Menu Plan Monday 21 Day Fix Extreme +Weekly Recap

Happy Sunday y'all!

So, this last week I've really worked hard at getting a few posts together, here's a look at last week:

Last week's Menu Plan Monday, I was starting week two of 21 Day Fix Extreme.
My second post of the week was a recap of my summer holiday in St. Augustine.
Sixteen things I've learned in 16 years of marriage...this post has been incredibly popular.

Coming up this week:
A list of things I do when hubby is gone
What I Ate Wednesday, a recap from my holiday (can you tell I'm not ready to let go of summer! ha!)
How we keep busy on long plane rides
A recap of our overnight layover at London Heathrow Airport
Plus a day trip recap to Zaanse Schans, just outside of Amsterdam

This should be a busy week and I am so excited to share these with y'all!

So...first up..workout schedule.
This is my last week of 21 Day Fix Extreme. So far from week 1 to week 2 I lost 2 cm all over. I don't weight myself on a scale so I have no idea how that's going nor do I care but I can see all sorts of all over definition so far, raised booty, and thinner thighs.

Monday: Plyo Fix Extreme +10 min hard core
Tuesday: Upper Fix Extreme
Wednesday: Pilates Fix Extreme+10 min hard core
Thursday: Lower Fix Extreme
Friday: Cardio Fix Extreme+10 min hard core
Saturday: Dirty 30 Extreme
Sunday: Yoga Fix Extreme+10 min hard core

I will add for most of these workouts you need weights, I don't have those so where I can I use my bands, where I can't use bands I just do my best to kick ass and use my own body weight to give me a good workout.

Goals

• Complete Workouts
• Stick to competition prep eating plan all week
• Finish Cologne Itinerary
• Start Milan Itinerary and make reservations for hubby's birthday

Weekly Menu

Breakfast

Monday: Egg whites, spinach, peppers (red, green)
Tuesday: Oatmeal with pumpkin puree and pie spice, egg whites (yellow, green, red)
Wednesday: Egg whites, spinach, peppers (red, green)
Thursday: Oatmeal with pumpkin puree and pie spice, egg whites  (yellow, green, red)
Friday: Egg whites, spinach, peppers (red, green)
Saturday: Oatmeal with pumpkin puree and pie spice, egg whites  (yellow, green, red)
Sunday: Egg whites, spinach, peppers (red, green)

Mid Morning Snack
Will be a protein shake with water everyday. That won't change; boring but necessary post workout.

Lunch:
To make it easy on myself I will just make two things to choose from for the whole week. The kiddo will take dinner leftovers in her thermos or a yumbox full of goodies...stay tuned to my Instagram for photos of that.
Monday: Ground chicken with peppers and broccoli (red, green)
Tuesday: Chicken breast and green beans (red, green)
Wednesday: Ground chicken with peppers and broccoli (red, green)
Thursday: Chicken breast and green beans (red, green)
Friday: Ground chicken with peppers and broccoli (red, green)
Saturday: Chicken breast and green beans (red, green)
Sunday: Ground chicken with peppers and broccoli (red, green)

Snacks
Afternoon snacks will consist of fruit pumpkin seeds since I will be making quite a bit of pumpkin puree I want to use those up. I will also use this time to make up for any containers I may be missing, while avoiding any foods that bloat me like my afternoon coffee. ha!

Dinner

Monday: Salad with cottage cheese and whipped butternut squash on the side
Tuesday: Beef and butternut stew with a side salad
Wednesday: Cauliflower fried rice with chicken and sweet potato
Thursday: Beef and butternut stew with a side salad
Friday:Cauliflower fried rice with chicken and sweet potato
Saturday: Eat out at the food festival
Sunday: Leftovers

This week's meals are a bit boring but the hubby is out of town and I plan on really focusing on diet and eating right so I plan on cooking in bulk and eating from that. Right now shredding is what means the most to me, so keeping it simple!

Tell me, what are you up to this week? What are you eating?

Have a great week!

Linking up with I'm an Organizing Junkie, Mommy Run Fast, Jill Conyers, and Moms Small Victories Sunday.

Menu Plan Monday Week 50: Eating Clean and Healthy

Happy Monday! Wow, what a weekend this has been! Explored a beach somewhat near us, date night, and lots of working out!

As you all know I am very active. Most of my hobbies involve being on the go and my love for all things beachbody keep me toned up. Also, I eat fairly healthy 80% of the time...right now it is more like 95% of the time as I have a little more fat on my abs than I prefer and I'm trying to get that to go away. I don't eat 100% clean all the time because I am human and I love things like cinnamon rolls and cookies so right now I am allowing my self one cheat meal one time per week. This takes some serious planning and some sacrifice on my part as I really love food...really, really bad for me food. But, I know this doesn't make me feel good. It really makes me feel quite awful. So before I put something into my mouth I ask myself last time you ate this did you say you shouldn't eat this again? If I did I either cut it in half & just savor a small amount or usually I put it away entirely and find something else because I don't want to feel horrible later.

