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
-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
· Dinner:
Chicken Parmesean Casserole & oven roasted
broccoli
Sunday,
January 05, 2014
· Lunch:
Chicken Parmesean Casserole & oven roasted
broccoli
· 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:
1. Chicken Parmesean Casserole x 2
2. Burrito Pie
6. Crockpot
Meatloaf with mashed potatoes
