Clean Eating Meal and Snack Diary

Clean Eating Meal and Snack Logging - 

It's time to clean up my act - Remove the dairy from my intolerant life, take a break from the 'wheat belly', and get some good energy back... not to mention lose a few lbs from the spare tire.

Perhaps by typing my clean eating meal and snack choices, it will make me forget about the cake, and the pie, and the cookies that I'm currently addicted to... -.-

In keeping up with my usual M.O.,  I set a start date and then begin 1 day early... kind of a slap to sugar's face right?  In this case it was April 1st, so I began March 31st. 

My overall strategy - Veggie overload to replace and push out the filler foods, and pay attention to be sure I'm getting enough protein.  *My grams of protein logged are estimates.

Tuesday March 31st

Breakfast - Diced sweet potato and fried egg - 10 grams protein

Early Lunch - Chickpea, avocado, tomato, black bean, red onion, garlic salad - with lime zest and lime juice dressing over romaine lettuce. 10 grams protein

Snack - Cereal with almond milk & Popcorn with nutritional yeast,

Dinner - Dairy Free Nacho - Chips, black beans, red pepper, green onions, refried beans, topped with tofutti ranch, and green salsa. 10 grams protein

Bedtime snack - Cereal with Almond milk

Wednesday April 1st (officially official)

Breakfast - 2 sausage links & apple, instant grits, fried egg and green onion - 10 grams protein

AM Snack - Chickpea salad from yesterday - 8 grams protein

Lunch - Instant rice noodles with spinach, mushrooms, red onion, carrot, and peas for protein - 8 grams protein

Snack - Smoothie - Grapefruit, spinach, chia seeds, frozen strawberries, water (I want cake) - 6 grams protein

Snack - 1 oz cashews, popcorn - 10 grams protein

Dinner - Chicken sauteed in diced tomatoes and garlic, served over rice (quick cacciatore), Spinach salad - 15 grams protein

Thursday April 2nd

Breakfast - Grits, egg in coconut oil and scallions

Lunch - Smoked salmon
-------------------------------------------------------------------
And... I stopped logging but kept up clean eating. Here's a peek into this week's selections :)  You may notice that I love to have tapas - small plates... I'm a snacking machine!

Week of April 6th

Breakfast - Hard boiled egg, grits (only cutting out wheat, not corn or rice), avocado & cucumber salad.

Snack - Smoothie of banana, almond milk, 2 tbsp peanut butter, 1 tbsp chia seed - SO GOOD.

Lunch - Spinach, strawberry, avocado, slivered almond salad with Bragg's dressing

Dinner - Turkey meatballs, spaghetti sauce with mushrooms and onions - skipped the pasta.  Kale brussel sprout salad (bagged from store)

Snack/Lunch - Rice crackers, smoked salmon, Daiya tofu cream cheese, capers

Dinner - Hippy section instant noodles (gluten :(), mushrooms, onions, spinach, hard boiled egg

Dinner - Beef stroganoff - Sirloin, lots of mushrooms and onions, tofutti *soy sour cream over a smidge of rice.

Snack - Rice crackers, cucumbers, beet hummus

Lunch - Kale, brussel sprout salad, green olives, rolled Italian roast beef

Snack/pre workout - Banana, almond milk, 2 tbsp peanut butter, 1 tbsp chia seed - Really SO GOOD

Snack - Handful of almonds, 1 cup blueberries

Dinner out - Jamba juice with soy protein

Veggie Tricks and Perks of the Prep

Hey All!

In the name of feeling fabulous, and fighting off bugs this cold/flu season, I thought I'd share my top ways of pumping my family with  more vegetables, without offending all of these sensitive palates (insert 10 year old eye roll here).  I have to say last year was our best (knocking on wood) season for not getting sick, and coincidence or not - I was veggie crazy during that time.  I'm bringing back my veggie goals starting now, and hopefully staving off those nasty viruses.

List Of Veggie Tricks

One of the perks of prepping for the week is that you have a bunch of healthy ingredients on hand for quick breakfast/snacks/lunches for yourself.  When I prep on the weekend, I usually can make a daily breakfast bowl on the weekdays.

