WIS, WWA | pats self on back
What I Spent
This week, I attended three lectures, did two clinical days, did a teaching project, did a medication presentation, wrote a paper, went to the dentist, wrote five blog posts, did four workouts, and cooked/packed all of my meals.
Good job me! 🙂
One day at a time, one week at a time, I'm getting through the semester.
This week, I spent:
- $24 at Safeway
- $20 at Giant
So, $44!
Obviously, we ate more than $44 worth of food this week, but since I mostly made meals with stuff in my fridge/freezer, I didn't need to buy a lot.
What We Ate
Saturday
I made some chicken fingers plus a salad. And I ate the leftovers combined the next day!
Sunday
This was the day I made the bacon-less Zuppa Toscana that I mentioned in my Five Frugal Things post.
Monday
Zoe was at work and man, I cannot remember what I ate. Maybe soup? Maybe eggs and veggies?
I have no photographs to help my memory either.
Tuesday
I picked up a rotisserie chicken and made a quick gravy to go with it. I also made a green salad and a loaf of no-knead English muffin bread, which I haven't made in eons!
I halved the recipes to make only one loaf, and I still put half of it in the freezer because it's just the two of us here.
Wednesday
Zoe was out with a friend so I ate leftover Zuppa Toscana plus the rest of the kale salad.
Thursday
I made a little pot of chicken noodle soup with the rest of the rotisserie chicken.
I've been adding a splash of half and half to my bowl and I love it that way!
Here's the basic method I use for making chicken noodle soup.
Friday
Zoe and I are both home tonight sooooo...that seems like a situation that calls for some Gilmore Girls and takeout. 🙂
Yum! Your photos make me hungry.
This week I made: Chicken finger wraps (a lazy dinner but DH loves them), 2 nights of zupa toscana soup (used spinach and home grown bok choy in it), salmon cakes from costco with bogo potatoes and broccoli, and probably pizza tonight.
All "lazy" dinners for me, I can't do anything that takes me more than about 15 mins prep after work.
Wow! Your list of accomplishments this week makes me feel tired! I bet if I listed all of mine like that, I would just pass out!
Anyway, WIS: about 67 @Aldi from two different quickity trips.
WWA:
Fri: salad and focaccia.
Sat: I made breaded and fried eggplant cubes which we ate over a bed of romaine lettuce, seasoned rice, diced tomatoes and topped with a fried egg.
Sun: I made pumpkin Mac and cheese, and we had salad and pickled okra.
Mon: salad, leftover Mac and cheese topped with turkey bacon.
Tue: salad, leftover fried eggplant air fried, leftover Mac and cheese and lobster lasagna (a frozen dinner).
Wed: we celebrated Tsukimi (Japanese moon festival) with a moon-themed dinner: layered turkey burgers on homemade buns with scrambled eggs under them and a fried egg plus turkey bacon and cheese on top of them. We also had chipotle mayo and greens on them. They were very good. Our salad was round things: cherry tomatoes and avocado sliced in large circles. Plus my husband made tsukimi dango (rice flour balls) and we had mochi ice cream and round chocolates for dessert.
Thu: salad and rice and beans.
Tonight: salad and focaccia, of course.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Oh for sure; I bet you did just as many things this week too!
Are those plums in your salad? Very inviting!
This week, in reverse order:
-(tonight): remainder of home made "shallow fried" chips, and applesauce. Meat? to be determined. We can also eat a handful of nuts in the evening.
-Thu: fend for yourself- I had a long office day and nearly seven hours of travel. The guys just put a pizza in the oven and I had a sourdough bun and a banana while travelling
-Wed: lamb skewers and salad
-Tue: Masman beef curry over rice, and pickled cucumber. Best meal of the week - need to remember to make ahead some curry paste in the/a weekend
-Mon: Cauliflower and sausage
-Sun: Ploughman's and salad
- Sat: Steak and salad, with homemade "shallow fried" chips.
My to do list is rather long this week and I haven't given any thought so far to next week's meals.
Yes! Plums, lettuce, chicken, and a poppyseed dressing.
@Kristen,
I made a poppyseed dressing once, will look up the recipe again! I still have some seeds.
Saturday: Between a birthday party with my daughter and my husband taking my sons to a Mexican restaurant while they were getting firewood, no one was hungry at dinnertime except me. I made myself a salad. The children made themselves cinnamon toast before bed.
