WIS, WWA | a lower week
What I Spent
Well, after last week's high spending, this week I only spent $47 on groceries, and all of it was at Aldi. I also spent $20 on a dinner out with a friend. So, $67.
And lemme find a random picture of Chiquita for this section.
What We Ate
Saturday
Zoe was at work, so I made a leftover burger into something like a salad (all the burger things in a bowl, just without a bun*) and I had cottage cheese on the side to add some more protein.
*I am not avoiding bread altogether. But I am trying to make my carb calories count for something either in terms of delight or nutrition. A white burger bun doesn't provide a lot of either thing for me, so I'd rather use my carb calories somewhere else. 🙂
Sunday
I had a tuna melt, and I can't remember what Zoe ate!
Monday
A friend from my Divorce Care group is moving to Ohio, so we got together at a local restaurant for a bite to eat before she moves.
I had a green salad with shrimp and bacon in it. 🙂
Tuesday
I picked up a shift at work, and on the way home, I picked up Panera for Zoe and me, using a gift card.
I ordered a Green Goddess chicken salad but sadly when I got home, there was no chicken in it. BOO. How am I supposed to build muscle with no chicken??
So I made a batch of protein pancakes to eat with my no-chicken salad.
Wednesday
I browned some sausages and asparagus, and I ate that with some cottage cheese, black pepper, and tomatoes (thank you to whoever suggested that earlier this week! It's a great combo.)
Zoe ate a chicken sandwich when she got home from work late at night (using a cooked chicken breast in the fridge.)
Thursday
I made a taco salad, with enough to pack as leftovers for work tomorrow.
Friday
I do have lunch packed for today but I do not have a dinner plan, so I guess we are winging it. 😉
I feel like its the season of winging it here, too. I made menus out, then only loosely followed them. The "boys" are fending for themselves and I am cooking far less which I LOVE. This week:
Monday - kitchen closed - I have a vague memory of eating something not great for dinner at work
Tuesday - Salmon, skillet sweet potato cubes
Wednesday - Grilled Chicken Salad
Thursday - Beef stir fry with broccolini and orange bell pepper over brown rice
Friday - I haven't decided yet, but a Taco Salad sounds good (:
Saturday and Sunday - I work, so kitchen closed but I will pack something to look forward to!
Happy Weekend!
WIS: I had a lot of Aldi expenditures this week, but a good chunk of it was random crap aisle purchases for an upcoming birthday. Actual food purchases were about 275. We are on vacation, so most nights we had some kind of popsicles or ice cream for dessert.
WWA:
Fri: salad and focaccia
Sat: salad and pasta carbonara
Sun: salad, California veggies, and veggie burgers.
Mon: salad, baked Parmesan eggplant fries with marinara dipping sauce, and crockpot baked ziti.
Tue: salad, garlic Parmesan green beans, leftover baked ziti.
Wed: salad, brussel sprouts, cubed butternut squash and cubed sweet potato, homemade Mac and cheese, and grilled hotdogs on brioche buns.
Thu: salad, buttered peas, spinach artichoke dip with tortilla chips, tater tots and salmon patties on brioche buns.
Tonight: tacos are on the menu instead of our usual focaccia.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
@Becca, What???!!! No focaccia?
@Becca, those baked eggplant parm fries sound delicious! Are they time intensive?
@Natalie J,
They were a little bit...not too terrible though.
I julienned the eggplant pieces, then dredged them in corn starch, followed by egg, then finally shake parm and seasonings and put them in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet and baked them at 425 for about 20 minutes. The recipe wanted me to flip them every five minutes but I ignored that direction because ain't nobody got time for all that.
@Becca, I agree! Thanks for sharing 🙂
@Natalie J,
Anytime! I'm always trying to find relatively easy recipes that use up random excess farm share ingredients. My nine year old who hates eggplant did still have to just choke it down, so it's not like it disguises the flavor really well, but it did use up two aging eggplants. I told him to just close his eyes and pretend it was a fish stick. 😉
$480 here, not too horrible. We were in a phase of buying chips due to Fourth of July and birthday time, but I'm reeling that in.
Saturday/Sunday: homemade pizzas
Monday: sub sandwiches/leftovers (hot day)
Tuesday: chicken shawarma, and I have determined that using all chicken thighs and cutting the pieces small while marinating=perfect
Wednesday: DH made tuna burgers; I had fish on the menu and we decided to switch from salmon to tuna, so I didn't have to go to the store. Win.
Thursday: taco night.
