I was bad this week...

My husband brought home cookie dough ice cream and fried chicken, which I had been craving, this week. My resistance level is not high. I'm not in any hurry to lose the weight. Not preparing for a wedding or anything. So I'm putting us on a stricter set of meals this week. Only one of which has a recipe at the moment. But I have a plan.

I'm going to make a meatloaf and mix in shredded zucchini and serve that with mashed sweet potatos. I do put a little butter on mine, but I don't add extra salt. My attempts at meatloaf have failed miserably, but I'm going to try again.

I'm going to make some brown rice with a mixed veg, beans, and cheese. Just use whatever is your preference.

Doing something similar except I'm using ground meat and barley. I figure I'll do one at the beginning of the week and one at the end I'm being a little frugal this week because my birthday is coming up and I'm making country style pork ribs that day.

Last of all I'm going to make some white bean soup. I actually think using dry beans is easier and it's definitely cheaper. I believe the recipe calls for dry, but there's really no reason you couldn't use canned. Just remember that a pound of dry beans is not the same amount as a pound of wet beans.

And I think I'm getting apples and mangoes today. Might get bananas instead of apples. Actually I probably will, but we'll see. Usually when I write this I've already been to the store, but I woke up early today and found myself with some peace and the time to write.

Breakfasts this week are going to be overnight oats and egg sandwiches. Picking up some English muffins for those.

So that's it for today. I want to get done early and take E down to the splash park again. We made friends on Wednesday when we went and it's supposed to rain the rest of the weekend.

Arm day

I actually really enjoy arm day. It seems much more straight forward than the rest of my workouts. I found out that full body workouts may be better for weight loss so next month I'm going to be trying that route. since I've taken measurements I can gauge how much of a change there is vs. how much was changed this month.  I'm no where near dropping a pant size yet so if I drop down a size by the end of the month we'll know.

So I like this workout because it doesn't require a lot of moving around. You pretty much stay in one place and the while thing takes about half an hour. There are a few I have to skip because I find them impossible to manage properly using water bottles as weights. I have little hands so getting a good grip on these 32 oz. water bottles is difficult. These weigh about 2 lbs. but you use whatever is comfortable for you. One of these days I'll get myself a set of real weights. It's just not on the top of my list.

I also like this because it can be good for a beginner or someone who is more advanced just by increasing the weights you are using or the amount of reps you are doing.

Something I bet you didn't know: certain arm workouts can help make your breasts perkier. Frankly, I just want mine to shrink. I've never wanted large breasts and would seriously consider having them reduced since I had my son. I'm hoping getting into shape helps. If not I'm just screwed. I can accept my lot, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like certain things to be different.

You can dislike things about yourself, but that should never change how much you love yourself. Like I have a big nose. I hate it, but I'm not rushing out to get a nose job. Whose to say it would actually look better after I got it anyway. I'm still pretty with my big nose and I've seen people with bigger noses so why complain?

Sorry. I kind of wish I'd had a girl so I could tell her about loving herself. I think that is less of a boy problem. So you guys get the lecture instead. Anyway I'm running behind today and still have to manage my own workout this morning so here's that workout.

http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Best-Dumbbell-Arm-Exercises-35176832

So I lost my grocery list...

After I got back from the store I couldn't find it. Did some crazy amounts of cleaning today and it turned up, so we're back in business.

So this week's menu:

Vegan vegetable soup. I bought 2 bags of frozen vegetable soup mix. Mine has carrots, lima beans, green beans,corn, okra, carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes. I added celery, garlic, and mushrooms. I only added half the mushrooms because I'm using it for my next meal....

Pizza! The pizzas were such a big hit last time I made them I'm making them again. I've got some Vidalia onions and mushrooms for mine. D likes his half pepperoni and half cheese.

Remember those pork kebabs I made for cinco de mayo? Well D was in love with them. So I picked up some ground pork and I'm marinating it tomorrow and making pork burgers with carrot fries. We've been eating a lot of sweet potatoes so I thought I'd go with carrots instead. I've still got some corn from last week so I might cook that up too.
http://voraciousvander.com/2011/12/05/the-best-way-to-cook-zucchini-and-carrots/

I actually planned a lunch! Go me! OK super simple and it was pretty yummy...cucumber sandwiches. I nixed the butter because we were eating it right away, but I was very pleased with it. Paired it with grapes, but use whatever you like.
http://www.chewoutloud.com/2014/05/19/lemon-cucumber-cream-cheese-sandwiches/

Last but not least. Sweet potato shepards pie. I really wanted to make this, but I realized I had regular potatoes that needed to be used so I'm using regular potatoes. I'm giving you the recipe anyway and you can make it and tell me how amazing it was.
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/11/sweet-potato-turkey-shepards-pie.html?m=1

Picked up apricots and bananas as fruit. I checked out prices on pork ribs. Be prepared in 2 weeks. Making bbq pork ribs. I'm excited.

