I’ve never taken part in Meal Planning Monday before. I’ve always kind of pretended to myself that Mr M and I are way too rock’n’roll to plan. Actually, that’s not true. The truth is, we’re a bit disorganised at times. We’ve got our reasons – he works funny shifts as a fireman so sometimes isn’t around; I get stuck on late trains occasionally which throws plans for meals that take longer than 5 minutes to cook out of the window; we have lots of family and friends who live close by which can lead to impromptu changes to plans. I could go on.
However, of late we have been trying to be a bit more organised. Planning your meals is pretty much a winner all round – it probably means you’re going to be healthier, it’s better for your budget when you’re not nipping into Tesco Express every five minutes or grabbing a takeaway, and ultimately it’s just a bit more efficient. So while I might not have realised it, it dawned on me that I’ve been planning our meals for a while now, so why not get involved. It’s also going to help on my new quest to be a bit more balanced in my eating.
Here we go.
For breakfast I pretty much each the same thing. I go to the gym each morning before work, so I have a protein shake afterwards, then take a little tub of carefully weighed out low-fat Greek yoghurt, vanilla whey protein, and summer berries to have at work.
Lunches are salads at this time of year, either with chicken or fish, and some kind of balsamic dressing and a squirt of lighter salad cream. It gets me through the day – just – along with some fruit, although I often can’t resist a mid-afternoon biscuit. I’m working on the whole self-discipline thing.
Mr M is a cereal man for breakfast, without fail. If he’s at work the firemen cook for themselves and eat together and on other days it’s usually sandwiches. This week he isn’t on night shifts until the weekend, so he’s home every night. That’s always a bonus, especially when he does most of the cooking.
So, for dinners:
Monday – Mr M has invited the neighbours over for a barbecue (fingers crossed on the weather) so we’ll be having barbecued chicken, a nice salad, and probably some minted new potatoes.
Tuesday – We’ve still got some fun veg like okra left from last week, so there will be some kind of curry on the agenda.
Wednesday – Something quick and simple, probably pasta and sauce.
Thursday – We’re off out for a review meal tonight, but I’m going to see what healthy options are on the menu.
Friday – It’s so tempting to be naughty on a Friday, but I’m going to try to be good and use some of the fish we’ve got in the freezer.
Saturday – We’re off for a sneaky night away for our wedding anniversary – so this is definitely gonna be my cheat day!
Sunday – I think I’m going to do us a Sunday roast with the leg of lamb we’ve got in the freezer.
Let’s see how well I do and whether I stick to this organisation malarkey or crash and burn…..
Welcome to the group! Your plan looks great – I never manage to stick to mine 100% either, but it’s still fun to plan. Have a good week!
Thanks, I’m certainly going to try 🙂 Have a great week too
Gym every morning, wish I could be that dedicated! Enjoy your anniversary meal 🙂
#mealplanningmonday
I am trying to be more adventurous wiht vegetables since joining slimming world, so the okro curry sounds interesting to me. I’m off for a review lunch on Wednesday but they do salad and grilled chicken so I’m covered #MealPlanningMonday
Yumm, Roast Leg of Lamb….never have made one! My friend’s mom made this one time while visiting and it was just delicious! Prefer it over roast beef. Perhaps one of these days I will try to make it.
I’ve just been reminded Mr M is on nights. Roast lamb for one?!
I try so hard to meal plan but I’m bad a keeping up with it! Off anywhere fun for your review meal?
It’s a controversial one – umm’d and aah’d but in the name of going places anyone and everyone can go to, I’m going to try Beefeater and see if it’s possible to stick to my newfound health kick….. Maybe, maybe not….
Meal planning IS the new rock ‘n roll 😀 I love it! I think I maybe a little obsessed with it now, but you are right it certainly gets you more organised and saves time and money, but planning ahead can make you more adventurous too! 😉 Have fun and nice to see a new ‘planner’ 🙂
You’re right, I’ve found myself looking for different recipes and thinking I might get more adventurous instead of us just chucking something together. Thanks for reading 🙂
I got really into meal planning in my last year of University, it helped me have something wholesome and healthy and nutritious each night, as well as keep my shopping budget going. Now that I’m home I’ve been naughty and gotten quite piggy and stopped planning. I loved this post! I like how your plan is quite versatile. ‘Curry’ instead of ‘chicken korma and x,y,z…’. If you feel like a fish curry, or a vegetable one, or something with rice. Such a great idea! Your lunch looked delicious!!!!! I’ll be adding some beans and more colourful items to my lunch salad tomorrow now for sure!
thanks for such a lovely and inspiring post!
🙂
AH thanks Deanna. I loved getting involved – although I have to admit I haven’t stuck to it completely lol. You’re right though, it makes you think a bit about what you’re eating which is always helpful I reckon. Thanks for commenting, happy Friday! 🙂