I Know... It's Been Awhile, Again...

Sorry guys, I've been super busy lately and let the blog fall off my radar. I had certification exams to study for, a couple shows to prep for, and some medical issues crop up again that took a lot of my time and energy up. The good news is that I've already been at work on a few new pieces this week and should have two posts out next week and be on track again after than for once a week. If you're following my Instagram you saw that I had made some lotion bars not too long ago... that recipe will be up on Monday at 8:00 AM CST! What kinds of things would you like to see next? I have a few more quick and simple DIY beauty recipes in the works as well as a personal piece that I've been working through for a while but I'm not sure what exactly you, my lovely readers, would like to see next. Sent me a message or post in the comments (or over on Instagram) with suggestions or questions and I'll try to get them into the queue for upcoming blog posts soon. Ciao for now!

New Year's Resolutions 2016 Update

Just a quick update on my "New Year's Resolutions" (let's just call them what they are: Goals. Ok? Mkay.)

Religious:

1. Complete a Bible-in-a-Year plan. 
• I am on 'Day 73' which is about a week ahead of schedule. I've been doing a lot of audio-Bible time on the way to or from work along with some worship songs. It has helped me be more centered throughout my day I feel. I've also been doing some shorter studies and devotionals to help with healing and on topics that I felt would benefit me. So far I've done short studies on: abuse, miscarriage, grief, depression, healing from pain, divorce, prayer, happiness, hope and finding comfort in the Lord.
2. Make more Wednesday Bible studies 
•  I am doing well so far. I have only missed 2 weeks due to bad traffic one of the highways I have to take to get home (they started a new phase of construction on the highway, ugg!)
3. Invigorate my prayer life. 
•  The  younger ladies at my congregation have decided we would like a class on this so have asked someone and she has agreed to teach a lesson for us! I'm pretty excited about this as it is an area I would really like to grow in and I think this class can help me do this.

Health/Medical:

1. No soda. 
• A few here and there that I still need to cut out but I never finish them as they are simply too sweet and I don't really enjoy the flavor anymore.
2. Prep more and try new things! 
•  I've been meal prepping for Monday-Friday for the past few months now with great success... saves me money, time and helps me stay on track. I've been trying a lot of new ideas recipe wise... that means that there are less posted recipes though since I make something new instead of perfecting something I've already tried out so I think I need to work on finding a balance.
3. Water
•  Most days I am keeping to my goal these days which is lovely. I'm not sure I really want the app to remind me to drink water on the weekdays at the office but I need it on the weekends still so reminders are staying on for now. :) When I don't make my goals I get headaches... interesting tidbit to let my neurologist know about. It could be dehydration is playing a part in my migraines more than we thought. I'm pretty much always on the edge of dehydrated it feels like but I've added extra Thermotabs and extra water since the New Year and haven't had to have an IV saline drip yet. Progress!
4. Meds
•  Changed some things up but still doing well with the reminders my app is shooting my way.
5. Exercise! 
•  Still walking... the 5k I signed up for isn't for a while yet so nothing new to report here really. 
• I picked up a FitBit HR Charge to help with pushing me to meet my goals as well as track my heart rate. There have been some interesting observations on that front but my meds seem to be doing a good job most of the time keeping the tachycardia under control so I feel safe to continue my speed walking plan for now. Of course that med is actually to help with the migraines so there's that :P but both the neurologist and I knew that my heart rate and blood pressure would be affected by them as I've been on other medications of this class before for my tachycardia. The first few months were horrible and I couldn't exercise until my body adjusted to the meds. Looks like we're set now though so *fingers crossed* that the neurologist leaves them alone or that his changes don't affect my ability to stick to my plan.
6. Lose 50 pounds.
•  So far I have lost 13.8 lbs. out of the 50 I had as a goal for the year.

