A rough week at work always gives me the motivation to put forth more energy into my meal plan. There is just something that excites me, even when the day is awful to know that I will come home and share a delicious meal with my husband. Sometimes I think about food more than I should, but I figure hey, as long as I exercise and am eating the right portions of GOOD food, it's not that big of a deal.
The thing I'm most excited about this week is the jicama salad I'm making. I first heard of jicama in the car with my Dad, who was having us listen to this food radio show with this woman who describes things using the most ridiculous adjectives. Ridiculous or not, we were captivated and whatever she said made me remember the word jicama (pronounced: hick-ah-muh). I'm pretty sure I've eaten it before, but I've definitely never made anything with it. Let's hope it turns out.
I'm also excited for the huuuuge container of Earthbound Farm Organic Spinach & Baby Greens I got at Meijer on Sunday. There was a coupon on it for 55 cents, which Meijer doubles to $1.10 off... meaning I got this HUGE container for $3.89... Organic + prewashed...definitely worth it during a busy week. To go with that, I have some goat cheese with herbs from Trader Joes... I am such a goat cheese addict and it's only like $3 for a good sized log there. Love it. So we will be eating salad A LOT this week.
Sunday: leftovers pasta with this homemade sauce, italian sausage and peppers
Monday: Quesadillas with jicama, black bean, tomato & lime salad
Tuesday: Stuffed shells (in the freezer!), salad & homemade garlic bread
Wednesday: going out to eat w/ some awesome ladies after jazzercise!
Thursday: omelettes (spelled the French way of course), hash browns and grapefruit
Friday: pizza and salad
Saturday: pork tenderloin (didn't eat it last week), potatoes & salad
go to http://orgjunkie.com/2011/01/menu-plan-monday-jan-31st.html for more menu planning ideas!!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Menu Plan Monday 1/24
Usually the winter is rather boring and I'm trying all sorts of new recipes... but this week is surprisingly busy... hence the same meal twice plus some stuff I have in the freezer. Perhaps next week will be more exciting. As always, there are more ideas at: http://orgjunkie.com/2011/01/menu-plan-monday-jan-24th.html
Sunday: leftover Penne Carbonara
Monday: tacos (tip: add a can of black or kidney beans to the meat and you can get even more meals out of it) and rice
Tuesday: out
Wednesday: tacos and rice
Thursday: pork tenderloin and potatoes
Friday: lasagna party with my teacher friends :-)
Saturday: pasta or soup, salad & bread
Sunday: leftover Penne Carbonara
Monday: tacos (tip: add a can of black or kidney beans to the meat and you can get even more meals out of it) and rice
Tuesday: out
Wednesday: tacos and rice
Thursday: pork tenderloin and potatoes
Friday: lasagna party with my teacher friends :-)
Saturday: pasta or soup, salad & bread
Friday, January 21, 2011
Could you eat a school lunch every day?
The first two years of my teaching career, I spent 40 minutes standing in the cafeteria watching the students eat. Lunch duty was not my favorite, but it did allow me to get to know some of my coworkers and see how students treat their peers and their school. I have many a memory from those two years, with most of them involving two things:
1- Improper use of the microwave
2- French fries
The microwave only lasted part way into the school year, which was fortunate, because many a fire could have been started with the cooking times the students were selecting for their pop tarts and honey buns (and the fact that they walked away, expecting me to watch it cook... which I did... because obviously I don't want to watch a fire start).
The french fries on the other hand, appear every day. Students return to their tables with their trays loaded with fries. Pizza and fries, chicken fingers and fries, burgers and fries... and the worst offender of all, cheese-filled bread sticks and fries.
The thing that gets me is that there are healthier options. Our school offers salads and fruit every day. They have switched from white rice to brown rice. I truly am proud of my district for the steps they are taking to provide healthy, balanced meals. Unfortunately, the structure of a high school cafeteria allows students to make poor decisions each day. They have chips, cookies, ice cream, pop and of course french fries available each day, and that is what I see my students eating. Worst of all, they buy extra chips, cookies and candy and eat those as snacks later on in the day. (Considering the first lunch is before 10am, I can't blame them for needing a snack.)
This post was inspired by this article I saw on CNN.com, about a teacher who ate and blogged about her school's food for almost an entire school year. 162 days of school lunches. I don't think I could have done it... and the food at her school made ours look gourmet. Yikes. Well, if one thing is certain, if I ever have kids of my own, I think I will pack their lunch. And make sure they know how to properly use a microwave, even if we do not use one too often at home.
