(If you missed my Sky Post, you can see it here). This is a bit of a hodge-podge post as I start off reviewing my experience over the past week with my menu plan. I then share some thoughts on posting too much information on line before sharing my menu plan for this week.
I'm going into my 3rd week of menu planning and enjoying it quite a lot. I am finding I am eating healthier and have less cravings. On the day I went out last weekend without eating properly for lunch, I did end up eating very poorly that night. Some days are just like that. Even though I took a light lunch with me, I guess I ate it too late to really help keep my blood glucose levels stable.
This past week, I did manage to shop the flyers for those things that were on my menu plan. Of course not everything was on my plan but I didn't waste so much fresh fruit and vegetables since I did not over buy. In the past, I would often buy far more fruits and vegetables than I could possibly eat. I always felt it best to have a lot of healthy stuff on hand but generally could not keep up to eating it all. Now I only buy what I need for my meals and snacks. I also only buy the specific meat, fish or fowl that I might need for the week.
It is early days but it seems to be working out just fine. I would rather have to go to the store and refill on staples like celery, onions and carrots rather than have too many in the fridge at any one time.
Since I cleaned out my food storage cabinet last weekend and can see what is in there, I am also starting to use it. Eventually it will free up more storage space in my cabinet for those things I really want to keep on hand and not just those specialty items which I infrequently use.
I made two dishes requiring ground beef this week: chili and meatballs with spaghetti. I had enough ground beef to make enough chili to last for a few lunches and enough meatballs to stretch out for 3 meals. Since my freezer is no longer stuffed to the limit, I was able to freeze ahead for a few meals later in the month.
Even though the meal planning is working out for me, I am feeling a bit tired and hence a bit lazy to do another week of planning today but I need to peruse the flyers so I best get at the task at hand. I was too busy watching youtube videos on how other people save money.
Nothing new there for me. I don't know why I wasted so much time on that activity today as I do a lot of things already to save in ways that work for me. I guess I keep hoping to find new ways and means that I haven't thought of, read about, or viewed before. There are only so many new ideas in the world but it is always amazing to me just how many people post a video of themselves talking and talking yet never say much of substance. Or they have something important or useful to say but instead of saying it and moving on they say the same things 20 times over in a 10 minutes video. I would far rather read a good blog that I can scan if necessary and zero in on the things of interest. I also like the sense of support and camaraderie that a blogging community can provide.
On youtube and I gather other social media, I'm learning that people can at times be very negative and hurtful to others and at times it can be downright dangerous. It is not a good idea to post photos, location information and very personal information on the world wide web for anyone who wants to to view and consume as they see fit. Even those of us who just post photos face the constant danger of keeping your photos within your ownership. Every day people scan the internet and steal the works and art of others. I don't bother to try and protect my photos much but the other day I was scanning some websites and I came across my photo in a local news article from a reputable paper on line and there was absolutely no credit given. I myself use photos from the newspapers but I always credit the author or creator when I know who it is. That is just common courtesy.
I think it is better to be somewhat discreet on line though not everyone shares my view and even though I think the way I do, I still have lapses in judgement and application of my "rules". I especially think it is good to be discreet and use wisdom when posting photos of people and especially of your children or other people's children. This is basically an invasion of people's privacy. That is why I rarely post people pics or pics of myself for that matter. I have noticed that there are some people who are careful not to show faces of children or other people and I commend them for that. Those of you who follow and read me know I have posted photos in the past of family or those we help in missions. I have certain criteria for doing so (example, my family members post on line or a child's photo when they are too young for recognition). I also post photos of those we help in Africa though am even more conflicted about that. I really don't want to downgrade the dignity of the people and yet I want to educate or raise awareness of the conditions so that others might be positively influenced to help. When I post about Africa, I try not to give precise location information though I do need to give some details to help situate things.
Anyway, I'm digressing. It is because I just got off of youtube and was a bit distracted, smile.
Without further ado, here is my menu for the coming week.(By the way. I posted a link to the Curried Red Lentil Soup from last week's menu. It was my first time making this dish and it was so delicious. It will be a new favourite and so easy to make as long as you have the spices and red lentils on hand).
In making my shopping list this week I see there are sales on the beef and pork I intend to use. Also I see there are some great prices on chicken so I'm buying just a bit more than needed for another week.
Saturday
Breakfast - Hot cereal with goji berry
Lunch - Leftovers
Dinner - Beef Stroganoff, green salad
Sunday
Breakfast - Hot cereal with goji berry
Lunch -Boiled eggs, strawberries, apple chunks, cheese (pack to church)
Dinner - Roast pork with roasted sweet potato/parsnip "chips", kale salad
Monday
Breakfast - Hot cereal with goji berry
Lunch - Pork sandwich on lettuce leaf instead of bread
Dinner - Spaghetti & Meatballs, romaine salad, strawberries & kiwi
Tuesday
Breakfast - Waffles & banana
Lunch - Tuna salad sandwich on rye bread
Dinners - Stirfry (with left over pork), fruit salad
Wednesday
Breakfast - Hot cereal with goji berry
Lunch - Vegetable soup, rye bread
Dinner -Roast Chicken & Veggies
Thursday
Breakfast - Fruit pancakes (using leftover fruit in freezer)
Lunch - Salmon Chowder or Potato Leek Soup, fruit
Dinner - (Leftover from last week) Turkey with stuffing, roasted brussels sprouts or green beans
Friday
Breakfast - Hot cereal with goji berry
Lunch - Leftovers
Dinner - Basa Fish with creamed corn and green veggies
* Snacks - bananas, green smoothie, yogurt, peanut butter on rye crackers
Bon appetit!
Here's to another week of healthier eating.
Here's to another week of healthier eating.
3 comments:
Hi Joyful, I am inspired by your meal planning and how it is working out. As I was reading your post I thought about last Friday, when, as part of a bigger project going on here, I decided to clean out the kitchen cabinets. In the building where I am now, the cabinets are nice but they were not designed for efficient use. Items get placed on shelves and, if not used soon, will get pushed to the back behind the newer items. I simply could not believe how much food was wasted by going out-of-date. I had several big garbage sacks of items to throw away. That part was discouraging, but there is a big benefit to being finished with the task. Suddenly, I could find what I needed and could avoid getting angry when trying to find a place to put something onto the shelves. :-) I promised myself that I would do a better job of using things and not letting them expire. RE: Chili ... Will you sometime post your recipe for chili? I love chili ... lately I've been making it on Sunday evenings. Mine is always from scratch ... like it a little bit on the hot side. :-) RE: Personal photos on the web ... We are on the same page here! You are so right about this. There is so much about the web that remains a mystery for me. For example, on my blog I look at the "stats" and see all these pageviews from China. Everyday ... lots of them. But never once have I had a comment from someone in China. What do you think about that? I suppose there could be the language barrier, of course, but even so, I've received comments in other languages and they can be translated easily. Thanks, Joyful, for another great post! Have a good weekend! John
Your meals sound super I need to organise something like this for lunchtime. This is my problem area of the day and since I have baby its worst. I love your commitment to managing your diabetes x
Wow, it sounds like you are doing great keeping on track. I find that if I go out to breakfast I am hungry the rest of the day. But if I eat at home, which is 99.9% of the time I feel fine.
Hugs,
Meredith
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