Meal Planning: Week of 2-5-2012

What are you eating this week?

BRRRR!

Since I have been meal planning more and consistently, I decided it may be helpful to do a total and accurate inventory of my freezers.  This is something I have been avoiding for a long time.  I sort of knew what was lurking in the depths of my deep freeze, but I wasn't sure...exactly.

So, today I took everything out of my deep freezer and my fridge freezer and created an inventory.  I found some great stuff that I had forgotten was in there, and I could probably eat for months without going to the store.  Yippee! 

Even more exciting is the fact that I was able to organize the freezers a little better.  All of the meat is in the deep freeze while all of the cheese is now in the fridge freezer.  It's the little things, folks.

Here is a glimpse into my spread sheet awesomeness that is my new freezer inventory...

In the future, I hope to take an inventory of the rest of my pantry, also, so I can just do my meal planning from real time inventory lists.  This is, of course, a pie in the sky wishful dream. :)

Do you know what is lurking in your freezer?  Do you have a good way to keep inventory?

Crunchy?

So, I'm not a mama.  Nor have a really classified myself as "crunchy."  Yet, I understood every single reference in this video.  Enjoy!

Recipe: Easy Grilled Chicken Salad

 

I often like to just throw a salad together for dinner.  It is something easy and extremely satisfying.

1.  Grill 1 chicken breast

2.  Gather your greens (I like organic baby lettuces).

3.  1 tomato (with salt and pepper)

4.  Cheese (I like to mix Parmesan and whatever else is in the fridge)

5.  Bacon, sometimes, if already cooked and in pieces.

6.  Egg, sometimes, if already hard boiled and in the fridge.

7.  Dressing:  Something light, I usually choose Ken's Steakhouse Northern Italian with Basil & Romano.

8.  Toss and enjoy!

What kind of salad can you make in a pinch?

100 Days of Eating at Home: Day 30 Update

Eating ALL my meals at home or making them at home has proven more difficult than I originally predicted!  So, I started sort of slow.  The first week, I tried to eat 2 out of 3 meals at home, and I've been scaling down from there.  So far, it's going well this week.  I did forget my lunch at home today (doh!), so I went to Crazy Bowls and Wraps for a chicken-veggie-rice wrap for lunch.

I think I have learned that meal planning and taking the time to prep food for my work week on the weekend to be the most important things.  I am trying to make myself stick to the plan instead of making an impulsive, emotional choice of food during the day.  This is getting better!  I am finding it comforting that I have already decided what I will eat each day, and it's lowering my stress a little bit. :)

I also just weighed myself last week.  Honestly, I hadn't weighed myself since mid-July last year!  So, I was surprised to see I had lost 20 pounds!  And, since then, I have lost 6 more pounds!  Am I exercising regularly?  Uh, no.  So I'm going to just continue what I'm doing until I plateau, then add more exercise into the routine.  I have a goal to lose a total of 50 pounds by the 1 year mark in July.  It's an ambitious goal, but I'm sure I can do it if I try!

How is your meal planning and eating at home going?  What is the hardest part?

Meal Planning: Week of 1-28-2012

Day 2 - Eating at Home Challenge

I'm off work again today, so eating at home should be a breeze, right?  Maybe, maybe not.  I have this urge to run out and get a soda, which is a whole other topic revolving around a sugar addiction.

Breakfast was a success, and I stuck to the meal plan!  Amazing, I know.  I ate 2 pastured eggs with cheese and orange juice.  I even took my vitamins.

Did you know that I visited a new farm this weekend?  The farm I used to buy pork, beef, chicken, milk, cheese and eggs from recently closed to the public.  Since then, I've been researching places to buy from locally.  The farm that seemed the most similar is a bit of a hike.

Yet, the drive was pretty easy.  And, if you know me, you know I love a great drive through the country.  While at the farm, I picked up some eggs, real milk, and raw milk grass-fed cheddar cheese.  But, I think I was the most excited to pet the calves!  I really miss my grandparent's farm that I frequented growing up.

I'm hoping this milk lives up to my expectations.  I always get a little bit nervous getting food items from a new farm.  But, I should trust the reviews and information I have researched.  Off to have a glass of milk!