So that's it for this week. I let my soup simmer and the time just went off. So I'm gonna eat me some deliciousness.

For some reason yesterday was Monday

I got my days mixed up. I kept thinking yesterday was Monday. Anyway today is when I talk about my butt workout. This one is great because it's short. It doesn't feel like it though. It's 3 sets of 4 workouts and a 1 minute rest.  It takes about 15 minutes, but it does it's job. I also like that there are no squats.
http://tone-and-tighten.com/2014/03/booty-pop-workout-15-minute-at-home-butt-workout.html

You're supposed to do each workout for 1 minute, but I'm not sure you could get very many reps in at the beginning. Also I have an interrupting toddler. I do 15 reps each side for the fire hydrants and donkey kicks. I have a fairly wide living room so I go across my living room 4 times, which is about 20 total lunges. Then I just count to 60 for the reverse plank. You can do whatever works best for you. I also like the fact that it's more consistent that way.
Not much to say on this one. It's pretty straight forward.
In other news, I finished my 30 day challenges. I can definitely see that that my abs are more toned, but I haven't lost very much fat in that area. However, I am not disheartened...well maybe a little bit. I think I expected to see more gone, but that just means my expectations were too high. I have no idea how much weight I have lost still, but I can tell that I have.

I can say that I feel better and I look better. I also took some measurements yesterday. I know that I have lost about an inch off of my bust line. I had been measuring for new bras that I never did buy. I went from 33 1/4 in to just over 32. My waist is at 38 in. I checked my thigh circumference as well. Since I have a knee brace I have to keep one that fits properly.  Since I'm wearing a large almost any loss means I need a new one. The largest circumference is up to 22 in. I recall being at exactly 22 in and now I'm down to 19.5. The problem is that you can't spot treat for fat loss. You're going to lose weight all over your body. So you're going to lose in the easiest spots first. I'm seeing the most differences in my calves, arms, and face. I'm also seeing some difference in my bust, but I'm not really sure how much I'm seeing.

I will try and show you a few pictures later so you can get an idea. I'm hoping in another month I get to see a bigger difference. I'm really angry at myself for letting it get so bad. I guess I just want to be where I was before. I want to get back to some kind of normal.

Sick baby

Yesterday was bad. My baby was sick. He had a fever and ended up vomiting. So I didn't get a whole lot done. You probably don't want to hear about that though. He's feeling much better today just so you know. He rarely gets sick.

So to combat my little ones yucky tummy we had fried rice for dinner. Everyone has their own recipe for fried rice. Sometimes I use quinoa and this time I didn't use meat. I kept it pretty bland, but still yummy. I was also able to cook rice successfully for the first time ever. So that was pretty exciting.

This morning I tried making overnight oats. There are a ton of recipes. My sister sent me the one I used. She's really into the make ahead meals right now. This one calls for chia seeds, but I used ground flax seed because I already had some. Plus I'm not sure how the boys would feel about the whole seeds. We topped it with banana, strawberry preserves, and granola. E was a little hesitant about it, but after I let him stir he was all for it. I bought some pint jars for $5 to make ours in.
http://www.katheats.com/recipage?recipe_id=6000086

For dinner tonight I'm making turkey burgers with baked sweet potatoes. My husband hates that I don't use beef, but I'm just not a fan of ground beef. I think it tastes awful. Plus ground turkey is cheaper. This is another one of those things where everyone just makes them the way they like. I do recommend adding extra seasoning to ground turkey. It seems to need that little extra or it's too bland.