Financial:

1. Budget, budget, budget! 
•  Going strong... I'm LOVING the budgeting software I have now so I will definitely review it soon.
2. Pay off debt.
•  So far I have paid off: $1,811.84 worth of debt between my vehicle, student loans and the credit card I took out to move last year.
3. Savings
•  So far I have saved: $2,148.58. Part of this is due to not having to pay rent so far this year as I moved in with my parents as a step towards this goal. I still have storage fees and etc. but I'm trying to put as much as possible towards debt and saving for my future house as possible as well as a healthy emergency fund. I picked up some side hustles with tutoring and work with apps which I will let you guys know about in another month or so as well. I want numbers for 2-3 months to really see which apps I feel are worth looking into and which are a waste of time. So look for those posts in a month or two.

Personal:

1. Get back into the dating world.
•  I've been out in the world of online dating for a while now... nothing major update wise here.
2. Complete at least 50 blog posts this year. 
•  So far this year: 8 of the 50 I had as a goal. I'll be working on getting this number up some.

DIY Deodorant... 6 Months In

I've been using DIY deodorants for a good long while now and 'natural' deodorants for even longer due to my allergy to aluminum- since high school. It's been a long and frustrating journey I have to say but I'm almost to the end of it in that my latest batch of deodorant was nearly exactly what I wanted. I'm pretty psyched about that fact actually and that means that I'll have a post upcoming on my finalized recipe in the next few weeks if things go as expected. 

On this journey to finding something that works for me I've learned a few things that would have been super helpful to know.

1. Natural deodorants don't have antiperspirant (so you still sweat) for really good reasons but I still miss them and the lack takes some getting used to. 
2. Eating properly changes the need for deodorant (and your natural scent... eww, I know, but true). 
3. There are million DIY deodorant recipes out there it seems... and not all of them will work for every person. That's why there are a million of them. We didn't all like Secret or Dove or what have you deodorant when we used store bought deo and we have ALL said that one brand worked better than another and had someone completely disagree with us. Why would DIY be any different?
4. Similar to the last one... this is a process and everyone is different. I've tried out a different recipe each and every time I made a new tube of deodorant. Some of those recipes were recipes I'd found online, some were based on recipes or combinations of recipes, some were completely mine. Many worked pretty well... some very much so did not. Reviews of recipes stating they were awesome didn't mean they worked for my body (see the next one... that was a painful week).
5. Baking soda can burn. The underarms are sensitive places, enough said right? Ouch. I ended up using a very tiny amount in my latest batch but for those who are even more sensitive than me you may want to sub arrowroot powder for baking soda completely in recipes you find for deodorant online. It doesn't seem to work quite as well as baking soda (for me) but its a close second. I've had to experiment with ratios over the past few months for each batch I created to see what worked best on my body.
6. Texture is very important for me. I wanted a deodorant that I could roll on from a normal deodorant tube but this was often far from the case. Most recipes I've tried have been not quite firm enough for what I am looking for... or too firm and the tube wouldn't rise. This has been the part I've spent the most time working on to be 100% honest. There have been recipes I've churned out that worked great but were simply too soft many times in this process.
7. Ingredient quality is important. This is pretty self-explanatory I think, if I bought the cheapest one of unknown quality then I was more likely to get variable consistency and quality. Do your research on brands you want to use basically.
8. Scent matters... oh so much. Some of the oils I've used to scent my deodorant just did not work well together, or worse, were not a good combo with sweat. This is likely the reason I have had several natural deodorants that didn't make the cut (sorry Tom's) before I tried my hand at DIY.

That's all for now. I'll be posting an update on what I've been working on lately  this week as well (I haven't been slacking, promise, just trying a lot of different things with mixed results). One of those things is my Instagram account... feel free to hop over and check out things I'm working on recipe wise, see some meal ideas and just keep in the loop on what's going on with me (my two pups pop up from time to time as well... love them!).
 
Instagram: @reallifewithheather

Taco Tuesday

I love tacos... savory spiced meats with fresh crunchy veggies and lots of salsa, yumm! Unfortunately most taco seasoning mixes have junky ingredients in them which takes the happy out of my Taco Tuesday fun. So I decided that it was high time I create a spice mixture to replace those seasoning packets. It won't be perfect for everyone so feel free to make tweaks and changes to it as everyone prefers slightly different combinations of ingredients in their 'perfect taco meat' (which is why there are at least 10 versions of taco seasoning at the grocery store and not a one of them tastes like the others) but I've been enjoying it in my lunches recently.