Thought I'd share a photo of one of my breakfast bowls, and the basic recipe.  They're typically made up of cooked quinoa, fried egg, 1/2 avocado, pico de gallo, or mixed greens, sautéed onions, and if I have a dressing ready to go I top it with that to avoid adding cheese.

Here's how it goes together (total time about 5 minutes):

• Put a tbsp. of coconut oil in large sauté pan, over medium high heat
• Add quinoa, onion, any other cook able veggie.
• Once heated through, move it to the side, and crack an egg in the middle of the open area.
• Fry egg how you like, or do the lazy scramble and blend it in the pan.
• Cook egg thoroughly, then mix with your quinoa/veggies (if doing the lazy scramble).
• Throw in a bowl, top with avocado, cold toppings and/or dressing.
• You have a protein, fiber, veggie rich breakfast.

Happy Sunday :)
Meg

PS - This is a week of Martha recipes...

WEEK OF MEALS:

(If you see a link, click for the recipe... if not, scroll down for mine):

• Sunday Soup Night - Chicken Cacciatore with crisp polenta (it's kind of like soup) - Mediterranean salad with green beans and feta
• Monday - Shepherd's Pie with spinach, mushroom salad
• Tackle the Tuesday - Baked Potato Night!
• Make it over the Hump Wednesday - Ham & Egg Fried Rice
• Thursday -  Chicken, arugula, pear, walnut salad -(using dressing from spin salad)
• Friday- Tomato Soup & Grilled cheese
 

RECIPES/NOTES:

• FOOD UPGRADE - Soy Sauce - Recently found Bragg's soy alternative...  called Liquid Aminos.  It tastes just like soy, but Is packed with amino acids, and is a healthier option.
• Shepherd's Pie - I typically don't use a recipe for Shepherd's pie, but this looks like a good one for reference.
• Add shredded carrots into your grilled cheese.. nobody will know.. well they might notice, but the power of the cheese will overcome any complaints.

PREP DAY -
(My key sanity saver and essential to our family eating on the healthier side)

• Clean & Chop weekly veggie picks - Carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, Mushrooms - Chop for snacks and the no-whining before dinner bowl, as well as any other veggies needed for the week.  (Except onions... only chop your onions before making a meal)
• Grill Chicken (Olive Oil, sea salt, bbq until lovely) - Chop after cooled - Using for dinners during the week. *Seasoning some of the chicken for the Ancho chicken tacos
• Quinoa  - Cook 2 cups of  quinoa (bulk @ Winco) in chicken or veggie broth.   - Use it in jar salads, heat up for breakfast.. .eat with salsa & fried or hardboiled egg / or chop up an avocado with fried egg & quinoa... 
• Jar Salad- Nada -  
• Other - 
• Making the dressing from the spinach salad, and doubling it to cover 2 nights of dressing.
• Baking potatoes - Going to use these for the mashed potatoes in Shepherd's pie, and for baked potato night

GROCERY LIST -  

Produce -

• Bag of avocados (4 or 5)
• Bag of carrots - 2lb bag
• 2 red onions
• Broccoli
• Grape Tomatoes
• Bunch of arugula
• Bag of spinach
• Head of romaine
• 2 limes
• 2 lemons
• Cilantro
• 2 bunches Scallions
• 2 - 8oz of mushrooms
• 2 Bell peppers 
• Garlic
• Bag of potatoes
• 8 oz green beans
• 4 oranges
• Bananas
• Ginger

 Bulk - 

• Walnuts
• Almonds
• Brown Sugar
• Oats

Breads -

• 2 loaves Dave's 
• 1 Dave's SinDawg (for breakfast)
• 1 baguette (my non sandwich child will eat sandwiches made with baguette -.-)

 

Protein -

• Chicken breast halves w/skin on (Loving Freddy's organic poultry - sometimes find it on sale!)
• Turkey / Ham Lunchmeat - Applegate, or Hormel naturals.. nitrate free
• Cubed Ham (nitrate free options at Winco)
• 2 lbs ground beef
• 8 skinless Chicken thighs

Freezer -

 

