Menu Plan {February 10th – 17th} plus my Exercise Goals

I am convinced that I work harder on Sundays than I do Monday through Saturday combined. Between laundry, cleaning, preparing food for the week, breaking up fights, and everything else imaginable I am ready to pass out by 7:00pm. Remember the days of watching Rocky marathons all day on Sundays? Me neither…those days are a long gone distant memory. I know what your thinking “Quit whining Tammy, suck it up, and get er done”. Okay maybe you are not thinking that but I am. I really hate feeling exhausted and defeated but I guess today has just been a little more tiring than others. However, I am very lucky because I do not have to face the craziness alone. Matt, my husband, is on the front lines with me all day trying to get our house in some kind of order for the week.

So here we are ready for the week. Before I get into my menu plan lets first talk exercise. Last week, I exercised 3 days. This is not to bad but I would really like to make it a habit to work-out at least 4 days a week, preferably 5. However, 3 is better than nothing so I won’t be to hard on myself. This past week I was tired. Even with going to bed at a decent hour I was still having a hard time getting out of bed in the morning and even a harder time making it down to my basement to exercise. I think I was just feeling burnt out so I gave myself permission to take a couple breaks last week.

I want to make it my goal to get in a solid work-out 4 days this week. If I squeeze in a 5th one great but I am going to shoot for at least 4. Also, I want to keep my focus on strength training. Strength training builds muscle mass which helps increase your metabolism. This means you burn more calories all day long. Not to mention strength training gives your body that nice long, lean, and toned look. So, I will continue my running but I am going to make sure I focus in on making strength training a priority as well.

My exercise routine this week:

45 minutes on the treadmill 4x

100 crunches and oblique crunches 4x

30 bicep curls using resistance bands 3x

30 tricep swings using 5lb weights 3x

50 squats 2x

50 lounges 2x

Now let’s get to my menu plan.

This weekend I had no desire to go grocery shopping. First of all it has been so cold outside and the thought of braving the arctic air has me jumping back into my velours and wrapping myself in a blanket. Also, grocery shopping on the weekend sucks. I know that sounds harsh but it does. I really need to get into the habit of grocery shopping on a Thursday night because I really hate spending time Saturday or Sunday morning fighting the crowds at the grocery store. I can only get hit by a grocery cart so many times before I am ready to lose it. The last reason I did not shop this weekend was because I have tons of food in my pantry and freezer. So I decided to prepare foods with what I already had on hand. I might have to go grab some fruits, vegetables, and other items during the week but for the most part I had a lot to choose from when putting together my menu plan.

This is what I will be choosing from for my meals this week.

Breakfast

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

Steel Cut Oats

Make ahead tips

• apples were cut up and put into the freezer. Kale was also put into the freezer. One of the main reasons I did this was because both ingredients were getting close to the end and I did not want to risk them going bad.
• oatmeal was made ahead of time and frozen. Here are my instructions to do that.

Lunch

Greek Yogurt

Bell Peppers and Hummus

Pb & J’s

Leftovers

Make ahead tips

• I planned on making the pb & j’s ahead of time but ran out of time. However, you can make and freeze these in advance.
• Peppers will be cut up tomorrow morning.

Dinner

Tacos

Thai Chicken Curry –

Pulled Pork Pita Pizza – again is this pulled pork recipe is from the Freezer to Family ecookbook.

Black Beans and Rice Quesadillas

Sausage and Chicken Rice Skillet

leftover and pantry creations

Make ahead tips

• Chicken curry was made today. 2 dinners were put into the freezer and 1 container was put into the refrigerator for dinner tomorrow. It is delicious but I don’t think my kids will eat this so they will probably just eat the homemade frozen pizzas I made last week.
• Pulled pork was made last week, portioned out, and put into the freezer. I still need to buy pitas so I will get those tuesday or wednesday night.
• Rice was made for skillet and burritos today.
• Sausage and chicken were portioned out and put into bags for the skillet meal.
• Taco meat was made and frozen a few weeks ago.

That is my menu for the week. What are you having?

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