Now, because most people have the misconception that eating clean can leave you hungry and that you don't eat much I am going to bust that myth with my schedule:

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor nor a health & nutrition expert by any stretch of the imagination. I have just played around over the years and know what works for ME. Take this advice with a grain of salt and play around and see what works for you. Always consult a physician with any drastic dietary changes.

7 am or so: chug 8oz of water I keep by my bed
7:20am: warm cup of water boiled with lemon & cinnamon
8am: breakfast
10:30 am (Post workout): Protein shake
12:30 or 1:00pm: lunch
3:00pm: snack
6:00pm: dinner (I usually have a glass of red or white wine with dinner, whatever will complement the meal more)
8:30pm: snack, but only if I am hungry.
Throughout the day I drink an additional 2-3 liters of water.

My 8:30 pm snack does not always happen. If I am feeling tired and know I will be going to bed around 10:30 or 11:00, if I am feeling peckish I will just tough it out because if I eat too close to bed time I will have really weird dreams and they will disturb my sleep and I am like a princess and need my beauty rest...especially as I've gotten older and more active. Remember sleep is a great way for the body to recover so make sure you are getting enough! I know situation for some of us can sort of mess that up, but get as much as you can!

So, anyway moving on....here is this week's menu!

Go to Org Junkie to see other yummy meal plans!

Breakfast:
M-W-F: Egg burritos with sweet potato pieces and fruit.

Egg burrito
Serves 1
1 Egg
3 egg whites
Burrito fillings such as:
Diced tomato
Diced onion
Black beans or kidney beans
Avocado
Dash of Cumin
Salt & pepper
Salsa (if you don't make your own read the label & make sure there isn't any added crud in it like sugar/high fructose corn syrup)

Combine the egg & three egg whites and whip with a fork. Pour into a pan sprayed with non stick spray and let cook for a few minutes as if you were making an omelette. Once set a bit toss in a bit of your favorite burrito fillings like tomato, onion, a sprinkle of beans, some avocado. Season with a sprinkling of cumin, salt & pepper. Fold over the sides like you would a burrito and let finish cooking, flip when you feel it is ready. Put on plate and pour a bit of salsa over the top. Serve with some diced sweet potato and a bit of fruit.

Tues-Thurs Banana Pancakes with nut butter & berries

Banana Pancakes
Serves 1
2 eggs
1 banana
1 Tablespoon nut butter of choice
Handful of fresh berries

Mash banana until nice & liquidyish, in separate bowl whip the two eggs. Combine with a whisk until mostly smooth & outside edges are a bit foamy. Cook as you would pancakes in a lightly greased skillet. Cover each pancake with about half to 1 teaspoon of nut butter. Sprinkle some fresh in season berries over the top.

Saturday: This is usually my treat meal. I freaking love cinnamon rolls and the grocery store here sells some chemical laden high fructose corn syrup no doubt made custardy cinnamon rolls that I LOVE. So, I usually have ONE of these with a green smoothie.

Sunday: Egg white omelettes (for hubby & the kiddo they will be regular egg omelettes because they need more fat in their diets) with a combo potato/sweet potato hashbrown mix, and a strawberry spinach salad.

Lunch
M-W-F: Turkey & cheese sandwiches with green smoothie & side salad.

Sandwiches
Serves 1
2 slices whole wheat bread (read ingredients make sure tit only has good stuff)
Mayo (read label again)
Dijon mustard (again, read your label)
2 slices nitrate free turkey
1 slice cheese of choice
Sandwich add on's:
Onion
Lettuce
Tomato
Red pepper

Spread mayo on one side, mustard on the other, put down cheese on one side (I like to spit the cheese in half so I have some on each side). Lay down the turkey on one side, put in the add on's you want on top of the turkey, top with other side. Cut in half if desired.

Side salad:
Serves 2
Diced cucumber
Diced tomato
Green onion, sliced thin
Olive oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt
Pepper

Combine the cucumber, tomato, and green onion. Top with a drizzle of olive oil, balsamic vinegar. Add salt & pepper to taste. (I like to make this the  night before so I can let the oil & vinegar really settle into the cucumber because secretly I hate cucumber lol)

Tuesday: Green smoothies from the Vitamin shop and a big green salad to go from the grocery store. We are going to our new apartment to wait on our furniture that day so no telling how long that will take and what all I will have managed to get in the house before then.

