Skip to main content

Meal Planning

This past week I searched Pinterest looking for new recipes and healthier food options. There are so many diets to choose. Vegan, vegetarian, low carb. I guess it all depends on your goals. I need to lower my bad carb intake. My doctor recommended that I cut out anything white i.e. bread, sugar, pasta, etc. 

During the month of December I fasted from breads, chips, cakes, and candy. Basically all  junk food. I did give myself three pass days, which included Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and one additional day for a party I attended.  I think this is something I will incorporate again because it's so easy to gain extra pounds during the Christmas holiday with the office parties and co-workers bring in treats throughout the month. Fasting  gave me a time to reset spiritually and focus on preparing goals for 2019. It also made me realize how much junk food I was consuming. If I stopped by the superstore I would grab a bag of chips. If I walked by the candy dish at work I would continually grab a piece of candy. When I wanted an afternoon snack at work I would go to the convenience store in the office building and get some chips. I also discovered Magnolia Bakery which is conveniently located in the building where I catch the train. On a few occasion their delicious  red velvet cake or banana pudding was sufficient for my evening dinner. I really didn't realize how bad it had become.  Just fasting from junk food alone allowed me to drop five pounds. 

So I'm starting off slow and hoping some new recipes will motivate me.  I prepped a few meals, which are listed below along with the link to the Pinterest recipe that served as inspiration.  Each item that I made, while they were pretty basic, were very flavorful and delicious. I totally found an appreciation for meal planning and prepping items for the week.  It helped me to portion control, save time and stay within my grocery budget. I also wasted less food, because I had well planned out meals and didn't purchase unnecessary items. There were so many benefits to meal prepping  that I will definitely keep it up. 

Menu for the Week
Breakfast Options 
  • Oatmeal with bananas, blueberries and almonds. (I like the Better Oats Bare or Steel Cut with almond milk) or
  • Cheerios with almond milk
Lunch/Dinner Options
  • Turkey wrap with orange sweet peppers, blended Mexican cheese, guacamole, Asian chopped salad mix  https://pin.it/yj34gqxmmmmo25
  • Aldi's Little Salad Southwest Salad  with added tomatoes, cucumbers, and oven roasted turkey 
  • Aldi's Little Salad Asian Chopped Salad with added tomatoes and oven roasted turkey
  • Beef stew meat with green peppers, onions, teriyaki marinade (made in the slow cooker), brown rice and green beans (note:this made quite a bit so I portioned it into the appropriate serving sizes and had it for either lunch or dinner throughout the week. I portioned it into seven meals) 
  • Turkey Italian sausage with roasted red and yellow sweet pepper and onions. On the side I had whole grain pasta with a dash of olive oil and a little Mrs. Dash table seasoning. This was my favorite meal. So much flavor!  https://pin.it/74z2tewkjpyp3o
  • Crispy baked wings https://pin.it/5htfoxbmqtlrtd (If you cook them on a raised wire rack they will cook evenly all around without having to flip them and I cook them on 450 degrees for extra crisp for about 40 minutes)
Snacks

  • Mandarin oranges
  • Honey crisp apples
  • Almonds
  • Cucumbers with guacamole
  • Munchies Chips (not an item I should have had, but I did)

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fear Not!

Fear not. I once heard a pastor say when you hear "fear not",  there is something or a situation that you actually could fear. Meaning that the logical reason to fear is there. I've also heard the Bible scripture that talks about what Job feared the most came upon him. I often wondered about that because I'm sure he was praying against the things that he feared would happen.  I was in a situation where I was not certain what the outcome would be. I wanted a positive outcome, but deep down I wasn't allowing myself to enjoy the opportunity because I felt that at any moment it could end. I prayed, joined a support group on the matter, and believed that I was working hard on myself to change. I felt because I was doing all of these activities, I would prevent the negative outcome from occurring and not repeat mistakes I had made in the past. I thought my actions were positive, and they were, but I was still unknowingly doing them in fear and giving energy
2 comments
Read more

Boundaries

I have had a tri-color Chihuahua named Chloe for thirteen years. There are days that I don't get to spend much time with her and I feel guilty about that. I find myself giving her leeway and removing boundaries because of my guilt, but I always regret that I do. I stopped Chloe from sleeping in the bed with me a few years ago, but then she got arthritis. I felt sorry for her and the amount of pain she was in and I let her back in my bed. I guess I thought the Tempurpedic mattress would help her.  She did get better. One day I noticed that when I removed boundaries for Chloe, such as allowing her to sleep with me or not locking her up when I would leave the house, her behavior didn't reflect appreciation. She still did things that were normal for her by nature and very annoying to me. She would poop on the carpet or get into the trash. Chloe also has a tendency to beg for my food even when she has a bowl full of dog food. She even has the nerve to growl at me if I try to t
2 comments
Read more

I want to make it, not fake it!

Debt. The four letter word that we sometimes just think is a natural part of life. A means to an end, a way to acquire things that if we had to pay out right cash we would not be able to afford. Growing up my father did not believe in credit cards and he believed in living well below his means. He paid cash for everything and we lived in a small two bedroom apartment, 7 of us plus my niece when she was born. Our rent was well below the market rate. He usually purchased used cars. He went to work everyday, then would work on cars after that. Always working, always saving, and always living well below his means. I had a happy childhood and didn't feel like I missed out on much. I had food, clothes, and most importantly love. I was a little embarrassed one time when a girl from the neighborhood asked me where was my bedroom. I think I told her it's back there pointing to the rear of our apartment. What I was really thinking is, girl you are sitting on it. My two older sister
2 comments
Read more