Meals for the Week

If you remember from my first post, our family has a pretty set breakfast/lunch menu plan. Today I was in a rush for protein so I threw a bunch of leftover cut-up grilled chicken into a pan with some red pepper strips, fried it in coconut oil and seasoned it with chili powder and salt. Then topped that all off with a 100-cal Wholly Guacamole snack pack. I love guacamole almost as much as I love human babies.

I've planned out my meals for the week, so here we go:

W - Burgers (no bun) wrapped in lettuce w/ onion and tomato. + Baked Kale chips.

R - Chili Verde recipe from Everyday Paleo. This smells to me like farts when it is cook, but it is SO DELICIOUS. You can find tomatillos at Walmart. Don't be scared to try them. Making double the recipe to freeze for when I am gone in September for my husband!

F - Pork Chops w/ Homemade Sweet Potato Fried. Going to season the chops with salt, pepper, and maybe the Onion & Herb Mrs. Dash seasoning unless I go to Penzey's Spices this week and find something more interesting. Watch out for Mrs. Dash seasonings that have things like "sucrose" or "fructose" in them if you are avoiding sugar.

S - Oven baked chicken w/ tomato + lettuce + guacamole. There is a new $1.00 off of one Wholly Guacamole coupon available here after you sign-up for newsletters. First time registrants also get a $1.50 off of one coupon. Save the bones from the chicken and throw them in a pot with all the other leftover goodness, cover with water and simmer (maybe throw in some salt) and you will have broth for one of tomorrow's recipes.  

Su - Mixed protein day. Just putting lunch meat out, hard-boiled eggs, and sandwich fixings minus the bread. I will have cheese for the kids. This is also leftover day if there are any!

M - Browned sausage w/ a jar of pasta sauce. I really like Rao's Homemade Marinara, but it runs around $5.99 a jar, so I might go cheap and use Barilla Sauce, which is on-sale at some Targets for 2 for $3.00. There is also a $1.00 off of one coupon in this last Sunday's (8/28) newspaper. I'll mix this up together and serve over a medium spaghetti squash that I have baked in the oven at 400 F for an hour, cut in half, removed the seeds and shredded the insides.

T - Breakfast for dinner or burgers again. This will probably mean soft-boiled eggs for Justin and maybe pancakes for the kiddos with real maple syrup. 

I am also in the process of making my first batch of bone broth. Check out this article from Balanced Bites for a recipe and all sorts of benefits of drinking bone broth. I bought these bones from the same farmer we purchased our pig from and they have been sitting in the freezer for awhile. It was approximately a 6 lb bag for $1.50/lb. These came from a grass-fed cow. I do not use "organic" apple cider vinegar, just the regular stuff you buy at any store.

I plan to sip on this stuff the rest of the week. Can't wait to try it!












Besides meal-planning, I went shopping today for a second pair of shoes for L. He starts preschool next week and needs a back-up pair. While I was at Target, I browsed the clearance racks (like always ;) ) for some cheap finds. I'm always trying to save money on things like clothing, t.v./internet service, etc. so that we have it to spend on great food or seeing family. Check out what I got:

These will fit L next summer. $3.15 a pair can't be beat unless you shop consignment or garage sales!

The shirts on the right were on sale for $4.50 a piece and the left shirt was only $4.00 ( no sale!!). I need some long-sleeved shirts for my boys because we are headed up to NY in a couple weeks and it will be chilly until I can get to the outlet mall with my mom. :)

$1.74 sandals for D for next year!! Super cute and originally $6.99.

Happy eating and shopping!