Menu Plan Monday #14

So, lately I have really enjoyed the Sunday to Sunday planning. I find I am actually prepping a lot more and when Monday Morning rolls around I actually have food to pack lunches so we are starting off on the right foot, it is great!

This weekend was a lazy one, the calm before the storm if you will. 

Saturday it was gorgeous and the kiddo needed to get a birthday present so we took a nice long bike ride to enjoy the weather and keep our travel costs low! 

Then our friend came over to do some professional portraits for the husband. We wound up taking a bike ride through the forest and having a meal together. It was a wonderful day!

Sunday the hubster and I mostly relaxed. Aside from a trip to the grocery store we mostly cuddled on the couch and watched Episodes I and II of Star Wars. 

I really love these calmer weekends, especially when your husband has worked basically three weeks in a row. Next weekend will be the kicker....can't wait to fill y'all in on that! If you follow on Instagram you can follow along to all our shenanigans :) As a preview I will just say there will be tulips, a fantasy fayre, and the huge King's Day celebration! This.Will.Be.Epic!

Goals

Last week, I was fairly unproductive so besides keeping off the added sugar and processed foods I didn't accomplish anything really (haha) so nothing to report there...this week:

• Seriously, finish our freaking itineraries. Vacation is NEXT WEEK! and I have no solid plans, I'm not making a walking path this time but I do want to have names of places we should see and the history of each marked on my phone or iPad so we can read up on them on the train ride.
• Keep at the tougher workouts, been feeling really good so want to keep working hard.
• Keep eating well..again, I am feeling amazing. I've been keeping a higher good fats and higher protein diet and am feeling really great!
• Finish my Hawaiian scrapbooking. It really, really, really needs to get done so I can move on to our move! 

Workout Schedule

I stuck to my schedule pretty good last week, let one extra rest day creep in on Thursday and Friday I only did half my workout. This week will be stronger though...

• Sunday: Rest, I was tired, we did a mild errand bike ride and took a walk
• Monday: 3 mile run and PIYO
• Tuesday: Long bike ride to try and find some Tulip Fields, yoga
• Wednesday: 4 mile run with Bootcamp
• Thursday: Ride to North Amsterdam...rumour has it there could be Tulip fields there too, MMX, Stretching
• Friday: Double PIYO, walk if it is nice or bike ride to find the baby goats
• Saturday: 100 Burpee Burnout, sightseeing

Trying to get some really solid workouts in this week as next week will be off and on because of our traveling.

Menu

Breakfast

Sunday: Egg and cheese crescents with strawberries and kiwi 

Monday: Açai bowls with egg whites or oatmeal with egg whites

Tuesday: Same as Sunday

Wednesday: late start so will make a big breakfast: omelettes stuffed with veggies and cheese with cinnamon raisin toast and blood orange slices

Thursday: same as Monday 

Friday: banana, blood orange, and coconut fruit bowl with toasted cinnamon almonds

Saturday: sightseeing big breakfast before we leave: same as Wednesday

Lunch

Sunday: snack: bread and butter, smoked meat, fruit

Each day hubby takes two hard boiled eggs, nuts, cold cuts, cheese, and every once in a while a slice of bread. He gets fresh fruit provided by work. Once per week he does eat out.

Kiddo: 

M-W: tomato and cheese panini with Apple slices, and nuts

Tuesday-Th: leftovers 

Me: 

M-W: No pasta salad with half panini

T-Th: Leftovers
Friday: fried egg tostadas with a side salad

Saturday: sightseeing we will have a late lunch/ early dinner out

Dinner 

Sunday: Tacos/taco salad

Monday: Triple lentil stew with salad

Tuesday: BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with carrots and rice

Wednesday: Triple lentil quesadillas (chicken and cheese for hubby if he is here) with peppers and leeks

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner

Friday: Burgers/veggie burgers (will be made with leftover triple lentil filling, peppers, and leeks) with broccoli, corn, and leftover rice

Saturday: late lunch/early dinner out, will snack In the evening if hungry

This week I am on a pilgrimage for Tulip fields near Amsterdam. I know there has to be some so our meals are going to be super simple and utilize as many leftovers as possible so there isn't any food to get stinky while we are gone. I will be making some meals to freeze for hubby so he isn't eating out. Here is some of what I will be making and freezing:
Rotisserie chicken and rice
Burgers with twice baked potato
Taco filling (made Sunday night, already in the freezer) with cheese and corn
I'm sure he will eat out one night, but this at least provides him options

Snacks
Homemade cinnamon raisin bread
Apple slices with peanut butter
Soaked and toasted almonds
Hard boiled eggs
Homemade bounty bars

So, I think that covers us for the week. What are you up to? Are your kids almost out of school?

