Menu Plan February 1- 7

 

 

Since one of my major goals has been around eating healthier, I thought I would share a some of our menu for this week (Dinners anyway!)  Here we go!

 

Sunday – Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad from the Roasted Root

 

Monday – Broccoli and Cauliflower Bisque from Peta.org with Pilsbury Biscuits

Tuesday – Lentil Loaf from the Simple Veganista, steamed veggies

 

Wednesday - Tortilla Pizzas from Oh She Glows, sautéed swiss chard with garlic and chili flakes

 

Thursday - Breaded tofu strips, oven fries (using Epicure Rosemary and Garlic oven fry spice) and steamed veggies

 

Friday – Veggie Chili (my own recipe, and seriously dependent on what is left over in the fridge for veggies!)

Dessert – Coconutchocolate chip cookies seriously the best chocolate chip cookies I have made!  Soooo Yummy!  From the Well-Traveled wife and found on Pinterest

 

Lunches are usually left overs from the night before, and I make veggie and fruit packs up for the week for snacks in our lunches!

Next week, I hope to share my menu and grocery planning worksheets with you along with the menu!

Take Care,
Alisia



Accomplishments so Far....

I've figured it's time to give an update on my first few weeks of goals...

• Get up at 6am every weekday (and without snooze)
• I've been doing this for 15 days now - and there has only been one day where I got up, grabbed my phone from the kitchen and reset the alarm for 630 - otherwise I have been up at 6am the other 14 days
• Benefits I've found!
• This past week, I've been waking up before the alarm, so the alarm hasn't been so jarring when it goes off.  I find I wake up 5-10 minutes earlier on my own, and so I can start waking up in bed.
• My morning isn't so rushed - I can actually get up, make breakfast and drink a coffee before I need to start readying for the day ahead.
• "Clean Up" My Fridge and Cupboard
• I've eliminated almost all dairy/animal products - this has been a bit slower than I'd thought, because I've been surprised at how many thing do have animal bi-products in them - and we had just bought a bunch of dairy cheese in the states in December (it's way cheaper down there) so we are still working through that.  As well, I've been working to eliminate a lot of processed foods, and replacing them by making my own - I've made granola bars, flavoured oatmeal, and several different vegan loaves as a substitute for desserts and snacks I would usually have bought pre-packaged.
• Start the Simplify 101 Goal Workshop - With Hubby
• We have done this each Wednesday for the past three weeks - we stretched out the second class across three weeks because we felt like it was a lot of work to manage in just one and to actually do an honest job of completing the class assignments.  We are currently working on categorizing our list of "dreams" we created in week one, and choosing 1-7 to create into goals.
• Exercise Three Times
• I'm on Day 7 of C210K (which means I ran three times each the past two weeks), which is exactly where I need to be - I'm surprised at how much I enjoy running on the track or even on the treadmill - I like that the app lets me slowly build up my tolerance and increases my run/walk ratio.  
• Start the 30 Day Vegan Diet
• so this is where I would say I haven't exactly met my goal of being completely vegan for 30 days.  I'm still making my way through the book, and am learning a lot about how to not only eat vegan, but just "cleaner" and healthier in general - however, I've learned I'm not quite ready to make the dive into vegan 24/7 - really just with regard to eating out.  I've conceded - or really I have made the decision to be vegan at home - to do all my cooking vegan.  A book I discovered (and have downloaded and yet to read) is "VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health . . . for Good" by Mark Bittman.  From researching the book online, and reading a snippet of it, it seems to fit where I am at with regard to my eating habits.
• Go to bed with a Tidy House
• We've been specifically trying to pay attention to this the past two weeks, and it's another one where Sunday-Thursday we've done well.  It seems by the time Friday comes we've petered out and just want to relax and so dishes end up not done, and blankets not folded, bed unmade until Sunday when we get ready for the upcoming week - still some work to go on this front!

 

I have to say I am pretty happy with my progress so far - I feel that this very small realistic changes in my life are the best way to work on pursuing and reach my goals.

What do you find works for you to reach your goals?

Cheers!
Alisia

 

Weekly Plan Jan 25-31

Whew!  Time flies!  Hard to believe that January is already in it last week!  And I lost a week of blogging last week too!  Wow!  I didn't feel that busy, but I also don't think I used my time to the best of my ability...it was one of those weeks where once the "need to do's" were done, it was hard to get motivated to do the "want to do's".  On that note...my plan for this week!

•  Use my Journal/Planner
• I started using the Bullet journal method in September, and up until December I was great at using it!  I just haven't been taking the 5 or 10 minutes a day to set it up and use it and I have found that if I don't have my plan written down for the week or the day that I really just don't do it
• Walk at least 10,000 steps weekdays and at least 8,000 on weekends
• I start a pedometer challenge at work tomorrow; the last week we've been 'calibrating' and I can easily get to 8-9000 during the week and hit about 5-6000 yesterday and it looks like that's where I'm headed today.  I want to push myself a bit harder - to make better decisions regarding walking places/taking the stairs so wanted to add a couple extra steps to my goals.  I did hit 12,000 on Monday when I walked home and picked up Lily for a walk after work, so I think 10,000 is reasonable
• Set our Minimize Schedule
• Hubby has started reading  and following some of the Minimalist blogs/books that I have and is starting to "buy-in" to what I'm hoping to accomplish from a "things" perspective in our home - this week when we sit down to do our weekly goals class, we are going to write out a list and start setting out a schedule of how to simplify and clean our home!

That's what I'm planning on this week.  I've been finding that setting three specific goals a week, with a concrete plan for each, has been making what I've set out to do seem much more reasonable and reachable.  In the next few days look for my update post on my goals from the previous two weeks!

What do you find helpful for setting (and attaining) your goals?

Cheers!
Alisia