Thursday: Green smoothie with egg white omelette stuffed with tomato, onion, peppers

Friday: Tuna salad served on apples with green smoothie 

Tuna Salad
Serves 1
1 can of tuna in water
1 hard boiled egg
1 teaspoon of mayo
1 teaspoon of dijon mustard
1/4 of an avocado
Diced onion

Drain the can of tuna and put the tuna in a bowl. Gently cut the hard boiled egg in half & separate the yolk, dice the egg white. In a small bowl mash the quarter of an avocado with the yolk from the egg. Combine avocado/yolk mixture with the tuna and egg whites. Add in the mayo, mustard, and onion. Serve on apple slices.

Saturday: Soup & sandwiches

Sunday: Out for a late lunch/early dinner if it is nice. If it isn't nice I will grill up some chicken breasts & serve with brown rice and some mushrooms and onions.

Dinner

Monday: brown rice veggie mix (brown rice with a bag of mixed veggies), zucchini on the side topped with cheese and a side salad...hubby will have chicken satay, rice, and corn

Tuesday: Will probably eat out. Having furniture delivered that day & will have to be out & about getting things like towels and what not for the new place.

Wednesday: Homemade veggie burgers/regular burgers for hubby with leftover brown rice mix and a cup of sugar snap peas

Thursday: Chicken breasts with homemade fries and side salad

Friday: Pizza and a giant salad (I will make the dough in my bread maker and will serve with a big side salad) or baked potato bar....we will be watching The Neverending Story with the teenager since she hasn't seen that one yet.

Saturday: Will try my hand at a homemade alfredo sauce. The husband has been dying for some good alfredo & none of the restaurants around here serve it & the stores don't sell any. If you have a tried & true recipe that has no veggies in it for my picky husband please leave it in the comments! I will serve the sauce over spaghetti squash for me. Will serve with a big salad.

Sunday: We will have a big late lunch/early dinner out somewhere. For snacks at night we will munch on fruit and any leftovers in the fridge.

Snacks
**Post workout will always be a protein shake** 
Apples & pb
Sugar snap peas, hard boiled eggs
Avocado toast
Leftovers

My week in workouts coming up:
Monday: Run for 20 minutes (2 30 second sprint sessions in there), insanity cardio abs
Tuesday: Insanity Cardio Power & resistance
Wednesday: Run for 40 minutes & Cardio Recovery
Thursday: Insanity Cardio Circuit
Friday: Run 30 minutes and Insanity Cardio Power and Resistance
Saturday: Insanity Pure Cardio
Sunday: P90X, X-Stretch

Busy week coming up! I am most looking forward to playing around with making the Alfredo Sauce. I know it won't be amazing for us, but it will be a nice treat to have! I am going to try and make it with all whole foods so it is more filling and we need to eat less.

What are you cookin' up this week?

Moving Menu Plan Monday +this week's workouts!

Boy, this last week has been crazy! Seriously we have completely emptied our house, sold all of our belongings except for clothes and shoes, shipped memory items off to my mother and doled a few things out to other relatives that probably didn't want the crap but I need them to hang on to it, so they were voluntold. Thanks guys!

Org Junkie

So, today for Menu Plan Monday I am doing something a little different. We are eating out everyday until we get to Amsterdam, but before this I continued to cook just about everyday using up the items in my pantry, so I am going to highlight those meals today:

Breakfasts:

• Egg Sandwiches and half a smoothie or protein shake
• Oatmeal with miscellaneous leftovers in it: nuts, dried fruit, regular fruit, milk, cream, instant coffee
• Smoothies
• Protein Shakes
• Cereal
• Granola
• Omelettes, bacon, toast
• Protein pancakes (1 cup canned pumpkin or sweet potato puree and 2 eggs, fry up & serve with nut butter)

Lunches:

• Leftovers
• Tuna salad with crackers or lettuce wraps
• Chicken salad with crackers or lettuce wraps
• Omelettes and toast
• Grilled cheese and chips or soup
• Salad

Dinners:

• Leftovers shmorgas board
• Baked potato bar (with regular & sweet potatoes nom)
• Chicken breasts with cheese and sugar snap peas
• Taco Salad
• Burgers with potato skins
• Spaghetti and salad
• Soup and grilled cheese or meatballs

These just about covered us the last two weeks we've been in Vancouver. Now that we are eating out though we had to figure out a way to not spend a ton while eating out. We are eating out just about every single meal now so that gets expensive.