P.S. I'm linking up with Mommy Run Fast, Jill Conyers, and I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday 2015 #10

 Last week's menu was pretty successful for the most part, we took lots of snacks to Belgium and threw out a couple of meals in favor of leftovers! ha! My workout schedule was not successful, I tried a couple of days, but coupled with all the sight seeing we were doing and still not being 100% apparently I had to abandon my plan and listen to my body.

Let us move on to this week!

Workout Schedule

• Sunday: Yoga
• Monday: 3 mile run, fit tutor
• Tuesday: Insanity workout
• Wednesday: 2 mile run, fit tutor
• Thursday: Yoga
• Friday: 3 mile run, fit tutor
• Saturday: Insanity workout

Weekly Goals

• Meal plan, prep, and stick to it.
• Bike to one cultural event.
• Create four items to list in Etsy store.
• Complete 4 hours of Dutch practice, and try and conduct one meeting with a Dutch person in Dutch.

Weekly Menu

Breakfast

• Sunday: Cheese Crescents with fruit salad
• Monday: Smoothie bowl
• Tuesday: Quinoa Oatmeal (Thug Kitchen Cookbook)
• Wednesday: Eggs with sweet potato
• Thursday: Quinoa Oatmeal
• Friday: Eggs with sweet potato
• Saturday: Eggs, pancakes, sausage

Lunch

• Sunday: Snacks/Leftovers
• Kiddo: Sandwich with cucumber and orange slices x2
• Kiddo: Leftovers x2
• Kiddo: Buy one time
• Me:
• Monday: Grilled chicken with Italian cabbage salad
• WF: Chicken Salad
• Tu/Th: Tuna Salad
• Will Have a potato and leek soup to go with the meal each day (didn't get to this last week)
• Saturday: Panini's with Veggie Soup

Dinner

• Sunday: Tacos/Roasted Chickpea and Broccoli Burritos with side salad and apple-pear (once upon a time this said broccoli-pear sauce, I meant apple-pear, that is what I get for writing while hopped up on cough medicine! ha!) sauce. We are having a dinner guest and will serve for dessert Stroopwafel and coke floats!
• Monday: Coconut-lime rice with red beans and mango (a meal I didn't get to last week)
• Tuesday: Lentil Walnut Apple Loaf with side salad and apple-pear sauce
• Wednesday: Roasted cauliflower/chicken wings for the hubby, corn, fries, green beans
• Thursday: Zoodles with creamy tomato sauce and chicken (optional), from 21 Day Sugar Detox cookbook; Chicken carbonara for hubby served with a side salad for everyone
• Friday: Leftovers/breakfast for dinner
• Saturday: Create something fabulous out of the leftovers, date night for the hubby and I, we will probably go for a movie and walk depending on the weather.

Snacks

• Rosemary almonds
• Cinnamon Spice Peppitas
• Banana and Coconut Slices (for the afternoons) with Earl Grey Lattes from Thug Kitchen Cookbook
• Dark Chocolate Trail Mix Bites
• There will also be a selection of string cheese, local cheese, leftovers, and smoked meat.

What are you eating and planning this week?

P.S, Join in on the parties over at Mommy Run Fast, Jill Conyers, and I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday 2015 #9

Welcome back to another Menu Plan Monday! I probably should change the name of these since I am often publishing them on Sunday's now. Anyway, this weekend was one for relaxing, for me anyway. I've had the never ending cold as I told you about last Wednesday, but am finally nearing the 100% recovered point.

This past weekend we didn't do a ton. Friday night we all relaxed around the house and had a nice family dinner together. Saturday the kiddo and I did some shopping at the Albert Cyup Market. We had an impromptu stop at Starbucks because it decided to start pouring rain, then hail, then snow, then it stopped haha But how pretty does she look here?

Completely sums up our Saturday, cocoa and trains.

