Meal Plan - Oct 7

Yesterday I got my longest run (16.97km) done since completing the Brisbane half 2 months ago. It was hot but it felt good. Not my fastest time but I am truly just happy to be out there and hopefully inspiring a couple of other friends to keep going. I do have to be mindful of the wildlife though - at one stage a quite large brown snake was inhabiting the same path as I was running along. I chose to let him have the path and ran along the road instead.

On a food note, another week of meal planning is done after a couple of slack weeks. It really helps to not only save money and time but also means that we eat healthier as I don't end up buying impulse items at the supermarket every afternoon.


Monday

 Tandoori Chicken
For some unknown reason I've been craving this one lately but never got around to making it until now. Simple to prep and quick to cook. It's great done on the BBQ too.

Tuesday

Steak and roast potatoes
It's great BBQ weather here at the moment. Warm but not too hot and no mozzies, yet. My boys ask for these potatoes nearly every week when I ask for their input on the week's meal plan. What i love about the site where I got the recipe (Natasha's Kitchen link here) is that she posts the how to photos for each recipe. Personally, it makes it so much easier to decide if I'm going to like a recipe.


Wednesday

Slow cooker Chicken and Chorizo pilaf
Quick and easy. Perfect for mid week.

Thursday

 Teriyaki Pork meatballs
I 'd feel weird if I didn't have a recipe from Budget Bytes (link here) in my meal plan. Beths site is one that i regularly check for new recipes. The last time that I made this one both of my boys had given it a 10/10 before I even had a chance to sit down and start eating myself.


Friday

(Herb crumbed) baked salmon
I cheat and use pre-packaged bread crumbs and I normally add more/different herbs than just basil - parsley and chives work well. A few comments suggest adding lemon rind which I have done when I have a lemon in the fridge and it makes a nice flavour addition. One of the comments said that they add pinenuts to the crust mix which sounds delicious so I will try that this week.
I'm going to make home made baked chips to go with this one rather than a salad

Meal Plan Sept 16

I had my 20 year high school reunion this past weekend. Leading up to it, I was excited and nervous all in one, but I ended up having a great time. Facebook took a lot of the guess work out of knowing who was who but I still found myself looking at a couple of people for a few minutes while the old brain clicked over.
In all I think everyone looked great - we must've been a good looking year to have aged so well! ha ha.

Looking towards this week, I've settled into my new job but realise that I need to be careful with what I plan for meals at the beginning of the week when I am doing 9-5. Thankfully my husband is a great help and so I can tell him what needs cutting up and what he can do and that saves me time when I get home, otherwise we aren't eating until 7-ish and it simply allows too much snacking time (mainly by me! the kids are fine).

So this is what we'll be eating:


Monday

 Mexican Chicken & Bean bowls
As I do with all my mince meals, I'll grate carrot and zucchini into the mince mixture. I serve this one like Nachos but  not all cooked together - I serve the mince mixture in bowls and then add a little bit of grated cheese and a handful of corn chips - The kids still feel like they are getting nachos but its a healthier way to serve it up. Win win. If I was really good I could toast some tortillas and that could cut down on the salt from the corn chips...but after working all day that may cut into the 5 minutes I get to relax!


Tuesday

Pork sausages and mash
Plain old bangers and mash - An oldie but a goodie. I do my mash as half normal potato and half sweet potato and add a dash of sour cream if I have any (which I will have leftover from Monday's dinner).


Wednesday

Fried rice
Quick and easy. Perfect for mid week. Instead of bacon I'll have vegetarian and I'll add a tin of Tuna for the boys.

Thursday

 Honey Mustard Chicken strips
I haven't made this one before but I'm thinking it sounds pretty delicious.


Friday

Bolognese Pasta Pie
I haven't made this one before either and I am hoping it's not too fiddly. I think that the boys will like it though so I am going to give it a go. There's tons of recipe variations for this one online and the one i have linked to seemed easy and gave step by step photos - I love step by step photos.