1- Improper use of the microwave
2- French fries
The microwave only lasted part way into the school year, which was fortunate, because many a fire could have been started with the cooking times the students were selecting for their pop tarts and honey buns (and the fact that they walked away, expecting me to watch it cook... which I did... because obviously I don't want to watch a fire start).
The french fries on the other hand, appear every day. Students return to their tables with their trays loaded with fries. Pizza and fries, chicken fingers and fries, burgers and fries... and the worst offender of all, cheese-filled bread sticks and fries.
The thing that gets me is that there are healthier options. Our school offers salads and fruit every day. They have switched from white rice to brown rice. I truly am proud of my district for the steps they are taking to provide healthy, balanced meals. Unfortunately, the structure of a high school cafeteria allows students to make poor decisions each day. They have chips, cookies, ice cream, pop and of course french fries available each day, and that is what I see my students eating. Worst of all, they buy extra chips, cookies and candy and eat those as snacks later on in the day. (Considering the first lunch is before 10am, I can't blame them for needing a snack.)
This post was inspired by this article I saw on CNN.com, about a teacher who ate and blogged about her school's food for almost an entire school year. 162 days of school lunches. I don't think I could have done it... and the food at her school made ours look gourmet. Yikes. Well, if one thing is certain, if I ever have kids of my own, I think I will pack their lunch. And make sure they know how to properly use a microwave, even if we do not use one too often at home.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Menu Plan Monday 1/17
One of the first blogs I stumbled across when I decided to start meal-planning three years ago has a section called "Menu Plan Monday," where each Monday, over 300 bloggers post their meal plans, some with links, some without. Nevertheless, it is a great tool if you are in need of meal ideas!
Here's my menu plan for the week:
Sunday: potato & corn chowder
Monday: Pot Roast, mashed potatoes & carrots
Tuesday: Ginger Soy Chicken with brown rice
Wednesday: Pot Roast over toast (haha...)
Thurs: Israeli Couscous with black beans and tomato (new recipe!), pita & hummus
Fri: leftovers!
Saturday: Quesadillas & homemade mexican rice
Here's my menu plan for the week:
Sunday: potato & corn chowder
Monday: Pot Roast, mashed potatoes & carrots
Tuesday: Ginger Soy Chicken with brown rice
Wednesday: Pot Roast over toast (haha...)
Thurs: Israeli Couscous with black beans and tomato (new recipe!), pita & hummus
Fri: leftovers!
Saturday: Quesadillas & homemade mexican rice
goals for 2011
Last year I made a New Year's resolution to floss each day. I was very successful and super excited to go to the dentist and get some praise for my hard work. The dentist said nothing. I left feeling very frustrated. Fortunately, I have a good friend who is a dentist and she was able to correct that situation. (Thanks Kelsey.)
This year, I have no resolution(thanks to the dentist), just a few goals:
- spend more time baking (I'm more of a cook than a baker)
- work out enough to balance out the baking projects
- continue to wean off of using any type of box mixes/make as much as possible from scratch
- grow closer to God
- work at putting people first during the school year, not school work
This year, I have no resolution(thanks to the dentist), just a few goals:
- spend more time baking (I'm more of a cook than a baker)
- work out enough to balance out the baking projects
- continue to wean off of using any type of box mixes/make as much as possible from scratch
- grow closer to God
- work at putting people first during the school year, not school work
blog-reader turned blogger?
I have been an avid blog-reader for quite some time. The thought of starting my own blog has occurred to me more than once, but I have never considered my life to be blog-worthy. I am living a very frugal DINKS lifestyle with my husband... so you won't find me posting pictures of adorable babies, lavish trips or extravagant meals. I love to cook, travel and shop, but I do all of these things on a budget. I do what I can to make our life as fun and interesting as possible, but I truly find pleasure in the small things. Like the first time I made pita bread, and it actually had a pocket. Like red cup day at Starbucks. Like getting something for free at the grocery store with a coupon. I have no clue what kind of blog this will become. I might only blog twice a year. I might post on each and every cooking adventure, or I might write about what I'm learning. Or teaching. Who knows, maybe God has something more in store for me. Perhaps my husband and I are not destined to live our entire life in suburbia, but for now, I am going to strive to be content with what we have and do everything I can to bring God glory with the way I live my life and spend our money. With that being said, thus commences this new season of my life as a blog-reader turned blogger.
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