Once we made it to the outdoor market I found fresh, only peanuts as the ingredient Peanut Butter. I know some of you out there will understand.

My favorite food purchase was this dried bunch of lavender. I intend to make some bath salts with it as well as trim up the stalk part for fresh lavender tea. Anyone else have some ideas? Please share them with me in the comments! They had a lot of these so I am fine with going back and buying more!

Saturday night we did something we hadn't done in ages and ordered pizza since I was exhausted and we decided to cancel our date night.

It was terrible and I doubt we will order pizza in again.

Sunday the kiddo headed off to cheer and coffee with her friends. I did the grocery shopping and meal prep.

In the evening hubby had a dinner with some work friends and the kiddo and I decided rest was on our agenda so we relaxed and watched Gilmore Girls.

This week coming up is "Early Spring Break" for the students here in the Netherlands so we will be doing a lot of sight seeing in our city as well as going to Brussels for a day, my workouts will be light since I am still recovering and we will be doing so much walking I figure as long as nutrition is on point I should continue to rest.

Workout Schedule:

• Monday: Fit Tutor, week 3
• Tuesday: Pull ups/pull up training, squats, stretching
• Wednesday: Foam rolling after sight seeing
• Thursday: Fit Tutor, week 3
• Friday: Jog/walk to get back in to things
• Saturday: Fit tutor, week 3, stretching
• Sunday: Pull ups/pull up training, squats, stretching

Weekly Life Goals

• Finish updating resume
• Apply for a few jobs
• Get Etsy shop ready to go live on Mar 1
• Finalize Berlin itinerary, making appointments at monuments that need scheduling in advance

My goals this week are fairly simple since we have such a busy planned with the half term break going on. I can't wait to post all about the things we will be seeing during this break. My menu will look a little weird this week too as we will be eating out a little more than usual.

Breakfast

• Monday: Eat out
• Tuesday: Smoothie bowls
• Wednesday: Oatmeal power bowl
• Thursday: Leftovers
• Friday: Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes (from Thug Kitchen cookbook)
• Saturday: Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes and eggs/sausage
• Sunday: Cheesy crescent rolls (these have become a family favorite)

Lunch

• Monday: Sandwiches for a picnic
• Tuesday: Eat out
• Wednesday: in Brussels, will stuff our bellies with waffles and chocolate ;)
• Thursday: Soup and panini's
• Friday: Potato leek soup
• Saturday: Eat out
• Sunday: Snack on bread, smoked meat, cheese, fruit, and leftovers

Dinner:

• Monday: White bean and red lentil burgers/regular burgers for the hubby, with root veggie fries
• Tuesday: Chickpea and broccoli burritos(from Thug Kitchen Cookbook)/tacos for hubby and salads
• Wednesday: Veggie pad Thai with Tofu (from Thug Kitchen cookbook)/teriyaki beef and rice for hubby
• Thursday: Leftovers or breakfast for dinner
• Friday: coconut lime rice with red beans and mango (Thug Kitchen Cookbook)/smothered chicken with fries and corn for hubby
• Saturday: Date night for us/leftovers for kiddo
• Sunday: Chicken wings/cauliflower with peanut sauce, rice, veggie sticks

Snacks

• Maple-oat banana bread
• Rosemary sea salt almonds
• Earl grey lattes
• Hard boiled eggs
• Raspberry breakfast bars

During our travels I am going to bring along as many snacks and lunches for us as possible. I purchased a great mini-rucksack for traveling that allows me to carry two water bottles and is completely waterproof. Details to come after this week, I hope it is a winner and really helps us in our travels.

Are your kids on Spring Break yet? Or thanks to all that crazy weather in the US did they just get an impromptu break?

Check out these great parties over at Mommy Run Fast, Jill Conyers, and I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday 2015 #8

So, I won't lie, I started this post Sunday, but didn't get past the first sentence and inserting a couple of images. I have been so incredibly ill since last Tuesday. All I really managed to do was boss around the husband and teenager, watch Netflix, and go see a couple of movies...both of which I was so tired I almost fell asleep during them...but honestly Jupiter Ascending was just terrible and even hubby ranked 50 Shades as the better movie :P

So, now that I am feeling a bit better I will say the kiddo and hubby have kept this place running and have done whatever I request. They have sat through a many night of cereal or leftovers from the freezer for dinner or picking something up. I really appreciate the break but I am so ready to feel better.

