Menu Plan Monday-21 Day Fix Round 2

Happy Monday y'all! These last few weeks have been hectic but, I am back with my menu plan for my second round of the 21 day fix! 

Workout Schedule

Monday: Plyo Fix Extreme

Tuesday: Upper and Lower Fix Extreme (this round combining these so I can have one full day off for recovery)

Wednesday: Pilates Fix Extreme

Thursday: Dirty 30 Extreme

Friday: Yoga Fix Extreme

Goals

Not too much this week:

Focus and stay on track with 21 day fix

Clean out the foyer closet & my laundry room

I am also looking to get two Christmas projects started today

Menu
Breakfasts
M-W: Protein bowl with banana and coconut (1 red, 1 purple)
T-H-F: Eggs with spinach, peppers, and onion with pumpkin and sweet potato (1 red, 2 green, 1 yellow)
Sat: Protein Crepes (1 red, 1 purple)
Sun: Breakfast pizza (1 yellow, 1 purple)

Lunches:
These vary from day to day and mostly consist of leftovers as that is just easiest.

Dinners:
Monday: Lettuce Wraps with sweet potatoes (green, red, and yellow)
Tuesday: Beef and Butternut stew with a side salad (red, 2 green)
Wednesday: Taco lettuce wraps with brown rice (red, green, yellow)
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Chicken burgers in lettuce wrap with whipped butternut (red, 2 green)
Saturday: Twice baked sweet potatoes, side salad (1 red, 1 yellow, 1 green)
Sunday: Leftovers

Snacks:
Like lunches, snacks will fill in the gaps of containers I am missing. Will usually be apples with peanut butter, grapes and cottage cheese, peppers, pumpkin, etc.

I am really looking forward to this second round of 21 day fix. First one was super easy and I felt amazing after. Look for my results post later today to see my full opinion! :)

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

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.

Meal Plan Monday 2015 #11

Well, this weekend was a fun one. It really started on Thursday with a 25 km bike ride with the kiddo. Thursday she is released early from school and since the sun is up longer we decided we would start doing something cultural after school each of those days. I will say I have raised such an adventurous kid with an amazing sense of direction. She managed to convince me-who has always been too scared to bike downtown-to bike downtown...and follow her! She navigated us there like a champ, coming home was a bit longer but sooooooo much fun!

Friday evening we just relaxed as she had come home sick from a bit of dizzyness. Saturday she was fine and wound up going downtown with friend to walk around in their onesies...because what else are a group of teenage expats to do on a sunny Saturday?!

While they were busy doing that the hubby and I headed over to rent a tux for a party we are attending in a couple of weeks and then we walked around De Pijp and had lunch at The Butcher.

A photo posted by Kate (@diaryofanurbanhousewife) on Mar 7, 2015 at 1:52pm PST

Best burgers we've had in Amsterdam...go try them!

After that we biked over to the Rijksmuseum (it is only a 5 minute ride) so we could ride under the building which has had a lot of controversy, which I will write about in time. It was a lot of fun, after we headed over to see Chappie.

This past week was fairly successful, I really focused on my goals and managed to get back on working out, didn't do much reading, because I got involved in Call the Midwife on Netflix, ha! But, this week all reading. ;)

Workout Schedule

• Monday: PIYO drench
• Tuesday: 2 mile run, fit tutor
• Wednesday: 4 mile run, stretching
• Thursday: Yoga
• Friday: Insanity Cardio
• Saturday: 3 mile run, fit tutor, stretching
• Sunday: Stretching

Goals

• Dutch
• Finish the Poet's Wife
• Get at least 5 cards made
• Mail birthday packages

Breakfast

• Oatmeal bowl, using up the frozen fruit X3
• Egg whites with sweet potato and breakfast greens X2
• Saturday: Pancakes
• Sunday: Cinnamon roll croissants

Lunch

• Turkey and cheese sandwiches with orange slices and cheese X3
• Leftovers X2
• Saturday: Grilled cheese and soup
• Sunday: Snack on leftovers

