Tag Archives: pasta

Garden update + Meal plan {04.14.2013}

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Finally, Spring arrived and we have had an amazing amount of pollen fall this week. This picture was my attempt to try and sweep the pollen of the deck. Yes, all that yellow dust is pollen. I have lived in several places, and North Carolina is the only place I have seen this visible layer of pollen.

Good news, with the warmer weather, my winter vegetable garden has taken off. I picked the first lot of spinach, which we made into a salad for dinner tonight.

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My first head of broccoli is nearly ready, I am thinking I can harvest it over the next day or two.
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The cabbages, carrots and cauliflower are coming along. We tried a couple of the carrots but they are still quite small – the rest of these will be ready in the next 3-4 weeks.

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Our meal plan this week includes some of our fresh vegetables, which saved us a little money. I did really well this week with staying away from sugar and process foods. I even got outside one lunch, at work, to exercise !!!

DAY BREAKFAST DINNER EXERCISE
Saturday Granola + Soy Yoghurt + Banana Beef tips (from meat house) + Spinach salad
Sunday Whole wheat banana buttermilk Pancakes Broccoli + Tomato Fettuccine (GF) Walk 3-4 miles
Monday Bircher Muesli “Fried” Rice (Brown rice and vegetables – prepared over the weekend)
Tuesday Berry + Banana + Spirulina Smoothie Vegetarian Burgers + Salad 3-4 Mile Walk
Wednesday Bircher Muesli Zpizza (Pizza with whole wheat crust and organic ingredients) 20 mins. HIT
Thursday Granola + Fruit + Soy Yoghurt Vegetable Pasta Bake (prepared over the weekend)
Friday Berry + Banana + Spirulina Smoothie Grilled fish + salad 20 mins. HIT

We are usually spending ~$70 a week only, for our meals. This week we were well under…here is our shopping list:

GROCERY LIST (NEW STOCK) IN THE CUPBOARD/FRIDGE
  • Strawberries (TJ)
  • Blueberries (TJ)
  • Bananas (TJ)
  • Baby carrots (TJ)
  • Mushrooms (TJ)
  • Lettuce (TJ)
  • Tomatoes (TJ)
  • Soy Milk (TJ)
  • Low-fat herb cream cheese (TT)
  • Juice (TJ, TT)
  • Brown Rice (TJ)
  • Gluten Free Pasta (TT)
  • Vegetable Stock (TT)
  • Onions (TJ)
  • Spinach (from the garden)
  • Broccoli (from the garden)
  • Bell Peppers(TJ)
  • Cucumber (TJ)
  • Garlic (TT)
  • Apples (TJ)
  • Butter (TJ)
  • Flour/ WW and GF (TT)
  • Granola (TT or BJ)
  • Oats (BJ)
  • Frozen Peas + Corn (TJ)
  • Vegetable Patties (TJ)
  • Sultanas (TT)
  • Stir Fry Sauce (TT)

NOTE: We shop majority at Trader Joe’s (TJ), Target (TT) with an occasional visit to Whole foods (WF), BJ’s , Harris Teeters (HT), Lowes Food (LF) and Fresh Market (FM).
NOTE: We do not typically use coupons mainly due to time.
NOTE: Items indicated by * are specials for the week we took advantage of.

How are your vegetable gardens going? What meals do you have planned this week? Leave a link in the comments below and I will check them out.

New recipes for inspiration this week – week 10

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I have been so inspired for this week’s menu – look at this site for “Meat Free Week (March 18-25)” recipes. I was reading them out to my husband last night with my mouth watering. So, I am going to choose from this list all week (except Saturday). I will let you know my favorite and any changes I make to the recipes.

You may say a recipe every day … yes, I work full-time but….
My husband can not drive at the moment, due to a shoulder injury from playing soccer and thinking he was still a teenager ;-), and I will have to pick him and my son up by 3:30 pm every day. This will give me more time in the evening to cook 🙂 before I catch-up on work in the evening.

My major task over the weekend:
I do have to plant my indoor seeds this weekend for my summer garden – I am putting in  tomatoes, romaine lettuce, zucchini, cucumbers, bell peppers (planting a little later this year) and maybe some spinach. I am excited about my winter garden which now seems to be coming along (yes in Spring)….my photo’s the week are of, my first head of broccoli and cabbage which appeared this week.

Head of broccoli Head of Cabbage

So here are the meals we are trying this week:

DAY BREAKFAST DINNER EXERCISE
Saturday Granola + Soy Yoghurt + Berries Creamy Vegetable Shepherds Pie
Sunday Oatmeal + Banana + Almond Butter + Soy Milk Chargrilled Bell Pepper Tagliatelle (Gluten Free) or Fresh Tomato and Herb Pasta (Gluten Free) 3-4 Mile Walk
Monday Mini Breakfast Frittata* Eggplant, herb and feta patties + Salad
Tuesday Berry + Banana + Spirulina Smoothie Stir Fried Curry Brown Rice + Cashews * 3-4 Mile Walk
Wednesday Oatmeal + Banana and Almond butter Tomato, Onion + Goat Cheese Tart (Gluten free crust) + Salad (replacing zPizza this week)
Thursday Mini Breakfast Frittata* Gluten-free Spaghetti + Broccoli, herbs + hazelnuts crumbs  3-4 Mile Walk
Friday Berry + Banana + Spirulina Smoothie Vegetable Biryani *

* Some ingredients will be pre-made/pre-cooked, for example a batch of brown rice

Weekly Meal Plan – week 9

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Let me start by saying, I hate daylight savings when you loose an hour, especially when you only realize it is happening a couple of hours before bed. Woke up this morning, had breakfast and now finishing my breakfast latte while writing this blog and it is midday already – I have not done a whole lot yet. Anyway, into the recap from the week and this week’s plan…..

This week was a much better week. I actually cooked a couple of meals in preparation for the week, and there was less stress at work which made it easier to come home and get things done. I got some brownie points as I was proactive and organized 2 days of walking at lunch with a friend starting this week.

We have switched to gluten-free pasta now for about 6 weeks and I will say everyone in the house (my husband, 5-year-old and myself), have found two great brands that we all love. In fact, we like Quinoa Gluten-free Pasta – Spaghetti Style and the Archer farms Gluten-free Fusilli Pastas better than the old stuff we were using. The price ($2.50-$4.00 range at our local Super Target), taste and overall cooked result are our main reasons for liking these two products. My son, who is a little fussy (not too bad, he’s jus not a vegetable person), asks for seconds and devours the spaghetti by the bowlful.

Gluten-free Pasta

Here is our meal plan for the week:

DAY BREAKFAST DINNER EXERCISE
Saturday ^Strawberry-Banana Whole Wheat Crepes Cabbage Soup (Slow-Cooked which differs from the recipe)*
Sunday ^Strawberry-Banana Whole Wheat Crepes Vegetable Frittata 3-4 Mile Walk
Monday Egg + Berry/Banana Fruit Salad with Flaxseed Vegetable Pasta Bake*
Tuesday Whole Grain Cereal+Soy Fish and Vegetable Pockets 3-4 Mile Walk
Wednesday Oatmeal + Banana and Almond butter ^Pizza @ zPizza (love the options at this place)
Thursday Berry + Banana + Spirulina Smoothie Hungarian Casserole + Quinoa*  3-4 Mile Walk
Friday Berry + Banana + Spirulina Smoothie Vegetable Chilli + Brown Rice + Corn Tortilla’s*

^ indicates my splurge for the week
* Pre-made and can be kept refrigerated or Frozen