meal planning, week 3.

Happy Sunday, friends!

Thought: I think I'm happier doing meal planning posts on Saturdays or Sundays, as opposed to Mondays. Most people have done their shopping for the week by Monday, and posting it then doesn't seem all that helpful. Anyway. Moving on.

Rob is on his way home from his bachelor "weekend" at Put-in-Bay, which means time is quickly running out for me to silently soak up this clean house, relaxation and some Harry Potter (a must when Rob is out of town). This has been the first weekend in over a month that we've had nothing going on - needless to say, I took full advantage of the opportunity to lounge around, eat in my pajamas and be on my own schedule.

This past week has been, to say the least, a hot mess. I've lacked motivation in the eating and exercise department, my recovery from last weekend's bachelorette festivities has proven less than stellar, and to top things off, we had a broken HVAC and now a mystery water leak in the house. It was all I could do to just keep treading water this week - which, unfortunately, does not burn calories. Not surprisingly, I had a small gain this past week at weigh-in, my heart hasn't been in my runs, and yesterday's planned 8-miler turned into barely squeaking out 5. I know, 5 miles is nothing to be ashamed of, but half marathons are quickly approaching and now is not the time to lose steam.

It's safe to say this weekend is exactly what I needed. I finally got our bridal shower gifts put away, did some much needed cleaning and organizing, and some much needed R&R with my puppies. Speaking of which, today is Scout's birthday! My big baby girl turns 4 today - I still remember bringing her home on a cold November night from the humane society at not even 3 months old. Cannot believe how old she is getting - she's the absolute best. Everyone say happy birthday to Scout!

This weekend, I managed to get in my five mile run, as well as a short walk with Brody on Friday night, and a 3 mile birthday walk with Scout this morning. Overall, it's about 8.5 miles for the weekend, which makes me feel at least slightly better about my half-ass run yesterday. Heading into this week, I feel more focused and ready to tackle my goals. Rob and I are finally at the "calm before the wedding storm" where we have ZERO planned from now until the big day - I'm hoping I can relax, finish up planning and focus on my weight loss and preparation for my two half marathons this fall.

This week's farmer's market finds - not pictured: the 50 cent hotdog
I bought to eat while I browsed the selection. Obviously necessary. 

So, want to see what's on my grocery list this week? Let's get down to it then, shall we? This week was an expensive one - I know, you're all here because you like seeing cheap grocery lists, but not every week is a $100 or less deal, unfortunately. I ended up spending $114 at the store today - in addition, I spent $12 on fresh produce at the farmer's market yesterday, totaling $126 for the week. My grocery budget is about $400 per month though, so with the past two weeks' cheap trips, I'm well under budget for the month.

In my defense, I will say I do have more meals planned now that we're both going to be in town this weekend. I'm also trying a few new things, and taking on a few more recipes since I finally feel like I can breathe. We also have a guest for dinner one night this week - this doesn't really merit buying more food, but I had to take into consideration that we probably won't have leftovers from that meal. In addition, I originally planned a pot roast in the crockpot for tonight, but wasn't a fan of the cuts of meat at the store - I made a last minute swap to have steaks on the grill instead, which obviously costs more.

Sunday: 

filets on the grill (on sale at Kroger), roasted asparagus, corn on the cob

Monday: 

BBQ grilled chicken, baked potatoes, roasted zucchini

Tuesday:

Chicken pesto kabobs, corn on the cob, roasted zucchini/yellow squash/red potatoes

Wednesday:

  Turkey taco lettuce wraps, with skillet mexican zucchini (trying both of these for the first time) 

Thursday:

Buffalo chicken mac and cheese "muffins," salads from Kroger

Friday:

  Buffalo chicken potato skins, roasted veggies

And the shopping trip begins. Don't think shopping
with your list is cool? Think again. I'm also close to
bringing a calculator with me. No judgment.

We have a few days with no leftovers for lunch, so I added 1/2 lb of ham to my list, as well as bacon to make BLT's with avocado (make the bacon ahead of time, assemble the wrap at lunchtime). Breakfasts are, again, southwestern scrambles in a mug or oatmeal.

This week's grocery list was a long one. I'm tackling several recipes that, while I can reuse the ingredients, do require random purchases at the store. I also forgot some things. Because heaven forbid I only go to the store once a week. Before I show my list - here's what I have to go back for tomorrow: grape tomatoes, 1 bell pepper, 1 small onion, and about 4 baked potatoes - and probably something else I'll discover halfway through the week. Oy.

Produce:

Asparagus

1 bag red potatoes

Basil

Garlic

Lime (2)

1 Jalapeño

Bananas

1 cantaloupe

1 bag grapes

1 head iceberg lettuce

Cilantro paste

1 avocado

2/$5 pre-packaged salads (for my lunches)

Dairy:

1 package cheese slices (for Rob's ham sandwiches at lunch)

1 block sharp cheddar cheese

1 6-pack eggs

2 small Egg Beaters, southwestern cartons

Fresh queso blanco

skim milk

Meat:

1 lb ground turkey

Chicken (this was not remotely close to being cheap at the store today, so I made the last minute decision to buy Perdue's individually wrapped breasts in packs of 5 - two packs were $12.00, as opposed to spending $21 on the chicken I normally buy)

2 filets (honestly, the bulk of my meat expenses this week)

bacon

1/2 lb Boar's Head ham (I'm a deli meat snob, not even sorry)

Aisles:

high fiber macaroni

makeup remover

high fiber wraps

1 4 oz. can tomato sauce

Applegate chicken sausages

Looking at my menu plan for the week, here's a few things I'm noticing as the causes for my hefty bill:

I planned more for lunches this week. I bought two pre-packaged salads for myself, as well as ham and cheese for Rob to make sandwiches and bacon for us to make BLT's (this will probably take place on the weekends more than through the week). I know we'll have some leftovers, but I don't know how many and I noticed myself picking up lunch a few times last week because of a lack of leftovers. We'll see how this works.

My favorite weekend lunch or quick dinner: BLTA's -
a BLT on a high fiber wrap, loaded with avocado. Lots
of good fats, without sacrificing on taste! Yum!

I planned meals for every night. I'm ready to get back to cooking daily. I love it, honestly, and my body can't handle eating out. I didn't plan anything for this upcoming Saturday - I'm planning on a date night one night this upcoming weekend, so Friday's meal can be used Saturday (or even for lunches) if need be.

While I'm able to reuse my protein in the buffalo chicken, I'm still making two separate meals with it, costing me more in ingredients. I'm also making a couple sides that are multi-ingredient worthy, as opposed to buying a $2 bundle of asparagus as my side every night. 

I bought filets. I mean, there's no sugar coating that one. I'll own up to it. 

Alright, friends - there you have it. Meal planning, week 3. All my meals, except for the mac and cheese "muffin" night, are pretty low in carb, almost entirely "clean" and packed with protein and veggies. Every meal falls into the daily points I typically allot for dinner in my Weight Watchers tracker, and there are enough carbs going on to fuel me for my longer runs or more intense cardio sessions I have planned this week.

Here's to making it a great week - what are YOU eating this week?