Meal Plan Monday - Week 3 of 13

Well, the first two weeks of my 13-week meal plan went so smoothly that I couldn't expect it to last forever. We had two main glitches this week:

1. My soup on Tuesday turned out - well, let's just say it wasn't anybody's favorite. It was my first time making it, and it sure sounded like a winner. But, sadly, it is not and I'll be replacing it in the next rotation.

2. Lentil loaf and the OMG Onion Rings from Appetite for Reduction are two family favorites and go great together as a meal. Unfortunately, they're also both a major ordeal to make and I've decided that for the sake of my sanity, they will no longer be made on the same night. It probably didn't help that they were on the menu on a day that started at 7AM and never stopped. Next time around, I'll be pairing the lentil loaf with broccoli and a simple salad and adding the onion rings to some type of veggie plate.

Other than that, we're still enjoying the benefits of the pre-planning! Here's what we ate for Week 3:

Monday	Breakfast	Yogurt parfait
	Lunch	Everyday chickpea & quinoa salad
	Snack	Trail mix
	Dinner	Veggie sandwiches; fruit
Tuesday	Breakfast	Toast with peanut butter & banana
	Lunch	Tofu salad on green salad
	Snack	Green smoothie
	Dinner	Arborio rice & white bean soup; salad
Wednesday	Breakfast	Cereal & fruit
	Lunch	Leftover soup & salad
	Snack	Raw veggies & dip
	Dinner	Lentil loaf, OMG onion rings, salad
Thursday	Breakfast	Yogurt parfait
	Lunch	PJ&B with raw veggies & fruit
	Snack	Green smoothie
	Dinner	Mediterranean salad
Friday	Breakfast	Apple with peanut butter
	Lunch	Chickpea salad over green salad
	Snack	Raw veggies & dip
	Dinner	Pasta with broccoli, tomatoes & walnuts
Saturday	Breakfast	Cereal & fruit
	Lunch	Veggie sandwich; trail mix
	Snack	Green smoothie
	Dinner	Out or Leftovers
Sunday	Breakfast	Green smoothie & fruit
	Lunch	Cashew cheese log with raw veggies & crackers
	Snack	Apple with peanut butter
	Dinner	Tofu scramble with spinach; potatoes

Meal Plan Monday - Week 2 of 13

So far, so good with the 13-week meal plan. We've still been happy with all our meals and have followed the plan with minimal variation. The only issue from this week is that my Publix no longer carries Garden of Eatin' taco shells (or any version that doesn't have junk in them) so we had to skip the tacos since I didn't have time to run to Whole Foods.

I should mention that we usually end up having lunch out about once a week, but I try to plan it on a day where our lunch ingredients will carry over to the following week. Also, I generally have juice for breakfast, so what's on my meal plan is what the kids eat (and they usually have a little juice, too).


Here it is . . . Week 2.

Monday	Breakfast	Yogurt parfait
	Lunch	Everyday chickpea & quinoa salad
	Snack	Trail mix
	Dinner	Santa Fe veggie wrap; fruit
Tuesday	Breakfast	Toast with pb & banana
	Lunch	Tofu salad on green salad
	Snack	Green smoothie
	Dinner	Carrot bisque; salad
Wednesday	Breakfast	Cereal & fruit
	Lunch	Leftover soup & salad
	Snack	Raw veggies & dip
	Dinner	Sweet & sour rice, veggies & Gardein
Thursday	Breakfast	Yogurt parfait
	Lunch	PJ&B with raw veggies & fruit
	Snack	Green smoothie
	Dinner	Roasted root veggies & kale salad
Friday	Breakfast	Apple with pb
	Lunch	Chickpea salad over green salad
	Snack	Raw veggies & dip
	Dinner	Pasta with sausage & peppers
Saturday	Breakfast	Cereal & fruit
	Lunch	Veggie sandwich; trail mix
	Snack	Green smoothie
	Dinner	Out or Leftovers
Sunday	Breakfast	Green smoothie & fruit
	Lunch	Cashew cheese log with veggies & crackers
	Snack	Apple with peanut butter
	Dinner	Tacos (rice, beans, veggies)

The Daily Dose - Day 6

The Daily Dose - Day 5

Meal Plan Monday - Week 1 of 13

Week 1 of my highly-experimental 13-week meal plan was a huge success. I'm finally feeling like I'm back in the groove of cooking and enjoying the routine of having healthy meals at home. It really helped to have everything printed out and on the fridge so I didn't have to waste time figuring out what to make. Jim and the Sprouts liked all the meals, so I won't be changing a thing!