Sunday: Salisbury steaks--which are pretty much like small, skillet-cooked meatloaves--and gravy, rice, sauteed calabacitas (like zucchini) and tomatoes, leftover corn, and my husband made a crepe cake, which is just crepes layered with whipped cream and sweetened strawberries.
Monday: My husband and eldest son had done some work on our elderly neighbor's roof, for which they refused pay. Her daughter asked if they would like enchiladas or something instead. Well, yes. They always want enchiladas. 🙂 This lady works at one of the school cafeteria in the area, and so I guess is accustomed to cooking large quantities of food, and that is what she brought us. A big pan of beef enchilada casserole, another of Spanish rice, a giant container of pinto beans, and 12 homemade flour tortillas. So I didn't have to cook this night. Or for a few other nights. 🙂
Tuesday: I made chicken stock this day, and then used that plus the meat I picked out to make a chicken/vegetable soup, plus a pureed tomato soup thickened with bread that my children love. That tomato soup doesn't have much protein, though, so I also made them bean and cheese quesadillas. And I had made peanut butter cookies this day, too.
Wednesday: I was at meetings after work and didn't get home until after six, so everyone had the leftovers of Monday's feast.
Thursday: I had leftovers of both soups, so we had those plus grilled cheese sandwiches. And then ice cream, since this was the last day in the 80s for awhile.
Tonight: I had told my children I would bring them to the football game. Their friend plays on the JV team, so they'll want to go to that game at four, and I'm sure stay for varsity. When we're at a sporting event at a mealtime, I usually tell them they can bring their own money for concession food, and then I bring something, too. I have some bone-in chicken breasts in the refrigerator, so I think I'll make chicken salad for sandwiches to bring with us--along with things like beef jerky, peanut butter cookies, and dehydrated apples--and then use the broth left from cooking the chicken to make more soup. I'm happy it's cool enough for soup. It's a nice variant on my typical salads. 🙂
@kristin@going country, I love the enchiladas (et al.) for roofing swap!
@kristin@going country,
Such a treat to have somebody bring you a nearly ready meal!
WIS: $18.50 at Wegmans, $18 at Aldi, $12 at the Regional Market, $22 at the grocery outlet, and $25.50 at Price Chopper.
WIA: The week's highlight, of course, was the herb-crusted salmon I found for 50% off at Aldi (and mentioned in this week's FFT). I sauteed this as lightly as possible (paging the late Jennifer Paterson of the Two Fat Ladies: "It's better raw than overcooked!"), and had it for two meals--first with a sweet potato on the side, and second with some marinated green beans. And the next morning, also as noted in my FFT, I scrambled some eggs in the salmony saute pan.
@A. Marie, Salmon with sweet potato and green beans sounds wonderful!!
Go you! You rock.
Yesterday I spent several hours exploring a couple of new food stores (one organic, one Asian/mostly South Asian), coming home with all sorts of interesting options. For example, a half dozen different beans & sauce in a bag. I love stewy bean dishes yet know almost nothing about Indian food so I thought this would be a good place to start.
@WilliamB, sounds fun! I think Indian food does the best job in the "saucy beans" category.
@WilliamB, not only am I a fan of Indian food; I'm only willing to eat chickpeas, cauliflower, and several other things when they're part of a good curry.
@A. Marie, I love saag paneer--makes spinach delicious!
@Karen A.,
Oh HECK yeah! I love saag paneer!!
Gilmore Girls and takeout sounds like a perfect Friday night!
This week we had:
Saturday: I catered a wedding and ate there. It was probably the most beautiful wedding I've ever seen. Also, I didn't get home until midnight and I feel like it took until today to recover. I'm a morning person for sure!
Sunday: Pizza and breadsticks
Monday: Burritos to use up leftover rice, leftover corn, leftover black beans, and leftover Santa Fe chicken. I was pretty happy with all this used up!
Tuesday: Slow cooker homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese
Wednesday: Bacon cheeseburger pasta and peas
Thursday: Pork chops, skillet corn, and smiley fries (cooked in the air fryer because it has been hot in MI for weeks and we are not turning the oven on except for pizza nights!)
Friday: It's just me and the kids tonight, so I think we will have leftovers to help clean out the fridge and then eat popcorn while watching a movie. My dad's birthday party is tomorrow, so we can't do a Saturday clean-out-the-fridge lunch like we often do.