Dinner:
For this week I have two dinners which my husband won't touch because I highly anticipate he will have at least two dinners at work this week...he usually does. The rest are things he will eat. I didn't include any days to eat out as we are going on an over night trip the weekend after next and I don't want to spend any unnecessary extras :)

• Breakfast for dinner
• Tacos with salad
• Chicken pizza with salad 
• Parmesan Herb Roasted Potatoes with Salty Spicy Sweet and Sticky Chicken
• Twice baked cauliflower  with Sweet potato pizzas
• Salt and pepper and honey bbq chicken wings 
• Quinoa Stuffed peppers with salad 

Snacks

• Rosemary roasted almonds
• Hard boiled eggs
• Flourless Lentil Chocolate Brownies
• Leftover walnut loaf and cheese cubes
• Fruits
• Salad
• Potato leek soup {Thug kitchen cookbook}
• Raw Buckwheat Breakfast Porridge

So, what are you up to this week?

Check out the rest of the party 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 #3

Happy Sunday y'all! I was slacking last week...we had company in town, I got to catch up with friends. It was a great week but left little time for me to do my usual weekly stuff!

I will say we are starting the 2nd full week of the year and I do NOT feel like I have done much toward reaching the goals I set forth for myself this year and it is making me totally anxious! So, this week, I change that.

Last Week Workout Review
Monday: Speed and agility
Tuesday: Back to core
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Vertical Plyo
Friday: Off (I did do a lot of dancing and walking though)
Saturday: Off
Sunday: Game day and relief

This last week was just a bit off. I felt off. Today though I am back at it, pulled a double with Asylum game day and the stretching dvd relief. I even ran two miles...I did a warm up of one mile, then before relief I went out and did a second mile.

This week's planned workouts:
Monday: Back to core plus 2 mile run
Tuesday: Strength and 2 mile run
Wednesday: Relief plus 2 mile run
Thursday: Speed and agility
Friday: Vertical Plyo
Saturday: Strength and 2 mile run
Sunday: 2 mile run and relief

This week I have lots to accomplish.

• 2 projects I want to complete for the blog 
• 2 projects to complete to get me a step closer to a businessish goal
• I will pick back up on studying my Dutch, at least an hour a day
• I will start reading The Poet's Wife

Breakfast

Acai Bowl x2 (recipe to come)

Sweet potato pancakes and mushroom sausage x2

Oatmeal

Leftovers or omelettes

Oatmeal

• For prep I have the acai juice frozen already so it just has to be taken out in the morning. Sunday I will make granola, pancakes, the mushroom sausage, and a big pot of oatmeal. I will divide it all up into smaller containers so it is all ready to go.

Lunch

Apple/pb wrap (recipe to come)x2

Veggie Stir Fryx2

Leftovers

Soup and sandwiches

Snacks of smoked meat, bread, cheese

Salad

• I will prep one big salad ahead for the week, plus one flavored salad I've been interested in trying. The veggie stir fry will be put together after Sunday dinner from leftovers this past weekend. The apple/pb wrap will be made fresh those mornings so the apple doesn't brown too much.

Dinner

Monday: Broccoli fritters, burger sliders, rice, healthy fried apples

Tuesday: Maple baked lentils and sweet potatoes with toast, baked potato and chicken for hubby

Wednesday: Triple lentil soup with quinoa bites

Thursday: BBQ chicken/bbq mushroom cauliflower mix with rice

Friday: Chicken fingers/veggie fingers with fries

Saturday: Tacos and salad

Sunday: Chicken wings/cauliflower "wings" and pizza

• The kiddo and I are going mostly meatless. Hubby is not, so there will always be a protein cooked at each meal. All my dinners I make fresh the day of as I feel that dinner is a special meal time and want everything to be as fresh and as warm as possible.