Before I get into the spice mixture I want to stop over in the mix-ins area of taco meat for a moment. Depending on what you are looking for taste-wise and the amount of added veggies you want to have in your meat there are many options for veggie mix-ins to cook with your taco meat. Some are:

• diced mushrooms (LOVE this, if you've never had mushrooms in your Tex-Mex food you are missing out man)
• diced onion
• diced peppers of many varieties
• shredded carrot
• shredded zucchini
• diced tomatoes or tomato puree
• salsa (another favorite of mine)
• and more!

I personally use mushrooms and salsa (I pretty much always have these on hand and tacos can be a bit of a last minute dish for me, like pancakes! Sometimes I just get a craving and think 'why not?') as my go to. They are what I used last week but there are so many options! Try one, try them all, try mixtures of them, try new things altogether and tell me how they turn out! If you are new to adding veggies to your taco meat I would suggest that the smaller the dice the better for beginners so perhaps start with shredded and pureed veggies and then move up to a little chunkier portions later on. Personally I'm not a big fan of diced bell peppers in my taco meat due to the texture/bite so this may be something that you add later on as well if you are like me.

Another thing I do to add nutrition and flavor is use stock or broth instead of water when simmering my spices in with the meat. Something I noticed when checking out various recipes and packages of seasoning mixtures (other than the crazy amounts of additives and the fact that most have gluten) over the last 6 months or so was that bullion, or similar flavoring agents, was a common addition. It isn't necessary to use broth but it does help with that missing element from the flavor palate of the store bought packets, especially when using lower fat meats, such as poultry, that can be a bit lackluster on the flavor side and dry out easily. 

The procedure I use when making my (Tex-Mex/restaurant style) tacos is simple. I understand that these are not traditional tacos and while I do love those as well I was trying to replicate the simple 'brown meat and add a spice packet and water' style of taco meat with this recipe.

1. Cook the meat. I use beef and chicken most often but the possibilities are limitless.
2. Add all other ingredients to the pan, including enough liquid to simmer for about 30 minutes on low with (1/2 to 1C is plenty. When using salsa or purees I decrease the amount of broth as I typically work on a time crunch around dinner time).
3. Add mushrooms towards the end of cooking. Feel free to add these earlier with the other veggies but I like the texture of adding them a few minutes before the end personally.
4. Once mixture is at the consistency you want (most of the liquid will be gone but not all moisture) remove the pan from heat.
5. Eat your yummy taco meat on salads, grain free taco shells, baked sliced potatoes/root veggie chips, rice (if you include rice in your plan), etc. with even more fresh veggies like tomato, lettuce, or onion. If you include dairy you can put a little cheese or sour cream on them... maybe a little cilantro if you like cilantro. Options, so many options! :D

If you have a bit more time you can toss everything in the pan at once and let it simmer for longer so that the spices will really infuse into the meat as it cooks. This is what I ended up doing when making chicken tacos last week as I was doing meal prep and had more time. I did a quick shred at the end and had some wicked good taco meat on my hands. It's all a matter of time and preference. This isn't a recipe for tacos so much as a quick guideline on options for yummy tacos for those who aren't used to making tacos at home or are looking to try adding veggies to their dinners.

Ok, seasoning time! This seasoning mixture makes about 4 dinners worth of spice mixture (depending on how much spice mixture you prefer). I typically use 2-3 Tbsp per pound of meat. Just mix it up and store it in an airtight container between uses.