Definitely a week to be proud of!
I ended up having jury duty for two days this week. It was interesting, but definitely threw everything else out of whack. I'm still catching up with school stuff, and might have to make a visit to my classroom on a Sunday, which is rare for me.
Sunday: Spinach parmesan rice bake (we had leftover rice to use up).
Monday: National guacamole day! We had nachos.
Tuesday: Kindergartner's choice, she requested spaghetti. Trader Joe's autumn pasta sauce is the best, so we stocked up while it's in stores!
Wednesday: Cheeseburgers on the grill.
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: School fundraiser, we'll eat there.
Saturday: Leftovers. There's still so many! We'll probably end up freezing some things.
@Natalie J, did you buy the little pasta pumpkins at Trader Joe’s as well. I would have loved those as a kid.
@Bee, I did! And the pumpkin ravioli, although we haven't tried that one yet.
I love that life seems full and exciting for you and the food still looks delicious and healthy! Its all about finding balance and it looks like you are on the right track. (: This week at my house:
Monday - kitchen closed - I had a chicken sammie from P. Terry's on the way home from a difficult day and I have zero regrets!
Tuesday - Spaghetti Bolognese (froze the leftovers for future me), zucchini
Wednesday - Chicken Drums in mini crockpot, chopped salad
Thursday - I made a very weird "throw it together" meal of taco meat, spinach, some leftover corn, quinoa, and some leftover juices from the crockpot chicken drums.
Friday - Tilapia, rest of the chopped salad from Wednesday, and maybe a sweet potato
Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed, but I've got my usual meals packed for work.
Happy Weekend!
WWA:
Saturday: takeout burritos from local food truck
Sunday: leftovers from takeout burritos (they are huge!)
Monday: taco soup
Tuesday: leftover taco soup
Wednesday: grilled cheese and sliced apples
Thursday: chicken nuggets (purchased BOGO), rice, broccoli, and sliced apples
Friday: ???
You are getting so much done! I remember my son having one of those semesters that was short and it was SO MUCH work. It's a lot to pack into 8 weeks. Good for you.
Our week was sad and led to eating whatever...our little dog had some type of neuro event and eventually we had to say goodbye to her. That consumed us for two days, so we didn't eat or ate a handful of nuts or whatever.
I spent $48
We ate:
Saturday: white bean and ham soup with rolls
Sunday: a lasagna bake with salad
Monday: split pea dahl soup and chicken sausages
Tuesday - Thursday: frozen pizza, turkey sandwich, handful of whatever
Friday - I think we'll go out. We are both run down and a night out may force us to breath fresh air and do something else.
@Marlena, so sorry to hear about the passing of your sweet dog!
@Marlena,
Sending you my sympathies over the miles as well as wishing you peace.
@Marlena, Condolences to you and the family on the loss of your dog. My dog-before-this-dog had a stroke and it was so sudden and unexpected, no time to prepare for her passing.
@Marlena, I'm sorry about your doggie. Happy times to her on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.
@Marlena, I'm sorry about your dog. That's hard.
@Marlena, I'm so sorry about your dog!
@Marlena,
Thinking of you at the loss of a treasured pup. You never forget them and losing them is so hard.
@Marlena,
An empty house, I am very sorry that you lost your little friend!
Aww, Marlena. I am so very sorry to hear of the loss of your little dog.
@JDinNM, that's what happened with her. She was 10 year old and had some issues, but we just weren't prepared. We are thankful it was quick, but it's very hard.
@JNL, my husband and I were just saying this is the first time in 24 years we haven't had a dog in the house. It will take some time to adjust.
@Marlena,
Oh, noooo......so sorry to hear about the loss of your dog. it's so very hard. Hugs to you.
@JDinNM,
One of our beloved cats had a stroke, and it was devastating. So true, there's no time to prepare. RIP, Mackintosh, Best Cat Ever.
@Marlena, condolences on the loss of your wonderful Pup.
@Marlena, so sorry you had to let your dog go. they are with us for such a short time and they give us so much love.
@Marlena, ugh, the sucky part of being a responsible pet owner. The grief never goes away, just lessens a bit over time.
