My Week in Food

I have received a ton of comments and emails regarding my Budget Friendly Healthy Meal Planning tips and a bunch of you have said it's inspired you to hop on the meal planning train. Again, I can't say enough about how much meal planning has helped me both in the healthy eating department and in the budgeting department. I thought since so many of you are trying to meal plan I would share what I planned and ate this past week in hopes of giving you some ideas.  

I should preface this by saying I eat pretty much the same breakfast, lunch and snack every day. It's not super exciting but I typically don't get sick of what I'm eating and it eliminates the need to buy ingredients for multiple different lunches thus saving money - I do definitely mix them up week-to-week so I don't get sick of anything. 

1 cup Almond Milk, 1 Banana, 1tbsp Organic Peanut Butter
{I don't use ice because I prefer the creamy and smooth consistency}

--or--

1 cup Almond Milk, 1 cup Fresh Baby Spinach, 1/4 cup Frozen Peaches, 1/4 cup Frozen Mango, 1 celery stalk

Chickenless Noodleless Soup {inspired by Erin's Noodleless Chicken Soup}

32oz Vegetable Broth, 2 cans Garbanzo Beans {drained}, Carrots, Celery, White Onion, Cauliflower, 2 cups water, 1.5 tsp Rosemary, 1 tsp Sage, pinch of S&P {makes 12 cups, I have 3 cups for lunch}

--or--

1/2 Avocado, 1 tbsp Reduced Fat Feta Cheese, 1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar, 1/3 Cucumber, 2 tbsp Hummus

4 5inch Celery Stalks w/ 1 tbsp Organic Peanut Butter

--and--

1/3 Cucumber w/ 2 tbsp Hummus

Throw 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts in a crock pot with 1 celery stalk, 1/2 onion (chopped) & 16oz Vegetable Broth. Cook on low for 8 hours, remove chicken and shred. Reserve 1/2 cup vegetable broth from crock pot & throw the rest. Return chicken to crock pot with 1/2 cup broth & 1/2 cup Franks Buffalo Wing Sauce - cook for 30 more minutes. Serve with lettuce, carrots and celery {would be amazing with ranch dressing if your diet allows}.

{inspired by}

For Sauce: 1lb extra lean ground beef OR 1lb extra lean ground turkey, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 can tomato paste, 1/2 onion (chopped), Garlic, Oregano, Basil, S&P. Brown meat then add remaining ingredients to taste - let simmer for 10 minutes.

For "noodles": Add 1 bag Broccoli Slaw to pot and add 1 cup of water. Boil until water has evaporated, slaw should be soft but not wilted.

{inspired by}

Combine 1lb extra lean ground turkey, 1 package frozen spinach (cooked & drained well), 1 egg, 2 tbsp Coconut Flour, 1/2 onion (chopped), 2 gloves garlic (chopped), 1/4 cup cilantro, 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 2 tsp oregano, S&P. Form fist sized meatballs, cooked in greased pan for 15-20 minutes (or until inside is cooked) at 400 degrees. Serve with black beans and avocado!

{inspired by}

I would say that Jason and I eat 98% of dinners at home, and of course the week I decide to document my meals I had THREE away from home dinners - go figure. Eating at restaurants is so hard when you're trying to eat a certain way, so I'm learning to make the best possible decisions despite the 1,000 calorie + salads and tempting queso dips. This week I did really well with 2/3 of the meals out:

Sunday = Country Club dinner with my step-dad, Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Monday = Business dinner at Raku, California Roll & Cucumber Roll made with Brown Rice & Gluten Free Soy Sauce

Failed to take a picture of my sushi because I didn't feel like explaining to my co-workers and clients that I have a blog and need to photograph everything I eat. #weirdo

Wednesday = Timberwolves tickets with FREE food & drinks, also known as CHEAT DAY, see below:

..............AND..............

Everyone congratulate Carrie! She won the FREE 8x10 Canvas Print from Easy Canvas Prints!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Carrie - email me at mamaandmou@gmail.com so I can send you your code!