WB Meal Plan - Staying Home

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Please excuse my absence on the meal planning posts. Maybe it's the winter blues that creep around on Mondays or my slight addiction to pinning recipes instead of posting? Who knows. But I do know this, when I don't plan my meals for the week, our healthy eating is not as consistent as when I do.

Over the last two weeks I ran to the grocery too many times due to my scattered-brained tendencies. So this week, I'm going to try and not go and pull from the ingredients I already have on hand... but if you do happen to see me at the store, don't judge :)


Monday:
Whole Grain & flax seed waffles
Turkey bacon
Fruit salad (leftovers thrown into a bowl: strawberries, kiwi, red grapes and oranges ~ yum!)

Tuesday:
Alaskan salmon burgers on whole wheat buns (confession: store bought, but all natural)
Sweet potato fries
Sauteed asparagus

Wednesday:
Tandoori chicken
Brown rice
Tomato-Cucumber Raita ** taken from Eating Well's Healthy in a Hurry Cookbook.

Thursday:
Potato & corn chowder ** (thanks to my dear friend Stacy for treating me to this for lunch last week! It was sooo yummy!)
Whole wheat baguettes
Applesauce

Friday:
Barbecue chicken & spinach pizza on whole wheat crust (gotta scroll down a little on the blog) from Peas & Thank You (I am loving this cookbook!)
Double pumpkin bars


** Today I'm including most of the recipes because I really think you should try them... and because I'm nice like that.

Tomato-Cucumber Raita

Combine 1 cup low-fat yogurt, 1/2 cup finely chopped seeded peeled cucumber, 1/2 cup chopped seeded tomato, 1/4 cup minced red onion, 2 T chopped fresh mint, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl; mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.


Potato & Corn Chowder (serves 6)

Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
4 stalks celery, sliced
1 can fat-free, low sodium chicken broth
1 large baking potato, peeled and cubed
10 oz. frozen corn
1 1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup of fat-free half and half

1. Saute the first 3 ingredients in EVOO on medium heat for 5 minutes.
2. Add chicken broth and potato and bring to boil. Cover and simmer for 12 minutes.
3. Transfer 1 cup of soup to blender and blend until smooth and then pour back into the pot.
4. Add corn, milk and pepper and simmer lightly for 5 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and add half and half.

Whole Grain and Flax Waffles

I am always on the hunt for a healthy, whole grain breakfast recipe that isn't too dense and dry.

One that my kids will have no clue is healthy for them too. I found this recipe in this month's Self magazine and did a little adapting to my likes. My kids and husband gobbled them down.

Hope you enjoy them too!

Whole Grain & Flax Waffles

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1 T. ground flax seed
1/4 t. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 t. salt
1 egg, separated
3/4-1 cup skim milk
1/4 cup of mashed banana
1 T oil (preferably coconut oil, melted)

Directions:
1. Blend oats in a blender until very fine.

2. Combine oats, flour, flax seed and spices in a bowl.

3. In a second bowl, beat egg white until stiff peaks form.

4. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, banana, oil and egg yolk until well combined then stir into floured mixture.

5. Gently fold egg whites into the final mixture as well.

6. Pour into waffle iron and cook for 3-4 minutes.

7. Add fresh berries, pure maple syrup, slivered almonds, Greek yogurt... the possibilities are endless!!!

Makes about 4 round waffles.

Enjoy!

5 Types of Meal Planners - Which One are You?

There are many things that influence our individual style of how we feed our families. The styles are influenced by our personalities, our upbringing, our income levels, our schedules and careers and so on. I believe that healthy eating can be incorporated in all these areas (maybe) if we are purposeful in seeing that it happens.

So I have compiled a list of five general types of meal planners. Read each one and see which one(s) you are... and please leave a comment to let us know which one best describes you. And of course, there is no judging going on on this blog... everyone is unique and we all live different lives.

1. The Drive-Thru Diva... Ok, maybe you're really not a diva, but you get the gist. Your weekly meals are planned around your local drive-thru and your particular mood at the time. You tend to be on the run, busy with kid's sports, appointments and other events that keep you in your car many days. Now I am not judging... because believe it or not, our family has been seen a time or two in the drive-thru lane! I do believe there are healthy choices, although challenging, but who can pass up the fries??

2. The Coupon Queen... Your budget is tight. Coupons are your friend. You plan your meals around what is on sale at the store and you stick to your weekly allotted grocery budget. Some weeks you may have leftovers for dinner, PB & J's or soup from a can to meet your budget. Your eyes are quickly drawn to the "Manager's Specials" and you can ingeniously design a meal around what you snatched up cheap that day at the grocery. This meal planner can definitely incorporate healthy meals into her squeaky budget.

3. Planned & from Scratch... Budget usually isn't the main driving force with this planner. She is driven by her personality of having things in order and cares about having a well-balanced meal, too. She usually has her menus planned for the week and does not rely on frozen meals or boxes from the pantry. She labors for a good amount of time in the kitchen to prepare her daily meal and is happy to provide a meal that her family would enjoy. This planner definitely has an advantage in bringing great health to her family.

4. Convenience Rules... This meal planner is usually concerned with budget and time. She enjoys convenient foods, but also values eating at home. Frozen pizzas, mac-n-cheese are just some typical meals you'll see on her table. Not everything is out of a box though as she uses meats and other things to incorporate a balanced meal as well.

5. Designated Diet... This person doesn't have too much of a choice. Someone in the family needs to eat a certain way to be healthy. Whether it be a gluten-free, diabetic or so on, this is the driving force around how she plans her meals. She is focused on the health of that person more than the budget or convenience of things. Most people in her family follow the diet as well, to aid in it's overall effectiveness.

I know there may many more types of planners than the ones I have listed and there always combinations of all of the above as well. But we generally tend to fall into one or two of those categories.

So I'm dying to hear which meal planner are you?