Weekly Menu

Thanksgiving is over, so I guess we are officially headed into the Christmas season.  Although, I think retailers had us headed there in August!   Overall, I'm pleased with the food choices I made over the Thanksgiving holiday.  I was under my calorie goal every day except Saturday.  By my guesstimate, I went over by 30 calories - still not bad.    Here is our weekly menu for this week...

Monday - Chicken Broccoli Bake with brown rice
Tuesday - 93/7 hamburgers and baked tater tots
Wednesday - late school night for me - sandwiches (or quiche and fruit)
Thursday - Salmon Patties, sweet peas, instant potatoes
Friday - work Christmas Party
Saturday - chili

As usual, the days may switch around depending on how our week unfolds  :)

Holiday Traditions... Charlie

Holiday Traditions... they're special and full of memories that will last a lifetime.  One of the traditions, we started with our son is Elf on the Shelf.   The picture above is of our elf, Charlie.  Charlie arrived at our house about 5 years ago.   Even though super-son is 10 years old, he is still eagerly awaiting the elf's arrival this year and it warms my heart that he still "believes".   Charlie will arrive at our house shortly after Thanksgiving and watch over the household carefully each day.  At night, he flies home to the North Pole to report the day's activities to Santa.

Do you have a holiday tradition?

Good Eats for Thanksgiving

It seems a bit strange to not be in the kitchen this evening beginning preparations for Thanksgiving Day, but I do appreciate my father-in-law offering to take everyone to dinner.  :)    Last year, we tried to enjoy the day without over indulging and modifying recipes on some of our favorites.   Here is one of my favorite recipes that replaces the congealed salad (gag!) or Watergate salad on our table.

Autumn Fruit Salad

2 granny smith apples (cored and diced)

1 small can mandarin oranges (drained)

red, seedless grapes  (I always eyeball these, so I don't know an exact measurement)

1 small container of vanilla yogurt

1/2 to 1 cup of miniature marshmallows

1/4 to 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

Mix all the ingredients together & chill.

Super easy & yummy!   We enjoy the leftovers for breakfast!

Are you prepared?



Well, Thanksgiving week is upon us!  Are you prepared?   I think we should all enjoy the time with our family and friends & enjoy some delicious food in moderation.  The key to enjoying this time is planning ahead - not obessing over our choices.   For me, it will be relatively easy on Thursday,  the in-laws wanted to take everyone to Cracker Barrel.  While the portions will be controlled, I will have the option to make low-calorie dishes to off-set the higher ones.  SO,  I plan to eat light throughout the day and enjoy the evening with them.   Super-husband, super-son and I will be doing the Turkey Strut 5K as well which will earn me a cushion to counteract the calories.  (PS - If you have joined the Healthy Blogger 5K for Thanksgiving - click over the A Journey to Thin now!)    In addition to the 5K on Thursday,  I will have boot camp on Monday & Wednesday at 530a.  No boot camp on Friday - I was a little bummed.  If I can find another insane person, I might tackle a couple of stores on Black Friday - just because.  :)   Saturday evening,  we will have Thanksgiving with my parents, so I'll be sure to earn some more activity points that day as well!

What's your plan?

What A Weekend!

It's been a GORGEOUS fall weekend here!   My goal Saturday was to tackle laundry in the morning and work on school stuff in the afternoon.  I'd already decided we would wait and clean house on Wednesday night.   Well, I completed a couple of loads of laundry and then instead of hitting the books... I headed outdoors with super-husband and super-son.  They were making a massive sweep of the yard FULL of leaves.  All in all they spent three hours working on it.  I helped for a while and then we hauled some old logs that had been on the back of our property for awhile.  It was a nice little workout.   I ended the evening watching Hoarders and avoiding homework.  :)

Sunday was pretty typical for us.  We headed to church this AM and came home for lunch.   A local women's gym offers a free class on Sunday afternoons called "Fit Praise".   For the most part, it consist of low impact aerobics.  I went a few times last winter & decided to try it again last week.  I really enjoyed it last week - it was alot of toning and sculpting work (a lot of burn baby burn!).   This week,  it was Pilates.  I was really excited because I have always wanted to try Pilates, but never had the opportunity.   While it's not the cardio workout I'm accustomed to - it was a GREAT workout.  I was excited to hear it would be Pilates again next week, so I will have the opportunity to try it again.   For dinner, I tried a new recipe for roasted asparagus - I've made similar before - but I really like this recipe best.

What did you do this weekend?

Thanksgiving already?

Seriously, next week is Thanksgiving!   Every time, I think about it - I shake my head in disbelief.  :)  

We have a small family, so our plans are usually low-key.  Super-son is out of school Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - so I will be taking a half-day vacation on Wednesday.   Thursday, we are planning to do the local Turkey Strut 5K. Last year, super-husband and I rocked it out & had so much fun!   It seemed like the perfect way to start the holiday season.  If there is something similar in your area, I would highly recommend it.  Additionally,  hop on over to A Journey to Thin and enter her great give-away for the 2nd Annual Thankful Healthy Blogger 5K. 

We'll probably finish the morning cooking a nice breakfast & then we are having Thanksgiving dinner with the in-laws at Cracker Barrel.   It will definitely be nice to have some activity to offset the dinner calories.  I will miss being in the kitchen and cooking healthy options, but I appreciate the break as well.   Saturday evening, we'll celebrate with my family.

Are you planning ahead for Thankgiving?

Weekly Menu

Last week, we ate out too much!  Even though I was able to make healthy choice - I consider it a waste of money.  Don't get me wrong - I do enjoy eating out, but it's so much more cost efficient to eat at home.

Monday - Crispy Baked Pork;  Brown Rice; Sweet Peas

Tuesday - Black Bean and Corn Enchiladas;  Chips & Salsa

Wednesday - Spinach & Artichoke Bow Tie Pasta;  Fruit

Thursday - Broccoli and Cheddar Quiche; Fruit

Friday - Palmero Thin Crust Pizza - Chicken Caesar

Have a great week!