For the first time, I'm giving each day a theme to see if that streamlines the cooking process. So far, my only thought is that pasta once a week is a lot for us, but I'm not making any changes yet.

Monday (quick & easy - it's T-ball night!)
Tuesday (soup & salad)
Wednesday (grain/bean dish or new recipe night)
Thursday (salad or veggie plate)
Friday (pasta)
Saturday (leftovers or dinner out)
Sunday (family favorites)

So here it is . . . Meal Plan - Week 1

Monday	Breakfast	Yogurt parfait with pecans, berries, coconut & granola
	Lunch	Everyday chickpea & quinoa salad
	Snack	Trail mix
	Dinner	Tofurkey sandwiches, raw veggies, fruit
Tuesday	Breakfast	Toast with peanut butter & banana
	Lunch	Tofu salad on green salad
	Snack	Green smoothie
	Dinner	Fennel & tomato soup; salad
Wednesday	Breakfast	Cereal & fruit
	Lunch	Leftover soup & salad
	Snack	Raw veggies & dip
	Dinner	Pistachio eggplant cutlets; salad
Thursday	Breakfast	Yogurt parfait with pecans, berries, coconut & granola
	Lunch	PJ&B with raw veggies & fruit
	Snack	Green smoothie
	Dinner	Salad with Gardein strips and agave mustard dressing
Friday	Breakfast	Apple with peanut butter
	Lunch	Chickpea salad over green salad
	Snack	Raw veggies & dip
	Dinner	Pasta primavera
Saturday	Breakfast	Cereal & fruit
	Lunch	Out
	Snack	Green smoothie
	Dinner	Veggie sandwich; trail mix
Sunday	Breakfast	Green smoothie & fruit
	Lunch	Cashew cheese log with raw veggies & crackers
	Snack	Apple with peanut butter
	Dinner	Grilled veggie paninis

The Daily Dose - Day 4

The Daily Dose - Day 3

The Daily Dose - Day 2

The Daily Dose - NEW FEATURE!

When my kids were very little, Jim and I really focused on teaching them why good health was important and how proper nutrition and lifestyle choices factor in. I have to admit, we'd gotten pretty lazy about it and had pretty much resorted to saying "Eat this. It's good for you."

The new year seems like a good time for change, so we're going back to the basics of teaching them why their food choices matter so much. We plan to watch more documentaries with them and do more health-related reading on a regular basis. But to start, I'd like to share one piece of information a day - and since it's information that will keep them healthy, I'm calling it The Daily Dose.

My goal is to get at least 100 tips done this year, and of course, I'm happy to share. They are designed to fit 4-up on a page (landscape) for anyone who wants to print them.

So here is Day 1 of The Daily Dose:

Meal Plan Monday - Week 1

Well, the holidays are finally over . . . time to get back into a regular routine which will include a big overhaul of our eating habits. It's amazing how quickly they can go downhill when things are busy.

To be honest, I've been burned out on cooking for quite some time - and burned out on meal planning as well. In fact, when it came time to plan meals each week, I couldn't think of anything to make!

This year, I'm trying something new . . . a 13-week meal plan that will repeat four times a year. For now, I'm keeping breakfasts and lunches the same each week and just rotating the dinners. At the end of each week, I plan to evaluate that week's meals, eliminate anything we didn't all love and replace it with something new for the next rotation. I'm hoping that by tweaking it as I go along, I'll end up with something that works long-term!

I'm also trying to "theme" my dinners as follows:

Monday (quick & easy - it's T-ball night!)
Tuesday (soup & salad)
Wednesday (grain/bean dish or new recipe night)
Thursday (salad or veggie plate)
Friday (pasta)
Saturday (leftovers or dinner out)
Sunday (family favorites)

I'll be sharing each week's plan after we eat it, so that I can include any notes along with it - so check back next week for Week 1