Finally, after almost 4 months our kitchen reconstruction is beginning. Friday the 19th the demo will take place, and a few days later the reconstruction will begin. I look forward to having a full kitchen, a sink, and a dishwasher.
I did a quick trip to the grocery store yesterday and picked up some salads, fruit, and cheese.
I cleaned out the pantry and fridge yesterday to prep. I am packing up the kitchen over the next few days.
Thanks to the great freebies from Social Nature, we’ve been trying new foods lately. It’s fun to try new foods.
If you are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101-style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.
I’ve gotten a good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste.
I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same.
Breakfast: I’ve been really into protein coffee lately. It helps me hit my protein goals and keeps me full until lunch. I use premade protein shakes like these and these. The kids request bagels and fruit most mornings. Lately, the big kid has been digging protein shakes in the morning. This is his favorite kind.
Lunch: I have a plastic tote full of self-serve snacks. I buy treats and snacks in bulk and fill up snack-sized zip-top bags. The big kid brings his lunch from home every day and the littlest buys her lunch at school about half the time. In California, all public schools provide breakfast and lunch for free.
Dinner: With the kitchen being boxed up and demolished this week, our meals will be cooked in the air fryer, microwave, or cold (salads, sandwiches, etc). We have an electric skillet, so we can have grilled cheese and skillet casseroles.
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Monday: Chicken strips, green salad, fruit
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Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner
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Wednesday: Soup and Grilled Cheese
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Thursday: Snack trays (turkey, cheese and crackers, fruit, popcorn, cookies)
- Friday: Takeout night!
- Saturday: Leftovers
- Sunday: Fridge clean out night
Even though we are still without a kitchen, I recently made this yummy skillet.
There are a lot of variations of this recipe floating around. Some people use cottage cheese instead of Greek Yogurt, but I strongly dislike cottage cheese.
Dream Dinners La Mesa has an awesome upcoming Heart Healthy Workshop! Presented in partnership with Wellness Workshop by Sonia’s Healthy Corner and featuring dinner provided by Dream Dinners.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been hunting down and checking up on some new birthday freebies for 2024. One of my favorite places to look is MySavings. Their 
Our friends at La Mesa Dream Dinners are helping us start 2024 off right! I am excited to share this with you. I love the community at Dream Dinners. Marsi and her team are innovating new ways to eat healthy and save you time!
Hewes Family Fun 