The other day I was talking to a friend about feeling down about taking care of the house. A few years ago, right after we moved to Canada I was feeling off when it came to taking care of the house. Just lazy and not really wanting to do much, basically I felt overwhelmed by all the things to do. Well, one day when I was browsing the library, I found and checked out the book: Hip Home Ec: Get Crafty. This really viewed the way I took care of my home and my family and really was an inspiration to me. If you aren't feeling totally into organizing and doing all those home improvement things check out this book, I bet it will really change your attitude!

Well, that is what I have going on this week. What about you?

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

Menu Plan Monday #59

Two weeks ago we had guests. We followed my meal plan pretty close. I was surprised they didn't want to eat out more, but they were super happy having most meals here at home.

This past week, after they left I didn't really meal plan. We just did super simple easy, mostly leftovers or grilled cheese. I was so tired from hosting and staying up late that we just relaxed and recovered this past week. We all were fighting off colds too. Thank goodness for Elderberry Syrup, that stuff was a miracle worker!

Now, this weekend was Halloween. Halloween isn't formally celebrated here but the kiddo went to Fright Night a Wailabi World so the hubby and I stayed in, rented a movie and made a candlelight dinner. Couch snuggles are the best.

From Amazon

Saturday was a gorgeous day so we hopped on our bikes and took a ride through our neighborhood. We had amazing sky color!

A photo posted by Kate (@diaryofanurbanhousewife) on Nov 11, 2014 at 4:22am PDT

Sunday of course was cheerleading. I didn't get any photos as I was busy finishing The Book Thief, but they were busy working on their routine for the upcoming competitive season. The routine is certainly looking good!!!

A photo posted by Kate (@diaryofanurbanhousewife) on Nov 11, 2014 at 9:19am PST

After that I hurried home to go grocery shopping the weather looks like it is taking a a turn for the worse so I wanted to be prepared. I saw this along the way and had to take a photo:

A photo posted by Kate (@diaryofanurbanhousewife) on Nov 11, 2014 at 10:33am PST

We then hurried home to catch football and bake up some pizza and wings. So much deliciousness.



Now for the meal plan!

Breakfast Options:

Smoothies, cereal, oatmeal, toast, eggs, warmed fruit

Lunch options:

Sandwiches, leftovers, salads

Dinner:

Monday: Squash, caramelized onions, chicken burgers

Tuesday: Chicken burrito bowls with salad

Wednesday: Teriyaki steak with rice, corn, and sugar snap peas

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner: eggs in a pepper, pancakes (reg and banana), warmed fruit and salad

Friday: Pizza burgers/eggplant pizza burgers, with fries and salad

Saturday: Honey balsamic chicken tenders with corn

Sunday: Bread, cheese, smoked meat, pizza and wings with salad and other leftover veggies, warmed fruit with chocolate and coke floats for dessert

This upcoming week should be a full week. Looking forward to getting out of the house some days and being productive! What are you up to this week?

P.S. I'm linking up over at Mommy Run Fast & I'm an Organizing Junkie...make sure you go over and check out the other menu's!

Menu Plan Monday-Week 55, +my evening routine!

Last week I told you all about my morning routine, this week I want to share with you my evening routine.

The night time is vital to keeping my home clean, organized, and keeps the morning from being too hectic.

Evening Routine

• After dinner: pack leftovers away, make sure all dishes are loaded in to the dishwasher, pots and pans are hand washed, dried, and put away.
• Pack lunches and snacks, layout breakfast items for the morning.
• Take trash out.
• Wipe out sink.
• Wipe down all counters and cabinets.
• Vacuum/sweep/mop as needed.
• After dessert: put dessert dishes in dishwasher and start.
• Make sure all laundry has been folded and put away.
• Everyone lays out their clothes for the next day.

This routine doesn't take an extremely long time to do, especially if you enlist the help of others. Even small children can help with tasks like wiping down the counters and cabinets, doing dishes, etc. My kiddo started scraping plates at 3 and was doing dishes by 6. So, as a mama or a daddy don't take on all the burden by yourself! 

