The longest week ever...

The week before Spring Break is the llllloooonnnnggggeeesssttttt week EVER! This time next week I will be hosing down the children from a day spent on the beach. Doesn't that sound heavenly....

Meal planning of this week shall be focused on cleaning out the veggie drawer and eating all the leftovers from the previous week. My lunches usually consist of leftovers but even with this I am finding many little containers that need consumption. Whatever I don't cook or finish eating will get a trip to Florida with me!

Here's is what I *think* the week will look like...

Sunday
Black bean and corn tacos (didn't happen yesterday!)
Cantaloupe
Salad

Monday
Leftovers...late meeting at school and then teaching at the gym

Tuesday
Pesto eggplant with orzo
Salad

Wednesday
Middle Eastern bean salad
Broccoli and cauliflower au gratin

Thursday
Leftovers from Wednesday

Friday
Quesadillas
Whatever is left!

Saturday
Who cares...I'm at the beach!!!

Everything was going so well...

...and then the pipe burst!

I was so ahead of the cooking game. Prepping dinner and getting ready to move on to weekly breakfast cooking when a yell came up from the crawl space. Seeing as how it is crazy hot here in Atlanta already, the hubs was under the house changing the air filter. Three cheers for testosterone! Hubs was yelling because the water I was sending down the drain was spewing all over the undercarriage of the house due to a burst pipe.

The Little House on the Prairie method of collecting water in a bowl so it doesn't go down the drain did not leave much opportunity for breakfast cooking or the complex task of washing kale from the garden. No breakfast and no clean kale...

Fingers crossed for plumber magic so dinner can happen!

Here's what the week looks like...assuming there is a full functioning sink...

Monday

Spinach and feta pie

Roasted new potatoes

Tuesday

Hawaiian crockpot chicken

Brown rice

Salad

Wednesday

Grilled veggies

Quinoa Salad

Thursday

Dinner out when the in-laws come in town

Friday

Arugula salad with feta

Slow cooker Spanish chicken

Saturday

Tacos with refried beans and corn

Fixins!

I'll take some cheese please!

Decided to try a Paleo recipe tonight consisting of Shrimp and "Grits". The shrimp part was pretty standard but I added some flour (no no in paleo diets) to thicken the sauce and then a can of stewed tomatoes for more bulk.

The "grits" however were a completely different story! The paleo version uses cauliflower with almond meal and no dairy. Do what? I don't think so! I added real milk, flour and about a cup of Parmesan cheese. Now that's what I'm talking about!

By the way don't call these things grits! Make up a new title because this is NOT what my grandmother cooked us for breakfast.

The end result were happy kids and happy adults so that has to count for something!

Menu for March 12 - 17

Last week was a huge success in the weight loss department! It really goes to show that real food in proper moderation can produce results...as long as it isn't hummus (see March 9 post!). I give total credit to the amount of time I spend prepping, measuring and logging all my food. It is paying off!

For this week I have some fun planned given that Saturday is the blessed green holiday of Irish cheer.

Sunday

Black bean burgers

Parmesan ranch fries

Cilantro lime chickpea salad

Monday

Tomato soup

Quesadilla - kids

Salad - me

Tuesday

Eating out because of school meeting

Wednesday

Shrimp and grits - paleo style!

Thursday

Tuna casserole

Salad

Friday

Colcannon - nod to the Irish!

Salmon and zucchini with red pepper sauce

Saturday

Must use restaurant gift certificates before they expire!

Erin go braugh!

Hummus is bad!

Who knew that hummus would cost a bazillion Weight Watcher points?!? Now I know!

That "expensive" lunch resulted in the need for a better dinner option. Hello vegetable soup!

I recorded all my food, drank gallons of water and stuck to my menu plan for the week. We'll see what happens on Sunday...

One must be flexible

We must remember to be flexible with our food plans! When the mushrooms are looking pitiful and the spaghetti squash really needs cooking then the weekly food plan undergoes alterations.

I decided to use the spaghetti squash for dinner last night instead of later in the week as planned. I also learned to never overcook a spaghetti squash in the crockpot! Thank goodness for the tomatoes and feta cheese that camouflaged the squash mush. I was worried there for a minute! Even the kids loved the dinner last night...mush and all!

The mushrooms I bought *on sale* were starting to look a little withered so I moved the Grouper Sicily to this evening instead of Tuesday. I'll be having this little treat after gym time. Restaurant quality food!

Imagine this with brussels sprouts instead of asparagus!

Source: fl-seafood.com via Alison on Pinterest

I did manage to purchase the fontina cheese this morning while waiting for Madonna tickets to go on sale at the Publix Ticketmaster...which I did not get because they were over $300 three minutes after the general sale opened. Nope not bitter at all...

Fontina cheese = not cheap!

Off to sweat...

Best plans...

Will most certainly go astray! Yep that's what happens when one plans to bake like fiend this morning but finds there is only a half cup of flour in the house...

The grocery store beckons but the motivation to dress appropriately, get rained on AND drag two kids along makes the baking more of a dream than a reality. Good thing Monday is a day off!

I'll refocus my energies on cooking the food I have on hand. Here are the side dish lineups for today:

Brazilian carrots

Kale chips

Roasted chickpeas

Baking another day...

Weekly Menu

I'm finding the real key to weight loss success lies in the ability to preplan meals and cook on the weekends. I already have the exercise thing down pat but continue to struggle with the food! Ugh! This really isn't brain surgery...


Best way to tackle the problem is to commit and write it down. Here goes for the week of March 4 - 10:

• Sunday - White chili with chicken; salad




• Monday - Leftover white chili and salad




• Tuesday - Grouper Sicily with roated kale




• Wednesday - Spaghetti squash with tomatoes, feta, olives




• Thursday - Fusilli with three cheese and red bell pepper; crusty bread; salad




• Friday - Leftover fusilli




• Saturday - Whole-wheat orzo salad with broccoli pine nut pesto