Next I'm making cauliflower mac and cheese in the crockpot. I love anything I can make in the crockpot. Plus getting my husband to eat more vegetables. Always a plus. I'm sure the boys will eat hot dogs with it. I always keep a pack of turkey hot dogs in the freezer. I got enough to make it twice. I always underestimate how much I'll have leftover.
http://spicysouthernkitchen.com/crock-pot-cauliflower-cheese/

Last of all I'm making Ritz ranch chicken tenders with corn. Corn was 12 cents a piece and asparagus went up to $4 a bunch. So I got corn instead. I'm making it in the crockpot again. It was really good last time. Ritz chicken is a husband favorite. I figure I owe him a little for putting up with my vegetarian food.
http://www.mylifeasamrs.com/2013/01/easy-3-ingredient-ritz-cracker-chicken.html

So that's what we're eating this week. Oh I grabbed grapes and bananas for our fruit. I also grabbed some more raisins to make scones and some string cheese for snacks.

Abs day

Abs day was yesterday and it is just so much fun. It just takes so long to do. That's why it's I start my week with it. I'm afraid I would be unmotivated to do something that took so long if I did it at the end of the week. Just like I do legs last because I know it won't take very long and I get to rest over the weekend. It's good to know yourself and what drives you. That way you can trick yourself and overcome your obstacles.

I realized today that I don't have a scale. I really don't have room for one either. I know that I was at 160 lbs on March 19th. We had my son's birthday party at his grandparents and I weigh myself when I'm there. So I have no idea what I weigh right now. Which I'm kind of ok with. I kind of have a goal weight. I have a weight that I want to be near. I was at 125 when I got pregnant. My lowest weight was 115. I'm aiming for 120, but anywhere in that area is fine with me. I'm not going to get frustrated if I can't lose a couple pounds. I've had a baby so my body is a little different now and I'm cool with that.

So abs. Abs are a lot of women's target area. Especially during bikini season. They are also one of the most difficult areas to lose weight. Which is why instead of doing one workout 3 times, I do 3 workouts 1 time. I figure it helps to cover all of your bases. Plus it ke9eps it fun.

I'm going to yell you a secret. I don't actually do all the moves for each workout. I can't do them properly. I figure it is better to skip them than trying and hurting myself. It's ok to do less than what it says if you find it too difficult. The first time I started working out I tried something that was too difficult and almost passed out. Some things can be beyond our abilities, but we can go back and try again. I did that workout again a month later and since I was in better shape it was a lot easier. You need to change up your workouts about every month or so. You're body gets used to what you're doing and it will stop working. It can be as simple as adding extra reps or a new move. So I can add them in later when I'm ready.

OK rule number one: Always stretch before and after your workout. It helps prevent injuries. Since I already have a strained tendon in my knee, I'm all for that. It's unrelated to working out. It's actually been injured for over a year. It just won't fully heal. I've seen doctors. It's been feeling better since I started working out. I wear a brace and just keep going.

 I'm probably a little lazy since I do the same stretches before and after, but it works for me. You should stretch for about 5-10 mins. I wasn't sure what kind of stretches I should be doing so I looked it up. I'm all for google. This is pretty much what we did in elementary school gym class. I also add a few others I remember doing, but you'll be fine with this.
http://darebee.com/workouts/warm-up.html

I think the reason I love my abs workout is because it's the one where I have to listen to music. Well I don't have to, but it makes it more fun. Since I did have a baby and I have that yummy mommy. I wanted something where I knew I was specifically targeting that area.
On this one I skip the walking v ups. My upper body strength is just not good enough for this.
http://bikinibodymommy.com/2012/11/14/top-5-favorite-ab-moves-nutrition-tips/

This is my all abs workout, but I think it's pretty boring. It is fantastic for your abs. Planks are one of the best abs moves thete is.Don't feel bad if some of the moves are difficult to achieve and feel awkward to do. That's why even tho some moves repeat between the three sets I still do them. They get easier to do the more you do them. I had so much trouble doing side plank lifts at first and now they're easy. I skip the superman planks at the end here. They scare the crap out of me. I also take breaks doing the 90 second plank. It's ok to break it up.
http://kamafitness.ca/2014/09/02/sexy-summer-abs/

This is my favorite set. It is so much fun and it's the reason I need music. I don't time my moves like it says I just go for the length of a song. I find a song that works for the rhythm I need and just go. If I need a drink in the middle I stop and get a drink. Plus it's easy for even a beginner, but it's still a good workout. I always feel amazing at the end of this.
http://www.sparkpeople.com/blog/blog.asp?post=the_lose_your_love_handles_workout

So there it is. You now have the abs secret. I may not have a scale, but I can see the difference in my abs. I want to finish the 30 day before I show you any kind of results. This workout plus the 30 days usually takes about an hour and a half. So you really need to make the time to do this one. Unlike what  I'm getting ready to do. Butt day is so easy you might cry. I'm still not sure if my butt looks different, but the muscles feel different, but that's for next week. If you're brand new to working out I'd start with the last workout and then add the second and then the first. I found them in that order and it worked well. The most important thing is that you make it feel less like a chore. It needs to become something you want to do because it feels good. I've spent time building my workouts to find what I liked. Now I love my workouts as much as I love my knitting.