Dried Goods -

• Almond Milk - Sweet & UnSweet
• Crackers - Trisquits / Rice Crackers
• Cereal.. Winco has Organic/GMO free Panda Puffs etc.. 10g of sugar or less -works for me & the kids think they're getting a treat.  Ella is also currently hooked on Kashi blueberry clusters.
• Snacks from natural food section (Crackers/Veggie Chips), tortilla chips
• 1 28 ounce can whole tomatoes (not drained)
• 1 can Black beans
• 1 can Chick peas
• 1 can white beans
• 1 tube of polenta
• 1 small bottle sauvignon blanc 
• 1 jar green olives
• Rice Vinegar
• Soy (see food upgrade above)
• Olive oil
• Carton of organic tomato soup (top shelf)
   

Dairy -

• Small carton milk 
• Small sharp cheddar block
• Tub of feta

Random -

• White plastic tablecloth
• mp3 cord
• Case of h20
• Candle

New! Easy Meal Lists, & Birthday Girl in the House!

This week, we have some recipes left over to make from last week, as well a family birthday on Wednesday.  Today will be a big prep day to make meals very easy to throw together this week.  It's all a bit wonky, so pardon the repeats from last week!

The 'Big 7' for this spunky kid!

I am excited to bring back jar salads this week, and have also created a couple of meal lists (works in progress) for quick reference:

Make It Yourself Meals - Build Your Own Meal Ideas
Quick, Healthy, Cheap Meals - The 'Don't want to follow a recipe' dinner list.

Looking forward to a crisp, beautiful October!

Xoxo,
Meg








WEEK OF MEALS -

(If you see a link, click for the recipe... if not, scroll down for mine):

• Sunday Soup Night - Vietnamese Bbq Pork & Noodle Salad
• Monday -  Crockpot - Easiest Red Beans & Rice
  
• Tackle the Tuesday - Mexican Rice Bowl
My baby is 7 Wednesday - Smoked Salmon Chowder, Olive oil sauteed rustic bread & Tomato/Avocado platter
• Thursday - Dinner on the go - Tuna Sandwiches, Veggies & Kettle Chips
  
• Friday- Salmon fish packets - Asian style
  

RECIPES/NOTES -

• Miss Av's 7th Family birthday dinner... Birthday girl picks the meal, and she chose our chowder once again. I've added the tomato/avocado salad, those are a couple of her favorite veggies.  She has also requested Apple Pie for her birthday dessert... since we have a plethora of apples, I can definitely do that!

PREP DAY -
(My key sanity saver and essential to our family eating on the healthier side)

• Clean & Chop weekly veggie picks - Carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, Mushrooms - Chop for snacks and the no-whining before dinner bowl, as well as any other veggies needed for the week.  (Except onions... only chop your onions before making a meal)
• Grill or Roast Chicken (Olive Oil, sea salt, bbq until lovely) - Chop after cooled - Using for dinners during the week. *Seasoning chicken for Mexican Salad and Rice Bowls
• Quinoa  - Cook 2 cups of  quinoa (bulk @ Winco) in chicken or veggie broth.   - Use it in jar salads, heat up for breakfast.. .eat with salsa & fried or hardboiled egg / or chop up an avocado with fried egg & quinoa... 
• Rice - Cooking Rice for Mexican Rice Bowl night
• Jar Salad- Mexican - Romaine, Spinach, Quinoa, Black Beans, Tomatoes, Corn, Red Onion, creamy lime dressing
• Other -  Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing  / Hard boiling some eggs

Bringing back the meal plannin

Alright alright... time to get this little household back onto a somewhat organized weekly plan!

This last year has taught me a great deal about balance, boundaries, and priorities.  If you happen to be a bit 'type A' like myself, and you don't religiously manage these, things can really get out of whack. You can stress, worry, and hey maybe even blow an eyeball out!

Is he flipping my zen plan off?

I now have a mental checklist of 'does this fit in my priorities'        before agreeing or disagreeing to a commitment, and a no-guilt policy for saying no!  That being said - Planning my week's meals helps alleviate some of that stress and daily overhead, as well as ensures we're not all eating cereal 5 nights a week :). Disclaimer: We all know what happens when you plan, (see picture at left). 

In the name of time management, when we were driving to Hood River for our annual buy too many apples trip, I went through and picked my recipes from a Cooking Light magazine.  Old school print can be quite handy, it's literally in your hands (hah, is that a pun?), and there's a boundary to it.  I triple <3 my Pinterest, but I can sometimes glaze with all the possibilities.  This one little magazine reigns in my attention and keeps me focused.  Yay for something in print that is still useful (ouch).

