Menu Plan Monday

Well it's just me and Baby Girl again most of this week so the idea is...SIMPLE SIMPLE SIMPLE! I'm trying to clean out the fridge/pantry a bit so in looking at what I have in there, here is what I'm planning for the week:

Monday: Left over Pork Chops, corn

Tuesday: Pizza (Thin crust, lots of veggies)

Wednesday: Chicken Cordon Bleu (frozen)

Thursday: Fish Sticks (frozen) and Mac and Cheese

Friday: Broccoli Ham Casserol

Saturday: Lunch: Left over casserol;   Dinner: Hamburger Helper

Sunday:  Lunch: leftover casserol OR Hamburger Helper;   Dinner: Chicken Pot Pie

All of my recipes are HERE

But OrgJunkie has a lot too!!

If you plan your meals for the week on Monday...Hop over to OrgJunkie's site and add your link!

Super Saturday #13

Yeah, I guess I'm going to have to change Fitness Fridays to Super Saturdays because I just can't seem to find the time on Friday's to blog anymore.  I  love my job but I get so spoiled in the summer!
Weigh in:
Dear Bathroom Scale,
I suck, I know :(  I didn't come by last week and this week wasn't so great either.  The good news though is that I think I can see a light in the tunnel...  yep, it's there...I can see it...
Your pal,
Cole

The last few weeks haven't been the greatest on my get-back-in-shape goals.  Baby Girl got sick (strep throat), work was hectic, and a few more excuses.  Yes, I know most of them are just that...excuses... and there is no excuse for not taking care of myself, not eating right, not exercising...

The scale this morning was back up to 189 :(

Last week's goals:
Well, last week I didn't really have any goals so I'll go back to the week before last...

:-/ Since I did manage to go grocery shopping, I will bring healthy food for lunch Tues-Fri (Monday is an inservice day and 15 of us from my school are going to a science day at NASA so we are going to eat there) I can't remember last week, but this past week I didn't do so well on this.  I brought my lunch once, left it at work so I didn't have my lunchbox the following day, and one day I ran out so quick (running late) that I forgot to pack it, and one day I packed it but left it on the kitchen counter.  However, I mostly chose healthy foods in the cafeteria like spinach salad and tuna.


:-( Follow my training plan for workouts I walked a few time but I haven't run at all.  I planned to this morning but I woke up with a headache.  It's starting to let go so hopefully I can go run before it gets too hot.

:-( Do squats/sit ups/push ups for some cross training Didn't do these either.

:-/ Stop munching on the snacks that I give to the students (usually pretzels/crackers/etc but I will sit and mindlessly munch if I'm not careful) I decided to ease out of supplying snacks for my kids.  They can still bring in a snack to eat but I won't supply it for them.  This cut down on some of my snacking but I still have a bag of treats for the *extra special* rewards behind my desk.
 
This week's goals:
I'm going for the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) approach this week...
 

1. Exercise!
2. Eat right!

What I'm reading:


I finally managed to finish Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2) and I am barely on the first few pages of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3).  Maybe I'll get through them all before the last movie comes out...maybe lol

Weigh-in:

Dear Bathroom Scale,
I didn't forget you this week...  I...  Uhhh... I thought I'd give you a break from having to put up with me.  Yeah, that's it :)

 I didn't weigh in this week, because, I honestly did forget until right now!  Oops. 

I guess though, that isn't really a bad thing.  It means that my weight isn't top priority in my mind.  I'm not dwelling on it and I'm not letting it bother me so much.  I'll weigh one morning soon...if I think about it ;)

Last Week's Goals:

:) My top priority this week is to GET WELL! Without that, the others just don't seem to matter as much. Well that is one accomplished!  I think everyone in the house is finally back to normal and the sickness has left the building!

:) If I am able to get better, I do hope to get in at least 2 runs this week.  I started following my 12 week training plan so I actually ran Tuesday (2 miles), Thursday (2.32 miles), and Saturday (3 miles)

:( as well as incorporate my sit ups, push ups, and squats again 3X's I didn't get in any squats/sit ups/push ups but I did walk several times this week with the family

:) Drink plenty of water I took and filled my water bottle several times during he day :)

:/ Pack/eat healthier foods I didn't pack my lunch at all this week - didn't go grocery shopping until Friday- but I did try to choose healthier foods in the cafeteria at lunch like Spinach salad with tuna 2 days, and baked chicken another...oh and there was that one day that I grabbed the veggie pizza (but hey, my choices were veggie pizza, pepperoni pizza, cheese pizza, or something-that-almost-looks-like-a-hamburger-if-you-squint).


This Week's Goals:

1. Since I did manage to go grocery shopping, I will bring healthy food for lunch Tues-Fri (Monday is an inservice day and 15 of us from my school are going to a science day at NASA so we are going to eat there)
2. Follow my training plan for workouts
3. Do squats/sit ups/push ups for some cross training
4. Stop munching on the snacks that I give to the students (usually pretzels/crackers/etc but I will sit and mindlessly munch if I'm not careful)

Currently Reading:
I'm still working on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2).  I just haven't had time to read much this week.  However, I am starting to be able to see over the mountain of paperwork on my desk and there is a light at the end of the tunnel - and the tunnel is ending pretty quick

Here is a 2 sentence teaser from the page I am currently on:

" 'If I'd sprouted whiskers, I'd take a break from work,' said Ron, tipping a stack of books onto Hermione's bedside table one evening.
     'Don't be silly, Ron, I've got to keep up,' said Hermione briskly.' "

Menu Plan Monday

Check out Orgjunkie.com for more menus!