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope you all have a happy mother's day at least a better one than me. I've been up since 6 am cleaning. My gift to you I'd pictures of my pizzas, which were amazing btw. We couldn't wait to eat the first one as you can see.

Also, tiny toddler and his dinosaur kingdom. I fear they've killed the bear.

Takeout is garbage

Due to my dietary change my husband has been wanting take out more. I love Chinese food so we got some last week. It was terrible. I felt like garbage. I literally felt like a lumpy bag full of rotting food and rubbish. I felt unmotivated and tired. When you are eating well fast food can make you feel awful. I did get promised some red lobster tho. Snow crab legs are my favorite and haven't had any since I was pregnant. I think it's better to make copycats of your favorite take out food.

So instead of my grocery list, I think that may have been rather dull, I'm just going to be talking about my menu.
I will tell you we got apples and halo oranges for our fruit this week. Apples are one of those fruits that you really should buy organic. My son loves the pink lady apples. There are 6 in each bag. The non organic apples have 9, but they are half the size. Since they mostly get used for apple pancakes I don't mind getting size over quantity.

I've become a big fan of making scones for breakfast. I think they are better than my prepackaged bag muffins, but with the cost of fruit I tend to lean towards the chocolate chip and peanut butter variety. I'm not a huge fpan of eggs. My husband only likes scrambled and my son is still wary of runny eggs. Breakfast has always been my least favorite meal. I'd eat smoothies for breakfast if I could. I'm working on finding better breakfast ideas.

Scones are actually pretty simple and my kid loves them. I do most of my mixing by hand. I lack a stand mixer sadly, but it's convenient because anything I recommend requires no special equipment.
http://www.mlovesmblog.com/search/label/recipe?updated-max=2013-07-05T09:04:00-07:00&max-results=20&start=8&by-date=false&m=1

I think I say it a billion times...I love leftovers. So I try to make it so I have enough leftovers that I only have to cook 4 days a week. Thanks to the takeout I never ended up cooking spaghetti so I now have that in reserve if I need it.
Last night I made alfredo with spinach. If you like to make your own alfredo, go for it. Here it's hot and we don't have central air. So my kitchen is like hades and the less time I spend over a stove the better. Just cook your pasta and let it sit in the strainer while you wilt the spinach. Then toss together with you're alfredo and you're done.
It also requires very few dishes which is a plus. One pot meals are a mom's best friend.

Tonight I'm making foccacia bread pizzas. I'm making two. One is for D and one is for me. E just shares everything we eat so he'll get what he likes. Mine will be broccoli and onion with cheddar and D's will be half pepperoni half cheese. That way everyone can have what they like and I don't get any complaints about lack of meat. I'm making the foccacia myself, also by hand, hoping it works out. All my baking has to be done Amish style so it's work, but I'm just going for it and hoping for the best. My family are good cooks, but very few bake.
http://www.handletheheat.com/focaccia-bread/
I'm not using the rosemary in this recipe, but I'm adding some garlic. It's been ages since I made a pizza at home so I'm par cooking the dough by reccomendation of my father.

I feel like I'm eating a lot of carbs this week, but it all sounded so delicious. This week's theme is simple and delicious. Next is a vegetarian pot pie. The nice thing is the meat is easily added to this and who doesn't love pot pie?
http://momstestkitchen.com/2014/03/easy-vegetable-pot-pie.html

Last, but not least one pot chicken, carrots, and potatoes. Chicken thighs, carrots, and potatoes seasoned and roasted in the oven. I'm using bone in, but you could easily substitute boneless thighs. I like chicken thighs because they are cheap and have a lot of flavor.
http://letthebakingbeginblog.com/2014/05/one-pot-chicken-potatoes/#_a5y_p=2054833

If you're ever wondering what we eat for lunch it's usually more leftovers. I need to get better at lunches. I actually want to do some cucumber sandwiches sometime.

Well I'm off to get working on my foccacia dough and get my 30 days done. Wish me luck with my dough.