• 1.5 Tbsp Dried Onion Flakes
• 2 tsp Garlic Salt
• 1.5 tsp Ground Cumin
• 2 tsp Paprika
• 5 Tbsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 2 tsp Seasoning Salt (there is a good recipe here if you don't know how to make it)
• 2 tsp Onion Powder
• 2 tsp Garlic Powder

Review: Light My Fire Salt & Pepper Plus

Salt is very important to my well-being due to the fact that I live with dysautonomia. We tend to use sodium to raise our blood pressure which will help abate some of the symptoms associated with dysautonomias. Personally, I'm hypovolemic so serious amounts of water and electrolytes, including sodium, are needed each day to combat that issue. Because these electrolytes are so important to my health I to keep various forms of salt, electrolyte drink mixes and some Thermotabs on hand at all times. To keep the salt on hand I've been using the Light My Fire Salt and Pepper Plus now for about five months. I keep it in the front pocket of my IsoPack usually but if I won't be using my backpack and I know that salt might be something I won't have access too throughout the day I will toss it in my purse along with a few other health items that come with me everywhere. 

The color option I chose was fuchsia (of course, I LOVE pink) but there are many possibilities: pink, orange, black, green (bright green), red, yellow, cyan, blue (dark blue), dark green, lime and, of course, fuchsia. If I bought another one I would either choose black or green I think but they are pretty much all lovely vibrant colors.

In the Salt and Pepper Plus there are three compartments for spices, one is labeled S for salt, one P for pepper and one simply has a dot for anything you choose to put in it. Right now I have pepper and sea salt in the P and S and the additional compartment is Himalayan pink salt. If I was going camping with it I might put paprika, lemon pepper or garlic powder in the final compartment for cooking. When I opened mine to take a photo of the inside I jostled the salt and pepper a bit unfortunately and got some pepper in the salt compartments... so that is a slight problem with this model. If you are one to only refill when things are out it really wouldn't be an issue at all I imagine.

 
(Sorry about the not so awesome photos of the tabs... they didn't want to focus on my cell phone sadly.)

The labeled tabs are simple to pop out to sprinkle your ingredient onto food but they stay attached so that you don't lose the stopper... a plus if you tend to drop things like me. 

Durability wise I would give it 5 stars. Like I mentioned, I drop stuff... a lot... but it still looks brand new on the outside and even using the shaker regularly at work and when I'm out and about I still haven't seen any problems with the tabs/stoppers in the 5 months I have had it. For $9.99 I was pretty happy with my purchase and would make a second purchase if I was a regular camper (I'm not) so that I could travel with more spices easily. I love cooking and adding a few spices to my bag for the space of half a pack of tissues is something I would totally chose to do. 

Does the salt come out too fast? Not at all, both myself and my brother-in-law have used it without issue. I mention him because I can't always tell if something is too salty but he doesn't eat salt as often as I do so he would be able to tell if he accidentally used too much. I use the salt and pepper at lunch reguarly and if I angle the container slightly down and shake slightly I get exactly how much I want every time. It might be easy to over pour though if I  dumped it vertically over my food... but the same would happen with any salt shaker. 

Another thing that I like is the fact that it is difficult to open the top to refill it. I know that seems to make no sense but the fact that it takes a bit more effort has meant that it has never opened accidentally in my bag or otherwise. It's a little annoying when it comes time to refill it but the lack of mess the rest of the time makes up for it in my opinion. As I mentioned at the beginning though, if you are refilling it when it is still mostly full you may have some cross contamination so don't refill it if you don't need too.

I'm really liking this company's products so far. I may be ordering one of their Sporks in Titanium (I snapped my plastic Spork in two when traveling sadly but I loved it while I had it and my parents are still loving theirs as well) and a Pack-Up Cup here in the next couple of months. If I do I'll let you know how I like them compared to the other Spork and collapsible cup I had purchased and reviewed in the past.

Myth: The Paleo Diet is All About the Meat... Not So!