Last Week's Menu:

Meal 1: Breakfast for Dinner (eggs, turkey bacon, fruit salad) One of my favorite dinners is breakfast!  Hubby had an omlet and I opted for good ol' scrambled eggs.  This was Thursday

Meal 2: Parmesan Chicken with Garlic and Herbs, Veggie (whatever we have - peas, green beans, corn...) Right before I took these out of the oven on Friday, I laid a slice of provolone cheese over each and warmed up some maranara sauce to put over them.  We coupled the chicken with salads.  Yum! :)

Meal 3: Shrimp Kabobs on the grill (shrimp, red peppers, green peppers, zucchini, whatever we find to put on them), and grilled corn on the cob We had these on Tuesday and they were YUMMY!!  The Grill Master (AKA Hubby) outdid himself with this tasty - and healthy- meal!
Meal 4: Lemon Chicken on the grill, and Herb Roasted Veggies Never did the Lemon Chicken, but did do the Herb Roasted Veggies with the London Broil on Sunday.  Not bad!  I think I like the Roasted Broccoli better but these were pretty tasty too!
Meal 5: London Broil on the grill with a spinach salad  Hubby Grilled up the London Broil on Sunday after marinating it all night - Yummos!
Meal 6: Probably another CORN night on the weekend CORN night ended up being Monday and Wednesday. Monday to make room for the groceries we bought, and Wednesday to accomodate a crazy schedule.

**Added meal** Saturday night rather than grilling we stir fried some green, yellow, and red pepers with onions and sausage and whole wheat spaghetti noodles (It's what we had lol).  It turned out pretty good :)


This Week's Menu:
We are doing something a little different this week.  Instead of buying anything, we are going to try to use up whatever we have in the fridge/freezer/pantry and clean it out a little.  I've seen several frugal/cooking/etc blogs with an eat-from-what-you-have type of challenge so I thought I'd give it a shot this week. There are 2 main reasons for this.

1. We're trying to save money and would rather spend our grocery money on other things this week and...
2. We are running out of room to store things in the fridge/freezer/pantry so there MUST be too much stuff in there!

I know we have some frozen chicken, shrimp, and beef so that is on the menu.  We also have canned veggies galore (both in our pantry as well as in our survival/emergancy store that we need to rotate through).  There's pasta and rice in the pantry for sure and even though we are trying to watch carbs, we still use some of these.  There's also about 4 boxes of Hamburger Helper to choose from as well. I have some left over fruit and veggies from this past week's grocery shopping that will be used first so that we don't have to throw anything out.  The only thing I can foresee us needing to get at the grocery store this week is maybe some more fresh veggies and fruit - but then again we may be able to work it with just what we have canned and frozen. I just bought milk (skim and almond) a few days ago so we should be good there.

•  Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole
• Maybe even Parmesan Chicken with Garlic and Herbs again as it is really yummy! 
• I know there is some frozen Tempura Shrimp so we may have to do an Asian night and break out the chopsticks we have left over from Japan.
• Hamburger Helper one night
• We have Spaghetti that I can make also
• Other than that it may be just simply grilling/baking the meat (Chicken and/or shrimp) and adding a veggie.
• Saturday: Definately eating out this night.  My baby step-brother is having his Eagle Ceremony for Boy Scouts!  YAY  Proud of him!  That makes My Grandpa (my mom's dad), my biological dad, my uncles (My mom's brothers), my brothers (two of them), and my cousin Josh all Eagle Scouts. It's become a family tradition :)

Somewhere around here I have a cookbook called "A Man, A Can, and A Plan" that has recipes with simple ingredients such as "a can of this" or "a bottle of that" that can usually be found in every house.  I may have a look in there and see what I come up with once I figure out what is lurking in the back of the freezer/pantry (If it's lurking in the back of the fridge then it probably isn't fit for ANY kind of recipe other than a science experiment - and I still have a few weeks before school starts back up!)

My other baby brother (The other Eagle Scout) is coming to stay with us one night this week, so that night we may go out to dinner - or Bubby may want to stay in, who knows with a 19 year old Navy kid!  He's going to spend a few days with us, a few days with our sister in Orlando, a while with mom, then a few days with his dad.  He only has 2 weeks leave so he has to split his time wisely!  Glad he's coming to stay with us a while -- I've missed him now that he's all grown up and on the other side of the country!  He's coming back to see Carl recieve his Eagle, and to present it to him :) (Yes, I just got goosebumps thinking about it...so proud!!)

I'm also stocked up on healthy snacks.  Fruit of course, but also cereal bars, Sugar Free Jello, Real Fruit Bites from Dole, apple sauce, and I think there are some Craisins in there somewhere too.

Feeding Four is giving away cool fruit pouches from Peter Rabbit Organics that would make great snacks!  You should check them out.

My "normal" recipes are found HERE
And OrgJunkie always has some great menu ideas on Mondays!

What's on your menu for the week?

Dear Grocery Store,

I've been working hard to make healthy choices.  I've visited your fresh fruit and veggie section more lately than I ever have and I am learning to love all of your choices of good-for-me foods.  Even in the organic/tofu section.

However, WHY OH WHY would you label "Assorted Fruit Slices" as such?  A more appropriate name would be "Fruit Flavored Sugar."  Furthermore, what possessed you to place them next to the more nutritious foods, specifically the dried fruit that I am fond of having as an easy to grab snack.

Are you trying to sabotage my diet?

Sincerely,
Me