Tonight will be burgers and hot dogs cooked outside, corn on the cob in the crockpot.
@Karen A., chicken thighs (instead of chicken breasts) make almost any recipe better, in my opinion. Except for maybe chicken salad.
@Karen A., I use chicken thighs also and cook (grill is even better), then I slice the meat thin and give it a quick saute...yum!
Dinner's this week included:
1. Taco salad
2. Salmon burgers, zucchini fritters, tomato salad (yay they are finally ripe!)
3. Eggplant parmesan pasta (with cottage cheese), salad (some people ate pasta, i did not due to celiac)
4. Shrimp & cabbage wraps, fruit
5. Rice & curried chickpeas, salad, bread
6. Beyond beef burgers, veggies
7. Tonight we're heading out to dinner-probably Mexican
Sounds like cottage cheese is the new eggs for you. 🙂 One of my college roommates always ate cottage cheese with lots of pepper, and I thought that was really strange because growing up, we only ever ate it with fruit. But now with pepper is my preferred way to eat it.
Saturday: Boned lamb leg roast, spaghetti with pesto, green salad with ranch dressing, cheesecake. This was our new 12-year-old's birthday request. Lucky for him he was born in July when the basil is ready to harvest, because he always wants pesto. 🙂
Sunday: I had a few bone-in chicken breasts that I poached, then I pulled off the meat and fried it in olive oil and bacon grease before adding the leftover pesto. We also had leftover spaghetti with pesto, and carrot sticks with ranch dip.
Monday: Bean and cheese quesadillas, canned peaches with or without cottage cheese
Tuesday: I fried the leftover pesto chicken with some microwaved potatoes, then added Parmesan, more kohlrabi sticks, creamy apricot popsicles made with apricot jam, yogurt, and cream.
Wednesday: Barbecue bull sandwiches on homemade buns because I was baking bread anyway, potato cubes roasted while the oven was on anyway for the bread, coleslaw made with the last two tiny cabbages from the garden (the later cabbages are always smaller due to heat and bugs), and I finally made rhubarb pudding. This is a recipe I got years ago from my MiL (and it's on my blog, if anyone is curious). It's not a pudding in the American sense, but more like a British crumble. Whatever it's called, it's delicious, and I make it every year. We eat it with heavy cream poured right over the top.
Thursday: I had thought of making meatballs, but was too lazy, so instead I made hamburger steaks. Pretty much just extra thick and big hamburgers. I also made a gravy for them with chicken stock from cooking the chicken earlier in the week, onion, milk, and cornstarch. The end result was something like Salisbury steak, and was surprisingly good. In addition, I made boiled potatoes, which is basically when I start to make mashed potatoes, so I peel and chunk them up, but then I don't actually mash them and instead just drown them in butter, salt, and pepper. Definitely a night when I did not really want to cook, but needed to. (The Skinny Son was home from work and needed a big meal.) I had leftover coleslaw, and also had stopped at the Colorado produce truck when I was in the city in the morning, where I picked up corn on the cob and watermelon. Much rejoicing among children.
Tonight: I have more bull meat processed that needs to be used, as well as leftover potatoes, so I think I will fry those together with spices and add cheese to make . . . a skillet of food. 🙂 I have one more kohlrabi, and if I'm feeling indulgent, I'll make a ranch dip for it for the children. We have lots more watermelon, too.
@kristin @ going country, My mom always called them "mash your owns." We ate a lot of whipped potatoes growing up, but these were for nights she didn't feel like getting the mixer out.
Also--try red pesto sometime? We make ours with sundried tomatoes.
WIS: $83, which was $53 at Aldi and $30 at Food Lion.
WWA: Chili. Roasted chicken drumsticks. Fresh veggies. Protein-mixed berry smoothies. Tahini and a drizzle of honey on toasted English muffins. Two "leftover bowls" of Mediterran-style quinoa (a frozen item from Trader Joe's) topped with chili and Laughing Cow cheese. Lots of ice cold watermelon. A plum-cherry crisp to use up fresh fruit.
I think I can remember so I can participate....
Saturday - we were at a surprise birthday party and we had burgers & hot dogs, baked beans, macaroni salad and a few doritos.
Sunday - We had dinner at our oldest daughter's house...again, burgers & hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, coleslaw. Peanut butter pie for dessert
Monday - grilled chicken salads with garlic toast
Tuesday - Tacos
Wednesday - pizza
Thursday - weiner wings and waffle fries
Tonight - chicken quesadillas and a fresh peach
@Gina, it's starting to be peach and nectarine season around here, and I'm so excited for it!
