Meal Plan 01/28/19 - 02/01/19

I am fighting the meal plan this week. It turns out it doesn’t matter how much you plan and prepare, you still need to do the thing where you actually feed the people. We’re dealing with food pickiness and food allergies and, I don’t know, food apathy on my part.

This week’s meal plan was painful to create is what I’m saying.

Monday: Mac & Cheese served with sauteed chicken, green beans, mushrooms, and shallots.

Tuesday: Chicken, Bacon, Avocado sandwiches on toasted sourdough bread served with broccoli cheddar soup.

Wednesday: Crowd-pleasing Tex Mex Casserole from the Oh She Glows cookbook (except I’m going to use real cheese because we’re not vegan). Served with fresh guacamole and lime crema.

Thursday: Leftovers.

Friday: Rosemary Cheddar Meatloaf served with roasted brussels sprouts and the chunky mushroom soup from last week. It ended up being extra chunky and thick so I froze the leftovers and we’re going to use it like a chunky mushroom sauce.

What’s on your meal plan this week?

Surrounded

Grady graduated to his green belt in karate last week. His school does graduations once per month, and he still had his last stripe to earn, so I didn’t think he’d be graduating until February. But at the last minute, two days before graduation, he tested and passed. 

He has worked so hard and grown so much since starting karate. I know I’m biased but I promise, he’s actually really good. And he loves it. I don’t think I’ve had a cooler parenting moment than seeing my kid excel at something he enjoys.  

Graduation was a bit of a last minute scramble and I didn’t expect anyone to reschedule their lives around Grady’s karate event, but I put the invitation out to all the grandparents. And they all showed up. They watched him move up to the next belt level, they cheered and clapped and took pictures. Afterwards we all went out for dinner and I can’t articulate how much it meant to me to see how my kids are surrounded by love and support. Intellectually I know my kids are loved but to witness the sacrifice (traffic! Other plans! Work stuff!) people made to come stand in a sweaty gym for an hour when Grady’s portion of the ceremony was approximately three minutes, was humbling. My kids, my family, I am so lucky. 

Meal Plan 01/21/2019 - 01/25/2019

Part of me wanted to be proven wrong with all the meal planning. I wanted to plan the meals and not notice a difference in the chaos of our evenings or the amount of food waste we produce. But…that is not the case. Meal planning and food prep are totally making life easier. It’s a lot of work on Sundays but then I don’t worry about what we’re eating for the rest of the week. It’s kind of awesome. It’s also holding me accountable to my vegetarian-meal-at-least-once-weekly goal which is pretty great.

Monday: Lentil Bolognese served over roasted broccoli for meatless Monday. I made the sauce today and just need to roast the broccoli tomorrow after work.

Tuesday: Chrissy Teigen’s Chunky Creamy Mushroom Soup with tuna melts. I made the soup today and just need to reheat it and make the sandwiches.

Wednesday: Change Your Life Chicken with sweet potatoes, red onions, and green beans.

Thursday: Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls served with some sort of green vegetable on the side.

Friday: Some sort of leftovers or snacky dinner situation.

What’s on your meal plan this week?

Tiny Happy Tuesday 2019:2

1. I came home from a very long day, sighed, and said, “I’m exhausted.” 

“I’m with ya, sister!” Grady replied.  

2. My parents came over on the weekend and brought Poppy’s Christmas present - a shopping cart - with them. My dad had to assemble it so Poppy brought over her toy tool kit to assist and then when she realized the complexity of the project she handed him a play $5 and said, “here’s a hundred dollars. Fix it.”

3. Shawn washed and detailed my car on the weekend and there’s something so luxurious about driving a perfectly spotless car (especially when you have kids).  

4. We saw the sun today. We might see the sun tomorrow.  

5. I asked to be referred to a different ophthalmologist than the doctor who did my eyelid surgery in 2017 and my optometrist listened to me and referred me to a new doctor without any fuss. 

What’s making you happy this week?​