WIS: $123.02! But, strangely enough, the previous three weeks combined were only $123.36. So … an average of $61.60 per week. And this week’s haul included $6.60 for (inedible) decorative pumpkins and gourds for the front gate (because surely it will be Fall sometime soon, even though it’s supposed to be 90 degrees this afternoon, right? Right?!!); $12 for 3 pounds of Tyson chicken tenders marked down to $4/pound (all of which is marinating in my refrigerator in Kristen’s brinerade) which, in different incarnations, will last at least a month and probably longer; and a ton of mixed greens, spinach, strawberries, mushrooms, onions and sweet potatoes because Kristen has been shaming me about not eating enough produce. All of this purchased yesterday (Thursday) so none of which will appear in WIA this past week:
WIA: Asian chicken lettuce wraps (leftovers from the freezer); hamburgers with sauteed mushrooms and Swiss cheese; cauliflower crust pizza; yet more Japanese stir fried zucchini on ramen noodles; pears and organic strawberries for dessert.
@JDinNM, Oh, and spaghetti and meatballs using an "easy" meatball recipe I saw that was certainly easy but not at all good. Kinda flavorless and very crumbly. So I broke them up and added them to the spaghetti sauce. And after all that, remembered I don't really care for spaghetti and red sauce. So it's all sitting in the freezer for now.
Saturday - takeout ramen, veggie version for me, kids just got udon noodles
Sunday - Trader Joe’s orange chicken, veggie stir fry made with savoy cabbage, carrots, broccoli, rainbow chard and frozen peas (a good way to use up a lot of the weekly veggie box), brown rice
Monday - I got stuck at work a bit late so I just made the kids Kraft Mac n cheese with lil smokies sausages in it and steamed broccoli when I got home, I air fried a black bean quinoa burger for myself and used tzatziki on the bun as the condiment, really tasty!
Tuesday - I made a potato soup(it was a ham and potato soup recipe but I left out the ham and it was still delicious) and Trader Joe’s crescent rolls
Wednesday - salad night, with chicken on top for my husband, a diced up black bean quinoa burger for me and the kids had breaded chicken breast pieces with cut veggies. They also had the leftover crescent rolls and I had a corn muffin from the freezer
Thursday - taco night although no one really had a taco. I had leftover chicken fajita filling and Spanish rice in the freezer so I defrosted those. Husband had the fajitas and rice, kids had rice and plain tortilla along with frozen peas, raw bell pepper slices and avocado, and some pieces of cheese. I air fried two corn tortillas to make tostadas and had pinto beans on top with avocado, homemade lime cream and salsa. Even though everyone had something different, this was a very easy dinner to make since most of it was already made and just needed to be reheated.
Friday - I have book club so will be eating snacks there for dinner! Probably will make some cheese tortellini with jarred sauce for the kids before I go.
Good for you! What a week. I felt like I was flying by the seat of my pants.
Sunday: Roasted chicken, frozen fries, sliced cucumbers.
Monday: Leftover mac n' cheese from my daughter's birthday party on Sunday, scrambled eggs, and butternut squash soup. An entirely yellow meal, which was funny.
Tuesday: Baked chicken katsu, coleslaw mix with the simplest dressing ever (seasoned rice vinegar and sesame oil)
Wednesday: Mr. B tried to make tomato sauce but the tomatoes were bad. So instead he got frozen pizza and I breaded and pan-fried a piece of tilapia. And leftover coleslaw.
Thursday: Mr. B made pasta and tomato sauce, and I ate an orange after.
Friday: I'm working tonight! My supervisor will buy food and I'll probably pick up something on my way over.
Gilmore Girls + takeout = perfection!
I cooked all my meals at home this week but I unexpectedly had to buy lunch twice. From what I remember, I made zucchini with pasta and cream cheese, a baked sweet potato and an omelette, chilli mac and cheese and leftovers. I am so tempted to get takeout tonight and watch Gilmore Girls as well - today was a sucky day!
@Sophie in Denmark,
Yay for homecooked meals 🙂
Spent 18 dollars this week for milk and produce.
Low spend September due to high Vet costs. It’s okay!!!
Sun. Mon. Tues. chicken salad sandwiches. Wraps. With crackers. Your choice. Pickles. Fruit. Pretzels. One of those days we had tomatoes with cottage cheese for a side.
Wed. Thurs. zucchini green bean rice and chicken skillet with lemon pepper, lemon juice, butter and fresh parsley sauce. It was very good and filling. Sliced honey crisp apples for a side. Zucchini and green beans from a gardening friend. Chicken purchased on mark down and was in freezer.