Tip for eating out when moving

• Breakfasts: buy oatmeal in heat & serve cups & eat with plastic cutlery
• For coffee bring reusable mugs, all coffee shops & 7-11's I've ever been to give a discount for using your own cup.
• Lunches: look for things like tuna salad kits, easy mac, premade salads in their own containers
• Snacks: I like to have on hand things like nature valley bars, yogurt in individual containers, and string cheese. Those seem to do the trick and are pretty healthy.
• When going to a restaurant look for coupons or use sites like Groupon, Living Social, and Restaurant.com
• Places to look for coupons are in local papers, in the mail (I got some great ones for starbucks the other day lol I'm not a huge fan, but to save $ I will give in to the man for a bit :P), Entertainment book, online, facebook, twitter, foursquare
• Look for kids eat free nights, buy1, get1 nights, loyalty card deals, etc.
• Split your meal with someone at the table so you aren't taking home leftovers

Random tip: Moving can be difficult, make this time an adventure. I know with a 14 year old some days she is excited other days we are the worst parents in the world lol So, we use this time to divert any "sad" feelings. So, we each got to pick one meal we had to have before we left and then we picked a couple places we had really been wanting to try but hadn't gotten to yet.  

Now, my workouts for this week....this is a devilish routine. Muahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have started an event on Facebook, if you would like to join in come like me on Facebook and send me a message so I can "invite" you. I made it a private event so we don't get any creepers in there ;)

In any case this is the play list I put together:

Burpees & squats, burpees & squats....

Basically each day for 5 days we will be doing one squat challenge video & one burpee challenge video. Each video is between 8-10 min long, so 16-20 min workout each day or you can do it in addition to your current workout. Then, on the 6th day we will do a couple of stretching videos geared toward stretching the specific muscles used in burpees and squats. Then, on the 7th day we will take all the videos & do them all together...it is going to be a KILLER workout! 

So, get your stuff together and email me on facebook so I can get you into the challenge! 

So, that is my week...what are you up to in the week ahead? Any cool workouts I should add to my schedule for next month?

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. 

Menu Plan Monday #40

Happy Monday y'all!

I can not believe the weekend flew by so fast! It was a super fun, relaxing weekend though. 

Friday we had our New Restaurant Friday at Pizzeria Ludica. Afterword we came home and had a riveting game of Mario Party! It was a lot of fun.

Saturday hubster & I hit the town looking awesome...the only person caught on camera though was me...

The top right is early in the day...the flakes turned from small and light to large and fairly heavy-the picture captures it perfectly. None of it stuck luckily. I was fairly unmotivated to do my last workout for the week-Warrior-but, I managed and was super happy after I did it. I mean who wouldn't be happy with that shoulder?! Last, hubs and I were board after a day of cleaning and purging while it snowed so after the teenager left for her sleepover we got dressed up and had a nice dinner down at the Tap & Barrel at Canada Place...Tap Greens with grilled chicken breast is the best thing on the menu!

Sunday, was a seriously lazy day. 

We were woken up at 7 am to the cheering and hollering of many happy Canadians as Team Canada won the Gold in Men's Hockey...as you can see that was not our plan, but we rolled with it so we had some coffee, some cuddle time, some nap time. Cheerleading was mercifully canceled for the day due to snowfall warnings. Later in the day we whipped up some delicious cocoa and pretty much stayed in bed all day long. 

It was glorious.

Moving on though...through all that relaxation Sunday I still managed to get my meal plan done! YAY!

I'm linking up over at Organizing Junkie so stop by & check out all the menu's!

Breakfast Options

Cinnamon raisin bagels with coconut oil/peanut butter & fresh fruit

Green apple, pb, and half serving shakeology

Yogurt parfait

Lunch Options

Leftovers: paella, calzone, or soup

Shakeology

Tuna/chicken salad

Dinner

Monday: Kiddo will have pizza at girl guides, I will have whatever is left of the paella

Tuesday: Stuffed sweet potatoes and broccoli meatballs

Wednesday: Crockpot pulled pork with Italian coleslaw, carrots, and corn

Thursday: 

Friday: New Restaurant Friday-Calabash Bistro in Gastown. Was suggested to me on Twitter by another Vancouverite so can't wait to try it!

Saturday: Freezer meal for the little one while she babysits here at home; we are headed to game night at our friends house...hopefully if we all cook together will do some sort of kebab & sweet potato fries...(hint hint if you're reading this).

Sunday: Steak with sweet potato biscuits and peas

I am really looking forward to cooking my Sunday meal. I didn't get to it this last week because I was out of sweet potatoes and I was not going out in the snow to get them! But, this week it is happening those biscuits sound amazing. They are from my William Sonoma Steak & Chops book. 

What meal are you looking forward to cooking this week?

Menu Plan Monday #38 +being away from the child

Happy Monday y'all!

So, I know today many people aren't happy about waking up to, but I am waking up in England!

Crazy right?! This is my first time in Europe and I am enjoying every second of it and already can't wait to come back!

