Monday Menu Plan and Frugal Notes...

We recently watched Forks Over Knives, yes, even the kids. It is a documentary I would highly recommend in today's world of fast food, bad school lunches, genetically modified foods, general poor health, and obesity. I then started listening to Dr. Fuhrman's book, Eat for Health on audio cd, and am waiting for Eat to Live to be available at the library. Like the documentary, Dr. Fuhrman recommends, very strongly, basing one's eating primarily on plant foods. Armed with my increasing knowledge, I am trying to make more of our meals just that, plant-based, though we do still eat meat, eggs, and dairy. Our eggs and (raw) milk come from a friend's farm, and so does much of the meat. I'd honestly rather eat less meat of higher quality than lots of cheap meat.

Anyhow, here's the run-down for this week...

Sunday: Pasta with roasted tomato marinara, though I had spaghetti squash instead of pasta. Mixed greens salad.

Monday: Tex-Mex Potatoes (recipe is about halfway down the page); green salad with orange and avocado.

Tuesday: Sloppy lentils over whole-grain buns; homemade broccoli slaw.

Wednesday: Asian-style salmon, with stir-fried veggies on the side: green beans, mushrooms, red bell pepper, and sweet onions.

Thursday: Asparagus Frittata; crudites (cucumber, carrot, sugar snap peas)

Friday: Potato-leek soup; whole-grain baguette with some yummy cheese, though I think I'll have salad instead of bread and cheese.

Saturday: St. Patrick's Day! So yes, we're having corned beef, cabbage, potatoes & carrots. I might even make a loaf of fresh Irish Soda Bread!

Other: I also made up a batch-and-a-half of this delicious roasted tomato-eggplant soup for my lunches this week. I went ahead and used my immersion blender in it rather than leaving it chunky.

Smoothies: The kids, M, and I are enjoying our daily smoothies. It is a great, tasty, and very easy, way to get extra fruits and veggies in. For M and the kids, I use frozen bananas, frozen mixed fruit, fresh baby spinach or other greens, raw milk, yogurt, a little raw honey, ground flax seed, and peanut butter. For myself, it's pretty much the same, only I use almond or coconut milk (the coconut milk in the carton, not the can!) and almond butter instead of dairy milk and peanut butter, and I skip the yogurt and honey. Yum!

Frugal Notes: I have noticed that it is definitely cheaper to shop for mainly fruits and veggies. This is the time of year that I start watching eBay very closely for sandals for the kids, since their feet just keep on growing! My advice for eBay shopping is simple, figure out how much you are willing to pay including shipping! Too many times I have heard complaints from people who think the price is great, until they add in the shipping. I always figure what I am willing to spend, subtract shipping from that, and then I have my maximum bid. My kids are always pretty well dressed thanks to careful shopping and my mom's sewing skills.

I'm also setting aside a few dollars here and there for myself. My clothes are getting baggier, and I eventually will need to buy some new ones, at least pants. I plan on shopping second-hand as much as possible for my new wardrobe. And many of my tops can be taken in - this will be a summer project for me, with the assistance of my mom.

Weight Loss Notes: Somehow last week was overly busy, and I didn't exercise like I should have. However, my weight held steady - phew! Back on the exercise bandwagon today!

Have a great week!