Sunday Soup night is firmly planted in our routine, and this year I want to break out the old crock more, while at the same time making sure that the crockpot meal isn't a gut bomb...Is it just me, or do a lot of crockpot recipes scream heartburn/5,000 calorie fest?

Final addition is 'Make Your Own'  night (I envision a large man in a dirty white undershirt yelling this out), which seems fitting for Friday nights, when you're just about to throw in the towel and order takeout, or possibly the 4 for $5 taco special at the drive-thru (no judging!).  My kids love having 'interactive meals', so I'm going to embrace this, and try to think of some good options to make this a weekly fave.  Feel free to post your favorite 'Make Your Own' meals!

Happy Juggling -
Meg


WEEK OF MEALS:

(If you see a link, click for the recipe... if not, scroll down for mine):

• Sunday Soup Night - Smoky Bean soup with ham & bacon
• Monday - Vietnamese Bbq Pork & Noodle Salad
• Tackle the Tuesday - Crockpot - Easiest Red Beans & Rice (ok, this may cause heartburn)
• Make it over the Hump Wednesday - Root Beer Sloppy Joes
• Thursday - Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad (no recipe needed!)
• Friday- Make your own... Pizza night!

 

RECIPES/NOTES:

• FOOD UPGRADE - Kale Caesar Salad - Winco has a new bagged Caesar salad option that has kale. I think it's great, my kids could not be tricked.  However, this week I'm going to get 1 bag regular, 1 bag kale Caesar.  There should be enough romaine to perhaps distract my girls from the super food that will of course turn them into geniuses.
• Pizza Night - Ask everyone what toppings they want for their own pizzas... Next, buy these great small Naan breads (found at Freddy's, Winco & Costco), get some sauce and cheese.  Prep all ingredients, and let everyone build their own pizza

PREP DAY -
(My key sanity saver and essential to our family eating on the healthier side)

• Clean & Chop weekly veggie picks - Carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, Mushrooms - Chop for snacks and the no-whining before dinner bowl, as well as any other veggies needed for the week.  (Except onions... only chop your onions before making a meal)
• Grill Chicken (Olive Oil, sea salt, bbq until lovely) - Chop after cooled - Using for dinners during the week. *Seasoning some of the chicken for the Ancho chicken tacos
• Quinoa  - Cook 2 cups of  quinoa (bulk @ Winco) in chicken or veggie broth.   - Use it in jar salads, heat up for breakfast.. .eat with salsa & fried or hardboiled egg / or chop up an avocado with fried egg & quinoa... 
• Jar Salad- Nada -  
• Other -  Apple Pumpkin Butter... It's as easy as chopping a bunch of apples and throwing them in the crockpot.

GROCERY LIST -  
Just posting my standard non-recipe grocery items... because you can copy/paste the ingredients from the recipes - yes.. and I'm not sure what you may or may not have in your pantry/fridge/freezer!

Produce -

• Bag of avocados (4 or 5)
• Bag of carrots - 2lb bag
• Bag of onions 
• Broccoli
• Grape Tomatoes
• Mixed Greens
• Spinach/Kale
• 2 limes
• 2 lemons
• Cilantro
• 2 bunches Scallions
• 8oz of mushrooms
• Bell peppers 
• Garlic

 Bulk - 

• Walnuts
• Almonds

Breads -

• 2 loaves Dave's 
• SinDawg

Protein -

• Chicken breast halves w/skin on (Loving Freddy's organic poultry - sometimes find it on sale!)
• Turkey / Ham Lunchmeat - Applegate, or Hormel naturals.. nitrate free

Freezer -

Dried Goods -

• Almond Milk - Sweet & UnSweet
• Crackers - Goldfish (seriously there is something going to be uncovered about these having crack-like addiction properties, the way my family eats these).
• Cereal.. Winco has Organic/GMO free Panda Puffs etc.. 10g of sugar or less -works for me & the kids think they're getting a treat.  Ella is also currently hooked on Kashi blueberry clusters.
• Snacks from natural food section (Crackers/Veggie Chips), tortilla chips
• 1 28 ounce can tomatoes (not drained)
•  Black beans
• Chick peas
• 2 32oz containers Chicken broth
•  
  

Dairy -

• Small carton milk 
• Cheddar block

Snacks by the Store - 1st Stop Trader Joe's

I definitely have go-to items at each store I visit... pretty sure most folks do.  This 1st post are the foods I love to get at Trader Joe's.  