As excited as we are to be here it sadly has taken us away from our not-so-little-one for a few days. These times can be so heart-wrenching! I love her to pieces and hate to miss any time with her, but I do think in the long run it is good for all of us. About once a year we spend a week a part. The teenager usually goes to sleep away camp and to stay with family and the husband and I get some alone time. It gives the teenager time to bond with her grandparents, aunts/uncles, and cousins and to learn to sort of be on her own. It gives my husband and I, who never really had that alone time couples have in the beginning since we had her so young, time to focus on each other. In the beginning I think we are all excited to get away from one another since we spend so much time together, but by the end we are all ready for it to be over and to be back together!

So, I guess what I am trying to say is as precious as these days are with our young children if you want to get away, don't feel guilty there are a lot of benefits! This time around our daughter is staying with two of her friends who have two very different parents. One set of parents is about our age and as easy going as us, if not a little more easy going. The other set is an older set of parents who adopted their child and they are pretty easy going and enjoy giving the kids their independence!

I feel like these times away from us as few as they are have such a lasting impression and really help her to find out who she is as we aren't there to help her make decisions and aren't easily contacted at the drop of a hat!

Anyway...enough about my ramblings...let's get to what you are here for...

Tue

Org Junkie

This is yet another weird week for us. We are out of town at the beginning of the week and have to go out of town for a cheerleading competition at the end of the week!

Breakfasts: cereal with banana, shakeology

Lunches: Shakeology, sandwiches (pb&j & turkey on whole wheat) with salad/grapes

Dinner: 

Monday: Out of town, something around London-fish and chips most likely if I haven't had it yet ;)

Tuesday: Pick up from the grill at the market or order in pizza & salad from an organic local place

Wednesday: Broccoli/Cauliflower/Spaghetti squash cheese bake with salad

Thursday: Burrito cups: mexican flavored chicken breasts, black beans, cauli-rice, tomatoes, onion, and lettuce layered in a cup

Friday: Eat on the road to cheer compeition

Saturday: Celebrate V-day by checking out an awesome restaurant in Tacoma after the cheer competition with my honey

Sunday: Get a meal from the market or order in something from a local place.

It is proving to be a seriously busy week but I think we can handle it! February will be gone before I know it!

Menu Plan Monday #37 +a lesson on patience

My teenager has had three, count them three cheerleading competitions this year. In one they came in 2nd place, but it was out of two...so essentially last.

The next competition they came in fifth...out of fifth. I was really upset for my daughter because she was trying quite hard. She was very upset.

Pyramid from 2nd Compeititon

But, she stayed positive. She worked hard, she encouraged her teammates even when she was getting some negative text messages this past week like, "ready to lose Sunday?" Despite this she worked on her balance, she was moved to point for a portion of the routine, she stretched daily, and worked on not saying anything negative...even after practices that were hard she would tell me it was one of the best practices she'd ever been to. Well, Sunday comes and the negativity of her teammates seemed it increase despite them being excited to perform. She went in with a fierce attitude and practiced hard before going out on to the floor in the performance centre. She kept a huge smile on her face, she picked a judge and did what all good cheerleaders do...smiled her biggest smile and showed as much personality as humanly possible. My little ham even gave a cute little wink at the judges! So, these girls performed their hearts out, hit just about every stunt as far as I could see, moved their little booties during their tumbling passes, and danced their little hearts out at the end. This resulted in them competing against the exact same five teams from the last competition and them going from last place to first place! I couldn't be more proud of these little ladies and their ability to pull together and work hard.

Here is my little ham loving her medal. She even took it to school to show a couple of her teachers that know about her cheering.

So, life throws us lemons many times throughout our lives. We can either get hit in the head with them or make it a goal to become a better catcher and learn to juggle. I think my kiddo's positive attitude despite not having the best start to the season is an amazing trait! I hope it is one she never loses!

Anyway, enough about  my bragging...here's the menu for the week.

It's short and sweet, we are out of the country at the end of the week so I will have tons of food to post about when we get back at some point next week. May be early in the week, may be late in the week will just have to see how the trip goes and if we can squeeze anymore time out of our little trip!

I chose to use this banner this week for the Org Junkie Link-up because we are having a serious cold snap up here in BC! We have been super lucky and temps have been around 40 Fahrenheit, but now it is only in the 20's Fahrenheit! But, I have some seriously healthy meals designed around this weather that also uses up our leftovers before we head out at the end of the week!

Menu Board Tutorial

If you haven't made one of these...do it! It is the best ever and when I use it...I always stick to my menu!

