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Sunday, March 9, 2014

5 Ways to Make Your week smoother +Menu Plan Monday #42


Week days are hectic. Whether you are a stay a home mom/wife or if you work inside or outside the home weekdays are very, very busy. In order to keep my workouts, healthy eating, and house in order there are five simple things I like to do on Sunday:
  • Wash all my workout clothes. 
    • I read an article about this a few years ago when I was still working. It really does help to keep me on track and to get up on Monday and workout. If I have to dig through and search for a dirty workout outfit it just sort of lowers the morale.
  • Gather the family to make sure anything they may need clean for the week such as work pants, work shirts, etc are in the laundry and ready to be washed and/or dry cleaning is by the door and ready to be dropped off. 
  • Write your meal plan and go grocery shopping.
    • For a lot of people this is difficult, but I find you have a basic outline of what you will eat & have the food in the house you are more likely to eat that food then stop for a fast food option.
    • Some easy ideas for breakfast options are egg muffins, homemade muffins, cut up fruit, smoothies, granola and milk, overnight oats
  • Prep the food.
    • For exmaple, if you have salads planned for lunches and as sides for dinners make a very large salad for the week. Cut up toppings for sandwiches, go ahead and start marinating some meats if you wish. Cook up your breakfast options or prep them & have them in the fridge.
    • I label any leftovers in the fridge for lunches and who will be taking them.
  • Make a list of activities going on that week, phone calls that need to be made, and errands that need to be done.
I find these five simple things really help the week go smoothly. I rarely get a hon/mom, where is my ____________. But, it is there responsibility to get it to me, I just usually have to give a gentle nudge of "hey, get me your ______________'s you may need clean for the week. Also, with having breakfasts prepped ahead of time & lunches labeled in the fridge if we are running behind it is super easy to grab everything and get out the door.

Now for the weekly menu:

Breakfast options: egg frittata, paleo pancakes, paleo muffins, omelette for Saturday and Paleo Pumpkin Poppers for Sunday

Lunch options: chicken/tuna salads, leftovers, Sunday will be a brunch of scrambled eggs, bacon, and leftovers

Dinner:
Monday: bacon wrapped pork tenderloin with onions/mushrooms, corn and peas
Tuesday: burger for the hubs, fish for the kiddo & I with corn/broccoli/potato wedges
Wednesday: Pizza pasta bake with veggies and salad
Thursday: BBQ chicken sandwiches with salad and leftover veggies
Friday: New Restaurant Friday: We will finally be eating at the Calabash Bistro...almost beginning to think it wasn't meant for us to eat there! o_O
Saturday: Cheese burgers with salad
Sunday: Steak and shrimp with broccoli/corn/leftovers

This week I was looking in my freezer and pantry and going through and trying to clear them out. Every now and again I like to use everything up and restock so I know it is all fairly fresh.

What do you have planned for the week? We are in the countdown to Spring Break! Just 10 days until we leave for our vacation! Yipee!

Linking up at: Org Junkie, and Mommy Run Fast. 

9 comments:

  1. I am a BIG fan of planning the week's meals and prepping all the food on Sunday night-- right down to pre-measuring the oatmeal I take to go in the morning. It's an obsession.

    I also do the whole laundering all the workout clothes thing but can I just say that last night my washer refused to drain? Like... I have about 50 pounds of clothing sitting in water right now. I don't even know how to face this other than scooping the water out like a sinking ship. Something to look forward to when I go home for lunch :-/

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    1. OH. MY.GOSH!!! You poor thing!!! I am so so so so so sorry to hear that! :-/ I hope you got it resolved. What an awful way to spend lunch! Waaaaaaaaa!

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  2. These are such great tips! I love that you even label leftovers... I can see that we'll need to do that as L gets older and thinks everything is up for grabs. :)

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    1. Yes, the labeling leftovers makes it so easy...plus I tend to forget all my *great* ideas and then will be like darn, didn't mean to eat that for _______ was supposed to be used for _________. The labels help me remember!

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  3. Happy Moms EverywhereMarch 10, 2014 at 7:05 PM

    Labeling and food prep are fantastic ideas that more people should do!

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  4. Love it! Since going back to work I had to get a system so we don't go crazy. I do laundry on Saturday and lay out clothes for the entire week for me and both boys. I put everything but protein powder in my blender container every night so all I have to do is dump the scoop and hit blend. I plan and prep lunch and snacks for the week on Sunday. Dinner is still a struggle. By the end of the day I just want to sit and snuggle/play with the littles so I could care less what we eat and honestly don't want to waste any time cooking or cleaning up :) You are right though, prep is key!

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  5. I have teens and a sports fan husband so the working out clothes are washed asap. If not, air can get a bit ... how can I say this? Well, you get the idea. ;)
    Thanks for the dinner ideas. I get bored of my dishes soon and I´m always on the look out for new.

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  6. I need to get better at meal planning and prepping...

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  7. That egg muffin recipe looks delicious! I've made a receipt like this in the past and loved how easy breakfast was for the week. I think this is going to be added to the family rotation!

    My kids are in Catholic school and it seems I am *ALWAYS* washing clothes for them now with Lent. It just means more mass uniforms versus their polo and slacks. Since they're both boys and on the small side, things get mixed up and it's always a side show! I get their clothes out the night before, most times and am getting them to learn to do this for themselves. Always a process! So glad I found you via today's Feature Friday!

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