At the beginning of each week I try to make a mental note of the meals I would like to prepare for the upcoming week. As I go through my food logs it seems I have a pattern of eating the same things every week. Booorrrrinnng. I have my favorites of course, but more often than not its a time issue. Jobs, kids, and trying to get to the gym on a regular basis is a test to my time management skills. With that said, I thought I would list a few of my favorite things to eat. At least they seem to be my faves since I eat them all.the.time.
Breakfast: My all-time favorite go-to breakfast is a smoothie made with 1 cup of light chocolate soy milk, a banana, and 1 cup of frozen strawberries. Whip that up in the Magic Bullet and enjoy with an Thomas 100% whole wheat English muffin with a half serving of reduced fat chive and onion cream cheese. FABULOUS! Another breakfast I love is a Fiber One chocolate chip banana muffin (freezer section) with a banana and usually a cup or 2 of coffee w/ a flavored creamer of course. Measure, measure, measure the creamer though, it is so easy to use a ton of that stuff and drink way too many calories. If I have time I will sometimes make an egg wrap w/some veggies, small amount of bacon or ham, using 1 egg plus 1 egg white wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. There’s a brand I like found in the Wal-Mart refrigerated section near the cream cheese, but I can’t remember the name of it for the life of me right now. Fiber One honey clusters cereal or Kashi honey puffs are my fallback cereal choices that I have with fruit, or instant oatmeal with 2 tsps of slivered almonds. I’m also a fan of Jimmy Dean D-Light bowls, preferably the turkey bacon one. With a cup of coffee its a great quick breakfast or lunch!
Lunch: This is my hardest meal of the day. I hate, and I mean HATE any type of Lean Cuisine or Smart Ones meals. I will eat them occasionally, but after eating them for months when I lost weight after my oldest was born, they pretty much make me want to throw up. I think I have 1 in my freezer right now. They do work well for portion control and are an easy meal when you are crunched for time, but I prefer just to avoid them if at all possible. There are some that are okay, but nothing to write home about. The Lean Cuisine szechuan shrimp is tolerable, and the breakfast quesadillas are good enough, but anything else I just can’t stomach anymore. Amy’s cheddar cheese burritos along with some lettuce and half a serving of light sour cream and salsa is a perfect lunch for me. Quick and satisfying, not to mention packed with fiber (I’m a fiber junkie). Deli turkey with a little mustard on an Arnold 100% whole wheat sandwich thin with sliced tomato, cucumber, and lettuce is a good quick lunch. Sometimes if I have time I will whip up a breakfast wrap (above) or scramble an egg plus 1 egg white with a serving of potatoes O’brien and a little cheese. I’m stuck with lunch though. I need to start coming up with some new lunch ideas and preparing them ahead of time. I do enjoy making soup and so have homemade soup at least once a month. I don’t do canned soups. I found some questionable goop that smelled of an industrial lubricant in a can of tomato basil soup one time and that was the last time I bought a canned soup other than ones to cook with, and even then I inspect them very very carefully. It scarred me for life.
Snacks: Triscuits with laughing cow light swiss cheese triangles, Sargento RF cheddar cheesesticks with an apple or a serving of RF Wheat Thins, Slim Fast sweet and salty chocolate almond bar, Light and Fit Apple Pie yogurt, or any kind of yogurt, an apple with 1 TBSP peanut butter, a serving of cashews, light popcorn, veggies with Hidden Valley Ranch dip made w/light sour cream, a banana. I’m sure I have lots more of these up my sleeve, but apparently my memory is failing me today. I prefer baked Cheetos and M&Ms, but well, my hips don’t like them so much and sort of defeat the purpose of a healthy lifestyle.
Dinner: Another one where I’m stuck in a rut. I try to be as kid-friendly as possible as I hate having to make 2 meals (which I seem to do anyway since I am the parent of the world’s pickiest eater). Tacos made w/extra lean beef or turkey, measuring everything!!!, penne w/diced tomatoes, mushrooms, and feta; spaghetti, lemon parsley shrimp, chicken, chicken, chicken, meatloaf, beef stew, roast. I basically just watch my portion sizes with dinner. My kids are starving by 5:30, so I’m typically pressed for time at dinner. We also LOVE to make a chicken, bacon, artichoke pizza with feta…waaaaay better than Papa Murphy’s and much healthier too since I can control everything. I always make a minimum of 1 vegetable with each meal, usually 2. My littlest guy loves green beans. My husband and I also really love the Green Giant brussel sprouts in butter sauce! Suprisingly tasty! There is a Hungry Girl recipe that I’ve been meaning to try. Its a slimmed down version of a Chili’s entree apparently; chicken, bacon, BBQ sauce, and cheese. I also make a chicken sandwich using thin chicken breasts and Shake N Bake, with tomato, lettuce, dijon mustard on a bun. My husband has been asking for this a lot lately.
The above is a sampling of some of my favorite foods and some that I eat because they’re quick and convenient and easy, if I wasn’t running out of time I would write down more or be more specific, but what can I say, time management… Up for tonight: Ham, asparagus, corn, mashed potatoes and maybe sweet potatoes too. Then gym time! I was severely lacking in gym attendance last week since midweek I got struck with a cold and was miserable for a few days. I’ve got to step it up a bit this week, 3 more weeks until we leave for Cabo and I want to fit into some cute capris!!! With the leftovers sounds like I’ll be making one of the above-mentioned breakfast wraps for either breakfast or lunch! Hooray!!! If anyone wants clarification on a recipe or if you have any recipes to share with me, please feel free to leave a comment or whatever.
Not smoking isn’t going so well. I’ve pretty much been smoking regularly since last week. Argh. I feel like crap because of it too. Less energy, shortness of breath, stinky, and just overall shitty. So why not just quit, right? If you’ve never smoked, you probably can’t understand. This addiction has its claws in deep! My 30th birthday is Friday, and I know I will be smoking that night for sure, so after this weekend I’m going to try the patch. Cold turkey just isn’t cutting it this time. If the patch fails, then my best solution is to get pregnant. That always get me to quit.
I’m sorry I get a kick out of people trying to quit smoking. You can always try my success-proof cigarettes. Smoke harsher nastier 100s of your favorite brand. Soon you’ll only want the big dogs and will scoff at the shorts. I went from Lights to the big guys 10 years ago and never looked back.