Menu Planning Monday and Eat From the Pantry Challenge

I am enjoying this challenge so much. The menu planning is a new challenge for me as well and they are working great together. I haven't been to the store or eaten out all week, and I'm using up foods I've been ignoring for too long. I'm finding it easier to stick to my healthy, whole foods eating resolution too since I always have nutritious stuff cooked or at least planned. I didn't make everything on my menu plan last week because we had more leftovers to use up than I counted on. I STILL have one more bowl of tortilla soup to eat. It was delicious, but good riddance for now!

Today makes the fifth day in a row that I've exercised! John went for a walk/jog (as in he jogged, I walked) with me this afternoon when he got home from work.

OK my menu plan for this week:

Monday - Burritos with refried beans and leftover Texas Caviar from New Year's

Tuesday - Potato soup and cornbread

Wednesday - Spaghetti with garlic toast from breadmaker bread, salad

Thursday - Shepherd's Pie

Friday - Leftovers

Weekend - Family visiting and installing my new stove! So I'll have to play it by ear.

Thank you orgjunkie.com for Menu Plan Monday and Money Saving Mom and Fishmama for the Eat from the Pantry Challenge.

Feeling good!

I've exercised three days in a row. That's more of an accomplishment than it should be, I usually wimp out or get distracted after a day or two. I'm doing the Wii Fit free run while listening to podcasts on the mini trampoline because it's so cold out, but as soon as the temps are reasonable my dog and I are going to start Couch to 5k. Maybe tomorrow! I'm also drinking my green smoothies again even though it's cold. They help me so much to get my greens down and they help control my cravings better than anything I've ever tried. I think it's Dr. Fuhrman who says that getting all those nutrients in controls your appetite because your body isn't constantly needing something. There must be something to that.

The pantry challenge is a breeze so far. Of course we were pretty well stocked up, but it requires some planning ahead to soak beans and such, so I'm proud of myself for doing it instead of ignoring the dried beans in the kitchen while going out to buy canned. Made the Vegnews mac and cheese tonight and even the kids gobbled it up. I know I haven't had cheese in a long time, but this stuff is SO good that I don't know how anyone could not love it more than any dairy mac and cheese. I resisted the urge to add peas and tomatoes because I knew that would turn the kids off and I consoled myself with the fact that it already has potatoes, carrots, cashews, and onions in it.

Menu Plan Monday

Along with the Eat from the Pantry Challenge, I am joining Menu Planning Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie. I've been trying to be more consistent about menu planning and I'm excited about the extra motivation this is giving me! My biggest goal is to stop being a short order cook and help my kids adjust to eating a wider variety of foods.

I'll summarize breakfast and lunch since the idea of writing a menu for three meals a day seven days a week makes me twitch.

Breakfasts are usually multi grain cereal with frozen or dried fruit for me. The kids usually have Malt O Meal, tofu scramble burritos, cold cereal, or waffles.

Lunches tend to be simple; pasta, pb&j, vegan pizza, or leftovers.

Dinner:
Monday - Tortilla soup, chips and guacamole, veganized Sneaky Chef cookies with white beans in them

Tuesday - Chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon, mashed potatoes, green beans, bread from the breadmaker, and Sneaky Chef Brainy Brownies

Wednesday - Vegnews Mac and "Cheese", carrot muffins

Thursday - baked sweet potatoes, navy bean soup, spinach, Sneaky Chef Health by Chocolate Cookies

Friday - Seitan chicken pot pie, pumpkin custard

Sat and Sun - leftovers, soup, pizza

Derailed already!

We had our Christmas with John's family at our house this weekend which required a trip to the grocery store. We had a great time though, and my sister-in-law added all kinds of goodies to my pantry stash by giving me oodles of beans and lentils from a huge natural foods market that they visit in Indiana every Christmas. Some things like green lentils and red quinoa that I had never even seen except on the internets. They also pooled money to buy me a stove! I've been living with a two burner stove for years because my kitchen layout will not fit any normal four burner stove. But they found one! And it's gas! It's on order and I'm so freaking excited!

Anyway my challenge officially starts tomorrow now, going to make do with what we have for a while, save some money and keep things from going to waste. I went through the freezer today and it made me really glad I saw this challenge when I did, there is an awful lot of stuff in there at risk of freezerburn. I need to make a menu plan in the morning while the kids are still asleep. Tonight I cleaned out the freezers and took pictures of my newly organized frozen stash along with some of the beans and peas that Liz and Paul got me.

Starbucks

Grandpa watches the kids once a week while I run errands and I usually stop at Starbucks for a while. Free wifi, a new toy, great coffee, and peace and quiet. I love it!