9/2/19 Weekly Meal Plan

stemarie_1650skitchen

IT’S SO FREAKING HOT!! It’s supposed to be in the mid-nineties all week, so I am planning on keeping the oven off and cooking on the stovetop only, and/or planning as many cod dishes as I can.

For those of you that 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 pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done, so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

You may notice a lot of plant-based meals- We are not vegetarian, but I am trying to get more veggies into our diet. I do a lot of cooking from scratch- I find it easier to get veggies and fruit into recipes that I can have 100% control over.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day:

Breakfast: Coffee with heavy cream for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids (they love the Kodiak Cakes Mix).  I also keep sandwich Ziploc bags of other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular.

Lunches are leftovers, salads, or soups for me and Bitty. The big kid takes his lunch to school, but once in a while, I can convince him to buy his lunch.

For dinner, when we’ve got busy days (like Mondays), I’ll try and put something in the crockpot (I am picking up my new crockpot this week) in the morning, or pull something I’ve already prepped out that can be quickly cooked.

  • Monday: Rice-a-roni, black beans, fruit salad
  • Tuesday:  Shashuksa (recipe will be posted tomorrow), homemade bread (a friend shared a loaf of homemade bread with me- It’s heaven),  fruit salad
  • Wednesday: Grilled cheese sandwiches, green salad
  • Thursday: Protein shakes and Dave’s Killer Bagels
  • Friday:  Date Night
  • Saturday: Ordering pizza-it’s going to be too hot to cook!
  • Sunday: Leftover night

 

Talk Back: What are you planning to cook this week?

8/27/19- Weekly Meal Plan

stemarie_1650skitchen

Our out of town guests left this morning, so we are back to meal planning! And school starts on Wednesday for the big kid, so I’ll be doing shopping for school lunches this week with part of the grocery budget.

For those of you that 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 pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done, so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

You may notice a lot of plant-based meals- We are not vegetarian, but I am trying to get more veggies into our diet. I do a lot of cooking from scratch- I find it easier to get veggies and fruit into recipes that I can have 100% control over.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day:

Breakfast: Coffee with heavy cream for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids (they love the Kodiak Cakes Mix).  I also keep sandwich Ziploc bags of other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular.

Lunches are leftovers, salads, or soups for me and Bitty. The big kid takes his lunch to school, but once in a while, I can convince him to buy his lunch.

For dinner, when we’ve got busy days (like Mondays), I’ll try and put something in the crockpot (I am picking up my new crockpot this week) in the morning, or pull something I’ve already prepped out that can be quickly cooked.

  • Monday: Grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit salad. With so much great fruit available right now, I’ve been making a big batch of it weekly to go with most of our meals.
  • Tuesday:  Spaghetti with veggie sauce (I took a jar of sugar-free store-bought pasta sauce and added onions, shallots, garlic, sliced sweet bell peppers, and spinach). I tossed the spaghetti in the finished sauce and topped it with freshly grated parm.
  • Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner-Scrambled Eggs with cheese, flaxseed waffles, fruit salad
  • Thursday: Smoothies and Dave’s Killer Bagels
  • Friday:  Date Night
  • Saturday: Homemade Pizza Night
  • Sunday: Leftover night

 

Talk Back: What are you planning to cook this week?

Review: The Ritual of Ayurveda with #Tryazon

Screen Shot 2018-10-28 at 10.21.23 PM.png
I love this box!

Recently, the awesome people at Tryazon and Ritual sent me an incredible box of the most heavenly products to review… The Ritual of Ayurveda-Balancing Ritual.

Ritual recently opened up a store at one our local more upscale malls, and I was entranced by all of the varieties and scents. I was so excited to dig into the box and discover what Rituals products were all about.

 

Screen Shot 2018-10-28 at 10.21.51 PM.pngThe Ritual of Ayurveda-Balancing Ritual, comes with:

  • The Ritual of Ayurveda-Body scrub 4.4 oz
  • The Ritual of Ayurveda-Hand Wash 10.1 oz
  • The Ritual of Ayurveda-Balancing Body Cream 2.3 oz
  • The Ritual of Ayurveda-Harmonizing Foaming Shower Gel 6.7oz

Screen Shot 2018-10-28 at 10.22.09 PM.pngEach of the products in the set have the most intoxicating aroma: Indian Rose and Sweet Almond Oil. What I love about the scent is that it’s not what you commonly think of as ROSE. You know what I mean.. Heavy, sweet, cloying. Kinda like old lady perfume.

Indian Rose is a light, delicate aroma. It’s a mood booster, and roses have long been the universal symbol of purity and love.

Combined with sweet almond oil, which not only has a light scent, but is also rich in proteins and vitamins. It regulates moisture in the skin- the perfect base for skin and body products.

I started my Ritual in the shower with the Body Scrub. Not only is the smell heavenly, but, the scrub has an amazing feeling. The base is a mixture of rich oils: Sweet almond oil, macadamia nut oil, and jojoba oil. The actual scrubby part is pink salt, which exfoliated gently and left my skin so soft and smooth.

Afterwards I used the Foaming Shower gel, which is unlike anything else I’ve ever used. It goes out as a gel, but quickly lathers up to a rich, creamy foam.

I’ve been keeping the Body Cream next to my bed and applying it right before bed. I wake up with soft, supple skin. It’s a great feeling, especially with all the dry late summer/early fall weather we’ve been having lately.

If you want to check out  The Ritual of Ayurveda or any of the other awesome Rituals, Check out their website, or visit one of their stores.

While I received this set for free, all opinions are my own, and I was not financially compensated to write this review. You can learn more about my reviews on my disclosure page.

#ritualsusa #shareyourslowdown #tryazon