol' ... i'm so boring.

(lunch) simple salad with grilled portabellos and homemade balsamic dijon vinaigrette

(snack) chobani with cherry almond granola and i made a batch of basic chocolate chip cookies for the kids and hub cookie bin with 1/2 cup of toffee bits added.

(dinner) barbecue chicken (grilled) with rosemary red potatoes and broccoli.

friday (4/8):
workout: rest day


can you believe we were out of coffee creamer when i woke up today!?  the nerve.  a full pot of freshly brewed coffee and no creamer.  i could have died.

(breakfast) yogurt and granola.
(lunch) i made mini pizza's for the kids using whole wheat bagels, pizza sauce, mozzarella and turkey pepperoni.  they love these!

as for me, nothing! i shared an ice cream cone with gavin at the mall while we were waiting for the easter bunny to return from her smoking break. i was saving up for dinner (this is a bad habit i have.  skimming on calories earlier in the day so i can not feel so restricted when i'm eating away from home in a social setting).

(dinner) BUNKO! i didn't have to cook :) ... the family had pizza.  go husband!

saturday (4/9):
workout: planned 10 miler failed due to these terrible weather conditions.  8 miles on the treadmill at the gym instead which = way too many miles on the treadmill this week.


(lunch): my sweet friend kalisa treated me to lunch for my birthday at omar's rawtopia. i ordered coconut curry rice and there wasn't a bite left on my plate.  it was so amazingly delicious.  for a second, i thought about learning to cook raw.  then i remembered my poor family.

{i think my dad would dig this place. laugh out loud.}

 {kalisa ordered zucchini pasta and sweet basil salad}

then we hit the red mango.  for me, always an original yogurt with strawberries and graham cracker crumbs. it was a lovely date.  i'm looking forward to doing it again (hint hint hint).

(dinner) another bowl of leftovers from the fridge; teriyaki chicken, whole wheat linguine, french cut green beans, shaved parmesan and about a tablespoon of light italian dressing all warmed up.  surprisingly good!  the fam had nachos (yes, we were being really lazy).

week three down.  how'd i do?

my week in meals ~ week two

week two.  

sunday:

(breakfast):  belgian waffles.  recipe courtesy of the big oven iphone app.  on sundays, i try to make breakfast for the family and i try to make enough so i can freeze leftovers for the remainder of the week (see bottom right photo).  the troops said these waffles were delish.  crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside with little pockets of air.  that's what i heard in so many words.  

maybe i'll post the recipe here one day.  for now, i can email it if you'd like it.

(dinner): martha stewart slow cooker pot roast i took dinner up to my parents on sunday.  all tasters said the roast was good.  i tried to be discreet with photo taking so not to weird my dad out even more than i already do.  my boy says "she takes pictures of her food."  ...  we're not big beef eaters but, it's nice to mix it up every now and then and the carrot/onion mixture was delicious.  a five star recipe (imo).

monday:

(workout)  three miles on the treadmill in the morning (still recovering from the 1/2 marathon on saturday) and yoga at the gym in the evening.

the first day of the exodus GI cleanse that didn't happen.  the idea is to consume 1 tbsp of this powder mixture with a little bit of applesauce 3x a day and then eat only veggies.  do this for three days and it's supposed to clean out the pipes real well.

i was set up for success.  i had everything i needed and i made it through first two tablespoons but once it was time for the third tablespoon, i just couldn't get it down.  my pipes were the opposite of empty at that point and i was literally gagging at the smell of the stuff.

so what did i do instead?  i went on a mini-binge.  three chocolate chip cookies, two graham cracker sheets and one frogurt later, i felt like myself again.  yeah, so, that didn't work out as planned.

(lunch) veggie salad with balsamic vinegar.

(dinner) spaghetti squash with tomatoes and zucchini.  have you ever tried spaghetti squash?  it's really good and it's really simple to prepare.  just cut the squash in half length wise, scoop out the seeds, rub a little olive oil, salt and pepper over the top and then microwave for 7 minutes either wrapped in plastic wrap or by using a ziplock "steamers" bag.  after it's done cooking just shred and enjoy.

i sauteed a sweet onion in a little olive oil with garlic.  once the onion was soft i added a handful of halved cherry tomatoes and about a tablespoon of vegetable broth.  continue adding a tablespoon of the broth at a time until the tomatoes have softened completely creating a sauce of sorts and then add the zucchini.  simmer over low heat (covered) until the zucchini is softened and then toss it all together.

this is one of those "recipes" that makes me believe vegetarianism wouldn't be that bad.

tuesday:

(workout) no workout.  cleanse started working during the night making me nervous to leave the house for a run.

i'm over the cleanse by this point. 

(breakfast): fruit and vanilla soy milk topped with tropical granola. 

(lunch) i didn't have lunch tuesday.  my bad.  i was elbow deep in serious house cleaning all day and i was having so much fun, the time just flew by.