I can't imagine my morning without this routine. I sleep so much better when I know everything is nice and clean and ready for the morning!

visit org junkie to party with the rest of us!

Breakfast Options:

Begin each day with Morning Lemon tea with lemon, honey, and cinnamon

Kiddo: oatmeal, cereal, pancakes, french toast casserole

Me: MWF: Big Ass Pancake topped with healthy fried apples, T/Th: Raw Buckwheat Porridge with banana and berries

Saturday: Eggs, toast, sausage

Sunday: Clean blueberry muffin tops with banana slices and faux fried apples

Meal prep: make individual oatmeal packets, the rest is in the freezer already; make 3 pancakes and a big batch of apples fried in coconut oil and cinnamon, prepare porridge and make parfaits. Make muffin tops and freeze at some point during the week.

Lunch Options:

Kiddo: Ham and Cheese Wrap with apple and chips, Th/Th: Sandwich kebabs with grapes and bread and butter

Me: Simple Healthy Chili with baked sweet potato(mwf), & zucchini pancakes

Saturday: Grilled cheese with apple slices

Sunday: Snack on nuts, cheeses, breads

Meal Prep: Make tortillas, and prep wraps, make kebabs and divide up grapes; make chili and bake sweet potatoes and zucchini pancakes

Dinner:

Monday: Omelets with toast or potato and broccoli

Tuesday: Taco salads

Wednesday: Glazed chicken with brown rice/zucchini pancakes and broccoli

Thursday: Teriyaki beef with homemade fries (regular and sweet potato) and veggies

Friday: Hamburgers/Spinach Burgers with brown rice and sugar snap peas

Saturday: Smothered chicken breasts with baked potatoes and 

Sunday: Treat day/Football day: Homemade pizza and chicken wings with leftover veggies and starch

Meal Prep: Most all my dinners are made fresh. I stay home and have that luxury. Plus, I recently learned if you marinate meat for too long it can break down the protein in it.

Snacks:

Kiddo: Fall trail mix, granola bars, fruit, hard boiled eggs, clean no bake cookies, 

Me: Hard boiled eggs and fruit, super food smoothie, chocolate covered banana slices, garlic Parmesan Chickpeas

Meal Prep: Make trail mix, and granola bars, cut up and divide fruit, boil eggs, make banana slices (cut bananas and dip in a mixture of cacao powder and coconut oil), soak and boil chickpeas and bake.

End each day with Sleepytime or Chamomile Tea with honey and cinnamon

I have it planned to cook each day this week as we will be in Rome next weekend and want to make sure I keep our eating in check...as I have a feeling Italy won't be nice to my abs ;)

So, what are you cooking up this week? Any new recipes I should try, leave me a link in the comments!

Menu Plan Monday #55, plus a super awesome weekend update!

This weekend was a blast to say the least! We had so much fun as a family...explored the city a bit as it was free monument day so many places were open with no admission charge. This is great for us because we love to explore churches but they do have an admission. We got to see the Westerkerk  Church next to the Anne Frank House. It was the only monument I really wanted to see today so we enjoyed the walk there and then the walk back. It is in a beautiful area of town so the walk is really nice. Plus, exploring our new city is always fun.

I loved this lit candle display! I think it is the most beautiful one I've seen...

We also did a little shopping and got these amazing fries. We always pass this place and even in the evening after work there is a small line. The fries are super amazing, I mean amazing...I think because 1) they are fried well and 2) they are actually salted! ha!

The kiddo of course had cheer so here are some fun pictures:

I loved the fog in the background laying just above the farmland. There are sheep just off to the left. 

This is a screenshot from a video I took. They learned to do twist downs today and this was the 2nd time she did it and managed to twist all the way around! She really took to those so I am one proud mama!

Visit the rest of the party over at Org Junkie!