I think there is a misconception that people who eat a Paleo/Primal type diet are basically carnivores and eat the occasional vegetable... the truth is that is a myth. The bulk of my diet is produce when you look at my plates (as I'm sure you have seen on Instagram for my lunches at least- @reallifewithheather).
This week's produce haul for instance had:

• 3 bananas
• 2 apples
• 2 lbs strawberries
• 11 oz blueberries
• 6 large clementines
• 5 tomatoes
• 5 large heads of romaine lettuce
• largest box of 50/50 mix (I want to say this was about a pound but I don't recall and already mixed it into salads for the week)
• 1 bag of carrots
• 1 bag of sugar snap peas
• 1/2 lb mushrooms
• 3 cans of green beans (pantry staple, fresh or frozen is better but they didn't have any at the market this week)
• 2 large potatoes
• 1 large sweet potato 
• 1 large onion
• 2 C salsa

And my weekend is eating out for Friday's dinner as well as Saturday's lunch and dinner and Sunday's lunch as I will be at a conference this weekend! If it wasn't there would be even MORE produce on this list. Thankfully the conference is nearby so I can eat breakfasts at home but since it is at a hotel I didn't think bringing my own food would be appropriate other than snacks (as I'm sure it will be mostly pastries and cookies on offer then and there is no way to make that work in the paleo framework.) Main meals I can usually find something on the menu that is a decent option at the hotel's restaurant or wherever we are going as a group for the meal.

I also keep some Spirulina and Chlorella in the pantry (algae) along with shirataki "noodles" and sometimes veggie chips of various types if I'm feeling in the mood for a crunchy snack and they are on sale. You'll often also see cucumbers, celery (I can't actually chop this as the scent gives me a migraine- random I know- so it's mostly just for bone broth/stock use), zucchini, squash, pumpkin (I have some puree in the pantry and some sweet potato puree frozen in the freezer), radishes, red potatoes, the occasional avocado (not my favorite, yet!), peppers, various lettuces/salad greens, spinach, an assortment of mushroom varieties, and more on my shopping list... it just depends on what I planned meal wise for the week and what looks great at the market.

Of course, we don't just eat produce... there is meat, nuts, oils/fats, and etc. This week I have:

• 1 doz eggs for breakfast scrambles and omelets
• 1.5 lb chicken for my chicken taco lunches
• leftover chicken soup from my freezer... so bone broth and several ounces of chicken (but also more veggies!) for lunch on one day
• 1 lb of ham for dinners on two to 3 days
• 1/2 lb beef (ground) for a casserole
• 1/4 lb sausage for the same casserole
• 1/3 C olive oil for salad dressing
• 1/3-1/2 C ghee for cooking fat and tortillas
• 5-8 ounces of cheese (not Paleo but I choose to incorporate real cheese into my diet... this would be more a Primal mentality if we are getting picky on the issue)
• almond and cassava flour for tortillas and pancakes (breakfast for dinner was AMAZING by the way... and some maple syrup and butter for those pancakes but I didn't measure out how much, best guess 1-2 Tbsp of grass-fed butter and 2-3 Tbsp of pure maple syrup since I ate leftovers for breakfast the next day so had two servings)
• and potentially some of the nuts and seeds I plan on taking with me to the conference for snacking... with some fruit and veggies depending on if I am hungry or not.

If I was eating at home this weekend I would have about 1 lb more of meat most likely along with a lot more veggies. When eating out there is typically more a focus on the meat that the veggies as many options are offered that way (steak, chicken, pork chop, burger, etc. with x sides is how they are presented and veggies aren't plentiful on the plate as I'd prefer) but I try to get a good portion of veggies when available.

That's this week, things vary from week to week but when I plan meals I have one line for meat on each meal and 2-3 for veggies/fruit (and they aren't small 1/4-1/3 C portions for each veggie side either) so that should say something about how I eat. No two 'paleo'/'primal' eating plans are the same of course- I eat low carb and higher fat for instance so you will see a lot more fat rich foods on my meal plans and less starchy veggies but most of the people that I know buy their veggies (and fruit) plentifully and widely varied, many seasonally.

