Meal Plan Monday (Later in the Day)

Anyone try the curried lentil recipe from last week? SO good!!!

Well, these basically always stay the same, but here they are again...
Breakfasts - Piece of fruit or smoothie, eggs & toast or cereal, yogurt (a big favorite right now!), coffee, juice
Lunches - fruit, veggies, noodles & cheese, leftovers, bread & peanut butter
Snacks - popcorn, fruit

Meals -
Monday - Soy Chicken on rice with veggies
Tuesday - Pasta (shrimp, broc, sun-dried tomatoes & Alfredo)
Wednesday - Quesadillas
Thursday - Fried Rice
Friday - Leftovers
Saturday - Pork BBQ (easy crock pot recipe) with veggies - great & easy July 4th dish!
Sunday - Leftovers or Chicken Salad Wraps

This weeks' shopping list - Meijer

• Sour cream
• Refried beans
• Chicken
• Fruit - cherries, grapes, bananas
• Veggies - broccoli
  
• Bisquick
  

Then we'll also get stuff at Farmer's Market on Wednesday morning and then again on Saturday morning.

Happy meal planning to you this week! Don't forget to check out the other Meal Plans over at Organizing Junkie!

Soren Kierkegaard said...

"What I lack is to be clear in my mind what I am to do, not what I am to know...the thing is to understand myself, to see what God really wishes me to do...To find the idea for which I can live and die."

(in 48 Days to the Work You Love)

Meal Plan Monday

We'll actually be having a lot of the same menu as last week. We ended up going over to friend's house on Tuesday and Friday nights. Thursday we had take out to celebrate Father's Day early and last night we just snacked after being gone a good portion of the day (crackers & cheese, popcorn, cucumber, strawberries, and apple - funny combination, I know :)).

So, yeah, many of the meals are just taken from stuff we still have from last week with a few new ones in the mix.

Breakfasts - Piece of fruit or smoothie, eggs & toast or cereal, yogurt (a big favorite right now!), coffee, juice
Lunches - fruit, veggies, noodles & cheese, leftovers, bread & peanut butter
Snacks - popcorn, fruit

Meals -
Monday - Meat & potato quiche with zucchini
Tuesday - Pasta (shrimp, broc, & Alfredo)
Wednesday - Pork BBQ (easy crock pot recipe) with zucchini & carrots
Thursday - Roasted Chicken
Friday - Chicken &/on Salad (with leftover chicken from roast)
Saturday - Leftovers
Sunday - Chicken Salad Wraps

This weeks' shopping list - Meijer

• Eggs
• 1/2 & 1/2
• Coffee
  

Shopping list at Farmer's Market (awesome market that we walk to on Wednesday & Saturday mornings!)

• Vegetables - squash, carrots, broccoli (whatever is available)
• Potatoes
• Fruit - strawberries & apples
• Tomato
  
• Lettuce
• Cucumbers
  

I also thought I'd share a recipe that was one of our favorites before leaving school for the summer. It's taken from More-With-Less Cookbook (World Community Cookbook) and varied a bit. It is really cheap to make (like $2.50 for the entire meal!) and so good!

You will need to cook dried lentils first - here's that recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Lentils
• 2 1/2 cups Water
• 2 bouillon cubes (beef, chicken, or vegetable are fine)
• 1 tsp. Salt

Directions:

• Put all ingredients into a medium size pot and bring to boil. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Then, the dish the lentils are for -
Curried lentils with carrots over rice

Ingredients for Curried Lentils:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 onion (chopped)
• 4 carrots (chopped)
• 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. curried powder (I've been using McCormicks and it is SO GOOD)
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Directions:

• In frying pan or wok saute - butter, onion, carrots and garlic
• Add the salt and curry powder to above ingredients for just a moment
  
• Add lentils (from above recipe)
• Add lemon juice and stir all together
  
• Serve over rice (any kind is fine)
  

I hope you enjoy it! My husband said he didn't think he'd like lentils, but ended up really enjoying this dish. We've also added beef to it once and that was great, just upped the price a bit (although, you can still make it for less than $5).

Happy meal planning to you this week! Don't forget to check out the other Meal Plans over at Organizing Junkie!

This is the journey my thoughts have been taking me

I’ve been thinking for awhile now about being at peace because you’re doing what you know you were meant to do.

Really, it started last summer and has been a reoccurring thought throughout the past year...specifically as it pertains to women and to moms.

Is it best to stay home? To work outside the home? To work from home? To work part time? Full time? To work around your kids’ schedule with a spouse? To put your kids into daycare?

For women, there are so many options, so many alternatives.

Because of this, it seems like we tend to look at someone else and think, now they have it together…they have it the best that it can be. I wish I had that or did that or thought of that idea.

But, what if there is something “perfect” for each of us. Something that when we did that thing or a combination of things, we were completely at peace because we knew that that thing was exactly what we were supposed to be doing.

