Menu Plan Monday: Week of January 24th

I’m feeling rather uninspired today.  I was completely out of control this weekend when it came to eating. I didn’t track. I ate and drank like a fiend.  And today I feel badly about it but I also want to continue it. Why is it so hard to get back to normal, healthy eating after a few days of indulgence/bingeing?  Argh.  I know writing this post is my first step back to being a normal, healthy person.  It has to be.  Plus, I’ve got my gym bag packed and ready to go for a nice long work out tonight.

As I mentioned last week, my plan is to eat what I have in my freezer this week.

Meatless Monday:  Boca Black Bean Burger; Black Bean Soup

Tuesday:  Broccoli Cheese Potato Sausage Soup; Turkey Sausage link, Brussels sprouts, couscous

Wednesday:  Turkey Sausage, Brussels sprouts, couscous; Veggie Curry (at Book Club)

Thursday:  Broccoli Cheese Potato Sausage Soup;  Pizza (at Book Club)

Friday:  Black Bean Soup; TBD

Menu Plan Monday: Week of Jan. 17th

Usually when I plan my menu I try to take into account what nightly activities I have going on.  If I am supposed to go somewhere I try to keep cooking simple/to a minimum.  This week is so exception with the Boyz II Men concert on Monday night, game night on Wednesday and a sorority meeting on Thursday.

Sunday: Lunch  date w/ Miss PoliSci and Mrs. Bookworm; Chili (made with lean ground beef, ground turkey, and lots of veggies)

Meatless Monday: Boca Black Bean Burger; Veggie quesadilla (made with corn tortillas, fat-free refried beans, and reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese)

Tuesday: Chili; Baked Salmon w/ Brussels sprouts and a sweet potato

Wednesday: Chili; Snacks at Game Night — I’m taking an assortment of veggies, laughing cow cheese, and some Wasa Crackers

Thursday: Lunch out; Chili

Friday: Chili; TBD

I know that is a lot of chili but it’s easy and I love it.  Plus, I didn’t really want to make anything else this week since I’m going to be out and about so much.  I froze several servings of it as well.  I think next week is going to be an eat-what-you-have week since I discovered that I really have a lot of food in the freezer right now — black bean soup, turkey sausages, turkey hot dogs, black bean burgers, broccoli cheese potato soup, and now chili.

I’m also working on wasting less food.  The Pork Carnitas I made last week made A LOT so on Saturday morning after my spin class, I made Pork Carnitas breakfast tacos.  I admit they were a little random/weird, but they were delicious! The pork added a lot of flavor and I managed to work in another serving of the pork before it went bad.  Another way I can waste less food is to take a couple servings to my parent’s house when a recipe makes more than I can eat.  I ate the Pork Carnitas 4 times (I think) and Miss H and Miss K2 each had some and I still ended up throwing some out last night!

 

1 egg & 2 egg whites scrambled with pork carnitas, onion, and bell peppers and topped with reduced-fat cheese, salsa, cilantro and lime, served on corn tortillas.

 

 

Menu Plan Monday: Week of Jan. 10th

This week I based my menu plan largely off the produce I got at my co-op.  The produce share included: broccoli, spinach, potatoes, yellow onions, corn, butternut squash, grapefruit, blueberries, and little baby tangerines.  Fortunately the share provided most of the ingredients for a soup I’d had my eye on trying!

Sunday:  Broccoli-Cheese-Potato-Sausage Soup (adapted from Gina’s Skinny Recipes by adding 1/2 lb. turkey sausage); Baked salmon w/ Roasted Butternut Squash, couscous and  spinach

Couscous w/ mushrooms and bell peppers, roasted butternut squash, baked salmon w/ dill & chives on a bed of sautéed spinach

Meatless Monday: Roasted Butternut Squash w/ mushroom-bell pepper couscous; Breakfast for dinner – veggie & egg scramble

Tuesday:  BCPS Soup; Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Tacos w/ roasted corn and Cilantro Lime Rice

Wednesday:  BCPS Soup; Grilled Chicken Salad

Thursday: Pork Carnitas Tacos; Whole wheat pasta w/ Chicken meatballs and Spicy Tomato Basil Sauce

Friday: BCPS Soup; TBD

Breakfasts:  WW Smoothies, cream of wheat, eggs, fruit, Bagel Thins

Snacks: Peanut Butter, Popcorn, Tangerines, yogurt

Since this week will be busier than last I tried to prep a lot of food on Sunday — making soup, the pork carnitas and sugar-free pudding (pistachio = LOVE),  and cooking my lunch for Monday on Sunday night.  I also organized 5 complete sets of gym clothes into a laundry basket so I wouldn’t have to hunt them down every day of the week.

Also, I’d like to give a shout out to my homey, Geoffersonspin, for suggesting that I generate more health-related content here. Clearly, I have lots to say on the topic! And the additionally accountability has been really great so far. So thanks, Geoffersonspin, and let’s bust out our bikes together asap! (And by that I mean as soon as it is about 65 degrees on a regular basis!)

Menu Plan Monday – Week of Jan. 3rd

As an attempt to hold myself accountable for my weight loss/health efforts, I plan to post my weekly menu plans here.  I figure it will force me to plan out my menu, which I usually do anyway, and help me evaluate if I’m actually following it at the end of the week.  And who knows, maybe I’ll share some recipes or give someone a new idea or something.

Monday: Lunch – Subway Veggie Sandwich; Dinner – Black Bean Soup w/ Sour Cream and corn tortillas

Tuesday:  Lunch – Black Bean Soup; Dinner – Grilled chicken w/ balsamic mushrooms, roasted Brussel sprouts, baked potato

Wednesday: Lunch – Black Bean Soup; Dinner – Grilled salmon, salad, couscous

Thursday:  Lunch – Black Bean Soup; Dinner – Grilled Chicken salad, roasted Brussel sprouts

Friday:  Lunch – Black Bean Soup; Dinner – Edmond w/ Sister

Breakfasts:  Cream of Wheat, Bagel Thins, Eggs, Bacon, Grapefruit, Oatmeal

Snacks:  Clementines, apples, 100 Calorie cheese bites, yogurt, popcorn, carrots, bell peppers, Ortia Greek Yogurt dip

I realize that is a lot of black bean soup to eat in a week but 1) it makes a lot, 2) it has a low PointsPlus WW value (4), and 3) it is one of my all time fave foods that I make to eat.  In the event that I get tired of it before Friday, I’ll probably throw in another chicken salad or a quesadilla.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have already deviated from this plan by skipping the Subway Sandwich in favor of a Caprese Salad since my boss invited several of us to lunch today.  And I had cream of wheat for the first time today and I really liked it! I didn’t add anything to it because I wanted to test it out in its purest form before I start experimenting. I was pleasantly surprised.