I must say, this menu planning business is on point! Not sure why I didn't start this a long time ago...This past Saturday morning (after spin class), I drug out all my dusty cookbooks and headed to a lovely little coffee shop overlooking Lake Austin. Over a vanilla latte and a breakfast taco, I planned out a month of meals. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I get stuck in a rut eating cereal every morning, if I don't have a breakfast plan, and ooccasionally, Jonathan will come home at lunch time and ask, "What are you having for lunch?" In the past, I usually had no answer for this little question b/c I had just planned on eating a yogurt or some random combination of leftovers or another bowl of cereal. Now, I can tell him before he leaves in the morning what we are having for lunch that day! (His lunch time appearances are becoming more than occasional, and it's been nice for the three of us to all sit down at the table and eat lunch together.) And by planning out dinners on a weekly basis, I can keep better track of how much variety we are getting and how nutritional our meals are. Not to mention the fact that after I got done with the menu, I easily wrote out a grocery list. One where I knew we would use everything on it. One that was much shorter and more succinct than my old lists (or lack thereof) which usually involved a great deal of guesswork. So the list, combined with the fact that I don't make as many trips to the store for last minute meals, is already saving us some grocery money. As someone who thrives on organization, I feel so much more "together." I would even say more confident and less stressed. Perhaps you are rolling your eyes, since all of this seems - well, obvious. Maybe you already have a tried and true meal schedule/grocery shopping strategy that has been working for you for a long time. I know, I'm a little behind here...
Anyway, tonight we had a super simple to make salad that tasted like a little bite of heaven! Of course it is a bit presumptuous, but I just have to share the recipe so you can enjoy the goodness too.
Baby Blue Salad
1/2 cup coarsely crumbled bacon
1/4 cup blue cheese
8 cups baby spinach
2 avocados, peeled and diced
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 lemon
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Kosher salt, to taste
In a large bowl, toss bacon, blue cheese, spinach, tomatoes and avocado. Add juice of half the lemon and toss again to mash some of the avocado. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with remaining lemon half, cut into slices.
Pair that with a glass of red wine and follow it up with a few pieces of a dark chocolate, and your evening will be off to a pretty good start. =) Speaking of evenings, I am totally enjoying less time with facebook and the tv at night. More time reading, drinking green tea at bed time, doing crosswords, and going to bed early! (And, yes, I am totally aware that this makes me sound like I am at least 80 years old. And, no, I totally don't care. At all.) Going to bed earlier has helped me to get up a few minutes earlier a couple times this week to read my Bible and take some quiet time to listen for the Lord before I hear the first (of many) sweet "Mommy!"s of the day.
I've also been spending more intentional time with JD at home, instead of always trying to think of places for us to go in order to fill our time. Today was a chilly, rainy, inside day and I could have been tempted to just pack up and go to one of those indoor playlands with the ball pits, the inflatable bounce houses, and the toddler corrals containing every cheap, plastic toy known to man (and probably every germ as well, but I'm pretty much the opposite of a germaphobe). That place has saved my sanity on more than one occasion to be sure, but today we were at home the whole day except for one quick trip to the grocery store/ dry cleaners around the corner which accounted for a total of less than 30 minutes. Now, my son prefers to be played with instead of quietly entertaining himself as I hear some angelic children are known to do. So, I am attempting to embrace this to a certain extent. I'm implementing a little bit more structure in our playtime, and encouraging him to "help" me with my work whenever possible (which he absolutely loves). Been playing around with the idea of a (very loose and flexible) "schedule" for play activities since he is getting to the age where he can focus for longer periods of time, is enjoying constructing towers as opposed to just knocking them over, and is getting better at cleaning up. Trying to balance this more meaningful one on one time with time where he can learn to entertain himself while I make a meal, fold clothes, pay bills, or do a workout. With more reasonable (read: much lower) expectations of what I can actually get done while JD is awake, I find I can enjoy our time together sooo much more. And I realize how awesome it is to have this incredible time with my son. How I would not trade it. For anything.
So, yes. It feels good to be doing more of the things I really want to be doing. More of the things I actually value. The year is off to a good start.
PS And since I'm already being presumptuous with my recipes, I'll go ahead and share my whole menu as well. That's how excited I am about this! =)
| MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY | |
| B: | Crockpot Apple Cinn./Raisin Oatmeal | French Toast/Strawberries | Cereal/Grapefruit | Carrot Muffins/ Yogurt | Bagels w/ Crm Cheese Cantaloupe | Cereal/ Banana | Brunch: Black Bean, Potato Breakfast Tacos |
| L: | MacNCheese/ Hot Dog/ Green Beans | Turkey Deli Sandwiches/Kettle Chips | Veggie Omelet | Leftover Chickpea Pasta | Salad | Leftovers | n/a |
| D: | Baby Bleu Salad | Salmon/Rice/ Asparagus | Chickpea Pasta Almonds & Parmesan | Crockpot Chicken Rice/Green Beans | Leftovers/Take Out | Turkey Burgers/Sweet Potato Fries | Potluck at Church |
| B: | Cereal/ Banana | French Toast/Strawberries | Pear Granola Muffins/Yogurt | Oatmeal/ Blueberries | Bagel w/ Crm Cheese Cantaloupe | Cereal/Banana | Brunch: Waffles/ Berries |
| L: | Tuna Salad on Salad Greens | Leftover Tomato Salad | Veggie Omelet | Mac n Cheese/ Hot Dog | Hummus Sandwiches | Leftovers | n/a |
| D: | Grilled Chicken/ Tomato Olive Mozarella Salad | Brown Rice & Black Beans w/ Toppings | Beef/Broccoli Stir Fry | CrockPot Italian Lentil Soup | Leftovers/Date Night | Island Pork Tenderloin Salad | Tomato Soup/ Grilled Cheese |
| B: | Soy Sausage on English muffin | Crockpot Banana Nut Oatmeal | Cereal/ Blueberries | Egg/Cheese Burrito | Bagel w/ Crm Cheese Strawberries | Cereal/ Grapefruit | Brunch: Cran, Almond Coffee Cake/ Eggs |
| L: | Salad | Deli Turkey Sandwich/ Kettle Chips | Leftover Quinoa Salad | PBJ Sandwich | Butternut Squash Soup/ Salad | Leftovers | n/a |
| D: | Chicken Apple Sausage Pasta | Greek Style Quinoa Salad | Meatloaf/ Baked Potato/ Broccoli | Sweet Potato Bowl | Leftovers/Take Out | Spaghetti/ Salad | Crockpot Vegetarian Chili |
| B: | Crockpot Apple/Cinn. Oatmeal | Waffles/ Strawberries | Cereal/ Banana | Bagel w/ Crm Cheese Cantaloupe | Leftover Breakfast Casserole | Cereal/ Blackberries | Brunch:Lemon Cornmeal Pancakes/ Raspberries |
| L: | Leftover Chili | Tuna Salad on Salad Greens | Hummus Wraps | Baby Field Greens Salad (E2) | E2 Basics Salad | Leftovers | n/a |
| D: | Veggie Fried Rice | Beef Stroganoff/ Green Beans | Quinoa w/ Spinach and Avocado | Sausage Breakfast Cass.w/ Spinach Grits | Leftovers/ Date Night | Pad Thai (E2) | Pizza/ Side Salad |
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