Elf For Health 2014 - Challenge #7 - Menu Plan and Prep

Today's challenge is to food prep and menu plan.

Most of this week's breakfasts and lunches are the same.  It's just easier this way.

Breakfasts this week:

3 x's - Gingerbread muffin, cheese stick, and fruit (either grapefruit, Cutie, or kiwi)
2 x's - Green smoothie, maybe a cheese stick or cottage cheese with it

Lunches this week:

1 x - Spinach salad, yogurt with frozen fruit also granola
4 x's - Ham and cheese sandwich, yogurt with frozen fruit also granola, veggies with hummus (If I don't eat the veggies with hummus for lunch, they will be my snack.)

With my dinners, I'm more specific on the days with the exception of Thursday and Friday.

Dinners:

Monday - Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Tomato Soup - My grilled cheese will be a Cranberry Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

Tuesday - Left over turkey stir fry with rice, Thanksgiving leftover buffet

Wednesday - orange chicken, rice, veggies

Thursday - crock pot meal from the freezer

Friday - crock pot meal from the freezer

Here is a link to my menu plan with goals for this week:  Week of December 1st menu plan.

Here are some pictures of my prep:

Onions, Carrots, and Celery cooking up for the tomato soup

Onions cut up for Tuesday and Wednesday's meals - I also chopped up peppers for those meals.

Yogurt ready to go - I did the same thing with the hummus.

Boor's Head Ham and Lacey Swiss Cheese sandwich

Gingerbread Muffins

Some of the veggies ready to go for the week

Tomato soup cooking away

Tomato soup ready to go in the fridge

Thanksgiving 2014

This was a different year for our family.  With my father-in-law not being around, it was up to my mother-in-law and I to make sure the dinner was cooked.  If it was up to Hubby, he would get a frozen lasagna and call it good.  If he's in charge of Sunday dinners, that is usually his go to meal.

I did a lot of cooking but made the dishes either the day before or earlier in the day so that all I had to do an hour or so before the dinner was bake them.  It was less stressful that way.

My mother-in-law made the turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy.  She also made stuffed celery.  I made the rest of the food.  

We invited our friend Dave over and my mom.  My mom declined the invitation but Dave came with an empty stomach.  He enjoyed the food.  His favorite dish was my grandma's sweet potato casserole.  He had seconds of that dish.

After dinner, Hubby went to work and the rest of us traveled over to my Hubby's aunt's house.  We had a second helping of dessert and just visited with our family.  Dave even came along.  

The cool thing was Hubby's cousin lives in Toronto and decided to Skype with the family.  So even though he wasn't there, we were able to talk and see him.  Modern technology is cool!

The next day, Dave went home and the boys and I headed to a local children's museum for a few hours.  They were upset because they didn't spend as much time as they wanted there.  We had plans with their cousins who had come in for the weekend.

After visiting the Children's Museum, we went out to lunch with Hubby.  Then we all met up at the movie theater to watch Penguins of Madagascar.  Four adults and five children - Are we nuts? (A 9 year old, 3 11 year olds, and a 13 year old)

Even though it was a different type of Thanksgiving, memories were made.

Now onto the pictures:

Elf For Health 2014 - Challenge #5 and 6 - Smoothie and Treat Yourself

Yesterday, I treated myself to a smoothie that I created last Thanksgiving.  I hadn't had it for a year so it was good to have it again.  

Tastes of Thanksgiving Green Smoothie (Click on the Link for the recipe.)
I did a few things differently.  I used all spinach because I had some to get rid of and instead of strawberries I used a mixture of frozen fruit (peaches, pineapple, strawberries).  It was delish!

Here is a picture of it almost gone.

Today's challenge was to treat yourself.  This September, I joined the Disney Alumni Association.  A group if fellow alumni decided to have a Secret Santa exchange.  The young lady I had to buy for was easy because all she asked for was something Disney.  Last Monday, I had seen some Disney ornaments in the price range of what we suppose to spend.  Know-it-All and I went to the store and got the ornament.  Then we mailed it so the young lady could enjoy it during the Christmas season.

While we were out, we stopped at Starbucks.  He got his favorite frappachino while I got a skinny gingerbread latte.  I've discovered I like the gingerbread lattes so much better than the mocha peppermint lattes.  Maybe it is because they don't put enough mint in the latte.  I'm one of those weird people who like mint in my lattes.

I enjoy spending one on one time with my children.  Even though, all Know-it-All did after going to the bookstore was read.  He found the latest How to Train a Dragon book there.  He was super excited with that find.

Thanksgiving 2013 and Elf for Health 2014 - Challenge #4 - Favorites

Yesterday Hubby hooked up my laptop with broke screen to one of our computers so I could recover pictures on it.  I found pictures from last Thanksgiving on the computer.

My father-in-law played Santa for forty plus years.  Last year, my sister-in-law was able to be there for Thanksgiving so we took pictures with Santa.  I'm going to cherish these pictures because these are the last pictures of us with our special Santa.  

I miss my father-in-law so much.  My mother-in-law's cooking the turkey and making the mashed potatoes.  I'm in charge of the side dishes.  I hope I do him justice.

Elf for Health 2014 - Challenge #4 - Favorites

Here's a link to my favorite blogs.  They are all cooking related.

• Eat at Home Cooks
• Finding Joy in My Kitchen
• Mel's Kitchen Cafe
• Lynn's Kitchen Adventures
• Jamie Cooks It Up
• Skinny Taste
• Snack Girl

I've been listening to "How to Be Like Walt" by Pat Williams.  It's a part biography, part self help book.  So far I'm enjoying it.  Some of the information is new to me.  The other information is a refresher course from when I was down in Disney and took classes.