Anyway, moving on here is what you really came here for:

Breakfast Options:
French toast casserole sticks
Cereal
Fruit bowl
Banana and PB Wrap
Big Ass Pancake
Saturday: eggs, toast, fruit/salad
Sunday: Cereal

Lunch Options:
School lunch: MWF: Pizza Rolls, apple, peppers and dip; T-Th: Ham and cheese wrap, orange, cucumber slices; Snacks all week: fall trail mix, apples with date paste or cinnamon raisin pb, small salad, energy balls

Home options: MWF: Chicken breast, sweet potato, and zucchini; T-Th: Pumpkin Soup, egg muffins

Dinner:
Monday: Teriyaki steak, rice, salad
Tuesday: Smothered chicken breasts with creamed spinach & onions, and bread and butter
Wednesday: BBQ Bacon Cheeseburgers, broccoli, corn, applesauce
Thursday: Chicken wings, bread and butter, spinach & onions, corn
Friday: Taco's with corn and salad
Saturday: Homemade hamburger helper and salad
Sunday: Something easy....I'm thinking ham and cheese panini's with salad and soup maybe leftovers from the week or maybe a combo of both depending on what we have ;)

So, what are you cookin' this week?! Trying anything new? Our menu isn't too exciting, but full of tried and true recipes!

Weekly Menu #53

Wow, I reached a year's worth of meals plans and was all like, eh, forgot posting those! Just kidding! Now that we are back to school I am actively back to blogging...and of course meal planning because I have to be organized enough to make sure the kiddo has breakfast fixings and lunch fixings.

Here is the funny thing though this week I am FREE! Free as a bird to not make lunches or make sure there are cold lunch fixings, no quick and easy breakfasts or lunch snacks because my daughter's school is off on their week long class trip. It is a really neat concept they do a class trip with their "mentor" class which is basically like a homeroom/counseling class all in one and they get to go and bond as a class. They are doing some sort of survival skills camp which is super neat. Me however, I get a glimpse of what life will be like 5 years from now when the kiddo is off to University and it just being hubby and I. So, this here is my week of practice at meals for two.

Check out other menu's after you read through mine at Org Junkie!

Breakfast options:
MWF: Oatmeal (I will boil up a big pot and just reheat throughout the week with different fruits and peanut butter)
T, Th: Banana pancakes with peanut butter & a little maple syrup
Saturday/Sunday: Blueberry muffin tops, served with butter/peanut butter and hard boiled eggs

Lunch Options
MWF: Chicken/tuna sandwiches on wheat baguette
T, Th: Chili
Saturday: Trying a new restaurant
Sunday: Sandwiches/fruit

Dinner
Monday: Roasted Drumsticks and potatoes with sugar snap peas
Tuesday: Chicken and cheese crescent rolls with salad and corn/broccoli
Wednesday: I'm by myself for today so making something no one would like probably lol Broccoli Parm "Meatballs" with black bean burgers and salad
Thursday: Tacos with salad and corn
Friday: Kiddo is back home: Sweet and Sour chicken with fried rice...her fave!
Saturday: Will eat small since we'll have eaten big earlier in the day...Omelets with fruit
Sunday: Baked potato bar

Snacks
Protein shakes, caramel apple energy balls, fruit, salad, and hard boiled eggs

P.S. This past month I have made a ton of new recipes I did a small round up here of some of my favorites, go check them out. Also, this past weekend I made this 3-Ingredient Instant Pudding I left out the oreo's as they tend to be very expensive where I am and not readily available...it was amazing without them though and very, very rich...I loved it!

Even though the teenager is gone for the week I am still going to try and prep ahead for a successful week so I can stay on track with my goals! What are you planning to eat this week?

Weekend Update, Goals, & Menu

Wow! Working my way to a full year's worth of meal plans on here, hard to believe!

Also hard to believe we are so far through July!

