English: A pile of Chex Mix. This is the official Chex Mix available in stores, and is the regular flavor. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Otherwise known as, “the week where meal planning went off the rails a little…..”
Grown-up Lunches: never got around to making the chicken chili and paid the consequences all week; remembered how irritable and unpleasant I get when lunch consists of handfuls of peanuts, Chex Mix, and/or Pop-Tarts from the school store. NEVER AGAIN.
Monday: made marinara sauce, but the canned tomatoes I used were……funky, and had to throw the sauce away once I tasted it. Ate plain angelhair pasta with grated cheese instead. Had a craving for rolls, made this odd biscuit/muffin hybrid recipe I found somewhere on the internet, was vaguely disappointed.
Tuesday: made greek-yogurt chicken and parmesan potato halves, as planned. Chicken was disappointing, and I used too much butter on the potatoes (yes, there is such a thing) so we didn’t get the really crusted portion I had hoped for. Kitchen light was having a tantrum, so we ate dinner in front of the TV. Because sometimes that’s what good parents do.
Wednesday: we decided to have pizza delivered, because it was Parent Conference day for me, which is always exhausting. This was a good decision.
Thursday: literally begged my husband to pick up fast food. Not a good decision.
Friday: Bought lunch for myself in the school cafeteria, large grilled chicken Caesar salad that left me enough for lunch on Monday: good decision. Rounded off my week of food crimes by making a “gratin” that involved a can of cheddar cheese soup. And I liked it. The horror.
Clearly, this week was a week of flubs and fall-backs, but I’m not letting it discourage me. I know enough about habit loops to know that I’m still in the early stages of making meal planning a habit, and that giving up now would be a lose-lose proposition. My “reward” to myself is laughing at my week, and trying to learn from it. Also, eating way more candy conversation hearts than anyone should.
Lessons learned: Making lunch ahead for myself is really important and has a tangible impact on my quality of life and peace of mind. Grocery shopping has to happen before the week begins. If I know something major, like parent conference day at my school, is happening, I need to take that into account when planning.
Related articles
- Meal Planning, 2/4-2/8 (jackieregales.com)
- Menu Plan Monday 2/4/13 (thelazygirlblog.com)
- Making A Meal Plan (hollydoeshealthy.wordpress.com)
- Plan Ahead (beprettyfit.com)
- What is in the Fridge Today? (tammyehoney.wordpress.com)
I had a similar week of meal planning. Getting back on track this week. I think the key for me is to make stuff that creates leftovers, so there’s something decent to eat on days that I’m exhausted.
Definitely trying to build up my supply of those kinds of recipes, and that’s why roast chicken is one of my favorites–pulling some frozen pulled pork out of the freezer for next week’s lunches!