Tonight. I am making a big pot of red sauce with garden goodness and fresh herbs and ground turkey purchased on mark down and from the freezer. I will serve over brown rice. Steamed frozen peas and garlic toast for the side.
Tomorrow. Lots of yard work to do so will be left overs or OYO
What a list! I’m not sure how you have time to do it all. I think I need to manage my time better. Do you have hints?
WWS: $238 for our monthly Costco run
$2 at the convenience store for a Mexican coca-cola for the carnitas
WWA:
Saturday - I picked up a rotisserie chicken when I was at Costco. We had that along with rice and salad.
Sunday - impromptu dinner at my son’s house after the football game. My daughter-in-law made gluten-free chicken pot pie and GF chocolate chip cookies.
Monday - A crock pot version of chicken Carnitas made with pork loin so it would have less fat. This was served over leftover rice and we had some broccoli.
Tuesday - Pork Carnitas tacos
Wednesday - Barbecue pork sandwiches made with leftover Carnitas and a side of spinach and peach salad.
Thursday - I made a large batch of sheet pan Chicken fajitas.
Friday - We will probably clean out the refrigerator tonight. We are having sod delivered today. We lost 1/2 our front yard due to the extreme weather that we experience since May. I am sure that I will not feel like cooking after being in the yard all day. Laying sod is not among my favorite activities. Wish me luck!
@Bee,
Sending you support from the "other side" of the state. I hope this sod takes well and the weather behaves!
@Bee, how does Mexican Coca-Cola differ from the U.S. type?
@A. Marie, Bee can correct me if I'm wrong, but Coca-Cola made in Mexico does not use high fructose corn syrup, but cane sugar. It tastes so much better! And is a better choice for marinades because...no HFCS. When I used to get bad migraines and a Coke helped with the nausea, I kept Mexican Coca-Cola on hand so at least I wasn't ingesting HFCS.
@Karen A., @A. Marie - That is correct. It is made with cane sugar not corn syrup. I believe this was the original recipe. It does taste much better and is in great in marinades and sauces that are slightly sweet in nature. I have also used it in barbecue sauce and Coca-Cola cake. My mother used to give it to me for a stomach ache.
@Karen A., you would be correct. Basically what US Coca-Cola "used" to be. Made in Mexico Coca-Cola comes in bottles, which automatically makes it taste better.
Friday: Birthday Dinner! My husband booked date night at a new-to-us Italian restaurant. We split a few pasta dishes to try the menu and everything was amazing. We ended the meal with a dreamy Gjetost Cheesecake – not Italian but so delicious.
Saturday: Philly Cheesesteak Eggrolls
Sunday: My parents came over for a family birthday dinner. My husband made pulled pork sandwiches, cheesy potatoes, and a giant Caesar salad. I was craving brownies so I made a batch for dessert.
Monday: Red Beans and Rice
Tuesday: “Baked” ziti in the instapot.
Wednesday: Spatchcocked chicken, roasted brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes
Thursday: leftover night
That was a busy week!
I spent nothing last week in the stores but I spent with farmers for sure. Right at $107.
WIA:
Well, Tuesday and Wednesday were easy enough. I popped open jars of home canned broth and drank that.
The other nights, in which I felt like eating, I had:
Lamb loin chops, baked potato and French green beans
Tuna salad made with veggies, plus fruit
Pulled pork, before I put the rest in the freezer, served with fresh fried okra and applesauce
Omelet piled up with cheese, bell peppers, mushrooms and longevity spinach
A slice of meatloaf with some English peas - my appetite was still low
Tonight will probably be more meatloaf and whatever sides I have the energy to make.
@JD, I'm sorry you've been under the weather. But fresh fried okra and applesauce (two of my favorite foods on Planet Earth) will bring you right around, I hope.
I am so impressed that you had time to shop, cook, and even eat with such an action-packed schedule. Your life is full, interesting, and wonderful right now, and I am happy for you!
Your meals look delicious & healthy, so gold stars for that plus a crazy week.
-Came home from a trip to a very empty fridge on Friday, so we had egg rolls & meatballs from the freezer. It was quite the combo. 😉
-Egg roll in a bowl on Saturday
-Sunday, out to celebrate our last family dinner before we took DS18 to college
-Monday - leftover egg roll in a bowl
-Tuesday - at a hotel for college drop off. Went to a fantastic restaurant across the street & shared tapas. I loved the roasted asparagus & tequila shrimp.