WIS: $18 at the grocery outlet, $12 at the Regional Market, $39 at Wegmans, and $28 at Price Chopper.
WIA: Because of the heat, my food prep hasn't been extensive or inspired. I did manage a sheet pan of chicken drumsticks (as part of my continuing freezer cleanout) and another batch of potato salad (which I make a lot of during dill season). And I've been cranking out pints and quarts of refrigerator dills like the Claussen factory!
WIS: $60.04 at Sprouts, where I went just to pick up fresh produce and organic multigrain bread, but saw some grass fed Angus beef (London Broil and ground beef) marked down by 35%, so snatched that up and put it in the freezer when I got home. (Protein!) And I got a receipt at checkout with a coupon for “$5 off $15 produce” purchase, I guess because I bought so much produce they thought this would get me back in the store. And they’re right! It will! And this time when I pick up a bunch of what I assume is parsley I will be sure to check and make sure it’s not cilantro. Which I hate. And passed along to a neighbor.
And $49.40 at Albertsons for … more produce! (organic strawberries and baby bella mushrooms and peppers) and a rotisserie chicken (protein!) and miscellaneous stuff (milk, eggs, discounted mushroom ravioli and Portobello mushroom pasta sauce that went straight into the freezer).
WIA: Ramen noodles with stir fried zucchini in a maple syrup, soy and garlic sauce, with lemon and lime wedges and scallions and a sprinkle of shichimi togarashi. Rotisserie chicken with roasted smashed baby potatoes and grilled asparagus. Spinach quiche with diced ham and Kristen’s sauteed green beans with garlic herb butter. (Thanks for the recipe, Kristen!)
So … exceeded my budget but have the freezer stocked with some lovely beef and pasta and other items for Future Me.
Sounds like a delicious week!
Sunday: Green fettuccine with chorizo verde from the Anything's Pastable cookbook (we have it from the library). It was really good! Definitely not a weeknight meal though, it took a while.
Monday: Pork that we dug out of the freezer and grilled, along with grilled okra, eggplant, and pineapple (not mixed together). The leftover grilled pineapple has been delicious with my breakfast quinoa.
Tuesday: Preschooler choice, she chose ramen.
Wednesday: It was national hot dog day, so we grilled hot dogs to celebrate!
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: My husband and daughter are going camping with friends (it's a dad-kid annual tradition), so I'm taking myself out to dinner. I'm currently debating between spring rolls and ceviche.
Saturday: Leftovers/something easy.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Saturday - we tried a new dumpling restaurant that opened in town and it was delicious! They made these really cute little panda buns that my kids loved too. Always nice to get a new, good restaurant.
Sunday - we got home late from a play date so frozen pizza, I had a salad with mine (can’t fall behind on veggie intake either a weekly produce box coming!)
Monday - I usually work at home on Mondays but had to go into the office this day, I hadn’t accounted for that in my meal plan though so the dinner in planned wouldn’t work. I picked up some Parmesan chicken from the ready meals section of Safeway on my lunch break and made pearl cous cous and roasted summer squash to go with it and I had lentils instead of the chicken, in my continued quest to eat more plant-based while not subjecting my family to it against their will.
Tuesday - picnic night, we rode bikes to a nearby playground though instead of going to the beach, pb&j, fruit, veggies for the kids and a salad with beets and avocados and a half sandwich made with a chickpea salad for me.
Wednesday - mushroom and kale lasagna roll-ups, a big hit with everyone and a good way to use up all the kale
Thursday - salad night, with chicken for everyone else, a black bean burger for me. My daughter also requested a turkey sandwich instead of salad so she got a turkey sandwich with some cut veggies.
Friday - I’m hosting my book club so will eat snacks there as my dinner, I’m defrosting some leftover chicken orzo for everyone else.
Last night Korean fried chicken sandwiches. I had fried brocc, the kids had sweet potato fries.
Previous two nights: white chicken chili and leftover white chicken chili.
Monday: chicken cutlets, fresh corn, salad. Sunday: blue cheese salad with bacon and avocado.
Tonight I think maybe stir fry. I better make the rice now so it's dried out by dinner.
How to make really good stir fry with rice:
Preferably use Nishiki medium grain rice in a rice cooker and let it get dried out.
Use Shaoxing cooking wine--adds the authentic flavor.
A little sesame oil too.
My mom always topped her cottage cheese with Salad Supreme and I was unable to eat it any other way for forever. This summer I decided to top cottage cheese with strawberries and it has been a delight and my go-to breakfast for the last couple of weeks.
