Down 1 more pound. Pretty good considering the amount of cheating I did this week and the fact I have not been moving much. In my defence, Meagan is going through a growth spurt and waking twice a night. She goes back to sleep very quickly (usually), but it still takes a lot of energy to get up twice a night and do the daily routine the next day.
Anyway, hopefully I get some energy back this week and get back to it!
Last week's meal plan didn't quite finish the way it was intended. We ended up going out for dinner last night (thanks Mom!) and I did stray from eating according to my diet plan. And tonight we were supposed to have a seafood pasta dish, but Ryan is working a double so I will be pulling some frozen soup out of the freezer and dropping off some leftovers for Ryan at work. So now I have 2 leftover meals from last week I'll incorporate into this week's plan:
Monday: Frozen soup, bread
Tuesday: Fiesta Rice
Wednesday: Chicken fagioli stew
Thursday: Macaroni and cheese (I'm out for a work dinner so it's just Ryan and Kaitlyn for dinner and yes, I'll be home by 8 for Survivor!!)
Friday: Seafood tomato alfredo
Saturday: Veggie lasagne (new recipe I'm trying out)
Sunday: Salmon with dill sauce, rice, beans
Monday: Soup from freezer, bread
Meal planning has been so wonderful. I understand why I didn't start earlier (work, new baby, etc) but I can't imagine getting through the week the way we used to. And we're trying new, healthy recipes and loving them. Here is the dinner we made last night - so good! We served it with half a whole grain loaf (bought at Superstore, the kind that you "bake at home" from the bread department) and the recipe made so many leftovers, I ended up freezing more than half the recipe. Even Kaitlyn tried it but didn't like the beef and barley.
Fresh Vegetable-Beef Barley Soup
1.5 pounds beef stew meat
1 small green pepper, chopped
3/4 c. frozen green beans (or you can use fresh!)
3/4 c. chopped onion
2/3 c. uncooked barley
2/3 c. frozen whole kernel corn (or use fresh)
1.5 c. water
1 t. salt
1/2 t. dried thyme leaves (or 1 t. fresh)
1/4 t. ground pepper
25 oz. ready to serve beef broth (I used a carton and measured it out)
24 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1. Mix all ingredients into slow cooker
2. Cover and cook on low 8-9 hours (or 4-5 on high) until veggies and barley are tender.
We cooked it for 9.5 hours and it turned out perfect. 200 calories and 7 gr fat per serving :)
It's been a while since I've posted some updated pictures of the girls. Meagan especially changes so fast so I have to remember to keep the camera out and ready!
Kaitlyn is loving the basement. She spends so much time down there and really loves having all the space. And I love having her out of my hair so except for the financial aspect, it's been wonderful to have the whole home!
Here she is watching a movie with her friends. The second pic is her singing along with the movie - pretty serious stuff!
And Meagan is just so happy and easy. Last night she slept from 10 PM to 6:30 AM. No wonder she's so happy - she's well fed, well rested. Makes for an easier household.
Down another 2!! So happy to be making progress and seeing the results on the scale. Anyway, lots on my to-do list today so this is short and sweet today :)
So meal planning last week was mostly a success. I didn't make nearly as many trips to the grocery store as I used to, and it was great not to have the panic every day of what to make for dinner. The end of the week was a bit of a bust and I was forced to go to the store, but this was mainly due to the fact that Ryan was working extra shifts and taking leftover dinner in his lunch, hence no shepherd's pie using leftover meatloaf.
Here is the meal plan for this week. I've extended it to include next Monday as well since I won't be able to do my shopping until Tuesday when Kaitlyn is in preschool. Yes, yes, I could do it Monday but let's just say, it's much easier doing the shopping with just one child who will most likely sleep for the entire trip :)
Monday: Weight Watchers frozen meal for me, leftovers for Ryan and mac & cheese for Kaitlyn (Ryan is working another double)
Tuesday: Chicken fajitas
Wednesday: Chick pea and tomato pasta (new recipe I'm trying out)
Thursday: Beef barley soup (another new recipe, this one in the slow cooker), bread
Friday: Sauced salmon, salad, rice
Saturday: Oven steak and vegetables
Sunday: Fiesta rice (our own super easy recipe for Sunday dinner)
Monday: Seafood tomato alfredo
As you can see, I'm also trying to keep it relatively healthy. I made the mistake of reading the fat content in the meatloaf before eating it this week - yikes! This time I'm reading the nutritional info before planning my week!
