One Week Of Eating (Mostly) Right Update

It's been a week since Hubby and I decided to revamp our eating habits.  I've been working to cut out the excess fat and carbs while adding in more whole grains and produce.  I made up a menu with meals for most of November (there are still a few holes in my menu because my brain just can't seem to come up with any more dinner ideas--I'll probably make Hubby cook on those days).

It's only been a few days, but so far things are going well.  I have stuck with the menu with only minimal adjustments--different veggie, I used brown rice in the chicken stew rather than barley.  Hubby and I have also tried to cut back on our evening snacking habits--Hubby has been cutting it out completely while I am still eating evening snacks but limiting it to only healthy choices.

Oven fries--tossed in a little EVOO and salt

I have been working to satisfy my snacking habits with mostly fruit.  Rather than grabbing a handful of crackers, I am making myself grab an apple or banana.  When I crave ice cream, I am eating an orange.  Thursday I washed a pound of blackberries and set it on the counter to dry.  I found myself picking away at the pile every time I walked by (so did my girls) until the pile was gone.

Yesterday I washed and cut up a pound of carrots and a bunch of celery so it's in the fridge and ready to go for snacking.  I think I will just set it out on the counter every day so I'll grab some when I walk by.  Last night I made shepherd's pie using ground turkey sausage and sweet potatoes.  It was a little different than the white potato variety, but it still tasted okay.  

I'm finding that having the monthly menu is really helping.  When I made up my menu, I also made a list of all the ingredients I'd need to buy to make the dinners.  It made making my grocery list a lot easier.  Every morning I check the menu and see what we're having for dinner.  Knowing what I'm cooking at 7:00 am in the morning really helps to make my day more peaceful.  No more, "Oh no, it's 4:30 pm.  I need to think about what to make for dinner."

My kitchen helper--yes, all of those accessories are necessary

I am also working on including the kids in dinner prep.  Last night we had shepherd's pie.  I had Joy browning the meat, Lizzy peeling and chopping the onion, David snapping the green beans, while I peeled and chopped the sweet potatoes.  We spent the whole time bumping into each other, but we had a lot of fun.    I like teaching my kids kitchen skills so that one day they can replace me and do the cooking.

Half finished shepherd's pie--more potatoes were added

Today my plan is to sit down with my cookbooks and make a list of all the healthier recipes that we like or that I want to try.  Once I have a master list, it will make it a whole lot easier to put together a monthly menu for December.  If you have any great dinner ideas, leave them in the comments section so we can all benefit from getting more ideas.