Friday: I didn’t have anything planned! My son was playing in a soccer tournament and one thing we learned about summer tournaments is schedules are bound to change. I thought we might pick up something on the way home (I wasn’t going to cook after spending the entire day outside) but my husband found a veggie/protein packed pizza casserole that he cooked for us. It was delicious and tasted exactly like a pizza without the crust.
Saturday: Another tournament day. We had a gift card to Subway so we picked up sammies and enjoyed the air conditioning.
Sunday: Sheet pan meal (potatoes, green beans, sausages) for my husband and me. My son had a pizza party with his team.
Monday: Chicken Zucchini Poppers, Zucchini Fries, Kohlrabi & Apple Salad (Our CSA has us swimming in summer squash!)
Tuesday: Black Bean and Yellow Squash Enchilada Bake. I planned ahead and froze half the recipe right away for an easy dinner down the road. There was almost a revolt in the house because there was no meat but everyone survived.
Wednesday: Cauliflower Sausage Kale Soup. This is basically Zuppa Toscana but with pureed cauliflower in the broth and no potatoes. I added a can of white beans to make up for the lack of potatoes.
Thursday: Pesto Pasta with Potatoes and Green Beans. I added some cooked chicken so I didn’t have another revolt on my hands.
I spent $167 so a bit high for me, but don't think I'll need to shop again til next month
We ate:
Saturday: grilled chicken breast/baked potato/asparagus (I've learned to bake a potato in the microwave and then put some olive oil and salt on the outside and throw it in the air fryer with the asparagus or whatever veggie for a few minutes and the skin of the potato gets good and crisp...yum!).
Sunday: pancakes and bacon at lunch and salads with leftover chicken breast for supper
Monday: hamburgers/salads/baked beans
Tuesday: butter chicken/rice/broccoli
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: new recipe to me and took less than 5 minutes. Browned some frozen meatballs (defrosted in microwave), put an asian glaze of soy sauce/honey/ginger/garlic/sesame oil on the meatballs and made ramen with it with the leftover glaze over the ramen instead of the flavor packet. The meatballs were sticky and yummy and ramen is always good. Had some pickled veggies on the side.
Friday: We have reservations at a nice place in town because we haven't eaten out in a while.
80 dollars. Shopped in the store for the first time in forever.
M. Taco salads. ( ground turkey and kidney beans)
T. Taco meat rice lettuce burritos.
W. Million dollar spaghetti garlic toast peas
Th. Million dollar spaghetti ( better the second day). Watermelon.
F. BLT ( summer fave). Watermelon.
Sat. Will have smoked sausage on the grill. Sliced apples with dip. Rice or pasta.
Sunday. Will have grilled chicken thighs. Leftover fruit. Lettuce salad.
Friday: Takeout Pizza for the last night of our trip
Saturday: Buttered Noodles - needed a quick/late night dinner after our flight home
Sunday: Potstickers and raspberries
Monday: Taquitos and Guac and cherries
Tuesday: Garlic Chili Noodles & gyoza and white nectarines
Wednesday: Sandwiches and Chipotle for the littlest one and white peaches
Thursday: Rice bowls with crispy tofu, steamed baby bok choy, cucumbers, edamame, carrots, etc.
I buy canned chicken in the same size cans as tuna. I can dump it on anything to add protein. It would have worked well on your Green Goddess salad. Small cans of salmon work also.
I add diced fruit to cottage cheese. Sometimes I sprinkle it with cinnamon as well. Sometimes I add an ounce of nuts or seeds to change the texture. Cottage cheese makes a good base for all kinds of things. I don't' care for lettuce so, at salad bars, I use cottage cheese as my base and put the toppings on it.
@Linda Sand, Tyson sells resealable bags of diced chicken breast. I keep one in the freezer and take out only what I may need for a salad or to add to soup. Very handy. No muss, no fuss, no waste.
Another good combo on top of asparagus is ham and poached egg (or some other method, but the runny yolk is key). Some halved cherry tomatoes would be an excellent addition to tat as well.
Please tell me you went back and got a refund from Panera...
You should have.
@Cindy Brick, Panera has excellent customer service , toll-free number, and is quick to fix a problem with a coupon for a free entree or whatever applied in the rewards account.
Cottage cheese and tomatoes with lots of black pepper FOREVER!!!! 🙂
This week's food was all On Plan for my food program despite long training hike that almost did me in. In the past I used my outdoor activities like an 8.5 mile plus/- 3000 ft elevation change as an excuse to overeat. But I am trying to shed weight at the same time as training for my 172 through pack in Tahoe in 8 weeks. So I experienced both challenges and successes.