Sleep Deprivation

Yesterday I mentioned that I was having trouble sleeping. Thankfully whatever it was that was keeping me up took a night off and I managed a decent nights sleep.

Most of my sleep problems come from the fact that my toddler sleeps in the same room with me and we had to remove his crib side to prevent him climbing over it and hurting himself. So he crawls into bed with me whenever he happens to wake up. He's afraid of the dark. He is also not the best person to sleep with. He is actually probably one of the worst and I wake up constantly with his feet in my back. Not much I can do about that. It's really not that big of a problem unless he wakes me up more than twice or I didn't fall asleep until after 1 am. After him waking me up twice it becomes difficult for me to go back to sleep.

The past few nights he was actually not so bad. It was me. I just couldn't fall asleep and I really couldn't tell you why. Usually when I go to sleep I read and wait for E. to fall asleep so he doesn't get out of bed. Then I listen to an audiobook while I fall asleep. Something about a British accent is very soothing. I usually set the timer for 45 mins and I'm asleep before it goes off.

Sleep is important. Especially when you have a stressful or dangerous job. Lack of sleep can make you irritable, makes you more prone to accidents and illness, impairs your brain function, can cause weight gain, and if severe enough can lead to hallucinations or death.

I know not everyone pops out of bed after a good night's sleep and walks around whistling. That would be irritating for one thing. I am definitely one of those people who spends a good 20 mins laying in bed staring at who knows what before I get up. My husband could turn it into a sport. He sets like ten alarms and then lays in bed for an hour before rushing around trying to get ready for work like it's anyone else's fault. It makes mornings interesting. Even tho it takes me a while to be ready to face the morning good sleep makes the day easier.

There are lots of reasons why we have problems sleeping. It may surprise some people, but drinking alcohol can make it difficult to sleep. Stress can also make it hard to sleep at night. Can't stop thinking about all your problems? Definitely makes it difficult to sleep. If you're having trouble sleeping or staying asleep almost every night I suggest seeing your doctor. You may have an undiagnosed sleep disorder.

There are lots of things you can do to improve your sleep:
Turn off electronics an hour before bed. No tv or video games. You will fall asleep faster.

Have a routine. Do something that signals to your brain that it's time for bed. Even if it's just putting on pajamas.

Make sure you're room isn't too hot or cold. The ideal sleeping temperature is about 70 degrees.

Make sure your room is dark. If you have a lot of outside light pollution consider blackout curtains or an eye mask.

Make sure you room is quiet. We live near a train depot, a small airport, and Lake Eerie. I can see Cedar Point from my front yard. Not to mention all my neighbors have barking dogs. There can be a lot of extra noise at night. That's why I listen to audiobooks. If that's not your thing try a white noise machine.

Exercise early. If you have trouble sleeping because you exercise late at night you should try doing it earlier in the day.

You can do some calm exercises, like yoga, or meditation to help you sleep. Meditation and I are not friends. My house is too active for me to focus. Yoga and I are good friends. It was introduced to me by my theatre arts teacher in high school and I've slowly added it into me life over the years. I've been trying to add this into my bedtime routine, but D has been coming home early and that makes E hyper in the evening so I spend more time playing damage control. I've managed it a couple times and I felt so much better getting into bed then I do when I don't do it.

This one takes 20 mins...
http://www.livestrong.com/blog/natural-way-relax-fall-asleep-faster/

And this one takes 8.
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/yoga/poses/yoga-routine-before-sleep/

You can also try a warm glass of milk or a lavender spray for your sheets to help you get to sleep at night. If you keep a schedule your body will get used to it and you will have an easier time falling asleep at the same time every night.

I should have done this earlier...

I really meant to do this on Tuesday, but I've been having trouble sleeping. Plus D took the day off today and we ended up having a really weird day where lots of things got done, but not the things that we had planned on getting done...I think it's just one of those weeks. In spite of all that...today is fitness day!!! Hooray!

So...I know it can be a drag to workout or you just don't feel like you have time...or your toddler has figured out about sliding doors and doorbells and you're half tempted to put him in the dog cage just so you can finish your workout...sometimes. Thankfully my son thinks that mommy working out is amusing so once he realizes what's going on he's happy to divide his time between shaun the sheep and feeding me cereal. Anyway. I know it can be hard, but not if it's something you enjoy doing.

