Meal Plan Week #21

This is an unusual week for us - first off I didn't post a meal plan yesterday because we weren't home this past weekend for me to write one up. Second, we are headed out for our vacation as of Friday night so the mission this week is clear out the fridge! This will be deemed another "Eat Out Of the Pantry Week!" - see what we had last time we ate only what food was in the house.

MONDAY: Cook out

TUESDAY: Nachos
I should be able to throw together some nachos with what is around the kitchen

WEDNESDAY: Hobo Packs
Leftovers from Monday's cook out

THURSDAY: Leftovers / Clean Out the Fridge
We'll probably let the kids do some cereal to empty the milk and some chicken patty sandwiches for the adults to use up the rest of the buns.

FRIDAY: Dinner on the road

Currently #1

loving. time spent outdoors - we did our first hike of the year which was awesome
smelling. not much of anything - my allergies are in full attack mode which leaves me with a stuffy/runny nose most days
writing. meal plans to keep us all on track
reading. Lena Dunham's book, Not That Kind of Girl - loving it so far!
watching. we just finished the Sons of Anarchy series on Netflix so we'll start something new soon. suggestions?
craving. chocolate - always ... and probably forever
obsessing. over nail polish colors, I paint my nails every couple of days - give me all the colors!
wishing. my vacation started tomorrow
needing. new shorts before I pack for vacation - I need some cute ones
wanting. another tattoo - maybe for my birthday
trying. to keep up my motivation to get fit.
eating. all the fruit, all the time - especially in my smoothies
drinking. lemon water, the health benefits are awesome
feeling. proud for losing 10 lbs before our trip
hoping. for good results at the allergist today for A
clicking. through Pinterest like it's my job

Meal Plan Week #20

New week, new meal plan. Nothing fancy this week, in fact I'm not even making any new recipes. I feel like I'm getting into my summertime meal plans which are somewhat lacking since we just want to hang outside as soon as we get home. 

MONDAY: Sloppy Joes
My MIL canned her own Sloppy Joe mix so we are going to try it out!

TUESDAY: Shredded Pork Tacos
There are tons of leftovers from last week. If anything remains, we'll throw in the freezer for a quick meal later down the road.

WEDNESDAY: Frozen Pizzas
We haven't done frozen pizzas in awhile and I had coupons to get them for $3.99 / each so it sounded like a winner to me!

THURSDAY: Do Whatever You Want!
Mom is not cooking, so find something you want to eat and eat it :)

FRIDAY: BBQ Chicken on the Grill
Hopefully the weather is good on Friday to heat up the grilled for some chicken. We'll probably have green beans on side as well. 

What's for dinner at your house this week? Be sure to check out my smoothie recipes from last week as well for some low calorie options to beat the heat!

Smoothie Me!

I've gotten on a smoothie kick lately so I thought I'd share some of my favorites that I've made along the way. And of course my total expert (in my mind at least) smoothie advice! No I really don't have any sort of nutritional education background, but I do read a lot of about this stuff. I should probably advise you to talk to an expert or your doctor or something like that so nobody can sue me.

There's a big debate right now ... which is better: smoothies or juicing? I personally can't do the juicing, I've tried and the flavors just aren't there for me. I'm also a firm believer in using every part of the food and juicing leaves behind much of the fiber in your fruit and veggies by just extracting the "juice" of the food. Fiber is good for you, you should get some of that. Now some can also argue that smoothies are not the best choice because the blender "heats up" the food while spinning and can cause nutrition loss. I'd personally like to lose a couple of nutrients in favor of getting more fiber and utilizing the entire fruit or veggie I am using. Don't be wasteful! Now that you know where I stand on that debate let's begin ...

First let me start by saying, if you make your smoothie with fruit there is zero reason to add any sweeteners such as honey, agave, etc. Your fruit has tons of natural sugars so don't waste your time with the add ins. You don't need them! And if you plan to make smoothies for your kids, I promise they won't know you didn't add any extra sugar. Did you hear that? No added sugar no matter how healthy that sugar claims to be. It's still sugar people! And let's face it, you probably have enough of that in your body right now anyways. (guilty...)

I use a single cup Ninja blender. No I didn't spend $300 on it like some of their models, I got mine on Black Friday a couple years back at Wal-Mart for $30. It's the 600 watt version for anyone who wants to track it down. It gets the job done for what I want to make so I consider it good. Others may disagree.

Keep portion size in mind, you don't need the entire blender full of the smoothie to get the health benefits of drinking smoothies. You are probably getting more fruit and veggies through a single serving of smoothie than you normally would for breakfast so it's a win.

