Happy Monday!
I’m here to share my meal plan and groceries again this week. I have to say, posting these this month has helped me A) Stick to them B) Be innovative and C) save money by using what I have in the house rather than buying a ton of stuff (less to photograph!).
So thanks everyone for that help!
The past two weeks I’ve really focused on my pantry and using up ingredients I had leftover there. This week I’m adding focus on the fridge and the freezer to the pantry. Each one of these meals has some ingredient left over that I have in the house currently.
meal plan 1/23/12
This week, I again, looked for a few meals that are make-ahead for Monday and Wednesday when I have class all day and know I won’t be in the mood to make a big meal. I also opted for pork one day per Matt’s request and beef one day, per my request (it’s all I’ve been craving lately).
Each week I try to plan a vegetarian main meal, but for some reason, it didn’t happen this week considering all the other factors.
Breakfast/Lunches:
I had the quinoa muffins available last week, but didn’t even eat them for whatever reason! I’m going to make the Happy Herbivore Apple Muffins this week for grab and go breakfast. I also want to eat some of the oatmeal from my freezer, and as always I have cereal as an option.
Matt eats breakfast at work every day, so I never have to worry about him.
For lunches, Matt will take leftovers as his usual MO. He really liked the vegetable casserole I made him last week, so I’ll make him a half batch for this week that he can take. For my lunches – I realized last week just how fast my meals have to be to eat Monday-Wednesday. I had about 10 minutes to eat all three days. Looks like more hummus wraps this week. I also have some leftover pesto and chickpeas and will probably make a little pasta salad to take too.
Sunday:
As I mentioned yesterday, we were invited to dinner at a friend’s house last night, so we ate there!
Monday:
I’m making my Chicken Enchilada Chili. The chili from last week was a flop (Matt didn’t like it) so I’m going to make up for it with this chili this week. I have leftover enchilada sauce in my freezer from making lentil enchiladas two weeks ago, so that works well! I prepped everything last night so I can throw it in the crock pot this morning. That way it’s all ready for us to eat tonight when we get home!
Tuesday:
Pulled pork sandwiches with Alexa frozen fries (for him) and kale chips (for me). These will be put on top of the leftover hamburger buns we bought for our date night IN Saturday. We have the fries already in the freezer, so that’s good too!
I’m using this recipe, except I’m swapping the chicken thighs with a lean pork tenderloin. Again, I’m not a huge fan of pork but I can handle it when it’s shredded like this.
Wednesday:
I’m going to make bacon wrapped chicken tenders and bake them. There really is no recipe here, just season chicken with salt and pepper, wrap bacon around and drizzle a little oil on top. Bake on a rack on a cookie sheet until done!
On the side, I’m making this broccoli cheese casserole, but I’m making several changes – namely using brown rice, whole wheat bread and frozen broccoli.
Also on the side, I’m making these parmesan tomatoes.
Thursday:
We’re having this homemade(ish) version of hamburger helper from Eating Well. I’ve made this several times in the past, with both beef and turkey, and it’s really good! I always swap the sour cream with plain 0% greek yogurt.
I already have the greek yogurt, whole wheat elbows and a few of the other basics in the house already, making this a pretty cheap meal!
Friday:
Matt will be at school, so I’ll be on my own. I’ll just make whatever is leftover in the fridge!
Saturday:
Out for Date Night.
That’s the plan for the week. I have to admit, I’m not that excited about all these meals, but not every week can be Rockstar, you know? I think maybe I just know I’m going to be really busy with everything else going on, so I’m not that excited about the meals? Regardless, last week had a few flops, so it’s good for us to try some new recipes this week!
Here’s our groceries:
I only went to sprouts this week, though they were missing one ingredient I needed, so I’ll have to stop somewhere tonight on the way home to pick up the one thing I need. Grrr.
Countertop veggies/fruit: Bananas, onions, garlic, cara cara blood oranges, jalapeno, sweet potato, avocado and tomatoes
Fridge fruits and veggies: Parsley, kale, baby carrots (for the pups), green and red bell pepper, grapes, pears and baby cucumbers.
Pantry items: Low sodium beef broth, canned tomato sauce, canned diced tomatoes, canned chick peas, clif Z bars, ancho chili powder and lime juice
Fridge items: Milk, beer and wine we took to our friend’s for dinner last night, orange juice, shredded cheddar cheese, shredded asiago cheese, grated parmesan cheese, yogurts
Meats: Chicken sausage (was supposed to be chicken chorizo, but I grabbed the wrong thing), pork tenderloin, thinly sliced chicken breasts and super lean ground beef.
We came out on the cheap side this week, especially when you take out the alcohol we bought to take to our friend’s house for dinner last night! I like it! I’m definitely holding my meal plan much tighter and trying to use as much stuff as I can from home and it’s definitely making a difference!
What’s on your meal plan this week?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Awesome meal plan this week! These are my favorite posts.
I was also missing one ingredient this week too! We’re having spaghetti squash tonight and Trader Joe’s was sans spaghetti squashes. I’m going to have to run out when I get home tonight.
i really like your meal planning posts.
this week is madison restaurant week and i have plans to eat out for it THREE TIMES! (we didn’t go out at all the rest of the month to make up for this week….). so our meal plan is pretty boring, we are making homemade pizza one of the nights we’re home and a quinoa salad the other night.
I have always wanted to do restaurant week! I can’t wait to see what meals you had!!