I made my new years resolution in January. I spent that month making a plan and started working out in February. I didn't like it at all. So I spent the next few months scouring Pinterest (I love Pinterest) and trying out different things. I now have a workout plan/schedule that I enjoy, for the most part, and seems to be working. Today I managed to get on my largest pair of pre pregnancy pants which previously I couldn't get over my butt let alone to button them. I was marveling at some of my smaller shorts and how I was ever so little when I was pulling out my summer clothes.

There are 2 things I know about working out: 1. You're body needs to rest! Yes, you can work out every day. Yes, you are more likely to injure yourself if you do.
2. Stay hydrated! I'm drinking 32 oz of liquid every day. That way I'm not bloated and I'm eating less. Water fills you up. Plus you're at least 60% water. If you're sweating it out you need to replace it.

I say I'm drinking "liquid" because I switched my morning coffee to green tea. I'm fairly intolerant to caffeine so this has actually worked very well for me and it boosts your metabolism, which was why I made the switch in the first place. I mostly drink water. I do not guilt myself into feeling bad for drinking a soda. If I want to drink a soda, I drink a soda. It's not 4 sodas. It's not going to kill me. That's what cheat days are for. That way there is no guilt.

OK so I have a fitness plan. Weird fun fact: I make lists. Nothing would ever get done in my life if not for lists. For some reason checking the little done box on my lists makes me happy. So in my daily planner is my workout schedule. There is one rule: life happens. If life gets in the way things are allowed to be moved as long as they are done that week, unless for some reason it MUST be put off for longer. Don't feel bad for not sticking to the schedule as long as you actually do what you schedule. So my schedule looks like this:
Monday-Abs
Tuesday-Butt
Wednesday-Arms
Thursday-Legs

Friday is shopping day and then I rest on the weekend.

Now I think I would have a harder time keeping my schedule if I weren't doing workouts every day still. I know I said rest, but if you're working at McDonald's you are probably putting in more effort than these take in your whole day. In addition to my schedule I'm doing two 30 day workout challenges and one 21 day one because I realized my arms needed some extra attention what with my affinity for tank tops.
I took a look at my problem areas and took considerable notice of my butt and stomach. I'm still trying to figure out how it took me two years to notice how awful I really felt about myself, but that's a whole other topic. So, if you find it difficult to get motivated I suggest picking up a couple of these. They say it takes about 21 days to develop a habit so these are perfect to get you started. I actually track these on a calender and don't allow myself to cross the day off until I've done them.
Here's the link to the ones I'm doing:
http://www.blogilates.com/blog/2015/01/30/30-day-butt-lift-challenge/
This links to the butt challenge, but I'm doing her abs too. I plan on doing the arms and legs the next 30 days. I really enjoy doing them.

http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/21-Day-Arm-Challenge-37016988?crlt.pid=camp.86HO0hvkKfNS
This a sort of light arms challenge. I started it several days after the 30 day ones and my arms are way out of shape so I figured it was a good way to get something going.

Now the point of these is not to do them instead of your regular workout, but in addition to it. So on abs day I'm doing my abs workout, abs 30 day, butt 30 day, and my arms if it isn't a rest day. The same thing every other day you workout.

I don't set foot in a gym. I went a few times with my sister in college and it just isn't my favorite place. I use nothing to minimal equipment. My hand weights are two 32 oz bottles of Fiji water that I refilled and super glued the lids on. For those who are wondering that's 2 lbs of weight each. I have a jump rope and a yoga mat. Everyone can do what I'm doing. The hardest part is getting started.

OK since I was bad I'm going to give you a bonus post tomorrow after I trudge through  my legs workout...or maybe during breakfast ...and then I will give up my secret ( not so secret) ab workouts next. Don't get me wrong it's my favorite I've found, but I do despise lunges. So I hate leg day. Arms happens to be my favorite only because abs take forever. There is a method to my madness. I promise.

Shopping

Today was shopping day so you get a breakdown of my list.

I always grab some fruit so today we got bananas and kiwi.
My toddler loves fruit so we always keep some handy. I'm a fan and it makes for a healthy snack.

Meat-I got some pork stew meat. I'm going to grill it with some hot sauce and lime juice. I picked up some skewers for those. Also some chicken thighs, but those were on sale and I need them next week.
Like I said, we're still eating meat a few days a week so I plan a few meals with them. I always keep an assortment of ground meat on hand, mostly chicken or turkey. I happen to have a lot so I didn't need to pick any up.

Veggies-Green onions, tomatos, lettuce, cucumber, and an avocado
Most of this is for burrito bowls.

