Menu Plan Monday

It's Monday and that means time to plan the weekly menu!

We had a few changes last week due to car issues, spontaneous trips to the pool, and a last minute parent-student night at the school Josh will be going to next year.

So, I didn't have the fajita salad and last night, since it was Mother's Day, we ordered pizza. I know, pizza is not "on my diet" but it was Mother's Day and I felt like having pizza! And it was good!

Of course I'm paying for it today... the scale showed me at the same weight this morning as I was last Monday. I know it's mostly water because mid-week I'd lost a pound. So, I'll weigh myself tomorrow after a day of clean living and see how we go.

Everything new that I tried last week was really yummy. The Portobello Cheesesteak Sandwiches were really good as was the Chili-rubbed Tilapia. They are definitely making the cut! I have to say, everything I've made from the Eating Well Book has been really good. I highly recommend it for the recipes if not the diet!

So, here's this week's Menu...

Monday - Lebanese Turkey Meatball/Kebabs with salad and yogurt (fat free plain organic yogurt and I'll throw in some cilantro, onion, lemon and cuke)

This is from Prevention Magazine's "Fit Over 40" I made them a few weeks ago and they were delicious. I have a few in the freezer that I'm pulling out for dinner tonight. The kids have an "End of Year" party at a local indoor play place so they'll have pizza or whatever is there. If you want the recipe for this, leave a comment with your email address and I'll send it to you. I don't want to post it because of copy write issues. I found it in a magazine and I'm not sure if I can just post it or not. They are yummy and easy!

Tuesday - Almond Crusted Chicken Fingers , roasted zucchini & yellow squash and oven sweet potato fries.

Wednesday - Grilled turkey cutlets with Salad and baked potato.

Nothing fancy here. I'll just season up the cutlets with whatever I have around, then grill them on the George Foreman and serve with a salad and baked potatoes.

Thursday - Potato Horseradish Crusted Mahi-Mahi , vegetables from my Farmer's Market basket.

We had this a few weeks ago and it was really good! I can't wait to have it again.

Friday - Fajita's - trying this one again.

Saturday - Salmon, spinach and potatoes.

Sunday - Hopefully Chicken on the grill and grilled veggies.


For more Menu Planning fun, I'm participating in Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com and Chive Talkin's Menu Plan Blogroll. For more inspiration head over to both places and have a look around!

I'm also in the midst of a huge clear out of my house. I'm sick of all the junk so I've begun to organize and purge. Last week's project was the kitchen. More on that tomorrow...

Menu Plan Monday

As part of my 12-Week Mission I'm planning out meals for the family and me. I do it anyway, but I'm getting much stricter about it and not just planning dinners but breakfasts, snacks and lunches as well.

When the boys break up from school I'm going to need something to help keep us on track so I'm not in the kitchen playing guessing games with their meals all summer.

And since I already plan my menus, but I'm giving them a face-lift, I thought I'd join the "Menu Plan Monday" crew over at orgjunkie.com. I'll only be posting dinners here. I won't post all the recipes this week. If I try something and I love it, I'll post the recipes next Monday - or forward them to those that ask.

Monday: Peanut-Ginger Tofu & Veggies*.

I actually had this last week and have tofu left over so I'm having it again. It was quite good and is sort of like a tofu Satay. But since I'm the only one that will eat tofu the boys will have grilled chicken, broccoli (or spinach) and potatoes.

Tuesday: Lemon Chicken Artichoke** & roasted zucchini & summer squash and potatoes.

Wednesday: Portobello "Philly Cheesesteak" Sandwiches* & a salad. Boys get Turkey Burgers and "Oven" fries.

Thursday: Salmon grilled on the George Foreman, veggies from my farmers market basket & potatoes (either regular or sweet depending on what's in the basket.)

Friday: Chicken Fajita Salad. The boys will have Fajitas.

Saturday: Chili Rubbed Tilapia with Asparagus & Lemon*, Brown rice

Sunday: Chicken, veggies and potatoes on the Barbecue.

Items marked "*" are from the Eating Well Diet cookbook, those with "**" are from CleanEating Magazine. The rest are just made up as I go.

And to update you all -- I had a good week on my Mission. I'm down 2 lbs from this time last week. I know quite a bit is water from not drinking wine in the week. I did manage to get out and walk around our "circle" once last week - that's 3 miles door to door. I hope to do the same this week.

I'm aiming to do some form of exercise 3-4 times a week. Whether it's the Wii, Treadmill or walking outside.

Also posted on Chive Talkin's Menu Plan Blogroll. She has some yummy looking fresh meals on her meal plan too!

I'm on a 12-week Mission.

I had a horrible realization the other day.

Our pool opens on Saturday and I'm about 12 pounds heavier than I was last year at this time! YIKES! No wonder none of my shorts fit me!

And then... the kids are almost done with school! YIKES!

If I don't start some type of plan for meals and snacks, I'll go out of my mind.

Before I had Sam I lost a significant amount of weight by following the Curves diet and the Body-for-Life exercise routines. They are both great, but I'm getting bored. And I've stopped doing the weights... I keep struggling with costochondritis for about 18 months and I find it goes away if I don't lift weights. But I can still run and do light weights and the WiiFit!

I just haven't been able to stay focused. But I'm determined now. I think I've mentioned before how we have to make adjustments now that Rich is at work late every day. Up until this week, he'd get home, we'd both be tired so we'd open a bottle of wine, unwind... soon the cheese and crackers come out, then we find some chocolate or some other type of junk food to eat.... now 12 pounds later, I'm paying for it!

Well this week, I decided I'm making some changes. I bought the EatingWell Diet book and I subscribe to the CleanEating Magazine. They are very similar in that they focus on eating fresh, healty, non-processed foods. And eating locally when possible.

I also joined a co-op of sorts. When we went to visit my mom and dad last June, my mom had just joined a local CSA farm. The produce was fantastic -- fresh, yummy, sometimes a bit different to what we normally eat, locally and organically grown. I really wanted to try this for our family, but have had problems finding one with a drop off point near enough to my house.

But, I found the next best thing (thanks Summer and Jackie). A lady right around the corner collects money and goes down to the Georgia State Farmer's market once a week and fills up baskets with fresh produce. All this for $15 a week. Score!

So with my newly armed arsenal of yummy, healthy recipies and my newly stocked fridge full of fresh produce... I'm good to go. This time I'm determined to stay the course. We go to my parents house in 12 weeks and that is my target. Twelve pounds in 12 weeks. I think it's doable.

Now I know with the kids getting out of school this may prove difficult to accomplish all the time. So the plan is to be strict for the next 3 weeks. Then, once the kids are out, I'm going to make a "Weekly Breakfast & Lunch Menu" for the kids too. I decide what will be for breakfast, snacks and lunch every day of the week. Or we can work together to make the menu but we're sticking to the menu!

Hopefully, this will help me keep the kids eating healthy, save money, save time and just take the meal time worry away.

Of course I realize I'll have to build in a day or so a week for a treat like pizza or ice cream. And sometimes things come up and you need to be flexible...

So, wish me luck! I'm going to try and post my weekly progress here Just for the support and accountability! And I'm going to start taking part in Meal Plan Monday so stay tuned for that.