Breakfast: Shakeology, eggs and veggies, cream of wheat

Lunch: Shakeology, leftovers

Dinner:

Monday: pork chops, brown rice/cauli-rice, peas

Tuesday: Chicken fried rice using the leftover rice/cauli-rice, peas, carrots

Wednesday: Chicken and cheese omelettes with bacon and any leftovers from the previous night and veggies

Thursday: Chicken and cheese quesadillas with leftover veggies (most likely carrots....hope we don't turn orange! haha ;))

Friday: Will eat a late lunch/early dinner at the airport after check-in....most of the decent looking places are prior to security so it won't be anything too exciting, classic pub fare no doubt...how to keep that healthy will be a fun challenge! ;)

Saturday: Somewhere fun and exciting in our destination city

Sunday: Again will no doubt be somewhere fun and exciting in our destination city...cannot wait to try some traditional local fare! 

What all does everyone have planned for this week?

Me, I am heading to the doctor, then off to buy a new planner, then the rest of my week will be filled with cleaning, stocking my Etsy store, working out, and packing for our trip! 

Menu Plan Monday #36 +a little weekend recap

Hello! I hope everyone's week is starting off spectacularly so far!

This weekend for our little family was quite an exciting one. For Christmas we all got snowboarding gear, lift tickets, and a lesson for the 3 of us. Well, we had to cancel our trip as my daughter had unfortunately gotten ill just before Christmas (seriously, two days before!), and then I got sick on Christmas day! It was absolutely awful and took me weeks to be rid of whatever virus I had. But, fortunately we were able to reschedule at our leisure and decided to go Saturday afternoon. Honestly this was the first weekend we were able to actually go, plus my daughter is studying for mid-terms so it gave her a much needed brain break. ...and exhausted her enough that she slept amazingly well! Here are a few photos from our trip...

Prior to the lesson while we were putting on our boots...I love my little toque (aka beanie lol), was so sunny, couldn't wait to get on the snow! 

All of us post snowboarding. Thank goodness our faces are covered we were all in pain! 

When we decided to take a break after our lesson hubby had never been up to the mountain so I took him to see the city. Isn't it gorgeous?!

This as you look out there is some ocean in there but it is actually covered by all the fog/clouds! Isn't that amazing?! I love the halo around the sun & the little reflection of the sun in the middle right. It was such an amazing day!

Otherwise the weekend was pretty chill. Saturday night we watch Captain Phillips. 

Captain Phillips

It was a fantastic movie and would 100% recommend watching it! Have some tissues ready for the end though!

Sunday we just chilled and relaxed in the morning. The teenager used Skype/Facetime to study with a friend. Starting the 21 Day Sugar Detox over today so looking forward to making some lemon chicken and apple sausage. 

What was your favourite part of the weekend??

Anyway...on to what you are all really here for: Menu Plan Monday!

I am linking up over at Org Junkie so come on over & check out all the other menus!!

As I said earlier, I am starting the 21 Day Sugar Detox over. I had one semi-bad week and just wasn't feeling successful so decided to start fresh. Here is what I will be eating for the first 1/3 of the detox:

Breakfast ideas: Apple sausage & eggs, breakfast hash & eggs, breakfast pizza, paleo pancakes and cinnamon apples, and apple "donuts" for our Sunday treat.

Lunch ideas: Breakfast hash, chicken salad, chicken fried cauliflower, and whatever other leftovers

Dinner: 

Monday: Mini chicken pot pies with a mashed cauliflower topping, side salad; bbq shredded chicken for the hubs and salad and corn for his sides

Tuesday: Fish & veggies with cauliflower soup; breakfast for dinner

Wednesday: Changing up our "New Restaurant Friday" for today since we are going to our Dungeons & Dragons comedy show. We will pop in to a new pub in that area. There is some super unique stuff so can't wait!

Thursday: Soup & sandwiches...for me & the teen: 21 day sugar detox chicken "panini" and leftover cauliflower soup; for the hubs: regular ol' grilled cheese with chicken noodle soup

Friday: Mustard glazed chicken thighs with golden beets/corn for the hubs

Saturday: Hot & sweet ginger chicken, cucumber salad, and rice/corn

Sunday: Cinnamon pork chops with broccoli and quinoa/rice & corn

All of the above recipes are somehow from the 21 Day Sugar Detox guide book. I am taking a lot and changing them up so we are eating some fun things that resemble some of our old family favourites! 

What are you all cookin' up this week? Share it with me! 

Menu Plan Monday #35

Hi all! So, our weekend was rather uneventful all in all.

Friday night we spent visiting friends in the 'burbs so she could cut my hair, the guys had to put together a computer, and then we had dinner together and played games. They cooked us kebabs and sweet 'tater fries. I should have taken a picture but was afraid they'd think me a freak so I figure we should get to know them a bit more before I start snapping pictures of my food. Of course, if they read this then the ice is broken so I say I am free to snap all the photos I want of food.

