Health / Nutrition

Weekly Meal Plan #1

Hello!!!! I’m in my second trimester now and trying my best to get back into fueling myself properly that most aversions have gone away.

With doing the Restart® program last month, weekly meal planning was prioritized and I’ve stuck with it for the past 8 weeks. It has been a lifesaver to ensure everyone knows what’s for dinner and having leftovers for lunch.

My hope is that by sharing what we cook, it inspires you to cook more at home too. Cooking all your meals can be a lot of work and be overwhelming. But it is never going to come easy if you never do it. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. You learn what works and what doesn’t, you flow better.

One tip I have when meal planning is look at your calendar for the week. What do you have scheduled? Do you have 30 minutes to an hour to reserve to cooking a meal to get dinner on the table at whatever time you want to eat? Do you need to have some slow cooker meals or Instant Pot meals planned so you can throw them together in the morning and not rush in the evening? This will help you be successful in not being burnt out and exhausted at the end of the deal not wanting to cook / not knowing what to eat or the biggest crutch, not having the time to do what you planned.

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Meals for the Week of March 15, 2021

I prioritized breakfast and having a easy to go snack for Bubba for daycare but other then that everything again was unplanned. I did a giant grocery haul at Trader Joe’s early Sunday morning that was packed with vegetables and fruit to get us through the week. In fact, I may have over bought because some of what I bought is overflowing into next week. Just goes to show you, it is best to meal plan so you don’t over buy and waste food.

Note on leftovers- most will tell you leftovers in the fridge are good for 4 days. It is a great rule of thumb! In our household, we inspect and smell the food, if all looks good we still eat it – but it is always reheated. You do what you are comfortable with!

 

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Meals for the Week of March 8, 2021

I actually meal prepped this week!!!! It was minor but a little is better then nothing!

I did our grocery shopping on Saturday so I was able to meal prep early Sunday which I haven’t done since Liam was born. I was done by noon, with clean up too!

Note on leftovers- most will tell you leftovers in the fridge are good for 4 days. It is a great rule of thumb! In our household, we inspect and smell the food, if all looks good we still eat it – but it is always reheated. You do what you are comfortable with!

 

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Meals for the Week of March 1, 2021

I am still in a place where I am not planning out our week but instead focusing on using what we have in the fridge or freezer (meats) and making sure we have snacks on hand for the little human who is a garbage pit these days (I hear it only gets worse).

So although you won’t see it reflected in the meals we ate, I did make some delicious, nutritious sourdough discard blueberry muffins which I’ll share below.

Note on leftovers- most will tell you leftovers in the fridge are good for 4 days. It is a great rule of thumb! In our household, we inspect and smell the food, if all looks good we still eat it – but it is always reheated. You do what you are comfortable with!

 

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Meals for the Week of February 22, 2021

Our family: 2 adults, 1 toddler

Scope: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner (what is shown for breakfast and lunch is what I eat, I am not tracking my husband’s meals – but the goal every week is to use what we have so there is no waste)

Note on leftovers- most will tell you leftovers in the fridge are good for 4 days. It is a great rule of thumb! In our household, we inspect and smell the food, if all looks good we still eat it – but it is always reheated. You do what you are comfortable with!

This is going to be a quick run down of what we do. If you have questions or want to know specifics let me know in the comments. If I get enough demand I will start tracking things and sharing them.

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Meals for the Week of February 15, 2021

ZERO meal planning and prep went into last week’s meals.

My patience, mood and energy greatly suffered from it. In a world where we are told to eat less and move more — it is complete bullshit. It is not that simple, for everyone!

When we don’t consume enough food to meet our energy and stress demands for the day we are left in an energy deficit which for most of us means you are pumping out stress hormones in order to stay afloat. This leaves you irritable, impatient, moody, and on edge. So although I did get meals together, they were on the light side and I definitely paid the price.

Oh and the little one was home with me all week since he had a runny nose so that’s another reason. MAMAS DO NOT CUT CALORIES! You need your energy to keep up with the energizer bunnies!

 

Note on leftovers- most will tell you leftovers in the fridge are good for 4 days. It is a great rule of thumb! In our household, we inspect and smell the food, if all looks good we still eat it – but it is always reheated. You do what you are comfortable with!

 

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Meals for the Week of February 8, 2021

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Chinese / Lunar New Year started Friday, February 12th here in the Northeast USA and I used it as an excuse to make some Chinese food I have been craving. I’ll likely continue this on an off for the next two weeks in celebration. Frankly the Chinese restaurants in my town are very Americanized and not flavorful enough for me.

Note on leftovers- most will tell you leftovers in the fridge are good for 4 days. It is a great rule of thumb! In our household, we inspect and smell the food, if all looks good we still eat it – but it is always reheated. You do what you are comfortable with!

 

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Meals for the Week of February 1, 2021

if you were in the Northeast last week we got hit with a snow storm — slow and steady starting Sunday afternoon into Tuesday. So 2 snow day! To say I was mentally struggling is an understatement.

I did get out to the grocery store Sunday morning and stocked up on veggies and I prioritized making a hash for the week! Otherwise, did ZERO meal planning this week and it was a struggle. I had no inspo, didn’t really want to eat (nothing interested me) and my energy suffered along with a few headaches. No bueno.

Regardless, here is what I did for us.

Note on leftovers- most will tell you leftovers in the fridge are good for 4 days. It is a great rule of thumb! In our household, we inspect and smell the food, if all looks good we still eat it – but it is always reheated. You do what you are comfortable with!

 

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Meals for the Week of January 25, 2021

This week got away from me and will be evident in next week’s meal planning! But I am super grateful I meal planned, had done all the grocery shopping, and prepped breakfast going into Monday. It really helps ensure balanced energy and mood stability for mama (and toddler)!

I spiced up leftovers for lunch with sauces this week!

Note on leftovers- most will tell you leftovers in the fridge are good for 4 days. It is a great rule of thumb! In our household, we inspect and smell the food, if all looks good we still eat it – but it is always reheated. You do what you are comfortable with!

 

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Meals for the Week of January 18, 2021

This week I was not inspired by much to plan or cook, but I know doing SOMETHING helps us immensely during the week. We are still trying to figure out our flow with a toddler, although, will we ever really find a flow?!

So I leaned on Fed and Fit’s Cook Once, Eat All Week resource to get me through. They provide a free 5-weeks on their website! Here’s the link. We used week 3 which focuses primarily on pulled pork, plantains, and red peppers.

Honest review of the Cook Once, Eat All Week method -> Love the simplicity and not having to figure it out! From the grocery list already made, instructions to meal prep, and quick steps to make the meals it really is a great resource! My beef with it though, I get sick of the core ingredients. I like variety in my meals and lots of veggies to prevent boredom. We also eat a lot and for at least the week we did, we did not have much of leftovers.

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