Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for Jan 5 - Jan 11)

Happy New Year!!  I'm back to meal planning after a few weeks off.  I did have a plan for some of those days that I didn't write about, but it often changed at the last minute because there was a lot of life going on over here.  I've also eaten pretty much whatever I want for the last three weeks, which has been delicious but is definitely taking a toll on my body.  I have gained a few pounds, but I also feel tired and sluggish plus cranky.  I'm also not sleeping great, probably a combination of not eating well and not exercising.  While I have enjoyed my break and I know I needed some time off, this was probably a bit excessive & longer than I needed.  I'm excited to get back to eating healthy this week!

I also got a new toy for Christmas - I got an air fryer!  We have been using it all break to cook not healthy things like pizza rolls, pierogies, grilled cheese, mozzerella sticks, fried pickles and so much more.  I love this thing and can't believe I have waited this long to get one!  Adrian loves it too so he has said he'll cook more if he can cook meals in it.  So I'm changing how I meal plan a little starting with this week.  Each week I'll still have a pork, chicken, beef, seafood and vegetarian meal.  But I'm also going to make sure I have at least one instant pot meal and one air fryer meal (or side).  I will probably still have one cheat day each week and then eat clean the rest of the week, but I may try to get a few weeks of eating well everyday for a while to jumpstart my weight loss.  We'll see how the next few weeks play out.

I am also continuing to try to use up what I have and will be really focusing on this goal for the year.  I still have about 10 squash left from our last CSA delivery in November so I'll be using one or two of those each week until they are gone.  I have a few more things on the pork shelf in my deep freeze and then I'll move on to the beef shelf and continue to clean that out.  I'm also working on the ice cream shelf with the boys and having them eat all of the gallons of ice cream that are down there before I buy them anymore.

Here's what we're eating this week:
Sunday - Leftovers or frozen appetizers - one more day of junk before we buckle down!
Monday - Cauliflower & Butternut Squash Soup (instant pot) and Air Fried Carrots
Tuesday - Chicken Fajitas for the adults and Tacos for the kids
Wednesday - Spinach Quiche and Breakfast Sausage (finishing up the last of that from the freezer)
Thursday - Spaghetti Squash (from the CSA) and Sausage (finishing up the last of that from the freezer) for the adults and Gnocchi for the kids
Friday - Philly Cheesesteak Wraps
Saturday - Air Fried Wontons and Shrimp and Broccoli Stir Fry

Water Flavor - Kiwi.  I bought a big thing of kiwi a few weeks ago and then Zak broke my water infusor!  So I bought another one right after Christmas and took about a week off from having the flavored water.  The kiwi are still good so I used it for this past week & I'll finish it up this week.

Overnight Oats - I set up one batch of these with a flavored yogurt that I had.  I'm not sure how often I will eat these this week because I honestly may be home most mornings for breakfast.  These tend to be what I eat when I'm on the go.  If I eat them early in the week, I will set another batch up but I think I'll be OK for the week.

Use It Up - I'm using a butternut squash and a spaghetti squash.  I also have some veggies (cauliflower, carrots, peppers, mushrooms) in the fridge from over the holidays so I'm using those up first before buying more.  I have a pie crust leftover in the fridge and a ton of stock so I'll be using those up this week.  And I have three things left on the pork shelf to finish that up so I'm using two of them this week and will use the last one up next week.  My shopping list is very small this week, I'm proud of myself for using up what I have!

Lunches - I got some lettuce last week so I'll start with salads for a few days, then probably just have leftovers.  If I need something else, I'll have sandwiches because I have lunchmeat turkey to use up soon.  Again, I will probably be home most days for lunch so I'll figure it out each day instead of having to plan for it in advance.  I'm sure I'll be back to subbing full time next week so I'll plan more for lunches then for sure.