And, then when the hard times come and when there are blessed times, we are at peace because there is no doubt that we are doing the thing that we were made to do. Be it starting a business, working in a job we love, staying at home…we know that it is what we are to do.

Obviously, some of the main facts of our lives don’t and won’t change. Moms, for example, still all have similar “constants” no matter what the situation looks like – kids (being the primary care person in their lives), relationships with other adults (friends, spouse, etc.), home stuff (meal planning, cleaning, organization), and other essentials (church, faith, hobbies, health, etc). These are the things that bring us together.

To do something that you love, though – isn’t that what we all want? No matter what stage of life we are in or what our circumstances are in this moment, to be at peace with what we are doing, what we are about, and essentially, who we are.

Can you be a great mom and a great business owner? An amazing wife and stay at home with your kiddos?

I want to know that I’m doing something I’m perfectly created for – something I’m naturally great at and something I’m fulfilled doing…as well as being a great wife and mother. And, that maybe I’m a better wife and mother because I am doing something else that also makes me fulfilled, but in a different way.

I know it will be different for different people. I’m happy about that and want each person to find whatever it is that brings them peace in what they are doing.

I wonder if a lot of the feelings of guilt and the feeling of being pulled in a million different directions would diminish if we knew what we were truly meant to do. Then we could focus on what we know we should be doing, are great at doing, and are successful at when we do give it the time, energy and effort we should.

This is the journey my thoughts have been taking me. If you've made it to the end of this post, I'd love to know if anyone else has similar thoughts or has other things to share.

Meal Plan Monday

Meal Planning went well this past week. It was great to feel that we knew what we were having for dinner and didn't need to start thinking about it at 6 pm at night. It is SO nice to have a plan.

My parents are around today and tomorrow and then head out to visit my sister and her husband for a week (who was due on Thursday and will hopefully be calling soon with news that she is in labor!) . It doesn't really change the meal plan, just the amount.

I'm also going to put leftovers on the menu twice this week. It seems that we have a good amount of leftovers right now, so we'll give them a go in the middle and end of the week to try to use them up and lessen any waste.

Here is our plan for this week...

Breakfasts - Piece of fruit or smoothie, eggs & toast or cereal, yogurt (a big favorite right now!), coffee, juice
Lunches - fruit, veggies, noodles & cheese, leftovers, bread & peanut butter
Snacks - popcorn, fruit

Meals -
Monday - Tacos, chips & dip, beans
Tuesday - Meat & potato quiche with asparagus
Wednesday - Leftovers
Thursday - Fried rice
Friday - Pork BBQ (easy crockpot recipe)
Saturday - Pasta (shrimp, broc, & alfredo)
Sunday - Leftovers

This weeks' shopping list - Meijer

• Frozen peas
  
• Frozen corn
• Bananas
  

Shopping list at Farmer's Market (awesome market that we walk to on Wednesday & Saturday mornings!)

• Vegetables - squash, carrots, broccoli (whatever is available)
• Potatoes
• Fruit - strawberries & apples
  

Happy meal planning to you this week! Don't forget to check out the other Meal Plans over at Organizing Junkie!

This Summer

I have been doing a lot more reading, thinking, and drinking of tea and coffee since the summer has begun. Granted, we just helped my parents move – garage sale, craigslist, packing, donating, moving. So, I’ll actually probably do even more reading and thinking.

I am fully seeing this summer as a gift and hope to receive and glean from it as such.

So, although the entire gist of the blog won’t be devoted to meal planning (as it has the last 2-3 months), it will still be a part of the posts.

I think it will also be a bit of an outlet, though, to share some of the many thoughts going through my head as I read some incredibly helpful books and have more time to contemplate.

I’ve recently started on my “summer book list”, which I didn’t even plan on having.

The 2 I’ve started:

• Good to Great – Jim Collins

• 48 Days to the Work You Love – Dan Miller

I’ve always kind of thought that I didn’t really enjoy reading many non-fiction books and felt that if I wanted to enjoy reading, I should just pick up a good novel.

I’m realizing more that there are just certain books and topics that we intuitively care about or books that happen to be perfect for a season we are in (like what Parenting With Love And Logic and The Three Big Questions for a Frantic Family
have been for me this past semester).

I hate reading a book that I’m just not in to, but feel that I should be because everyone else around me has enjoyed it.

So anyway, of course no pressure to read all my ramblings. It's more of an outlet than anything else... Although, if you do read and have thoughts I’d love to hear them. And no promises on how often I’ll end up posting :).

Meal Plan Monday

Another week of meal planning is upon us!

This past weekend my mom and I a big garage sale since they are getting ready to move. So, 2 of the nights we went out to eat instead of sticking to the meal plan.

It's a funny thing - going out to eat is probably my biggest money weakness. Since being in MI with my parents we've been going out a lot more than normal (since we rarely did back in New Jersey). It's been a great treat, but then I also start feeling sick because we aren't used to eating out. Kind of funny how that works, isn't it?