Last week I accomplished nothing outside of catching up on Mad Men, catching up on Downton Abbey, starting House of Cards, and drinking insane amounts of Sleepytime Extra tea.

The rest of this week here is what I would like to accomplish:

• Type up itinerary for a day in Brussels
• Get back into light workouts
• Cook dinner each night 
• Plan a fun, but easy date night depending on how I feel

Workouts

Since I got sick I only got in one workout from Week 2 of my Fit Tutor workouts so I will pick those back up and do some heavy walking and light jogging maybe.

Thursday: Walk around downtown with my friend, kiddo is out of school early so we will do a bike ride when she gets home to the forest

Friday: Day 1, Week 2 Fit Tutor, Walk

Saturday: Day 2, Week 2 Fit Tutor

Sunday: Day 3, Week 2 Fit Tutor, Walk

Breakfast:

Thursday: Currant toast with peanut butter and bananas for the kiddo, creamy oatmeal for me

Friday: Currant toast with peanut butter and bananas

Saturday: Omelettes, bacon, toast, fruit

Sunday: Cheese crescents

Lunch:

Thursday: Apple-pb wrap with orange slices and chips for the kiddo, I will eat out

Friday: Superfood Crunch Salad with a slice of chicken breast, kiddo will eat out

Saturday: Panini's with veggie soup and salad

Sunday: Easy snacks: baguette with a new dipping sauce I found, smoked meats, fruit slices, cheese

Dinner:

Thursday: Glazed Pork Chops/Lentil burgers with home fries and green beans

Friday: Steak bites with gravy/black bean balls with carrots, wilted kale or creamed kale and potato rounds

Saturday: Date Night! If I feel good we will go down to an area of town we haven't explored much and grab dinner and go to a comedy show that is in English, if I still feel like I should rest (which will most likely be the case) we will just grab dinner and go for a walk around the canals downtown if it is nice, if it is crummy weather we will see a movie and get dinner at a nearby pub.

Sunday: Chicken Wings/cauliflower "wings" with salad and root veggie fries

This week is coming at you late, but at least it is all planned out. What have you been munching on this week?

Check out the parties over at Mommy Run Fast, Jill Conyers, and I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Menu Plan Monday 2015 #4

Last week' meal plan was fairly successful. I managed to cook all week, somedays doing just leftovers, but following pretty well.  Also, this past week I feel like I made some strides toward reaching some goals and plan to make this week even better!

Weekly Workout Plan

• Monday: Game Day and 2 mile run
• Tuesday: Vertical Plyo
• Wednesday: Back to Core and 3 mile run
• Thursday: Relief/Bike ride or easy run if it is nice
• Friday: Speed and Agility
• Saturday: Strength and one mile run
• Sunday: Game Day

Last week I really enjoyed the Relief DVD. This was the first time I had done it and it really stretches the hamstrings which is always my tightest area besides my right hip. Most looking forward to Vertical Plyo this week, that is my favorite DVD because it does the craziest moves...I feel like a total bada$$ when I do that one. ;)

Life Goals

• Last week I managed to complete one goal and finished Flawless by Jan Moran this week, so 11 books to go in my around the world in books series.
• Stayed pretty close to my meal plan, canceled out a few meals and used leftovers
• This week I need to evaluate a few of my business goals and play a little bit of catch-up
• Focus and work on Dutch
• Review all goals and make sure I'm on track
• Continue to stick to menu

Breakfast Options

Acai Bowl x2, Sweet potato pancakes, mushroom "sausage", and apple sauce x2, vegan donut holes, cereal, and leftovers

Lunch

I am going to go a little easy on myself this week I made a big pot of Vegan Paleo Tomato Soup it is seriously amazingly delicious and I will make a large salad to serve with the soup throughout the week and homemade veggie burgers.

