Meal planning Monday.

Okay, so my plan to blog more hasn’t really happened. Oops – too busy, and still struggling with work, managing and just feeling good.

My meal plan for this week looks something like this:

Monday: chilli con carne (leftovers from the freezer)with brown rice.

Tuesday: whatever Craig makes.

Wednesday: sausage and vegetables (new potatoes, carrots, runner beans, sweetcorn).

Thursday: homemade fish cakes, potato wedges and beans or mushy peas.

Friday: tomato pasta bake and salad.

Saturday: jacket potatoes, tuna and salad.

Sunday: shepherds pie and vegetables.

I’ve just been shopping – I spent £47 at Aldi – with that I’ve bought our whole weekly shop for 4, plus a few bits to take to my daughters school for harvest festival next week. There are breakfasts, lunches and meals for the whole of next week.

I also plan on moving more thus week – I need to fit exercise into my life. I’m 30 in 6 months, and it’s my sisters wedding in 10 months, and to be honest I’ve just been floating along for far too long – not terrible but also not brilliant. Now is the right time to continue to tweak my lifestyle. In fairness, our meals are not too bad. I just have a terrible sweet tooth and crave chocolate far too often – that’s the part I want to alter to get a better balance.

Xxx

Meal planning Monday..

Gosh, it’s been a long time since I wrote a blog post. I started a few and then stopped. I’m going to leave it by saying that I’ve been having such a stressful time at work that I’ve struggled to think about anything else. There’s a lot going on, and I’m struggling to manage my time, so when I get home I just want to think about nothing, and snuggle on the sofa with uncomplicated tv, reading blogs or a book on my iPad or browsing the internet. It’s about all I have the energy to manage right now.

I have a meal plan for this week though, so it seemed to make sense to take part in meal planning Monday, with at home with mrs m.

Here’s the plan:

Monday (today) chicken stir fry with sweet chilli and garlic sauce.

Tuesday: whatever Craig makes for when I get home from work.

Wednesday: beef stew and dumplings ( I made it in the slow cooker yesterday and popped it in the freezer). I think it’s good, even if I do say so myself. I like stew when it gets to Autumn.

Thursday: lamb shepherds pie with a sweet potato topping, kale, carrots and sweetcorn.

Friday: chicken curry.

Saturday: burgers in buns with salad or chilli con carne from the freezer (leftovers) with rice and garlic bread. Not sure which yet.

Sunday: Sunday dinner.

I like having a plan 🙂 however, due to non planning my shopping bill has been creeping up recently (I spent about £65 this week,at morissons) and so I’m going to have to knock it back down again. I don’t even know what I bought exactly that made it so expensive compared to normal – i thin I just ended up with too much in my trolley by the end. Usually I shop at aldi, but occasionally I need washing powder (or crave their fresh bread!) and end up back at morissons.

I have a couple of book reviews that I want to post, so will get them posted in the next couple of nights.
Xxx

Healthy eating take two…

Back in January, I started a healthy eating plan. It worked well for me – I joined the gym too, and together I felt healthier and fitter,and just generally better. However, when I returned to work in March it all went wrong. Nothing drastic, but things slipped here and there and I just stopped trying, basically.

Time is a huge factor. Time to exercise is one thing – me and my boyfriend only get one day a week off at the same time. And every other day either he or I don’t get home until around 6pm. I can exercise later, but by that time of day I really struggle to get myself motivated as I’m tired.

But. Now I’ve been back at work 6 months. Amelia starts full time school this week, and so I will have two days a week with Rosie. This means that I can take Rosie on long walks with the pushchair, or take her out on the bike. Things that I can’t do with two children I can do with Rosie.

So I wrote my meal plan last week. It’s full of healthy meals, plenty of veg, salad and fruit. And I aim to exercise as much as possible. I am aware that this is real life, and so I’m not going to go overboard. If I miss a day, it’s not the end of the world. What I want is just to make time where I can, and know that the things I am eating are good for me.

This is what I’ve had today:

The top photo is breakfast. It was mixed fruit (grapes, strawberries, banana and apple with yogurt). Lunch was egg salad with a tiny bit of grated cheese, spinach, tomatoes, peppers and a brown oven roll. Tea was chicken stew with lots of veg.

I have to have meals that fit in with my family. I won’t cook separate meals for me – Amelia loved fruit for breakfast – she said it was the best breakfast ever. She also enjoyed lunch and tea, as did everyone else. Thats my aim – to fill us all with healthy, well balanced foods.

I will weigh myself as and when I feel like it – today I was 10.11. I don’t want to get obsessed so it will only be when I feel the time is right and will never be more than once a week.

Right, time to go do more decorating – we are decorating the dining / play room and it’s hard work!

Xxx