Have a great week

Meal Plan Sept 2

I start a new job this week.
Which is kind of a big deal as this is the first job I've had in around 3 years which involves me leaving the house to go to work. No more slippers on my feet in Winter. No quick dash to the clothes line if it starts to rain. I'll probably miss my coffee machine the most of all. We've built up quite a relationship in the last few years.
On the upside I get to leave the house to go to work. Working from home means that you never leave work, and that can get very annoying. I'd get on the Internet at night or on the weekend to look at something and I'd think, oh, I'll just check the work emails before I log off; suddenly an hour or two has passed. It will be nice to finish work and leave for the day.

I'm still hopeful that I will have the time and energy to make all the dinners on this list:


Monday

 Honey Spiced Chicken
I 'm still loving the website called Budget Bytes and this is another recipe from there. Seriously check it out if you haven't already


Tuesday

Stuffed Capsicums (Slow cooker)
I am hedging my bets that son number one won't like this one all that much because of the capsicums. However, I am hoping that he likes the filling and I'll just eat his capsicum. My Mum used to make a recipe like this one when I was a kid. I can't remember if I liked it or not, but I'm willing to give it a go now!


Wednesday

Cream cheese Beef rolls
Always a winner in our house.


Thursday

Coconut Prawns
I've done these before and they're very yummy. My first job was in a Thai restaurant and they used to make a dish similar to this but their sauce was just mayo and curry powder, which i think is nicer than the lime mayo in the recipe. And actually, I'll personally be doing this with chicken instead of prawns - But only because son number 2 is allergic to prawns so they are a big no-no in our house unless we feel like a late night trip to the emergency department!

Friday

Braided Spaghetti bread
OMG i feel full just looking at this one. But it sounds too good not to try. I read a few of the comments and a good suggestion was to butter the bread dough with garlic butter before placing the spag bol on top

Meal plan - August 12

Before I put up this week's meals I apologise again to those people who pointed out to me that I didn't do one for last week. To be honest I was so tired after the Brisbane Half Marathon that I simply ran out of time and never quite got ahead.

And yes, I am still on a high from my PB at Brisbane. The only trouble is now getting myself out of the mentality that I can't beat that time. Because that is silly - the Brisbane course was fairly hilly. Not just one hill but lots of hills spaced out throughout the course. So if I can do a hilly half marathon in 1:51:03 then i surely can do a flat one even faster.

I am starting off this weeks meals with a couple of favourites and then trying 3 new meals. The meal on Wednesday (Spinach Lasagne roll ups) has been on my 'to try' list almost as long as I have been on Pinterest so I thought I'd give it a go this week. Then when I went to the site/blog that has the recipe I found all these other super ideas and ended up pinning 3 recipes for this week all from the same site/blog. (the site is http://www.budgetbytes.com/. Check it out, it's awesome)

So this is what we are eating

Monday

Pad Thai
I will be doing mine with Chicken because son number 2 is allergic to prawns.
Tofu, blah, so that will be omitted.
I have made Pad Thai several times in the past and it always varies in taste and glugginess but yet I keep trying to perfect it. When I was googling a recipe to use for this week I kept reading about 'Chez Pim's' who the link refers to as well. Pim is someone who has a blog and doesn't give a recipe as such but tips on how to make the perfect Pad Thai so I will be referring to her blog as well.

Tuesday

Beef Goulash
The only difference Ill make is that I'll serve mine with veg rather than pasta

Wednesday

Spinach Lasagne roll ups
I am really looking forward to trying this one.
I love that the blog author has step by step pictures too.
I will probably take the lazy option with the sauce and just use a jar of passata but if I have time I may add a few extra vege's into it (eg capsicum and mushrooms) and simmer them down then blend them in so that they are hidden. (Son number one detests capsicum but what he can't see he can't pick out!)

Thursday

Slow cooker taco chicken
How good does this one look in the pictures. Yum.
I'll probably do kidney beans instead of black beans (simply because I am more familiar with kidney beans). I will also serve these as 'make-it-yourself' burritos rather than with rice so I'll have grated cheese separate plus also some sour cream and avocado. Burritos never fail in my house and that's the main reason I'm taking that path

Friday

Teriyaki Pork meatballs
These look great. I don't plan on changing the recipe other than to serve with some Asian style veg (in keeping wit my 3 veg rule)

..and that's it. Have a fabulous week