Kiddo

Monday: Leftover wrap (I will just throw in some leftover triple lentil soup and peppers) with an apple and some tomato soup (I don't wanna share but she's going to make me lol)

Tuesday: Veggie burger wrapped in kale (yes, my kid loves raw kale), with mix of orange and apple slices, and potatoes

Wednesday: Leftovers...not sure what yet but will throw something together

Thursday: Same as Tuesday

Friday: She usually eats out with her friends

Weekend

Saturday: Panini's and Soup 

Sunday: Snacks, use up any leftovers

Dinner

Monday: BBQ Chicken for hubby and bbq shredded mushrooms and cauliflower for the kiddo and I with rice and salad

Tuesday: Quinoa stuffed peppers with salad

Wednesday: Lentil Walnut Apple Loaf with apple pear sauce and spinach

Thursday: Chicken burgers/chickpea fritters with potato/sweet potato rounds and apple/pear slices

Friday: Pizza burgers (regular for hubby, veggie for kiddo and I) with salad and garlic bread 

Saturday: Chicken wings/cauliflower wings and mini-pizza's
Sunday: Chinese at the moives

Snacks
Banana-coconut slices, apple and pb with raisins, smoothie/smoothie bowl, leftovers, baked apples

I went ahead and prepped various items to make this week easy:
400 grams of quinoa
Apple-pear Sauce
Sweet potato pancakes
Vegan mushroom sausage (made last week and froze)
Overnight oats
Pizza sauce
Ketchup
Lentils
Tomato Soup
Salad of mixed lettuce (I cheated, I bought bagged lettuce)
Balsamic Vinegar Dressing
Pumpkin Granola
Paleo Coffee Creamer
Chickpeas (in freezer)

That seems like a lot of stuff but it only took me about 2 hours to get all the prep work done and it will make all my meals a breeze to fix. The only thing I have left to make tomorrow is the veggie burgers.

So, what are you making this week?

Linking up at: Mommy Run Fast, Jill Conyers, I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday #65

I cannot believe how quickly the month of December is passing by! My kiddo is officially on her three week school holiday and I am so happy! This means three glorious weeks of not waking up until the husband's alarm goes off, and then for one entire amazing fabulous week when the hubby is off too we can sleep until our heart's content! Squee!

Anyway. Moving on. This weekend we finally got around to decorating our Christmas Tree. This was the first year we didn't have a tree in storage to decorate as soon as Thanksgiving was over so it took us a while to get up. We aren't 100% done with it yet, but I will do a holiday home tour as soon as it is done. Here is a sneak peek though...we went with a silver and red theme.

We have this adorable owl sitting atop it for now until we get a nice topper. I'm hopeful I may find a canal house or something! hahaha

Our tree twinkling and aglow. I love it when it isn't quite focused.

Today while I cheer I went on a run and found the nearby fort set up for Christmas:

Tonight the husband is off on a business trip so the kiddo and I have the house to ourselves. We made a fabulous ravioli dish hubby won't eat and watched a few too many Gilmore Girls ;)

Moving on...

This week's meal plan!

Linking up at Mommy Run Fast/Jill Conyers and I'm an Organizing Junkie.

This week we have a few things going on so the menu is pretty fun.

Breakfast

Monday: French Toast

Tuesday: Chocolate Crescent Rolls

Wednesday: Smoothies

Thursday: Toast with sprinkles

Friday: Fend for yourself

Saturday: Ham, egg, and cheese crescents with fruit salad and potatos

Sunday: French Toast

Lunch

Monday: Birthday lunch for the kiddo; Christmas chicken nuggets with spinach salad and fries

Tuesday: Downtown for a lunch concert: grab pizza out with the newly returned hubby

Wednesday: Panini's with spinach salad

Thursday: Chicken soup

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Split pea soup

Sunday: Chicken and bacon subs with salad

Dinner:

Monday: Birthday Dinner at the Hardrock Cafe

Tuesday: Tacos

Wednesday: Brats and peppers with rice

Thursday: Dinner at a friend's

Friday: Pizza burgers with fries

Saturday: Going to the ballet so will grab some dinner out downtown

Sunday: Wings, pizza, and salad

Fitness

Workouts this last week have been pretty rockin'! Completed all my workouts as planned. Here is what I did:

Monday: Max Interval Circuit

Tuesday: 4.5 mile run

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: Max Interval Circuit

Friday: Max Recovery

Saturday: Max Interval Plyo

Sunday: 3.5 mile run and stretching

Up this week for workouts will be just Insanity Max mostly as it looks to rain a good majority of the week. Hoping to get in some good walks downtown doing some sight seeing though! Amazing what Amsterdam has to offer!