It's hard to hit up multiple stores each week, and the closest TJ's to us is a minimum of 30 minute drive, so I tend to stock up. In this store I can feel a bit like a food hoarder with my multiple bags and overflowing cart. Other shoppers are perusing with a simple basket, while selecting a few items to make for their relaxed dinner with wine and opb playing in the background. However, I'm rural people, and I won't be swishing my wine to get the full flavor while dining in front of a fire... No I will be running around with kids to and from activities, finishing a work deadline, slamming food out (lovingly of course) before heading to homework hell-ping time ;-).

 I hope this post inspires you to try something new the next time you're there, while saving meal and snack prep time for you and your loved ones!

Trader Joe's

Produce Section -

• Bag of FRESH English peas - Fresh peas, I have never seen this ever, anywhere - They bring you back to your Grandma's garden sneaking the sugar peas off the vine - fresh, crisp and good (great plant protein too btw). 
• Bags of apples - Their apples are not jumbo, they are the perfect petite size for kid-size snacking!
• Tub of heirloom tomatoes - One of my girls is a tomato addict, the different colors, shapes and flavors are way too fun.
• Sweet Peppers - Huge sweet pepper fans, they usually have a bag of 3 organics for a reasonable price.
• Tub of diced veggies - I get these so that I can add them into random meals, salads, rice... for an extra load of veggies without the extra chopping.
• Anything Wild that they happen to have!  We've bought some pretty cool produce and tried it out... Last summer they had Brusselsprouts on the stalk... who knew there were a ton of recipes for this on Pinterest, and wa-la... roasted brussels that you plucked off the stalk from the center of the table - that was some good cave-man like fun :).

Breads Section - 

• Tortillas - What there are tortillas that exist without cellulose (also know as ground up bark chips to add fiber and bulk to your breads) - YES PLEASE.  We live on quesadillas, eggs in tortillas and throw them in the oven for our own chips - pretty easy... just brush a little olive oil on them, sprinkle some salt and bake at 380 for 10 minutes - Watch them though... super good!
• Ezekiel bread - Nice to break away from wheat once in a while!
• Rustic dinner bread - Ok, I could live on good loaves of crusty bread and good cheese (darn that dairy free thing).  Trader Joe's always has lovely loaves of dinner bread... mmm

Cereals / Juices - 

• Cereals - Pretty much all of their cereals are great, have about 1/2 the ingredients of what you'll find at most grocery stores... so load up on cereal here and make it a no brainer.
• Instant oatmeal - Again, there's less sugar and less preservatives, and I believe more protein in their instant oats - so go for it.
• Apple Juice boxes - I believe (its been awhile) - that they have a juice box that has about 1/2 the sugar of other juice boxes... apple juice and maybe only 13g versus the normal 21-24 that you get in others.  Pat yourself on the back as you've avoided a sugar induced meltdown.

Freezer Section - Or as I call it - my favorite fast food drive-thru

• Any dinner in a bag - Hello - There's risotto, mac and cheese, tortellini, lasagna, pad thai - Look at the ingredients, no they are not perfect - are they better than running through a greasy burger joint, then feeling like you've gained 5 lbs in 2 minutes - Yes, yes they are - and they all taste really great.  For me it's guilt-free convenience food.  I do still read the ingredients to be sure it's not a wolf in sheep's clothing - but I love having a few of their meals in their freezer.  Saves me $40 in good takeout and $25 and a boatload of chemicals in bad takeout.
• Frozen Rice - So cool, they have 3 different varieties, wild, brown & basmati.  All can be thrown in your microwave for 3 minutes... perfect to throw a can of red beans in for a quick healthy lunch/dinner.
• Tamales - No clue on the health value, but these things are ridiculously good.. and they have one without dairy too
• Steamers - Ok, My Mom makes me get her a box of the frozen steamers everytime I go - she swears they taste fresh and fabulous :)
• Frozen Seafood - Typically they've had wild caught salmon, this works for me...
• Kid nuggets - Again, been awhile, but I believe they have some decent nugget/fry options that aren't jacked up with a bunch of presevatives/chemicals that you would find normally.