Other- chow mein noodles, ranch dressing, quinoa, cinnamon life cereal, vegetable pasta, spaghetti sauce, sesame oil, and whole corn
Contrary to the belief of my husband, corn is a grain and not a vegetable. So it falls under the "other category". Quinoa and ranch are for burrito bowls. My son likes cinnamon life and pretty much no other cereal (we've tried generic. Not even close to the same taste.) I like to grab the vegetable pasta because who doesn't need extra vegetables? And it isn't so much more expensive. I try to buy organic when it's not crazy expensive. Sesame oil and chow mein noodles are for sesame noodles. I like the texture of the chow mein, but I'm pretty sure whoever wrote the recipe just uses spaghetti.

Staples- flour, milk, eggs, muffin mix, bread, and coffee creamer.
This is stuff that is always in our house. Sometimes I get a bug and get a baking fix and I make scones or something. Most of the time we eat eggs or muffins for breakfast. We buy whole milk because my husband drinks it so that's where most of it goes and I just don't argue (Anyone notice how particular he is yet? Too soon probably). He drinks coffee, but I switched to green tea with 1 tblsp. of honey. We get one in a bear because...toddler.

So as you can see I'm not a total health nut. I believe in eating what is good. I ate canollis on Wednesday with a white pizza and wine. Which was a treat. We rarely eat out.
I'm also not rich. Tack on another $35 worth of non-food items and all this comes out to a little over $100 for the week. I usually sit around $100-$125 for 3 people. I believe in leftovers. My husband hates eating the same thing. I'm not always sure what or if he eats, but I stick strictly to my budget. He usually gets himself stuff for lunch because he usually just tells me to get "whatever" and then hates what I get him. He's one of those people who is too busy to eat or falls asleep before getting to eat.

So this week's menu is:
Sesame noodles
burrito bowls
grilled honey lime pork with seasoned corn cooked in the crockpot
Spaghetti
and I keep Tuna patties as a stand by in case I misjudge how long food will last.

Usually during the winter I make a soup every week and we never run short. I've yet to find something that works for summer. I think it might be burrito bowls, but I might have to switch back to rice. I believe in leftovers. If you can make a lot of something that everyone likes and it isn't too expensive then go for it.

Fun fact: I can not cook rice to save my life. It never turns out right. Even when I use my rice cooker. That's why I use quinoa. Feel free to substitute.

OK so here's the part where I share the recipes. Very few of them are my own so I'll hand out the links, but this is literally what I'm eating.

Spaghetti- I dunno how you make it. Make it how you make it. I cook noodles, usually twisty because toddlers love them (I think they're called rotini), cook ground meat, and then dump everything in one pot with the sauce.

Burrito bowls-cook grain of choice, add veggies, add meat of choice (optional), add tasty dressing. Voila! Healthy delicious meal. It's like a salad with rice or something for those few unaware of what a burrito bowl is.

Sesame noodles- I do not use the chili oil in this recipe because a) I can't find it and b) husband (who I will now refer to as D. and toddler is now E.) can't do spicy or he gets heartburn, but it's still yummy and everyone loves it. Also, if you don't have canola oil any kind works. I've used grapeseed and it's still delicious.
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/08/simple-sesame-noodles/?crlt.pid=camp.L1rrvZsNX9cW

Honey Lime pork kebabs and seasoned corn- These are both something new so I hope they're good. If a recipe has cilantro or red pepper flakes in it I usually omit. The red pepper flakes due to D. and I really don't like them. I find that cilantro doesn't seem to make a difference if it is there or not so I just don't use it. Even tho it is a chicken recipe, I am using pork.
http://kitchenmeetsgirl.com/honey-lime-chicken-skewers/
I haven't decided if I'm doing one or more of the flavors here, but I'll let you know when it happens.
http://www.theyummylife.com/slow_cooker_corn_on_the_cob

And last but not least Tuna Patties- There are plenty of variations of this so feel free to explore. I am a huge fan of Pinterest. I really like this recipe though. I buy the 4 pack of cans and just add enough of the ingredients until it seems right and eat it with a nice veggie or applesauce.
 http://www.kaylasjoy.com/tuna-patties/

So that's what we're eating this week. It may seem overly healthy, but have no fear I'm making pizza next week.
I don't like counting calories or avoiding carbs. You can still eat healthy without doing all that. It's just about being concious of what and how much you're eating.