Sunday, January 5, 2014

January 2014 Meal Plan

It's been so long since I've visited this space...there are a lot of reasons (school, work, kids...), but several people have asked about my January 2014 meal plan that I posted on Instagram and Facebook and I thought that this might be a great place to share.

My busy schedule over the past year led to bad eating habits for my family--a lot of fast foods and quick, convenience foods.  I want to feed my family well and teach my kids healthy habits that they can carry throughout their lives. I also need to lose weight and be healthy. There are two obstacles to this goal:

1. I don't "like" to cook.
2. TIME

I'm not a natural cook. I can cook, I just don't enjoy it.  I never know what to make and when I do cook it makes a big mess that I then have to clean up.  Limited time only compounds this problem.  



I knew that I needed to start 2014 off with a plan.  I also knew that I didn't want to set myself up for failure by starting another "diet."  I needed good, healthy meals that I could prep for ahead of time.  I put the meal plan below together using the resources here and here.  I was inspired by the Thriving Home's REAL food philosophy. I put together a meal plan that used as many unprocessed "real" foods as possible--I even made homemade pasta sauce!  I then made the trip to Trader Joe's (It was my first time, it's amazing!) and then I stopped at Harris Teeter to get the rest of the items on my list. I then spent yesterday morning making the 11 freezer meals on the menu and organizing the remaining food.  Now, I'm set for January.  For the next month I should only have to stop at the store to buy milk and produce. 


 

  A couple of notes:
-As I was shopping/cooking I realized that I had picked a lot of recipes that use red meat--next month I will try to reduce the amount of meals with red meat. (I'm learning!)
-I buy frozen soup at Ladles ($4 for 1 pint).
-I also plan to exercise and drink less diet coke more water.
-I'm definitely not an expert, if you have any ideas please leave them in the comments.

Here's the plan:


Saturday, January 04, 2014
·       Lunch: Whole Wheat 5 Ingredient Mac and Cheese, & apple slices
Sunday, January 05, 2014
·       Dinner: leftovers

Monday, January 06, 2014: Italian Bolognese Sauce with Pasta
Tuesday, January 07, 2014: Taco Bar (using homemade taco seasoning) & corn
Wednesday, January 08, 2014: leftovers
Thursday, January 09, 2014: Low Country Smothered Pork Chops & green beans
Friday, January 10, 2014: soup & bread
Saturday, January 11, 2014
·       Lunch: Parmesan Quinoa Bites, Oven Roasted Broccoli, fruit salad
 Sunday, January 12, 2014
·       Lunch:  Honey Sesame Chicken
·       Dinner: leftovers

Monday, January 13, 2014:  Burrito Pie & corn on the cob
Tuesday, January 14, 2014: soup & bread
Wednesday, January 15, 2014: leftovers
Thursday, January 16, 2014: Crockpot Meatloaf & green beans
Friday, January 17, 2014: potato bar & soup
Saturday, January 18, 2014              
·       Lunch: turkey burger/black bean burger
·       Dinner: My Favorite Cobb Salad
 Sunday, January 19, 2014
·       Lunch: Slow Cooker Pot Roast & bread
·       Dinner: leftovers

Monday, January 20, 2014
·       Lunch: Baked Nachos & apple slices
·       Dinner: Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups
Tuesday, January 21, 2014: Turkey burgers/black bean burger
Wednesday, January 22, 2014: leftovers
Thursday, January 23, 2014: Crockpot Meatball Stroganoff
Friday, January 24, 2014: soup & bread
Saturday, January 25, 2014
·       Lunch: turkey burger/black bean burger
·       Dinner: Homemade Pizza Pockets
 Sunday, January 26, 2014
·       Lunch: Cream Cheese Chicken
·       Dinner: leftovers

Monday, January 27, 2014: Baked Beef Ravioli
Tuesday, January 28, 2014: soup & bread
Wednesday, January 29, 2014: leftovers
Thursday, January 30, 2014: Chicken Parmesean Casserole & oven roasted broccoli
Friday, January 31, 2014: potato bar & chili

Breakfast

Snacks:

Lunch:
Leftovers

Freezer Meals:
6. Crockpot Meatloaf with mashed potatoes