Carbo Load Aisle -

• Mini Rice Crackers - So great, so good, get them!  Goes great with their hummus!
• Cheese and Cracker/PB & Cracker sandwiches -   Again, thank you for no preservatives.
• Israeli Couscous Blend - Comes in bag, filled with fun little grains - Cook it up, add some of those chopped veggies from the produce section - great little side!
• Pasta - Cheap, fairly clean ingredient list, great!

Condiments -

• Pure maple syrup - Time to break away from that fake stuff that literally has zero maple syrup.
• Honey - 
• Oils & Vinegars

Protein - 

• Organic, fresh, interesting options - All make for great dinners

Other Snacks - 

• Nuts and Dried Fruits - Pick a different kind every time you go - there's a whole wall to choose from.  The best energy/quick/healthy snacks!
• Applesauce squeezer things - Yep, those are good
• Hummus - Great price, great tasting
• Cookie Butter - More like crack butter!  Get their lovely little tub of cinnamon graham crackers to go with. (located in freezer aisle up above).

 I will update this post the next time I head there, as I know I'm forgetting some things, and I'll take a picture of my loot!  

- Here is another post by someone that has a love for Trader Joe's.
- A boatload of Trader Joe's food pics!

If so inclined, post a comment of your favorite TJ foods at the bottom of this post!

Meg :)

Officially Fall... Time for Fall Foods!

Is it just me, or does it finally feel like it's officially fall season?  This week has me busy in veggie land.  Veggiecation class is so much fun, but does add some prep time to my week!  This week we're doing cauliflower popcorn - 3 ways.  Practicing the recipes today, so we will definitely be having cauliflower in our lunch boxes this week!  

That being said - this is a nitty gritty list, so that I can entrust my Hubby and daughter

Hope you all (all 2 that read this haha) have a lovely crisp fall week.

xoxo,
Meg


WEEK OF MEALS:

(If you see a link, click for the recipe... if not, scroll down for mine):

• Sunday Soup Night - Simple Shrimp with pasta & salad and sauteed delicata squash
• Monday - Red Beans and Rice
• Tackle the Tuesday - Chicken bell pepper nachos
• Make it over the Hump Wednesday - Stuffed Acorn Squash
• Thursday - Out of time!
• Friday in the Crock - Out of time! 

• Jar Salad - Nada this week.
• FAVORITE - 15 year old - Jake Andraka literally used Google and Wikipedia to create a 3 cent early cancer detection test - What a rock star... I also love his message at the end. Here's his Video
 

RECIPES/NOTES:

Simple Shrimp Pasta - Olive oil, garlic, onions and shrimp sauteed with lemon juice squeezed over the top... Eat with linguine.
Delicata - the skin is thin enough you can slice and eat as well.  In another saute pan, slicing and sauteeing in olive oil... adding sea salt & msg free Johnny's :).

Stuffed Acorn Squash - Sauteeing italian sausage, adding kale, and other mixed veggies, mushrooms etc.. stuff squash and roast at 400 for an hour.

PREP DAY -
(My key sanity saver and essential to our family eating on the healthier side)

• Clean & Chop weekly veggie picks - Carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, Mushrooms - Chop for snacks and the no-whining before dinner bowl, as well as any other veggies needed for the week.  (Except onions... only chop your onions before making a meal)
• Grill Chicken (Olive Oil, sea salt, bbq until lovely) - Chop after cooled - Using for dinners during the week. *Seasoning some of the chicken for the Ancho chicken tacos
• Quinoa  - Cook 2 cups of  quinoa (bulk @ Winco) in chicken or veggie broth.   - Use it in jar salads, heat up for breakfast.. .eat with salsa & fried or hardboiled egg / or chop up an avocado with fried egg & quinoa... 
• Jar Salad- Nada -  
• Other -

GROCERY LIST  (Including most everything needed for recipes, just cross out the staples you already have... I won't always include some things - like spices etc.. that are always on hand.  To be on the safe side, check the recipe over to be sure you have everything!)