And my last tip, if at any time you don't have enough liquid to get the job done you can add a bit of milk or better yet, water. No needed for juices which are usually packed with extra sugar. Also, I always use fresh bananas to help with the liquid issue. 

Here's a quick rundown of some of my favorite smoothies I've put together. 

I've already told you that fiber is important but so is protein. Most people don't get enough protein during the day, especially at breakfast. This smoothie is a great start to the day!
1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder
3/4 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 banana
1/2 cup spinach
If there isn't enough liquid, I'll add 1% milk to help out on this one.

This is one of my favorite combos, I love peaches and mangoes together!
1/2 cup frozen mango
1/2 cup frozen peaches
1/2 cup cubed cantelope
1/2 banana

I'm a berry lover (aside from blueberries, that I'm trying to learn to love). The only downside to berry filled smoothies are the seeds. The taste is so good, I can look past them.
1/2 banana
1/2 cup frozen berry medley (raspberries, blackberries, strawberries)
1/2 of a mango, fresh

You get so many vitamins from smoothies but this one is packed with an extra punch of vitamin C.
1/2 cup frozen tropical smoothie blend (strawberries, mangoes, pineapple)
1/2 cup frozen peaches
1/2 cup spinach
1 kiwi
handful blueberries

Do you have any low calorie smoothies that you enjoy? I'd love to hear your ideas.

Meal Plan Week #19

MONDAY: Cook out at the in-laws
My SIL's b-day was last week and with Mother's Day yesterday we are doing a cook out to celebrate both. And I don't actually have to host :)

TUESDAY: Chicken Taco Cups
This is one of my freezer meals, I already tried these when my MIL made her batch and they are yummy! The recipe we used was very similar to this one - but we used pinto beans instead of refried beans and chicken instead of ground beef.

WEDNESDAY: Spaghetti

THURSDAY: Pulled Pork Tacos
I have a couple of pork loins in the freezer that I've picked up on sale, so I'll cook one up this week and freeze half of what I make for another meal later on. This is the world's easiest thing to make. Put the pork loin in the crock pot, dump a jar of salsa on top. Let cook all day, shred in the crock pot and stir around. Put on your tacos!

FRIDAY: Black & Blue Salad
Steak is on sale this week at the store so I'm shaking up the salad bar meal idea and will have the fixings for black & blue salads. I'm sure the kids will leave off the steak and blue cheese but at least the parents can get a yummy salad!

What's cookin' this week at your house?

Linking up with orgjunkie.com

Meal Plan Week #18

I am sitting on the deck planning this week's meals. I could certainly get used to this warm weather stuff :)

MONDAY: Baked Potato Bar
We did this awhile back and it was a big hit with the kids so we'll bring it back again.

TUESDAY: Chicken Taquitos
Cinco de Mayo and Taco Tuesday are happening on the same day people! Taquitos for everyone!

WEDNESDAY: Deli Sandwiches and Pasta Salad

THURSDAY: Kebabs on the grill
It should be about 80* when I get home so we'll throw some stuff on the grill.

FRIDAY: Pizza Braid
This is one of my freezer meals. I made the Ham & Cheese Braid awhile back from this same recipe and it was really good.

What's for dinner tonight at your house?

Linking up with orgjunkie.com

May: I will try

For April I set three goals so let's see how I did!

• I will try to workout more.
• Well I spent more time outside which usually involved moving around more. And I got the girls to go on a run with me in preparation for the Color Run near the end of May. I still need a lot of work here though.
• I will try to read 2 books.
• I finished one book that I had started in March (B is for Burglar) and completed a new one, The Botox Diaries. I also began reading, Better Than Before. I really loved Gretchen's other books so I have high hopes for her latest one!

• I will try to think positive.
• I think I forgot about this goal for most of the month. I thought it would be so easy and yet it was probably the hardest. For the last few days of the month I really tried to focus on it but my positive thinking was positively lacking. 

So that brings us to May. Here's what I'll be trying for the month.

• Planning and focus!

Yep I'm sticking with one goal this month. We have our cruise at the end of May so I need to make sure everything is in order for that. That includes me attempting to lose 3 more pounds so I can shop for a new bathing suit to wear. I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't buy any clothes for myself until I lost 10 lbs. Well I'm currently stuck at 7 lbs down so I need to kick it up a notch! This is also the last month of school so making sure A finishes out the school year strongly is something I need to focus on. If I can make it through this month with my sanity then I can spend the first whole week of June relaxing in the Caribbean! 

Do you have any goals or anything you want to try for the month of May?