This past weekend looked like this (what few pictures I took)

I started Saturday out with some Insanity, then we just relaxed all day it was really hot so we worked some around the house then just rested. Sunday though it was rainy so I made that bad ass piece of blueberry coffee cake, we biked to a movie during a reprieve of the rain, after we came out it was POURING buckets so we grabbed some Chinese (I guess that was the cuisine) then biked home where my amazing husband put my purse UNDER his shirt for the ride home so it wouldn't get wet! That folks is true love! ...and that is how I will end my weekend <3 p="">

Last week's Menu Plan Monday post I listed a few goals here was my success with them:

• Follow workout schedule-Met with success! This one is always pretty easy for me though!
• Get stuff moved over to new apartment-DONE!  Everything is unloaded and put away...old apartment is even cleaned out! WOOHOO!
• Follow meal plan-Met with SUCCESS! It has been a REALLY long time since I have been able to say this....and because I followed my workout schedule and my meal plan I am feeling AMAZING!
• Get in green smoothies & one salad everyday-IMPORTANT!-Here is where I wasn't as successful as I wanted to be. I was great when it came to salads I really got one in everyday, sometimes twice and really enjoyed them. I tried several different green smoothie's everyday and this goal helped me realize one thing...I really just do NOT like green smoothies no matter how hard I try! Oh well, I love green juices and salads so not liking one thing doesn't really bother me. At least I learned something about myself ;)
• Get back on to working on my Index Card a Day project-No success here at all lol I was so concentrated on making sure I worked out, got everything done around the house, stayed active during the day getting sun and bike riding, and looking for real life jobs that this feel by the way-side...good thing there is this week!

Goals for this week:

• Continue being successful at last week's met goals: following meal plan, workout schedule, and eating my salads
• Be a bit more organized and prep food for the week, including healthy snacks
• Return to Index Card a Day Project
• Start my book for the around the world reading challenge

One of my goals this week is to be a bit more organized...especially when it comes to having snacks handy. I don't like to buy a ton of pre-made snacks and going out gets expensive like I mentioned last week...so, here is what I'm doing for this week:

P.S. After you read my meal plan make sure to visit Org Junkie for other meal plans ;)

Snacks 
(make on Monday)
Carrot Banana Granola Balls
Chocolate Chunk Muffin Tops
Banana Fudge Pops
Ham, Veggie Cheese Kabobs  and Garlic Parm Chickpeas (will put these together in tupperware/baggies as a grab and go snack)

Breakfast:
Raw Buckwheat Porridge (MWFS)

• For the teenager: cereal with banana

Egg sandwiches with sweet potato fries (T,TH)
French toast with sausage (Sunday treat)

Lunch:
Creamy Veggie Casserole (I will be making quite a few changes to make this "real food" friendly, will post what I come up with) (MWF)
Homemade Spaghetti-o's with mini chicken meatballs and salad (T, Th) (will prep all at the beginning of the week so it is easy to dish out and reheat
Saturday we will do a late lunch/early dinner as we will take a trip over to the beach so long as it is nice and let the kiddo do some surfing and then we will head over to a place called the Safari Club and get some charcoal BBQ (this will be a HUGE treat it is so hard to find charcoal BBQ/smoked food over here)!
Sunday: See what leftovers we have...if none then will do some ham and cheese crescent rolls with salad

Dinner:
Monday: (Meatless) Soup and baked potato
Tuesday: Shredded chicken quesadillas with corn and salad
Wednesday: Chicken nuggets and honey glazed carrots and fruit (recipe from the Fresh 20 cookbook)
Thursday: Chicken wings/cauliflower "wings" with salad and corn/sugar snap peas
Friday: Homemade calzones with salad and a movie
Saturday: hopefully the weather is good so we can get BBQ at the beach!
Sunday: Chicken alfredo (I will adapt this for me somehow to make it healthier), with homemade garlic bread, and salad


Since moving to Europe my love for cooking has really come back full force and I am loving it! I went through such a lull there where I just was not motivated, but being motivated and feeling good has been amazing! Do you ever go through "funk" periods where you just can't seem to be productive? What do you do to get out of it?