Produce -

• Bag of avocados (4 or 5)
• Bag of carrots - 2lb bag
• Cauliflower!
• Bag of onions 
• Bag of Potatoes (Recently fallen in love with golds... so tasty)
• Broccoli
• Grape Tomatoes
• Mixed Greens
• Spinach/Kale
• Mango (my kids are mango crazy right now)
• Apples
• 2 limes
• 2 lemons
• Cilantro
• 2 bunches Scallions
• 8oz of mushrooms
• Bell peppers 
• Bag of mini peppers
• Garlic

 Bulk - 

• Walnuts
• Almonds
• Panko

Breads -

• 2 loaves Dave's 
• SinDawg
• Corn Tortillas

Protein -

• Chicken Tenders & breasts (Loving Freddy's organic poultry - sometimes find it on sale!)
• Turkey Lunchmeat
• New York & Co. Italian Sausage

Freezer -

Dried Goods -

• Almond Milk - Sweet & UnSweet
• Crackers - Triscuits
• Rice (dn)
• Cereal.. Winco has Organic/GMO free Panda Puffs etc.. 10g of sugar or less -works for me & the kids think they're getting a treat
• Snacks from natural food section (Crackers/Veggie Chips), tortilla chips
• 1 28 ounce can tomatoes (not drained)
• 2 15 ounce can black beans
• 2 cans chick peas
• 2 32oz containers Chicken broth
• can black olives
• Nutritional Yeast
  

Dairy -

• Parmesan
• Small carton milk 
• Cheddar block
• Monterey jack/blend shredded cheese 

(dn - don't need, but want to store on list for using this menu later!)

Veggied up with a little meat on the side!

Somehow we ended up eating mostly vegan last week... and apparently my Husband wants to continue this trend... as he turned down the Friday night pizza I ordered (for him!).  I however, would not like to take on converting to Vegan Land at this point in my taste buds' lives, nor commit to the amount of time it would take to do this! 

Now, I'm not a hard core carnivore, but I do like the flavors that chicken, steak and the like bring to the table.   I have always taken an interest in Asian cuisine that typically follows the 'meat as an ingredient' in the meal, and not the star.  So this week, I am using meat as a flavor, an accessory, supporting role, whatever you want to call it, and reducing the portion, while treating the veggies as the main focus with a 'little dash' of meat protein to go with it.    My Mom mentioned to me a 'Next Food Star' contestant had this same angle.  I've googled away and found her site and information here for another great resource!  

The girls' school Veggiecation snack club is going on this week, with Chick Peas as the star vegetable. We're going to sample some sweet maple syrup roasted chickpeas, shell and eat a raw chickpea, and make some hummus - YUM!  After that throwing together a honeyed fruit salad!

This week's meals include a Chickpea meal in honor of our veggie of the week at school,  we're having a cabbage and somewhat of a mexican food fest this week with a couple latin love meals.  Of course no week would be complete if we didn't throw a little Asian eats in there too.  Finally, I'll be attempting some tofu action this week.  One of the few things in food-land that intimidates me is cooking with tofu, so wish me luck!

Xoxo,
Meg

WEEK OF MEALS:

(If you see a link, click for the recipe... if not, scroll down for mine):

• Sunday Soup Night - Mexican Fiesta Chicken Soup with corn & black beans -- Side of polenta
• Monday - Butternut Squash Pasta & Chickpeas with broccoli & bacon
• Tackle the Tuesday - Cashew Chicken Salad, over greens with multi-grain crackers
• Make it over the Hump Wednesday - Simple Sesame Noodles (adding Tofu!), Coleslaw cups 
• Thursday - Ancho Chicken Tacos with Avocado cream
• Friday in the Crock - Crockpot Potato Soup with some salad on the side!

