Meal Planning Made Easy

I am back to meal planning!!!  Our kitchen is about 80% complete which means I am backing to cooking.  Countertops, sink and dishwasher are all coming this week . . . we are so close!!  It's been super challenging to feed a family of five with a put together kitchen of a microwave, toaster, and crockpot :)

I actually meal plan every week for my online fitness accountability groups and the bonus is I then have my family's plan for the week!  Nutrition is such an important component of getting healthy and be prepared with meals helps ensure everyone keeps on track.  By providing meal plans each week my challengers are inspired to plan, get ideas and learn that eating healthy doesn't have to mean you only eat salads!  Plus meal planning keeps you organized - no more trying to figure out what's for dinner at 5 pm that night!!

I discovered there are lots of online meal plans and I decided to test out a system called Plan to Eat.  This has made my life so much easier!  You save your own recipes (or recipes found on the internet) into their website, then drag and drop them onto the calendar.  I have always struggled with what to do with all the recipes I pin on pinterest . . . no more, now I just add them to my recipes on Plan to Eat and can just drop them into my week when I am planning.  I love that all my favorites are in one place because let's face it's easy to forget some of our favorites and keep going to the same thing each week!  I also love that I can easily make notes on the container count for each meal for those following the 21 Day Fix.

BUT my favorite thing is  Plan to Eat creates a grocery list for you!!  I pulled up Plan to Eat on my phone and BAM there is my grocery list ready to go!! How cool is that?!  No more worrying about forgetting your list or forgetting to add something to your list!

I LOVE this service!!  You can try a 30 day FREE trial which I highly recommend so you can play around with it.  After that it's $39.00 a year which I think is well worth it.  Meal planning saves you money in the long run as well as keeps you and your family healthy!!  Happy planning! :)

Prepped for the Week

We (Todd and I) are starting Hammer and Chisel tomorrow!!!  I am so excited to have a new fitness program to take me through the holidays and into the new year but I am also excited to get dialed back into my nutrition.  Between Thanksgiving and a week of celebrating my birthday with lots of lunches and dinners out I need some structure with my eating.  I am pretty good at making healthy choices but let's face it eating out and traveling always takes us a little off track!

Hammer and Chisel's nutrition program follows a program similar to the 21 Day Fix with portion control containers.  You take a quick quiz on your goals and fitness level and you get the Plan you are to follow.  

Because I am still without a kitchen I am keeping it super simple this first week.  I spent about an hour prepping and I am thankful to my neighbor and good friend who's kitchen I use each Sunday to get ready for the week.  

I bought 2 rotisserie chickens and shredded them, roasted veggies, hard boiled eggs, cut up fruit, cooked brown rice and even made chocolate shakeology bars.  It makes it so much easier to stay on track when the fridge is stocked with everything.  Not having to think about it makes all the difference in the world!  :)

Here's my plan for the week!

Have A Plan and Connect with Your Kids

I spent the last 2 days in Texas doing college visits with my daughter which is super exciting, fun and stressful all wrapped up in one!  And it's a little surreal!  It doesn't seem that long ago that I was visiting colleges for me and now I am actually looking at schools for my own kid!!

Here's the thing the time does go so fast.  It sounds so cliche to say that, I mean everyone tells you that but when you are in the midst of raising a family you often don't feel that so much.  We are all just getting through the chaos of everyday living - the homework, practices, games, work, laundry, and picking up the house.  This weekend was a reminder to me to pause the chaos of life everyday and engage with my kids even if just for a few minutes.

One of the best ways to make sure we all connect is over dinner each night.  Not everyone is always home to all sit down together but if I can make sure there is dinner there is a pretty good chance we will connect.  Food is a unifying force.  LOL

The best way to ensure I am on my game with meals each week is to plan so I spent sometime on the plane ride home yesterday meal planning for the week. Today I did a quick shopping to be ready for the week ahead and even baked banana bread! :)

I am all about clean healthy eating.  It can be simple and easy so I am attaching my meal plan for the week to hopefully inspire you and give you some ideas.  Connect with me on Facebook or comment below if you would like a recipe or two.  :)

Plan for the Week

Since returning from Cancun 2 weeks ago I have not been on my game when it comes to planning out my meals for the week.  Which means very often at 5:00 in the afternoon I am trying to figure out what to cook for dinner and with a family of 5 that is NOT the time to be doing it.  I go to the grocery store unprepared and return with lots of food but not necessarily what I need to make, what I was thinking about making.    I took about 20 minutes, planned out dinners for the week and got my shopping list done.  I already feel better and I haven't yet hit the grocery store!

Today I am also back on track not just with planning my meals for the week but I am going back to my 21 Day Fix containers for the week just to get me more balanced in what I eat each day.  I eat healthy - that's not my problem.  My problem is I tend to eat more carbs than fruits and veggies and my portions start to get out of whack.  These past couple of weeks my energy levels are down, I'm not drinking enough water and my weight started creeping up just a little bit but at my age it goes right to the mid-section.  I had the vacation goal of Cancun for the last couple of months and that  helped me stay on track.  That is why goals are so important. We don't have any big events coming up so my NEW GOAL is SUMMER and I want to feel back to myself and it's such an easy fix . . . just pull out my containers and make sure my meals are planned out.  I need that balance back in my diet and that is what I LOVE about the 21 day FIX . . . balance!

I am also going back to the 21 Day Fix EXTREME workouts for the next 3 weeks.  The Extreme workouts did so much for my body and I really loved how I felt.  The last couple of weeks I have been switching it up each day with my workouts which has been super fun but I am the type of person that does much better when I am following a schedule.  One of the reasons I love these programs - they all come with a schedule and if you follow it paired with healthy eating plan and you will see results!

It comes down to finding what works for you, getting on a plan and having the support and accountability so you stick with it!  That's why I love my challenge groups - that's what we do we support each other and I provide the accountability, meal plan, recipes and tips for everyone to see it through to the end with results. 

I am sharing my dinner meal plan for this week with you to inspire you and motivate you. All the recipes are located in the recipe section on my blog.  I don't always plan out my breakfast, lunch and snacks because I am consistent with those meals and those are just for me! BUT for dinner I need to have a plan because I am feeding my family as well.  Dinners in our house are healthy, simple and the ENTIRE family eats what I make - that is the key!

I have a 30 day online support and accountability group starting May 18.  If you want to join or learn more about my group fill in the form below and let's connect.