This week I'm going to help us stick to it, though. I'm going back to how I did it just before. If I knew I wouldn't feel like cooking at night (because of working or schedule issues) I would make dinner earlier in the day so that when we got home from whatever it was we were doing, I'd have dinner ready in the crockpot or ready to be put into the oven. It totally eliminated giving in to temptation.

Besides that, we really need to use some of the food so that we can move easier!

Breakfasts - Piece of fruit or smoothie, eggs & toast or cereal, bagel & cream cheese, coffee, juice
Lunches - Bread & peanut butter, fruit, veggies, noodles & cheese, leftovers
Snacks - popcorn, fruit

Meals -
Monday - Chicken Pasta
Tuesday - Noodles & Gravy
Wednesday - Chicken Tacos with cheese sauce and refried beans
Thursday - Roast with potatoes & veggies
Friday - Creamy shrimp with corn and bacon (new recipe - find it here!)
Saturday - Soup & BLT sandwiches
Sunday - Leftovers

This weeks' shopping list - Meijer

• Coffee
• Tomato
• Yogurt
• Fruit (we have apples & a few cherries)
• Taco Shells
  

Don't forget to check out the other Meal Plans over at Organizing Junkie!

The No-Cry Potty Training Solution

Even though I've posted about potty training before :), I'm going to post about it again. I think that in some ways I feel like we never "officially" started because I would just give it a try when she was/is interested. With using cloth diapers, it really doesn't feel much different to me anyway.

I've recently took a look at Elizabeth Pantley's books on the "no-cry...solution". She has all kinds of books out including solutions for napping, sleeping, discipline - all of which are no-cry solutions. Interested?

I thought this information was helpful to think about while we begin/continue the process and for anyone else doing it as well.

The following is from The No-Cry Potty Training Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Child Say Good-Bye to Diapers (Pantley)

A Few Quick Facts About Potty Training

The perfect age to begin potty training is different for every child. Your child's best starting age could be anywhere from eighteen to thirty-two months. Pre-potty training preparation can begin when a child is as young as ten months.

♦ Teaching your child how to use the toilet can, and should, be as natural as teaching him to build a block tower or use a spoon.

♦ No matter the age that toilet training begins, most children become physically capable of independent toileting between ages two and a half and four.
♦ It takes three to twelve months from the start of training to daytime toilet independence. The more readiness skills that a child possesses, the quicker the process will be. (Take the Readiness Quiz in Chapter 2)

♦ The age that a child masters toileting has absolutely no correlation to future abilities or intelligence.

♦ Nighttime dryness is achieved only when a child's physiology supports this--you can't rush it, but you can nudge nature along in a few different ways. (See Chapter 5)

♦ A parent's readiness to train is just as important as a child's readiness to learn.

♦ Training need not be expensive. A potty chair, a dozen pairs of training pants and a relaxed and pleasant attitude are all that you really need. Anything else is truly optional.

♦ More than 80% of children experience setbacks in toilet training. This means that what we call “setbacks” is really just the usual path to mastery of toileting.

♦ Understanding the reason for the setback and setting a plan will bring success. (See Chapter 6, Problem Solving)

♦ 98% of children are completely daytime independent by age four.

Meal Plan (on Tuesday)

I'm back - things should be more regular now!

I took a bit of an inventory this past weekend to see what my parents already have. It took a bit to get used to how much food was readily available since we tend to literally store only what we need for the week plus whatever is on our list of "staple" items (i.e. flour, spices, coco, oil)

In 2 weeks or so we'll be moving into another place because my parents have sold their house as well. So, another chance to use up food items :). But, this time were we are heading is only 10 minutes away, so it is possible to transport food. Having said that, my parents have a large deep freezer in their garage that has some great food it in. We won't have that storage at the place we'll be for the summer, so we are still cooking off of what they have.

Okay, so meal plan for the week...

As usual...
Breakfasts - Piece of fruit or smoothie, eggs & toast or cereal, coffee, juice
Lunches - Bread & peanut butter, fruit, pita and hummus, veggies, noodles & cheese, leftovers
Snacks - popcorn, fruit

Meals -
Monday - Had dinner with friends (we only contributed fruit)
Tuesday - Hamburgers on the grill, salad, and fruit
Wednesday - Chicken Tacos with cheese sauce and refried beans
Thursday - Stir fry
Friday - Some kind of pasta (either with vodka marinara sauce or alfredo, probably with brocolli, onion, and chicken or shrimp)
Saturday - Roast with veggies
Sunday - Leftovers

This weeks' shopping list - Meijer

• Fruit - strawberries, pineapple, cantalop
  
• Tomatoes
• Tortilla Shells
• Orange Juice
• Shampoo

Isn't that amazing! Everything else was either picked up last week (veggies) or is already at the house. So, instead of my "follow up" post, I might just try to share a favorite recipe or something.

Have a great week! Don't forget to check out the other Meal Plans over at Organizing Junkie!