• Jar Salad - Nada this week.
• FAVORITE - 15 year old - Jake Andraka literally used Google and Wikipedia to create a 3 cent early cancer detection test - What a rock star... I also love his message at the end. Here's his Video
 

RECIPES/NOTES:
Polenta - Slicing into rounds, sauteing in olive oil, and may adding some mozzarella on top for the fam. 
Ancho Chicken tacos - Using Tofutti substitute sour cream :)... using regular chili powder.  Also - I love baking my corn tortillas... coat lightly with olive oil, salt a bit and throw in 400 degree oven, 5 minute per side - watch them!
Cabbage Cups - Using a little mayo instead of cream to make it dairy free.
Butternut Squash Pasta - Cutting amount of parmesan in 1/2
Cashew Chicken Salad - Again using tofutti sour cream instaed of yogurt in this.
Sesame Noodles - Found an already marinated/cooked teriyaki tofu - This is living risky right here... going to add to noodles and warm. 
Potato Soup - I think I'm going to throw a little of our breakfast sausage in this soup as an accessory ;)

PREP DAY -
(My key sanity saver and essential to our family eating on the healthier side)

• Clean & Chop weekly veggie picks - Carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, Mushrooms - Chop for snacks and the no-whining before dinner bowl, as well as any other veggies needed for the week.  (Except onions... only chop your onions before making a meal)
• Grill Chicken (Olive Oil, sea salt, bbq until lovely) - Chop after cooled - Using for dinners during the week. *Seasoning some of the chicken for the Ancho chicken tacos
• Quinoa  - Cook 2 cups of  quinoa (bulk @ Winco) in chicken or veggie broth.   - Use it in jar salads, heat up for breakfast.. .eat with salsa & fried or hardboiled egg / or chop up an avocado with fried egg & quinoa... 
• Jar Salad- Nada - Short prep day, and I think I'll have a ton of leftovers this week to live on at lunch-time.
• Other - Making coleslaw and chopping up cabbage for other recipe.  Making Cashew Chicken salad minus the cashews so they don't get soggy!  Peeling and chopping butternut squash

GROCERY LIST  (Including most everything needed for recipes, just cross out the staples you already have... I won't always include some things - like spices etc.. that are always on hand.  To be on the safe side, check the recipe over to be sure you have everything!)

Produce -

• Bag of avocados (4 or 5)
• Bag of carrots - 2lb bag
• Bag of onions 
• Bag of Potatoes (Recently fallen in love with golds... so tasty)
• Broccoli Rabe (I never see this at regular stores)/Broccoli
• Celery
• Grape Tomatoes
• Green cabbage (5 cups total chopped for both recipes)
• Mixed Greens
• Spinach/Kale
• Mango (my kids are mango crazy right now)
• Apples
• Red grapes
• 2 limes
• 2 lemons
• Cilantro
• 4 bunches Scallions - That's fancy for green onions
• 8oz of mushrooms
• Bell peppers 
• Garlic
• Fresh Chickpeas (Winco!)
• Butternut Squash - 2 should be sufficient

 Bulk - 

• Walnuts
• Almonds
• Small amount of cashews 
• Oats
• Crushed Red Pepper
• Oregano

Breads -

• 2 loaves Dave's 
• SinDawg
• Corn Tortillas
• Flour Tortillas

Protein -

• Chicken Tenders & breasts (Loving Freddy's organic poultry - sometimes find it on sale!)
• Bacon - Found no-preservative bacon(!) Applewood @ Fred's
• Turkey Lunchmeat
• Breakfast Sausage (nitrate free @ winco)
• Cubed Ham (nitrate free @ winco)
• Salami - Applewood @ Fred's
• Tofuuuu (already teriyaki'd - I have no idea what I'm doing disclaimer on tofu)

Freezer -

• Corn
• Peas

Dried Goods -

• Almond Milk - Sweet & UnSweet
• Corn and Flour Tortillas
• Crackers - Triscuits
• Rice (dn)
• Cereal.. Winco has Organic/GMO free Panda Puffs etc.. 10g of sugar or less -works for me & the kids think they're getting a treat
• Snacks from natural food section (Crackers/Veggie Chips), tortilla chips
• 1 28 ounce can tomatoes (not drained)
• 2 15 ounce can black beans
• 2 cans chick peas
• 4 32oz containers Chicken broth
• Polenta
• Shell pasta
• Rice Noodles
• Rice vinegar (dn)
• Soy sauce (dn)

Dairy -

• Parmesan
• Small carton milk
• Mozzarella

(dn - don't need, but want to store on list for using this menu later!)