Moving on...Saturday the teen & I spend the day at the mall after an early morning workout. We have been searching for clue...seems there has been a run on it as I can't find it anywhere! Seriously, what the heck?! Anyway, then we tried a new restaurant for our weekly New Restaurant day. You can read about it here. Then, the husband and I took some time to go out dancin'! That was fun, hadn't dressed up and done that in a few months.

Sunday was a very lazy day. It was spend mostly getting ready for the week and not moving from the couch. I did however take the time to do quite a bit of meal planning and prep...are ya ready?! Here we go....

Org Junkie

Breakfast: Eggs & bacon/avocado, Banana Muffins, root veggie hash & eggs

Lunch: Shakeology, leftovers, tuna salad, chicken salad, 

Snacks: Shakeology, banola & almond milk, 21DSD pb cups, nut mix, green apples & peanut butter

Dinner:

Monday: Shepard's pie and salad; for the hubby I will make him a burger with corn and peas

Tuesday: Sole with cauliflower soup/chicken soup for the hubby, with a side of quinoa/rice

Wednesday: Hot and sour ginger garlic chicken (I am going to adapt this for the crockpot), with cucumber salad and some leftover rice/quinoa (and corn for the hubby)

Thursday: Pork Chops with broccoli and whatever is leftover (soup, rice, quinoa, etc)

Friday: New Restaurant Friday: I have no idea where we will try yet, but it will be something yummy, but cheap lol Will be a challenge to find something in my 21 day sugar detox diet when we go out. :P

Saturday: Ginger-garlic beef and broccoli/corn (for hubby), with rice/cauli-rice

Sunday: Double pork tenderloin (basically a bacon wrapped pork tenderloin), green apple salad, and whatever is left of the quinoa/rice/cauli-rice.

Here is some of my prep work:

My 21 Day Sugar Detox Spaghetti Bolognese leftovers. This is the best recipe in the world. I am addicted to it!

Some hard boiled eggs, avocado, some coconut cream, and some cucumber and tomato salad.

This is my leftover bin. There is my homemade italian dressing, some butter, som green beans and rice, and some shakeology.

My apples I was about to cut up. They are so delicious with some fresh peanut butter!

So, that is what we have going on this week. If you didn't see it at the end of last week also make sure to go check out the super cute Valentine's Heart Garland Tutorial I put up!

Tell me, what are you all having this week? I am always looking for some delicious, healthy recipes to try...have any favourites I need to cook up??

Menu Plan Monday #34 +a tiny weekend recap

Wow, what a weekend this was! It wasn't necessarily too busy but there certainly was just a lot to get done.

Friday was a nice relaxing evening. Went out for a little shopping with the husband in the rain, then on the walk home picked up some chicken and potatoes at our local market. It was yummy and enjoyable. He also got his workout in! So proud of him for that!

Saturday my daughter had a cheerleading competition. It was held in a city called Chiliwack. It's about 90 minutes to the interior of BC. The weather there was horrendous. It was hard to keep the car in a lane because of the wind and it was so dark and rainy it was hard to see the lines on the road. But, due to my Mr's amazing skillz at driving we managed to make it there and back in one piece. Here are some pictures:

That's my girl right in the middle! 

Beautiful back walkover

A dancing maniac! hehehe This is probably my favorite picture of the weekend!

She can actually get that leg parallel up against her back! O_o

While we were there, since it was an all day event and we had been really good about eating only real, whole foods this week I packed us a nice bag of goodies:

Peanuts, raisins, bacon, water, snap pea crisps, pecans, plus some personal development books and a camera.

Sunday was so lazy. Spend exercising and relaxing with my hubby. I really, really enjoy those days. We cooked up some chicken legs and potatoes...mmm, mmm, mmm.

Org Junkie

This week we have really kicked our nutrition into high gear by starting the 21 Day Sugar Detox. All my meals this week are free of sugar (except for a few exceptions I have to make for hubby's finicky palate, but I won't be eating those, just him). I will also continue drinking my Shakeology during this time but it is my only exception.

Breakfast ideas: Egg muffins with avocado, root veggie hash & eggs, sausage & veggies, leftovers, and apple cinnamon donuts from the book

So tasty & so filling! Egg "muffins"

Lunch ideas: Shakeology, tuna salad (I don't like canned salmon so opting for the tuna), chicken salad, leftovers, and sunday will be chicken breasts with veggies

Snack ideas: Shakeology, jerky, cinnilla nut mix, green apple and peanut butter, banola and coconut cream

Cinnilla Nut Mix from 21 Day Sugar Detox Book

Dinner:

Directions to make this here!