(dinner): grilled chicken seasoned with lawrys lemon pepper seasoning.  baked potatoes topped with light sour cream and salsa.  steamed fresh broccoli.

wednesday

(workout) 5.5 mile run with my friend maxine in the a.m.

(breakfast) blueberry chobani yogurt with tropical granola.

(snack) protein drink made with chocolate protein powder and click espresso protein powder.

(snack for the kids) i made this snickerdoodle recipe.  my family said the cookies were really great straight out of the oven but they hardened very quickly even though i stored them in an airtight container with a few pieces of bread.  anyone have a good snickerdoodle recipe they'd be willing to share?

(dinner) basil coconut curry chicken with coconut brown basmati rice.  husband took the leftovers for lunch the next day so, i consider it a success (especially considering the established fact that he is not a fan of curry).

thursday:

(workout) 5.5 mile run with my friend maxine.  had to miss yoga tonight because the boy had baseball tryouts.

grocery shopping with my peeps.  always an experience but, the full fridge before the weekend is always worth the effort.

nothing exciting for breakfast or lunch.

(dinner) pioneer woman's sloppy joes served on whole wheat buns with alexia baked oven reds and fresh steamed broccoli & carrots.  i figured it would be a nice change to serve some PW labeled "manfood." gavin and brooklyn gobbled theirs up.  i was surprised.  of course, the "men" were pleased too.  i'll post the recipe soon just for my own records.  the original link is provided above.

friday:

(workout) friday is my rest day.  so, i rested. 

breakfast was typical. my mom took the kids and i to see HOP and then to paradise bakery for lunch where i had the walnut chicken salad sandwich.  for dinner,  we had leftovers.  exciting?

saturday:

(workout) 6 mile run at the new rec center then some weight lifting with my man.

(lunch) sissy and i went on very fun date.  we shared a chicken sandwich for lunch from food for thought in draper.  it was delish!

(dinner) my health-i-fied version of the pioneer woman's baked lemon pasta with grilled chicken and steamed zucchini.

week two down.  how'd i do?

my week in meals ~ week one

{longest post ever.  it won't be this way every week.  promise.}

(this is how we do grocery shopping)

this is my first attempt to put together a weekly meal planning post.  i'm nervous about it and haven't been able to decide exactly how to go about it.  i've been racking my brain and obsessing as i often do. obsessing no more.  here we go ....

it is important to keep in mind that this will most definitely be a work in progress.  i'll learn as i go and i'm committed to making this a tool that (i hope) people will use/benefit from.  if you're reading this, please provide feedback.  it will help me a great deal and i promise that from now on, i will not have a huge intro to each week (such as this).

first, the truth:  i do not plan meals for our week.  this single obstacle poses a huge problem when it comes to meal-plan-posting on this here blog.  mostly, i mess around on the internet, find recipes that sound good, make a grocery list that will give me enough ingredients to put together a couple of new dishes per week and then, i just run with it.  i try to prepare healthy food as often as possible.

considering my lack of planning, it's not really possible for me to provide a weekly-meal-plan without changing the way i run this household (that sounds really official) and i know myself well enough to know that i would develop serious anxiety over meal time if i felt like anyone was expecting me to make ________ on monday. or tuesday. or wednesday.  get it?

i'm also terribly selfish so i needed to think of a way to do this that would benefit me first.  it's the only way i know i'll keep it up.

so i'm going to try to do this backwards.  i hope you won't mind.  i hope it will still be helpful.  if not, tell me to stop while i'm ahead of myself.

what will i gain?  more accountability.  i need it.  knowing people pay attention to what i'm feeding my own family throughout the week will help me continue to feed my family well.  i hope.  i'm reporting to you all to keep myself in line.  i get off track sometimes and i hate it.  maybe this will keep me on the straightened path?

how will it work?  the only way i could think to go about this fun new subject for posting is to provide to my faithful readers a look back on the prior week.  i can't say i'll make x-y-z on monday, tuesday, wednesday, etc. but i can say "this is what i fed myself and my family last week."  this way, i'll be able to tell you about something i made and whether or not we liked it.  if we liked it, the recipes will be posted here.  if we didn't like it, i won't spend the time sharing the recipe on this site.  maybe a link back to the original source but, that's about it.

will that be okay?

my goal will be to post the prior weeks meals in a user friendly format (links to recipes, photos of food, etc) on either saturday or sunday for the past six/seven days.  (the user friendly format will be the work in progress).

i'm going to be posting on this blog a lot more.  in addition to the recipe posts i'm already doing, i'll be posting some on workouts, tips in the kitchen,  snacking, planning, preparing, etc.

will that be okay too?

i might change the format as i get the hang of it.  i'll also be looking forward to suggestions if anyone is willing to send any my way.  i might consider adding my blog to a few sites that will link for more traffic (any suggestions?).  some days might include breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, dessert.  some might not include anything more than "ordered pizza."  it won't be everything i/we are eating.  that would get super boring.  just the stuff i feel might be worth sharing.  what's that saying?  "under promise and over deliver" ... that was my motto when i actually worked for money.  it worked.