This week looks to be full and fun, it is our first week of Christmas break after all. Here is what we have planned:

Monday: Crafts at home, finish Christmas Tree, dinner out for the kiddo's birthday, sleepover.

Tuesday: Go to the lunchtime Christmas concert at The National Ballet and Opera because they are doing carols & lunch with my hubby/her daddy.

Wednesday: Free lunchtime concert at Concertgebrouw, the Rijkmuseum and check out the boat exhibit finally and ice skate at the rink outside the museum

Thursday: Movie marathon day & dinner at a friend's house.

Friday: Read-a-thon and craft day

Saturday: Cinderella at the National Ballet and Opera and dinner out, do a walk around to see all the Christmas lights.

Sunday: Football day; rest, relax, rejuvenate.

 What are you most looking forward to this week?

Menu Plan Monday #63, weekend recap +weekly goals

Happy Monday y'all! How are things? For me, we are cold!!!! We have been so lucky these last few weeks temps have consistently been in the mid to high 40s and low 50s Fahrenheit, but I think winter is finally upon us and we are now having highs in the 30s Fahrenheit. (btw, I misspell Fahrenheit all the time, thank goodness for spell check! ha!)

So this past week was so much fun, but I will just concentrate on the weekend.

Friday the kiddo had a friend sleepover and they wound up doing homework most of the time. Wild nights here. But, Saturday I woke up and managed a sunrise run. That was the best, I was able to do a sunrise run at 8:30 in the morning! I am hating to love winter right now!

So, I took a photo of this because, one, you don't see a lot of water fountains around here; two, when I lived back home for a while and I'd run with my lifelong best friend we would drink out of just about every water fountain we could find. We were never sick for about 2 years...I attribute it to water fountains. So naturally I had to post a photo of this one. Yes I drank out of, yes it was freaking cold! haha

Because this was a "sunrise" run, the colours were beautiful! I loved how there was still just one tree with all it's leaves this gorgeous golden colour.

Saturday afternoon we had 20 people over here, our friends and all their kids for an expat thanksgiving. We even had my daughter's French friend join us and a Dutch friend join us. It was a super unique time and was so glad we were able to host such an event. Everyone had a great time and all the kids mingled together so well and got along famously. Some of them never would have met had it not been for this gathering so I am so glad we did it.

I will post more about all the different foods on Wednesday.

I am also so thankful to everyone who brought a hostess gift. They were completely unexpected and I couldn't be more grateful. I will give more details on that tomorrow.

Sunday was of course our day for cheer. Our Dutch friend stayed the night and drove us to cheer the next day. ...and it was cold. The heat wasn't working in the gym so we were freezing, it was not terribly fun conditions. I did wind up going for a run just to warm up. I am glad I did because I got really warm and saw some great landmarks. Can't wait for my next run out that way I really want to check out the graveyard in depth!

Love how I found the cows today right out back of the windmill. Made my run feel very European.

This windmill is gorgeous. It is very close by a Fort, this whole area was(is, maybe?) part of the Dutch defense system.

Cold but happy to be warm and outside!

How was your weekend? Do you celebrate Thanksgiving?

Linking up with Mommy Run Fast and I'm an Organizing Junkie

So, on to the business of the week. I am loosely following the 21 day sugar detox guidelines for myself over the next 21 days. I am doing so well eating all good for me foods and I have a lot of energy so I want to make sure I keep that up. I tend to be the person that feels great so I allow myself a ton of junk, but not going to let that happen. I have a lot of fun activities planned over the next 25 days and on into New Year's so I want to make sure I keep this up!

Breakfast

• Paleo Pancakes (make ahead & freeze)
• Egg burritos
• French toast for the kiddo and fried apples over paleo cream of wheat for me.

