Mar 29, 2012
Well, it’s the last week of March and here’s the rest of what we’ve been eating:
March 17th was Dot’s best friend’s birthday and we celebrated at the local bowling lanes. His family brought four kinds of Pizza Hut pizza, buffalo wings, soda, water, and cupcakes! Everything was taken in moderation, and we bowled off the calories as soon as we ate them.
18th: My birthday dinner at Mom’s! Corned beef, cabbage, and boiled vegetables along with bread rolls. And for desert, Chocolate Cherry Cake! It’s tradition!
19th: Leftovers.
20th: Dot took me to see George Clooney’s “The Descendants” at the dollar theatre, so we splurged and went through the drive-thru at Jack in the Box. I ordered a Chicken Pita Sandwich. It was delicious!
21st: Dot was at her grandparents for the day. She came home early enough for dinner so we ordered a $10 Pizza Hut box. It was too cheesy, not too warm, and so not fulfilling. More and more, I feel yucky when I don’t stick to the Homecooked Meal Plan.
22nd: We ate healthy snacks all day and met friends in the evening for the midnight showing of “The Hunger Games”. Dinner consisted of Starbucks, popcorn and jalapenos, and fruit snacks.
23rd: Not feeling too good after last night’s fare. Tonight’s Meal Memo called for Schwan’s Seasoned Stuffed Chicken Breasts. I also shredded lettuce for a plain salad, and toasted garlic bread in the oven. It was delicious, and I feel so much better after last week’s junk food bonanza!
24th: Since last night’s chicken was gone in one meal, today I made Hamburger Helper’s Stroganoff and just heated up a bag of frozen green beans. It was really delicious, and there’s plenty leftovers for tomorrow.
25th: Well, Dot ate her leftovers for lunch. But I had a late breakfast of scrambled eggs. So I had my leftovers for dinner.
26th: This morning’s Memo called for Potstickers on a bed of rice. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t thrilled. So we opted for the healthy chicken nugget bucket at McDonald’s… where they prompted screwed up my order again. That’ll teach me.
27th: Leftovers since we saw The Hunger Games again.
28th: Finally gonna make the Potstickers and rice tonight. It will be a yummy casual dinner.
That means we’ll have enough leftovers on this for the next two days, which finishes out the month of March.
I didn’t stick to the Jar Plan every day. And on the days I relied on fast food or whatever I could find, those days (and the next!), I felt pretty yucky. So I know I need to cook much more often. Even if it’s just little things. I also realized I put too many Memos in the Jar. Most of the meals offered leftovers that I didn’t originally account for. Which right now is a good thing, because that means I know have Meal Memos for April.
I’m going to change April’s schedule: I’ll put in the same amount of Meal Memos, but include “white” cards (blanks) for the days we decide to eat out or order pizza. I’ll make sure we only have one of these each week. That means six homecooked meals a week.
I’m feeling pretty good about that.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Mar 17, 2012
I’m learning more about our eating and spending habits with my new Meal Memo in a Jar dinner plan.
First, you can’t guarantee that even with certain foods on the menu, that’s what we’ll be hungry for; but our new motto is “Eat what’s on your plate!”.
Second, I need to add “fast” memos for the days when I’m too tired to cook. (What? You really believed I was SuperWoman?!) Foods like Little Ceasar’s $5 Hot-n-Ready, or a frozen skillet meal from Stouffer’s. Those super quick and easy and filling foods. But I should only allow one per week. I’ve also discovered that I’m more apt to go the fast-food route when I’m tired, busy, or just lazy. That’s not a good reason to eat junk food! And if they’re planned out, there are better options than just finding myself at the drive-thru and ordering whatever looks good in the moment.
Third, I have more food than I realize, and we usually eat less than I anticipate. That’s the great thing: I’ll be able to transfer all the unused Meal Memos to April’s Jar. There’s so much still there! I originally planned one Meal Memo to last two days, but they average three. That gives me two more days a week that I don’t have to cook. That’s an average of eight days a month! That’s a lot of food/savings for next month. How great is that?
Fourth, the few days I’ve eaten fast foods or “made do”, I don’t feel as good as when I follow the Memo Plan. I need to come up with ideas for really quick meals, maybe freeze-ahead’s so all I have to do is microwave or reheat on the stove top.
Well, here’s the next recap of March’s Meal Memos:
10th: Dot was at a Youth Group function and I was at the Second Family’s house for the evening. We grabbed healthy snacks before leaving home, and had an egg-salad sandwich later when we stopped by my mom’s. My mom makes the best egg-salad. No joke. It’s the one recipe I don’t even try to make. I tried once. I failed. Now I just eat hers.
11th: Mom invited us to her house Mexican Steak: it’s a slow-cooked combination of tender steak bites, kidney beans and tomatoes served over rice. Fantastically delicious!
12th: Today was My Last Disney Day. Megan and I ate ate Chicken Fusilli and Dot had leftovers at my mom’s house.
13th: A really busy day today. Forgot to pull a Meal Memo from the jar. So we made do with sandwiches and snacks.
14th: I woke up not feeling well. Pretty sure it was a combination of allergies and weather. And a little altitude nausea… I rarely leave the desert so when I either go up to the mountains or down to Disneyland, it affects me. I’m just weird that way. So on the way home from errands we picked up a pizza from Little Caesar’s. Double feature: Dot gets to take the leftovers for her school lunch!
