Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for Jan 14 - Jan 20)

It's the start of another week and I feel like so far we've been killing it with our healthy eating goals.  I've been tracking my food just about every day and eating really well.  I feel great and I've been full most of the time, unlike the past year few months when I haven't been eating well.  We did have one day last week that we didn't follow our plan but we had pasta and salads ready to go so we didn't eat out or mess up our diet plans.

A few words about my instant pot for those who are still on the fence about spending the money to buy one...just do it!  I didn't use it much last week but just making hard boiled eggs in it was worth it.  I made half a dozen and they are cooked perfect!  They peel super easy and are perfectly yellow inside.  I'll be making more this week since I'm almost out and I can't wait to do it.  I'm also going to try to roast a full chicken in it on Monday.  This is one of the reasons I got the bigger pot so I'm excited to see how it goes.  I'll report back next week!

Here's what we're eating this week:
Sunday - Meatball Subs for the boys & Meatballs with Zoodles for the adults
Monday - Roast Chicken in the instant pot with roasted potatoes & broccoli
Tuesday - Sausage, Green Bean & Potatoes
Wednesday - Chicken Tortilla Bake
Thursday - Southwestern Quinoa Skillet - carry over from last week
Friday - Shrimp Fried Rice and Wontons
Saturday - We're having dinner with my brother & his family.  Not sure if we're hosting or them so I'll figure something out if we are hosting.

Water Flavor - Mixed Citrus.  I have half a lemon and half a lime left from recipes last week.  These plus some orange will fill my infuser for the week.

Overnight Oats - Adrian and started taking the oats again so I'll need to make more each week.  I'm trying to use up things that I have in the pantry for these each week.  This week I used my normal recipe for one batch of plain oats that I will add blueberries to each morning.  The other batch I added cocoa and peanut butter chips to.  I will see how quickly we eat those two and see if I need to make another batch this week or not.  If I do, I'll do a peanut butter blackberry combination.

Use it Up - I am using up some potatoes that I still have from the holidays on Monday and Tuesday.  I am also using up some corn tortillas that we don't like in the casserole on Wednesday.  And I used up an open bag of peanut butter chips in our overnight oats this week.  I'm also eating a half of grapefruit each day to use up some of those before they go bad.

Lunches - I want to try to spice up my lunches since most days I have salad.  Occasionally I have leftovers from dinners, but I try to leave those for Adrian for his lunches.  I'm going to make one meal each week that is specifically for me for lunch, usually using things that Adrian doesn't like.  This week I bought an eggplant because it looked so good and some avocados because they were a great price.  I'm going to roast the eggplant with chick peas, tomatoes and spices.  Then I'll toss it with balsamic vinaigrette and fresh mozzarella.  When I eat it, I'll add fresh avocado.  This is one of my favorite ways to have eggplant, and it's great for on the go which I will be most of the week for lunch!