Lunch

• Found a salad a day photo challenge on Instagram so will be participating in that each day for lunch. Follow me and join in to see what I am eating up. 
• For the kiddo to take to school:
• Thanksgiving in a box (basically leftovers from thanksgiving in her bento)
• Grilled cheese 2x's with oranges and sweet potato fries (we are fighting off a cold so upped the vit d and vit c fruits and veggies hehe)
• Chicken and cheese sub with apple slices 2x's

Snacks

I'm going to make a few treats to have on hand so that way the kiddo isn't feeling deprived. I don't want her out there munching out on all the high calorie treats the Dutch are putting up on every corner! haha

• Melted Snowman Sugar cookies
• Rice Krispie Treats (these are mostly for the hubby he was sad when all the kids ate up the Rice Krispie Treat Turkey! hehe)
• Pumpkin Granola Bars
• Fall Trail Mix
• Hard boiled eggs
• Mixed fruit

Dinner

• Leftover Pie (this will be a creation of my own. Will report back with how it comes out)
• BBQ chicken roll ups with broccoli and corn
• Tacos
• Teriyaki beef with rice and broccoli
• New Restaurant Friday: Will finally try the BBQ place we didn't get to last week.
• Breakfast for dinner: pancakes, eggs, bacon, and oranges in cinnamon syrup for dessert
• Corn and chicken chowder with side salad. Will get dessert out when we are at the tree lighting in Dam Square, hubby will be out of town sadly.

Workouts and Goals.

So, this week I decided to join in on the runner's world runstreak. Run everyday from Thanksgiving to New Years, at least one mile. I've done a 9 day workout streak already so I figure why the heck not. So, everyday I will run at least one mile.

• One mile run, core cardio and balance
• Two mile run, core cardio and balance
• 4 mile run, core cardio and balance
• One mile run, core cardio and balance
• 5 mile run, core cardio and balance.
• One mile run, core cardio and balance.
• One mile run and stretching.

This week should be an easy week so my goals are as follows:

• Mail out Christmas cards and boxes to family
• Finish cards I want to go up in my etsy store
• Get Christmas put up in the house.

Nothing terribly extravagant this week, but little things to get me there. 

How is your week looking, anything exciting on the agenda?

Menu Plan Monday #60

This past weekend was a blast. I didn't get many pictures as I was just in the  moment most of the time, but here are a few of what I did take.

Thursday I had to do some shopping as the kiddo has a pretty bad eczema breakout right now and when I went to Lush to grab this fantastic body wash with calamine powder in it I grabbed some fabulous bubble bars:

Then Friday the kiddo had a friend stay the night and I worked on some cards:

Saturday we did some shopping downtown and came across some great street art, this was my favorite:

Sunday of course was cheerleading and it was tumbling day. So fun:

Then we watched some football and I was able to cheer on our team in my fab new shirt I found at a great second hand shop here in Holland:

Who'd have thought I could find that here?!

Then we had some delicious pizza and wings while enjoying our football:

Now, for the menu this week.

Linking up over at Mommy Run Fast and I'm an Organizing Junkie.

I am going to try and be a little more exact with my breakfast and lunch as for the last two weeks I've run out of lunch stuff and have had to go to the store extra. Which wouldn't be so bad but I always discover it on a rainy day and my bike + rain=no fun lol

Breakfast:
Monday: banana pumpkin paleo pancakes with fried apples
Tuesday: Warmed fruit bowl with peanut butter toast
Wednesday: banana pumpkin paleo pancakes with fried apples
Thursday: Over night oats
Friday: Sweet potatoes, eggs, and bacon
Saturday: Omelets with toast and bacon
Sunday: Overnight oats and smoothies

Lunch:
Monday: Kiddo: orange slices, green pepper slices, peanut butter and jelly (with homemade chia seed jam); Me: tuna salad
Tuesday: Kiddo: ham and cheese sandwich with orange and apple slices; Me: chicken salad
Wednesday: Kiddo: leftovers; Me: bowl of mixed veggies with hard boiled eggs
Thursday: Kiddo: ham and cheese sandwich with orange slices and apple slices; Me: chicken sandwich
Friday: Kiddo: eats out; Me: tuna salad
Saturday: We will eat a late breakfast and will grab snacks at the Swedish Christmas Market
Sunday: Smoked meat, cheese, bread, fruit

Dinner:
Monday: Pizza burgers/eggplant burgers (carry over from last week as we didn't make this), green beans, roasted potatoes, and corn
Tuesday: Pumpkin Chickpea Fritters with salad and broccoli
Wednesday: Video Games Live: Leftovers
Thursday: Roasted Red Pepper pasta with garden salad
Friday: Girls night out so I will cook up something for the hubby and the kiddo: chicken breasts on the foreman grill with corn and fries
Saturday: Out to eat for my birthday. Hubby is on a business trip on my bday and I know he wants to relax and watch football Sunday, so today we find delicious Italian.
Sunday: Pizza and wings for football with salad, smoked meat, cheese, bread

Looks like it will be a fabulous week. This week I am planning on spending lunchtime at the National Opera and Ballet where they do a free lunchtime concert, and having various volunteer activities to throw myself in to. I will also be working on finishing a couple batches of cards to put up in my Etsy store along with planning our Thanksgiving dinner.