-Wednesday - ate at the airport before our flight home. I had a chicken salad.
-Thursday - just me home for dinner, so I had cheese & crackers & popcorn
-Friday - I defrosted chicken marsala from the freezer, and will have that + salad.
WIS: Around $200, which reflects the much higher cost of gluten-free items. I did also stock up on some reasonably priced ground beef and some yellow-sticker chicken for the freezer.
WWA: Leftover chili. Spaghetti with a tomato sauce jazzed up with Italian sausage and homegrown cherry tomatoes and oregano. Red beans and rice with added butternut squash and spinach. Ice cream and gluten-free cookies for desserts.
Wow! Kristen, you cooked more than I personally did, and are taking way more classes than me to boot. Hats off to you!
WWS: $466 at Kroger
WWA:
Saturday/Sunday: homemade pizzas. Sunday was a whirlwind; on our morning bike ride we stopped at the store and got some snacks for an afternoon road trip to check on DH's mom. So that added to our bill a bit, but it's always fun to nibble on something while keeping DH company as he drives. (Rind Coconut Chips and some roasted chickpeas I found. LOVE roasted chickpeas.)
Monday: DH did a massive cook of burger patties and tuna burgers. The burger patties we ate for dinner, with leftover chips and grapes on the side.
Tuesday: DS#2 made hamburger stew with some of the burgers. Pot of Annie's mac and cheese for Selective Eaters.
Wednesday: This was my midweek bike ride day, and the day of Clark's Great Tree Adventure, and I was very very glad of the leftover tuna burgers, which made a fine dinner that night. I had no bandwidth for cooking, what with the cat's shenanigans and working on my first team assignment for my class.
Thursday: Cat shelter night, DS#3 made taco fixings.
Tonight is my only cooking night, as it turns out; chicken shawarma, which everyone votes for every week. I will attempt to make homemade hummus once again (but with canned chickpeas) and will report back.
@Karen A., I join several commenters on your earlier post in wishing for an Adventures of Clark the Cat kids' book series. And I've been bugging Lindsey for a while now to do the Adventures of Houndini and Clobber Paws.
@A. Marie, Ha, I have been thinking about it. I once won one of the top prizes in General Mills' "Spoonful of Stories" contest. I wish I had kept my manuscript for "A Dragon in the Kitchen."
We had fruit on the side of each of these:
Friday: Fettucine Alfredo and garlic bread
Saturday: indian flat bread, rice, and dal
Sunday: Quiche
Monday: taquitos and guac
Tuesday: crispy air-fried tofu bowls with teriyaki carrots, cucumbers, japanese sweet potatoes, edamame, rice, etc.
Wednesday: Chipotle (all three of us girls ate kids meals and husband was not hungry so it was reasonably priced!)
Thursday: Lasagna
This all looks amazing. I miss regular bread. I've made an occasional successful loaf of GF bread. But it's rare. So I buy it at $18 a loaf from a local bakery, slice it and freeze it. And I make it last a month. I eat a lot of burgers and sandwiches on corn tortillas!
Gee, I don't remember exactly what I ate all week. Sunday our neighborhood has a potluck, so I made a tomato tart (so good), and a plum and blueberry crisp.
Monday was takeout night for the boys, so I have no idea what I ate. Maybe fish and roasted zucchini and peppers? Tuesday was taco tuesday with some kale chips and roasted acorn squash with pecans.
Wednesday...air fried baby potatoes, leftover taco meant, and more squash.
Thursday...DH was not here bc he took DS18 for freshman year of college...sniff. I made Aidells teriyaki meatballs with air fried soy carrots and rice noodles. With toppings of garlic chili crunch, cashews, and avocado...bc a friend gave me 5 large ripe avocados.
Tonight: salad and frozen pizza.
Tomorrow: burgers and onion/zucchini fritters.
@Marcia, I had to begin following a GF diet about 10-12 years ago after a health scare. I have learned to live with it, but every once and while when I smell a freshly baked loaf of bread or a croissant, I want to cry. I remember just how good regular bread tastes.
@Marcia, I just took my DS18 to his first year of college as well this week. It's such an adjustment. Good luck to your son, & to you as your family adapts!