oh! and, you know i talk a lot so, it will be no surprise when i feel the need to add a lot of commentary to everything.  my apologies in advance.  please don't judge me.  this is where i struggle the most with blogging (and deciding to go ahead and try this whole meal planning posting).  i genuinely enjoy and appreciate similar blogs but, i'm afraid to put myself "out there."  i suppose that despite my best effort to not care, i really do care about what people think of me and i don't want anyone to think that this is all i care about (food, eating, exercising, nutrition, etc).  or, that i'm obsessed (i am).  or that i judge others (i don't).  or, that i think i'm perfect (i'm not).  some of the meals will be the most boring, repetitive foods you've ever seen in your life and for that, i'm sorry though i dare guess that most households rotate the same handful of meals over and over again.  we'll see ...

another disclosure/admission; i feel like a poser with this foodie blog. for one, i'm not interested in taking the time with the photography. i just don't have the time.  most foodie bloggers spend a great deal of time on the eye-candy portion of their sites.  waiting for the perfect daylight to take photos of the food they prepare, using light boxes, saving leftovers to re-create the "dinner" during the daylight hours the next day.  i just can't do that right now.  so the photos will be what they are and i realize what they are is not the best but, it is what it is.  i don't own pretty place settings or kitchenware and i'm super messy while i'm cooking.  what am i trying to say?  just that it won't be pretty.  okay?

last of all, my food philosophy is a work in progress but, i enjoy the process.  that's gotta be enough for now.  as of now, there's no trend.  raw, vegan, vegetarian, organic, paleo, gluten-free, etc.  i just cook what sounds good.  nothing special.  i'll share what i learn as i learn it and what i feel as i feel it.

so, lets get to it.

____________________________________________________

week one ~ 3/20/2011 thru 3/27/2011

sunday:
(dinner) hamburgers and hotdogs.  my "hamburger" = amy's california veggie burger.  for the rest of the troops i prepare real beef burgers 93/7 (lean/fat).  my favorite hamburger buns are nature's pride 100% whole wheat (first ingredient: whole wheat flour).  i resent the fact that decent whole wheat hamburger buns are difficult to find.

one of these days, i'll have my mother in law demonstrate how to make the perfect hamburger patty.  she has some serious skills that i try really hard to emulate but, i've got a long ways to go before i can say i've mastered the trade.

monday:
(dinner) "hamburger helper" creamy taco mac.  the family loved this dish.  we had fresh green beans from the co-op. i steamed them so, nothing fancy. is it bad that i prefer steamed from frozen over fresh?

tuesday: 
(dinner) creamed chicken, mushroom & leek pasta.

TIP**frozen chicken:  the kirkland signature brand foster farms chicken breasts from costco.  we go through so much chicken around here!  when i get home from the store i wash, trim and cut each breast in half (width wise) so i get four "cutlets" from each pouch that i put in ziplock gallon-sized freezer bags, suck the air out and store in our outdoor freezer (i'd say each cutlet is approximately 4oz).  usually, i pull chicken out of the freezer in the morning and put it on the counter to thaw (which supposedly is a no-no but, we're still alive) or, if i pull it out later in the day, i'll fill a bowl with room temperature water and put the bag in the water.  the chicken thaws quickly this way (an hour or two).

wednesday:
(breakfast) my breakfast is nearly always the same thing.  fruit in vanilla soy milk and 1/2 bubba's honey whole wheat bagel toasted and topped with maranatha almond butter (sprinkle truvia on top).  this is a high calorie breakfast but, it gets me through without the need for snacking until what usually ends up being a late lunch.

(dinner) kneaders bakery.  classic roast beef sandwhich on french country bread.  cub scout pack meeting + lack of planning = drive thru dinner.

TIP**frozen fruit:  i buy the huge bags of frozen fruit from costco (strawberries, blueberries and wild berry blend).  i divvy up a daily serving in separate ziplock baggies for the week and then put them in the freezer.  they thaw quickly but i try to remember to pull a bag out of the freezer the night before so it can thaw overnight for the next morning.  my servings = 4 strawberries and 1/3 cup blueberries or wild berries.

thursday:
(snack) green apple with one tablespoon of chocolate almond butter, melted.  SO GOOD!

(dinner) turkey burgers and baked sweet potato fries.  

friday:

(dinner) date night at goodwood barbecue company. pre-race dinner preparing for 1/2 marathon saturday morning.  i ordered "sweeeeet chicken." it was good.

saturday:

(dinner) post race.  with thrashed legs and the rest of me super tired, we had leftovers which, for me meant a salad consisting of whatever i had in the fridge. 

(spinach, grilled chicken seasoned with lawry's lemon pepper, orange bell pepper, cucumber, farfalle pasta and newman's sesame ginger dressing.  oh! and ice for the knee).

week one.  down.  how'd i do?

i'm starting a cleanse tomorrow that will last through thursday.  i won't be cooking too many new things this week but maybe, if anyone cares, i'll post about this cleanse.  what say you?