I hope everyone has a great week! HAPPY MONDAY! (Yeah, you should be awake now ;))

Goals, menu, and workouts-Oh My!

What a fun weekend we had! We started out Friday night with an impromptu date night where hubby & I totally dressed it up and went out for some great pasta, wine, and then walked all around downtown and even some in the red light district. It was packed, the weather was nice, it made for the perfect date night!

The sunset from our train station. There was a storm moving it but it never did anything!

Saturday we got some bikes so we could finally be proper Dutch expats! They are fantastic and I couldn't be happier about them! After that we went downtown as a family just before the Netherlands world cup game and it was totally packed but so worth it to be around all the people. We ate at this great sports bar then grabbed Sundaes at Ben & Jerrys! ;) 

(Those are like the Fort Knox of locks...hopefully our bikes will be ok!)

Sunday hubby and I had a birthday party to go to for a guy he works with. It was super fun...it was at the Rijksmuseum...they hired a tour guide and we learned so many interesting things! Tour guides are totally worth it when they know what they are talking about. Since we bought museum cards while we were there I can't wait to go back, there are a few paintings I want a closer look at! Then we had a nice dinner as a family and went on a very long bike ride and taught the teenager how to lock up her bike properly!

How was your weekend? Were you active?

Goals for this week:

• Follow workout schedule
• Get stuff moved over to new apartment
• Follow meal plan
• Get in green smoothies & one salad everyday-IMPORTANT!
• Get back on to working on my Index Card a Day project

Last week I didn't write down my goals so I sort of lost sight when we got busy. I kept my clean eating up most of the time and enjoyed how busy we were settling into our new life and then end of school.

Now for what you really came here for....

Go check out more menu's over at Org Junkie!

Breakfast:

Egg white scramble with tomatoes and spinach & half a spelt bagel with avocado (MWF)

• Teenager has two scrambled eggs with tomatoes and half a bagel with butter

Seeded spelt toast with avocado, Green smoothie (T, Th)

• Teenager will have cereal with banana slices

Saturday: omelets (egg white for me) with ham, bacon, cheese, and veggies (everyone will have something different), with coffee and toast

Sunday: Blueberry coconut coffee cake breakfast bars with coffee

Lunch: 

Spinach apple tuna salad with green tea green smoothie (M-W-F)

• Teenager is at her friends most of the time this week they have lots of plans but if she is home she will do ham sandwich with spinach, peppers, cheese

Sweet potato with bbq chickpeas and a spinach salad (T, Th)

• If the kiddo is home she will just eat this with me

Saturday: (this may or may not happen depending on what time we eat breakfast) Chicken sausage coins with potato/sweet potato fries

Sunday: (again may or may not happen depending on when we eat breakfast) Soup and grilled cheese sandwiches

Dinner:

*We won't be eating out all this week, my goal is to cook everyday

Meal 1: Baked eggs with potatoes 

Meal 2: Tacos/Taco salads...I think this is one of my most favorite meals when I cook it ...I love a homemade taco salad

Meal 3: Cheese chicken finger crescent rolls, fruit

Meal 4: Bacon cheese potatoes/sweet potatoes with burgers

Meal 5: Raclette: leftover chicken/burgers cut up and seasoned, potato pieces, veggies, bread to dip in the cheese from the raclette (I will have to take a picture it is similarish to fondue but you don't dip directly into a pot)

Meal 6: Grilled steak bites with spinach salad and brown rice

Meal 7: Smoked sausage & potatoes au gratin

We are trying to eat a home more as one thing about living in The Netherlands is food at the grocery store is really cheap, but food out in restaurants is ridiculously expensive and the service is frustratingly bad. Plus, the amount of people they try to squeeze into a dining room or on a patio is a bit ridiculous. So, we will be homing it and enjoying it!

Hope you all have a great week!