What do you have planned for this week?

Menu Plan Monday #54 +a peek at my morning routine

Happy Monday y'all! So, I have been riding my bike so much more lately and this is how I feel whenever I pass someone:



hahaha Yup, I'm all like:

Credit

I even hear the music and cackling in my head...when I told the teenager about that the first time I thought she'd fall off her bike. All in good fun though. Riding the bike for errands makes them doubly fun, though!

Routine

A few months back, I wrote a blog about my routines. Well, since moving I have adjusted my morning routine a bit to fit our new life! I no longer keep my check marks on my iPad, I have switched over to a written planner as I prefer that. So, here is a peek at my routine:

• 6:45, pop out of bed and get dressed, I usually dress in workout clothes so after everyone is gone I can immediately workout, but some days I dress regularly if I have a meeting at the school or with a friend.
• Next, one of the first things I do is brush my teeth. I was told by my dentist a while back that whatever saliva is produced first thing in the morning can really damage your enamel making you more prone to cavities so I take care of that immediately, if I have a meeting I do my make up and hair during this time too. Otherwise I pin it back and throw in a headband to get ready for my workouts.
• By 7:15 while the Nespresso machine is heating up I unload the dishwasher and take out the lunch items for the teenager to throw in her backpack and if she is lucky I refill her water bottle for her ;) I also throw in a load of laundry.
• When she finishes her make up and hair we sit down together and have coffee and breakfast, usually by 7:30 am, when we are done we each throw our dishes in the dishwasher.
• 7:45 I see the teenager out the door, then spend the next 30-45 minutes doing blog maintenance, checking social media, and applying for jobs.
• 8:30 hubby gets up for work and I get him breakfast (which usually consists of juice, tough job I know lol), then he gets in the shower and I see him out the door.
• 9:15 Workout, then shower and get dressed. 
• Mondays: 9:15 I go to the grocery store, then come home and unload groceries, start my meal prep, and then I clean all the bathrooms. Workout starts about 1:15 pm this day.

My mornings are really full but super productive. I find that making sure I get the dishwasher unloaded and a load of laundry in my laundry is {almost} never over flowing and the dishes never build up.

I'm linking up over at Org Junkie, come check out the other menus!

Now, for the meal plan! I have been making sure that Sunday night and/or Monday mornings I get my meal prep done. I find this is vital to me making proper choices in my nutrition and me having food to pack the kiddo for lunch.

Breakfast Options:

Cereal

Toast with coconut oil and pb or nutella

Fruit

Oatmeal

Lunch Options:

Teenager: Leftovers, Ham and Cheese Sandwich with cucumbers and fruit-X2, one day she will come home for lunch, PB and banana wrap with apple slices and cranberries-X2

Snacks: Apple Pie Spiced Trail mix and orange X2, hard boiled egg and steamed sweet potato X3

Me: Creamy Caprese Quinoa Bake (I will make a few substitutions in the recipe), day kiddo comes home for lunch: Veggie loaded ramen, one day I am scheduled to have lunch out with a friend

Snacks:Almond-banana-cacao smoothie, orange-banana smoothie, cucumber-tomato salad

Afternoon Snacks

After school the kiddo and I love to have coffee and something sweet, I am going to make these Healthy No Bake Cookies or we will have some homemade bread with Nutella.

Dinner

Monday: Sausage and potatoes au gratin

Tuesday: Chicken and cheese crescent rolls with salad 

Wednesday: Baked spaghetti with salad

Thursday: Cheese panini's with soup

Friday: Pizza with salad (the kiddo has a friend sleeping over so I will probably have them make this it is so simple)

Saturday: Chicken Wings with macaroni and cheese and peas

Sunday: Homemade hamburger helper and salad and garlic rolls

What are you cooking up this week?