Awesome! You did great! I also did great . I love to plan what I want to eat too. Because I don't want to make bad choices. It makes a difference. I don't what a I each meal, but I know I was h a happy and satisfied with it. I also focus on on protein and less carbs. I love veggies always you can't go wrong with them. Thank you for sharing.
Yes! There are very few situations where more veggies are a bad choice. 😉
@Kristen, I read recently that this summer the Olympic athletes were fed vegan meals so they put up a fuss and had meat, dairy, and eggs brought in!! That's probably the main exception to more veggies always being good. 😎
@Kristen, this carnivore disagrees. But that is okay - better half loves veggies as does the oldest kiddo (as in not only did they order roasted Brussels sprouts but kiddo took home the leftovers. Look on waiter's face was priceless). Younger kiddo is a step down from me (I will eat asparagus and broccoli). She is more of a carnivore than older kiddo. I don't mind *most* vegetables in soup or stews. Peas - ick, I can live without them too.
@Selena,
I' ve always been so thankful that our kids loved eating brussels sprouts! It is such a healthy and affordable vegetable, and in winter one of the fewer vegetables that you can always find fresh from the land.
@JNL, OMG they stink when they are microwaved. More power to those who like them but this girl ain't touching them.
I'm impressed that you found the time to cook on top of everything else you've been doing!
Whay I spent: $43 at Walmart, but I returned some canned chicken that was damaged, so I'm getting about $9 back as a refund.
What I ate: chickpea pasta with red sauce and olive oil; beef stew served over polenta; and meatless bean stew with tortilla chips. I had each of these meals two or three times. I love leftovers because they mean not having to cook every day. Tonight I won't be able to cook or reheat anything, so will have an almond butter and jam open-face sandwich using rice cakes.
Tell me about the chickpea pasta. Any good brands you like? Any cooking tips? I hear it can be a little weird texture-wise.
@Kristen, I like Aldi's Simply Nature chickpea pasta. Bariĺla is good too, but costs a little more. Both brands have just one ingredient, chickpea flour. Some others have additives that I don't like.
I think the taste and texture are fine, personally. It's a little different from wheat pasta, but still good. It doesn't take long at all to cook, so you have to be careful not to overcook it and make it mushy.
@Elizabeth M, interesting - better half loves chickpeas as well as pasta.
Market Basket $60+
Fri: Leftover taco stew
Sat: Birthday party for the 6 year old grandson. I made mac&cheese. Brought a lot home.
Sun: I went to a birthday party for my great niece and met my new great-great grandson. So I ate there.
Monday: Mac&cheese leftover
Tuesday: Clam chowder
Wednesday: Late lunch/early supper mac&cheese. I had signed up for a mushroom hunting program. I think it takes a long time to know which white mushroom in the forest is safe or not safe.
Thursday: Broiled shrimp; bokchoy; and potato--sweet for me, regular for DH.
I'm trying out a new food plan due to my acid reflux to see if I can heal. It will be kind of restrictive but there are a lot of good foods to choose from. I have to get all of the other food out of the house. I'm not going to just toss it.
Love your evening plans!
Saturday - ball park food - edible but the stick-in-her-posterior cashier required a complaint to the ball park. I'll leave it at that.
Sunday - drove home not stopping for lunch so Chinese takeout
Monday - steak 4 me, salmon for better half, roasted potatoes and carrots (not that I had any carrots mind you)
Tuesday - $15 burger/one side special
Wednesday - last of the pack of hotdogs with leftover potatoes (fried) from Monday
Thursday - eggs, toast, sausage, leftover potatoes (fried)
Friday - leftover steak with the rest of the leftover potatoes fried up with onions, red pepper, and mushrooms.
This week we had
M - tacos for five; two were at a team dinner
T - remixed the five and they had mac and cheese; two others were out for dinner
W - the children had chicken nuggets; the adults had Ruebens after a late meeting
R - baked ziti, cut veggies
F - pan seared chicken, pan fried potatoes, green/wax beans
WIS: $285.15
Your meals are creative and colorful. Great job on bringing these foods to school!
This week, dinners have been a mixed bag. They were:
-pizza
-chicken soup
-chicken enchiladas
-breaded chicken & shrimp w/fries
-sandwiches with pretzel bread
DS2 made cherry scones and he cooks on occasion. I think he made a scramble with leftover garden items (tomato/poblano/chilean pepper/onion) as I cleaned the dishes.