15th: The Meal Memo called for pork loin and baby potatoes. Easy, nutritious! I cheated and bought jar-gravy so I wouldn’t have to make it today. I chopped up a nice salad and we’ll also finish the last of the Jell-O. Since on Thursdays Dot goes to her grandparents, she wasn’t home for dinner tonight but I made it anyway. That will take care of the weekend meals too.
16th: Leftovers! Deliciously healthy leftovers.
Tonight we’ll be trying to find healthy foods via the local bowling center. It’s Dot’s best friend’s birthday and we’re celebrating!
I’m looking forward to the next few entries… but you’ll just have to wait til the next recap!
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Mar 10, 2012
Remember the Meal Memo in a Jar that I started on March 1st?
Well, this is my month-long recap. Starting with March 1, I’ll track each and every day what menu we pulled and how it turned out. **EDITOR’S NOTE: A whole month of meal tracking is gonna be pretty wordy, so here’s the first week and a half. I’ll post another update (or two) as we continue.**
OBSERVATIONS: We’re eating so much better! Already from Janice’s suggestions, I’m going to revamp the Memo colors to incorporate one that signifies “More Work Meals”: those that take a bit more to prepare and are perfect for weekends or dinner parties. I also want to include “Dining for One”: those meals when Dot or I are out and the other still needs to eat. These meals will consist of easy things like microwavable TV dinners or frozen pizza. Maybe just Mac-n-Cheese with a side salad. I’m toying with the idea of throwing in two slips for when we eat out, like “Pizza Hut” or “Cheap Take Out”. But I’m worried that if I pull them both in the first week, we won’t have another outing for a month. So maybe that can be another colored memo that we know we only pull one every two weeks or something.
I’m paying attention to all your suggestions and ideas, and I really appreciate your feedback and sharing. In the first day, the Menu post has gained some popularity through Facebook, twitter, BlogHer.com and even Pinterest! That’s kinda cool in my Book.
So. Now for the recap. Ya’ ready? Here’s how the Meal Memo in a Jar worked for us so far in March:
1st: I was so excited to start this new idea! I stayed up til midnight last night writing and planning and photographing and blogging. So when I had the chance this morning, I started to drag Dot into the kitchen to pull the first menu. Halfway there she said, “Oh, I’m going to Grandma’s after school today.” Needless to say, my shoulders slouched. She felt really bad, but I assured her that days like these were really worked into the plan. I just didn’t expect it on Day 1. So here I am home alone at dinner time. And that’s when I figure a “Dinner for One” option will be included next month. Tonight, for me, I guess it’s Clean-Out-The-Fridge time. Yea… (*dripping sarcasm, for sure.)
2nd: This morning Hannah pulled the first menu card! Drumroll… “Steak bites, Baby Potatoes, Salad, *Leftovers”. The steak and potatoes are frozen fresh from Schwan’s. I order from them every so often to stock up my freezer and I’m so glad I did. Instead of making the entire batch and refrigerating leftovers for tomorrow, we opted to make just enough for tonight and put the card back in to draw later this month. Schwan’s foods almost always offer several ways to prepare the food. Tonight we went for the less-mess microwave method. In 10 minutes, we had hot potatoes and meat. I tossed a small salad with torn lettuce, diced tomato, carrots and snap peas. Oh, and I already had garlic toast leftover in the fridge that only took two minutes to warm up. It was a pretty fine meal, if I do say so myself.
3rd: Dot went out with friends so I had more leftovers. Instead of dinner, though, I opted to eat more of this morning’s Breakfast Frittata and hashbrowns. Fantastic and filling!
4th: Today’s Meal Memo called for Texas Hash. This excites me because this is a great recipe, super easy, and it’s included in my Cookbook! I took the last leftover bits of steakbites and potatoes and tossed those with lettuce and diced tomatoes for a great salad; and finished it off with Schwan’s frozen garlic toast. Super easy, super delicious. And so much Hash left over that I’m freezing half of it. We’ll eat leftovers tomorrow, and put the Meal Memo back in the jar. Next time it’s pulled, there’s no prep except to thaw, heat, and eat!
5th: Both Dot and I are pretty tired today. So very thankful for the leftovers in the fridge!
6th: Day 3 of leftovers; we’re finishing up the Texas Hash and the Breakfast Frittata. On a side note, am very happy that the Texas Hash photographed well enough to prob’ly make the cover of the Unemployment Cookbook!
7th: Believe it or not, one last day of leftovers! The frittata’s all gone, there’s a little bit of Texas Hash left… but I’m having a cup of yogurt and two frozen waffles. Yummm! *Full disclosure: After taking Dot to youth group I ran through McDonald’s for a burger and Shamrock Shake. They totally messed up my order and charged my card for someone else’s more expensive order. That’ll teach me to go off track…
8th: Dot’s going to her grandparents after school so I’m relegated to scrounging. I think scrambled eggs and toast are on the menu for me tonight. *Late nite note: I opted for peanut butter and pickle on a toasted English muffin.
9th: Finally got to pull another Meal Memo today! Today’s menu: “Dump” Chili, bread, and Jell-O. I chose strawberry-banana. For the chili, I just mixed two cans of no-bean chili, mixed vegetables, and seasoned diced tomatoes. I had everything prepped within 10 minutes. All I had to buy was some shredded cheese and I chose tortilla chips.
