Menu Plan Week 173 - Paleo / Whole30 Style Using What We Have
Hey, hey, here we are again! Time to get that menu plan and meal prep down and out of the way!
Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail
I can totally attest the above statement is TRUE. Oh, yes, sadly it's very very true.
See, the past few weeks have just been crazy hectic, work, then after hours work (my side gig), then the house for sale and looking for a new house, and of course, family stuff, being my dad, Hubby and the grown kids and independent cats. Oh. And throw in the taxes being due. Yes. Life has just been a barrel of monkeys and more! Not really.
So. I plan the meals. And I do some prep work because I know how easy it is to fall down that hole. STILL ... Hubby and I ate out (and ordered Pizza) no less than ... ::gulp:: 5 times. FIVE TIMES. Started with Sunday (pizza delivery, houseful of people, etc.) then Tuesday Hubby made an Instant Pot failure meal so we ran out ... then Wednesday I got home late so we ran to a little Italian joint down the street ... then Friday we met some friends at a bar and ended up eating at the BBQ joint next door before hand ...AND FINALLY ... after cruising our hopefully new neighborhood we thought we would stop in one of the many local places and check it out ... just in time for Happy Hour ... $2 drafts, we got wings and conch fritters. Granted that was the cheapest place all week, but still ... holy crap, Batman! Can I just tell you how NOT frugal this past week was?? Oh, and yeah, we had to pay taxes too ... my poor bank account!
So this week I need a way better plan and willpower. Wheee! Out comes the whiteboard! And also specific instructions for Hubby on what to do and how for certain things.
OH! Did I mention I had a doctor's appointment this past week ... I wasn't going to look at the scale when she weighed me but let's be honest, who can resist, even when you know it's not gonna make you happy? I was very very unhappy. I topped the weight that I swore I would never see, 162.8 pounds. Before anyone says or thinks anything, let me just tell you that is 8 pounds more than I was on New Years Day. And I know exactly why: lack of exercise, lack of focus on eating consistently healthy AND lack of self control on the booze front. And for those of you who are curious: if you eat healthy fats AND crappy processed stuff, you WILL gain weight, not lose or maintain. You can't have the best of both worlds! So I need to focus, really really focus, on what I am eating and realize when I'm stressed, why I"m eating or drinking the things I do ... ugh. That's my little pep talk for the day!
Sorry. This suppose to be about Menu Planning and Meal Prep, not personal weight issues! I do know that I need to get moving again and there is really no reason not to do more than 50 squats a week ;-) Part of the reason I went to the doctor was due to an issue I've been having with pain in my arm so now I get to go to a Orthopedic Surgeon to have it looked at more. Hopefully nothing serious and I'll get something to help offset the pain and strengthen the muscle (bicep, inside elbow and upper forearm all feel like a pulled muscle that freezes up on me when I move or pick something up a certain way) and THEN I can say NO EXCUSES!
Ok. Meal prep work was the following: made mayo, cooked a dozen eggs, cut some celery stalks, sliced the cucumbers and peppers AND washed and dried 2 heads of ice berg lettuce. I know, I know, but the romaine looked like crap. I will have hubby cook up some extra chicken on the grill ... oh and at the last minute, I decided to make some Dump Ranch Dressing to have for dipping purposes! OH ... and then I decided to make some Thai Style Shrimp Salad to have for lunches the next few days (and breakfast too, maybe!)
Here's what we are looking at for the week ahead!
Sunday
Italian Night for the majority in the house this evening ... will make the Olive Garden Salad, pasta, garlic bread and use a jar of sauce from the pantry. I also dug out the meatballs I had in the freezer from that Walmart stop a few weeks ago. Obviously I'll say no thanks to all but the meatballs and salad stuff!
Monday
Mandarin Chicken Salad ... it's been a while since I've made this and I'm pretty stoked to have it again! Glad to have everything on hand again to make it as well! (not Whole30 approved due to the honey in the dressing but definitely Paleo Approved!
Tuesday
Surprise! Taco Tuesday! Was hoping to get the meat cooked on Sunday but that didn't work out very well! As I'm a little low on ground beef, I made two batches, one with ground chicken and one with beef. Served with all the fixins on the side and I made a batch of the Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice
Lime - Cilantro Riced Cauliflower - yup, Whole30 approved
Wednesday
Going to suggest grilled cheese sandwiches and salad for all (or tomato soup for those who want) and I will just have a nice big salad with Dump Ranch Dressing
Ranch Dressing - yup, Whole30 approved
Thursday
Chicken Stir Fry with Riced Cauliflower ... I've got a bag of veggies in the freezer that I need to finish up! I'm down to I think 2 bags of the cauliflower ...
Friday
Saturday
Hubby's choice ... probably beef/steak related and an early night for both of us as Sunday is that Boca Bash day ... whee, or not so much ... we always have TOO much fun but this year I am going to try and stay dry (no alcohol) so I may be the designated driver/babysitter/lifeguard!
What are YOU making this week? Go check out some other menus over at Organized Junkie's Menu Plan Monday party ... lots of ideas to be found there!
Not sure what is wrong with your arm, but I had a really sore shoulder/arm issue since my flu shot in November and have since been to an ortho a few times. It hurt more on the outer part and ended up being the start of frozen shoulder. 2 cortisone (painful) shots later it feels almost normal again. Hopefully it might work for you too. Good luck, it sucks to have your arm hurt like that, I couldn't even sleep on it or lift hardly anything.
ReplyDelete