 Monday: Mexican Burgers, creamy herb mashed cauliflower, rice/black beans

Tuesday: Salmon with caper tapenade,  pork chops for the hubby, and salad

Wednesday: (will adapt to crockpot) mustard glazed chicken thighs, golden beets and peas

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner: paleo pancakes with nut butter, and omelettes filled with full fat cheese, bacon, spinach, and other veggies

Friday: New Restaurant Friday: Rain City Grill  (bonus they are starting their Dine Out Vancouver special EARLY! WOOHOO!)

Saturday: Shepard's pie and salad; for hubby: burger from ground meat in the pie, and cucumbers and corn

Sunday: Braised beef short ribs, cauli rice, and any leftover veggies to use them up and start the week fresh! 

So, that is it for me this week! Come on over and pin with me on pinterest and share you meals with me over at facebook!

Menu plan Monday #33 + a weekend recap, of course!

Happy Monday! I hope those of you who suffering from nearly insufferable weather are faring ok! I know it is pretty darn cold out there for many of you so stay warm...here's a couple of fun jokes to get you through...

Comic Source

Comic Source

As for us we have had a shockingly mild winter! I can't even believe all the sun we have had. This time last year I was taking a Vitamin D supplement everyday, suffering from a hip issue caused by Vitamin D deficiency, and hadn't seen the snow since October 15th! Much different story this winter. I am a happy, happy gal!

That being said, since the weather was so nice we were able to get out a little this weekend since I was finally feeling better. We did two New Restaurant days (Friday & Saturday). The first was just to the new Five Guys they built. Of course we've been to Five Guys but it had been so long & all 3 of us really wanted a burger so off we went. I didn't take any pictures because we were all so hungry that I forgot! But, it was really good. It is on Robson St in Vancouver past Granville. Definitely recommend visiting if you want a good basic burger when you are here in Vancouver, those can be difficult to find.

Our second was impromptu...we didn't realize we would be going out, but were glad we did as the place we went was decent.

The inside was really nice. It is supposed to be like a classic English pub. They did serve traditional English dishes but we aren't too keen on those so we got some poutine which wasn't too salty so that is a first! Hubby loved it. Hubby had a jerk chicken burger. He said it was pretty bland, not much jerk flavour at all. I had the salmon...it too sadly was bland. But the broccoli & sweet potato fries were great! Lastly the drinks were phenomenal as they should be at a pub so all was right with the world in the end. We would definitely go back for drinks and appetizers, though!

The rest of the weekend looked like this:

Working on my new Beachbody Business

Worked on my #1 goal of flossing every day!

Worked toward my goal of better nutrition by having my Shakeology while helping my daughter clean out & organize her room (thus working on another goal toward a tidier home)

Finally, did a little shopping & bought these super cute workout shirts...I love the pink one it says "anything can happen". Yes, yes it can so long as you work hard enough! 

But, enough about us...on to the menu for the week!

Org Junkie Menu Link Up

Now, in my house since I have recently taken the step to becoming a beach body coach all of us have decided to take the beach body challenge and see where we can get ourselves so our menu is going to be full of whole foods and lot of healthy goodness to fuel our bodies for P90X3!

Monday

Breakfast: Waffles & eggs

Lunch: Shakeology

Dinner: Homemade Hamburger Helper with zucchini & corn & whole wheat pasta!

Tuesday

Breakfast: Paleo Pancakes and egg whites

Lunch: Leftovers

Dinner: Chicken breasts with rice & veggies

Wednesday

Breakfast: Paleo pancakes & egg whites

Lunch:  Sandwiches loaded with veggies; the husband will probably want a break & will eat out

Dinner: Crockpot beef tacos with salad & leftover rice (make it dirty rice to go in the tacos)

Thursday

Breakfast: Egg sandwiches with fruit salad and 

Lunch: Sandwiches and salad

Dinner: Lean pizza burgers with salad

Friday

Breakfast: Paleo Pancakes and egg whites

Lunch:  Tuna Salad/chicken breast & cucumbers for the husband

Dinner: Homemade calzones & salad

Saturday

Breakfast: Blueberry muffins, bacon, and fruit

Lunch: Snacks for cheer competition

Dinner:  Eat out....will be out of town at Cheer competition

Sunday

Breakfast: Blueberry muffins and fruit

Lunch: Big thick shakeology shakes

Dinner: Potatoes with bbq chicken legs and veggies

Snacks: Shakeology, nut thins & hummus or cheese, popcorn, peanuts & raisins

So, that is it for us for the week! I can't believe how late I am getting this thing posted...whew! I hope you all have a great week! Leave me a comment or two letting me know what you have planned to make for the week! Anyone out there trying a new recipe or two?