I am on a strict 1310 calorie regime. I planned to have several small meals of 4:1 carb to protein ratio for recovery. However my breakfast of homemade greek yogurt, fruit spread and almonds just did NOT have enough carbs to stop me shaking in the first two miles. So I stopped in the shade of the most beautiful hike I have ever done (Shirley Lake Canyon in the Olympic Valley). While listening to the water falls, I ate a snack of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and half a fairlife chocolate protein drink. This was exactly 4:1 and stopped the shakes immediately.
When training I have to look at long range nutrition. I eat plenty of complex carbs in fruits and veggies during the week. I can eat sugary cereal every now and then.
Halfway through, at High camp, I bought a Powerade. This is a wonderful hikebecause you can take the tram down free. Asually a tram tix is $50. But I needed the mileage so I continued. When I got down, I ate the second half of my chocolate drink and a nature's kitchen fig bar. Plus I bought a $6.00 water. When I got home I added a Wholly Veggie frozen cauliflower dinner with cheddar cheese sprinkled on it. Yummy and a great deal from Grocery outlet for 1.99. I added 800 total calories for the day but with almost all great food.
What I learned:
I could save $12.00 by packing more water and an electrolyte pack. Other than that it was a super training hike which was also fantastically beautiful. I just had to ignore the VERRY Slim and beautiful people passing me like a turtle on a freeway. Every now and then someone stopped and asked if I was ok. I just waved and said , "Thanks for checking in." I didn't need to explain to everyone I had a weighted back pack and was 60 years old. The oldest by an average of 20 years. It is all good and maybe I will ned help at someone point.
@mary ann, You are an inspiration!
WIS: Costco - $32 Grocery Outlet - $16
Eating out of the garden: Lettuce, Tomatoes, peppers, peas, carrots, kale, cabbage, radishes, cucumbers, zucchini, broccoli and kohlrabi. Blueberries & strawberries.
Sunday: Taco salad
Monday: Bean, rice & beef burritos w/mango salsa
Tuesday: Bacon lettuce & tomato salad, watermelon for dessert
Wednesday: Hamburger patties, veggies w/homemade ranch
Thursday: Chicken alfredo w/tons of veggies over zucchini noodles (zoodles)
Friday: Funday will have leftovers and a couple of sliced tomatoes
Saturday: Huevos Rancheros w/refried beans, cottage cheese w/avocado sliced & sprinkled w/tajin, watermelon
I am so glad to read that I'm not the only one calling a lettuce-based salad "green salad"! I signed up to bring green salad to a work potluck and all my co-workers said they'd never heard that expression before. How else am I to let them know I'm not bringing pasta salad or potato salad??
Or a fruit salad???
This week we mainly ate salads, either with lamb scewers or with tuna and eggs (nicoise), or feta cheese. On the only much cooler day we had beetroot and sausage.
Today it is nearing 35 degrees C (quick calculation = 100F?) so it will be salad again, with solar powered oven baked picanha. And salads of all kinds again next week. Fortunately our parsley is finally thriving. I love the smell of fresh herbs on the chopping board.
Off topic: we have a lot of rain water in the containers and rain forecasted. So I splashed a few buckets of rain water on the terrace in front of the doors, to reduce radiation temperature where we move in and out of the house. You could immediately feel the difference and I don't know why I don't do this more often. Such a simple trick my mother taught me (she would also sprinkle water on the hot windows but !!! only when the glass was in the shade). All predating the invention of AC.
@JNL,
Roast, ofcourse
Have you tried mixing cottage cheese with peanut butter? We love that for a double protein boost and also will add a couple spoonfuls of cereal, oats, and nuts for breakfast. We also like to mix cottage cheese into our salad with a little vinegar and oil as kind of a dressing.
Sat - Chicago deep dish pizza and local sweet corn. Nothing beats Midwest sweet corn. To this day I cannot believe some local grocery stores sell FL sweet corn which barely qualifies as silage.
Sun - Mexican dine out
Mon - local butcher shop brats and home made (aka home grown potatoes and locals eggs) potato salad
Tue - $15 2 burgers-fries deal
Wednesday - we each cooked eggs in our preferred style, skillet of home grown potatoes and zucchini, local bakery toasted bread
Thursday - grilled chicken breasts with home grown potatoes
Friday - salmon for better half, steak 4 me, local sweet corn, shrimp cocktail