Tag Archives: weekly meal plan

Marmite a piece of Kiwiana + Meal Plan {05.05.2013}

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I am well and truly a New Zealand marmite kid 😉 and so now is my son. Marmite is a piece of Kiwiana, and I believe you really do have to grow up on it to appreciate it. It has been very difficult the last 12-18 months without marmite….it definitely was “Marmageddon“. Imagine, that you can no longer buy chocolate or coffee, it just disappeared from the shop and there is no replacement, what would you do??? Now you might understand 🙂

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The shortage of marmite, was due to the series of earthquakes that struck Christchurch New Zealand in February 2011, that caused the factory to temporarily close due to damage. It was the only production factory of marmite.

Anyway, this week my Mum sent over our Marmite. We went straight out, bought fresh white bread from our local french bakery, added butter and marmite. It was delicious, scrumptious, wonderful…that salty taste – there is nothing else in the world like it 🙂

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Here is the rest of our meal plan for the week:

DAY BREAKFAST DINNER EXERCISE
Sunday Toast with Marmite Cuban beans and Rice 20 mins HIT
Monday Banana Loaf Casserole + Mashed Potatoes
Tuesday Granola + Fruit + Soy Yoghurt Grill + Stuffed Mushrooms + Corn  Walk
Wednesday Berry + Banana  Smoothie Spaghetti + Asparagus + Mushrooms 20 mins. HIT
Thursday Granola + Fruit + Soy Yoghurt Self-crusting potato quiche
Friday Berry + Banana + Spirulina Smoothie Spinach Lasagna 20 mins. HIT

We are usually spending ~$70 a week for our meals. Here is this weeks shopping list:

GROCERY LIST (NEW STOCK) IN THE CUPBOARD/FRIDGE
  • Onions (TJ)
  • Strawberries (TJ)
  • Bell Peppers(TJ)
  • Potato (TJ)
  • Tomatoes (TJ)
  • Garlic (TJ)
  • Soy Yoghurt (WF)
  • Soy Milk (TJ)
  • Juice (TJ, TT)
  • Beef Stew Meat (BJ)
  • Black Beans (TT)
  • Brown Rice (TJ)
  • Vegetable Stock (TT)
  • Corn tortilla (TT)
  • Spinach (from the garden)
  • Broccoli (from the garden)
  • Butter (TJ)
  • Flour/ WW and GF (TT)
  • Gluten Free Pasta (TT)
  • Granola (TT or BJ)
  • Oats (BJ)
  • Frozen Peas + Corn (TJ)
  • Sultanas (TT)
  • Stir Fry Sauce (TT)
  • Pasta 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.

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.

Outdoor art pieces + Meal plan {08.04.2013}

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IMG_0690This week was kind of quiet, so not much to recap. I do have some photos to share though, of the first amazing Spring weekend we have had.  We went to our favorite cafe – Guglhupf  ( a german bakery), where they have added a couple of cool outdoor art pieces to their collection.

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This is our plan for week 13:

DAY BREAKFAST DINNER EXERCISE
Sunday Strawberry+ Banana crepes Leftovers
Monday Bircher Muesli Creamy Vegetable Shepherds Pie (Hopefully 4th time the charm)  20 mins. HIT
Tuesday Berry + Banana + Spirulina Smoothie Vegetable Biryani (adding broccoli and left over vegetables from Sunday) 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
Friday Granola + Fruit + Soy Yoghurt Vegetarian Burgers + Salad 20 mins. HIT

We are spending $70 a week only, for our meals, by providing a shopping list. So, here was this weeks grocery list:

GROCERY LIST (NEW STOCK) IN THE CUPBOARD/FRID
  • Grapes (TJ)
  • Bananas (TJ)
  • Broccoli (TJ)
  • Bell Peppers(TJ)
  • Lettuce (TJ)
  • Tomatoes (TJ)
  • Cucumber (TJ)
  • Butter (TJ)
  • Soy Milk (TJ)
  • Eggs (TJ)
  • Ground Beef 96/4 (TJ)
  • Juice (TJ, TT)
  • Split Peas (TT)
  • Dates (TT)
  • Sultanas (TT)
  • Brown Rice (TJ)
  • Gluten Free Pasta (TT)
  • Vegetable Stock (TT)
  • Onions (TJ)
  • Potatoes (TJ)
  • Butter (TJ)
  • Flour/ WW and GF (TT)
  • Granola (TT or BJ)
  • Oats (BJ)
  • Marinara Sauce (BJ or TT)
  • Frozen Peas + Corn (TJ)
  • Vegetable Patties (TJ)

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.

Hope everyone has a good week. I would love to see what you are doing for meal planning or trying to balance your life – leave a link to your post in the comments below 🙂