Whenever my husband is gone, I have a bad habit of lapsing into kid/junk food mode. Kraft Mac n Cheese for lunch. Spaghetti for dinner, a can of mushy green beans if you're lucky. I also have a bad habit of indulging in way too many mommy treats. Cookies and chocolate are at the top of the list, and I justify them easily because I need them to keep my sanity while he's gone. Right? Right.
Compound all that with a second-trimester appetite and you have one great big tummy ache. After 3 weeks of this nonsense I started feeling like serious crap and decided enough was enough. So, after a deal-sealing dinner of greasy Chinese takeout one night, I sat down and made a list. Because for me, half the battle is knowing what to eat while the other half of the battle is having it prepared and available.
It's been all of 5 days since I quit eating crap and started eating real food again, and I feel so much better already.
So, in case you could use some inspiration or just some different ideas, here's the list I put on my fridge:
Breakfast
cooked grains with milk, honey/brown sugar, and butter/coconut oil -- quinoa, wheat, farro, barley, oats (I cooked a big pot of quinoa this morning and plan to use it for breakfast for several days)
yogurt + granola
fruit + toast with nut butter
NO packaged cereal
Snack
cheese + apple slices
smoothie or fresh juice
popcorn
hard-boiled eggs with s+p
NO packaged junk
Lunch (usually my achilles' heel)
brown rice + beans with roast veggies + salsa (this one requires planning, but a batch of each will last all week)
simple egg salad -- mash a hard-boiled egg with mayo, relish, s+p, herbs
grilled cheese with sliced apple or caramelized onions or bacon
fancy wrap -- cream cheese + turkey + cranberry + spinach (my fave this week -- I've had at least 2 a day)
-- turkey + avocado + fruit salsa + cheese
-- turkey + hard boiled egg + bacon + avocado + blue cheese
-- chicken + spinach + feta + craisins + poppy seed dressing
NO mac n cheese
Dinner
beans + rice with grilled chicken + salsa
broiled or seared tofu + simple fresh veggie + grain
sausages + polenta + simple fresh veggie
tabbouleh + pita + grilled chicken
butternut soup + chef's salad
real tacos
grilled flank steak + szechwan slaw
chicken salad in pitas + fruit salad
lentil soup + homemade bread
There's lots more dinner ideas over here from when I was the private cook for a sorority house for a year (didn't see that one coming, did you). What about you? What are your go-to real foods that taste good + don't cost a fortune?
8 comments:
Amanda! I'm coming over for a meal! :)
It all looks great. I've been REALLY needing something like this. My hubby works on the road during the week. Leaves Monday Morning comes home Friday. I often resort to "easy" meals of spaghetti or cereal. Not usually healthy stuff. But your meal plans look great!
Thanks for sharing!
I love this website cause she has tons of ideas for real food meals: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/real-food-resources/
Thanks for all of the yummy meal ideas! I'm doing the 10-day real food challenge in a few weeks, so it's perfect timing.
I have the same problem. Sigh! A couple weeks ago, Reed was gone for a 3 days. I bought a dozen assorted doughnuts from Dunkin Donuts (I don't know the last time that happened!), and they were all consumed in TWO days. By the time he got home, I felt miserable from all of the junk I had been consuming.
Thanks for these ideas. It helps to have a plan, which is also hard when the man isn't around.
Holy Smokes that's impressive. No wonder you are so exhausted. You've got some serious meal planning done! So proud of you. Will the hubby eat the same when he's home???
So true! Your menus sound
de-li-cious! I'm glad you are feeling better.
Oh yum, thanks for the ideas. I've been in a total slump lately.
Thanks for these lists! I needed some inspiration!
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