Meal Planning

I am really loving Dropbox at the moment for all things e-file as I can view/listen to them from my phone but still pull them up on my laptop so I don't have to type out edits on my phone. It's cold right now so my fingers often get cold and a bit stiff which makes typing on my phone a hassle... plus, I simply don't enjoy typing out much of anything on my cell phone when I can do it in half the time with a keyboard. My keyboard supposedly will work with my cell phone but I have yet to try it out as I may as well use a larger screen if I am at home with my keyboard. :)

That's all said only so that you understand why I have come to use my current meal planner- the simplicity of moving back and forth by keeping it on my Dropbox. I have been experimenting with various ways of meal planning over the past few years with the goal of being able to do this but there aren't that many apps that also have a laptop version that syncs that aren't a subscription service (though if I missed one please let me know!). I've tried using Cozi, which I absolutely LOVE as a calendar, but I need a tablet or laptop in order to be able to menu plan on their app... and I don't have a tablet at the moment so I can't really use the planner on the go. I did love that I just click one button to add a recipe's ingredients to my shopping list though so all I had to do was delete what I already had in stock... super simple process on my laptop... just bulky to cart around my laptop. I also didn't like the fact that it is just a dinner plan... I eat more than dinner so I need to plan for more than dinner if I don't want to have to keep popping out to the store for something (and overspending because I didn't plan). I've tried many ways to plan and I still haven't found a way that I love enough to make it my forever way but I've found something that works for me for now so I thought I'd share. Right now I am using a separate recipe storage that I haven't gotten to where I want to share it but know that my recipes file is sometimes used in conjunction with my meal planning.

As an fyi, right now I am living at my parents' house in order to save up money for a bigger down payment on a house since I was being outbid right and left when I tried to purchase a house several months back (they are awesome for inviting me to do so!). I only prepare dinners for everyone in the household a few days per week as not everyone is home in the evenings to have meals together. For myself though, I plan and prepare for all of my meals (with the exception of weekend meals if I will be eating out)... so I need to know which days to shop for meals that will feed more people and which days it is only me eating or I will have over/under prepared and we could potentially waste a lot of food and money. To track this and help me visually see what was going on each day I added a row above the 'dinner' area on my meal plan that says "Who?". If you end up using my planning spreadsheet you can easily change what this says to fit a variety of options: evening activities, who will cook, etc. or remove it altogether. A similar method worked just fine when I was on my own and when I was married though so I think that this will work for just about any family with a little tweaking depending on your lifestyle.

So,  the first step to planning my meals is to sit down with my schedule and see what is going on... when will I be home for dinners, what days do I need to have more flexibility, what meals do I need to pack to take with me on the go, who will be home on days I am home for dinner, etc. I note this in the "Who?" line and then move on to checking my freezer.

Before I pick out recipes/meals I check my freezer. I like to keep my freezer stocked with meats of various kinds so that I can purchase when something is on sale verses when I run out. I am out of ground beef at the moment but have many other options (I'm using chicken to make tacos this week instead for instance) and don't feel pressured to purchase just because I am out which helps me to not over spend on my grocery bill. Normally I prefer to have at least one meal's worth of all the meat types I would typically gravitate to in the freezer but I am on an 'eat from the freezer/pantry' challenge at the moment so I didn't purchase ground beef when I ran out. I've got plenty of other options though! Starting by picking my main protein narrows my choices on recipes straight from the get-go so I don't spend half an hour flipping through recipes to decide what sounds appealing. This week I picked a pork roast, some chicken thighs and a whole chicken. Some weeks there will be a new recipe I really want to try and I may need a meat I don't have but I count that in with occasional deviations.

Usually when I am looking in the freezer I already have meal ideas churning based on what I've been interested in recently but if I don't I head to my cache of recipes and quickly thumb through until I find a main dish that sounds like it would fit the time allotment I have for each given evening. If I am not going to be home until late then I won't want to cook an hour long dish or even a half hour dish most likely for instance so I would want it to be a crock pot dish or even have leftovers from the day before. I do incorporate leftovers into my meal plan... and multiples of the same meal per week, especially in breakfasts and lunches! It saves me time and money in the end, both of which I prefer to spend less of in the kitchen if I can help it. This week I decided to make a roasted chicken on Monday in my crock pot (I am making the cooking style from my rotisserie chicken but with the BBQ dry rub this week), eat leftovers of it with my parents on Tuesday (and make some stock for soup from it), grab a meal I already have in the freezer from previous weeks' leftovers for Wednesday and Thursday since I will not be home until late, whip up some chicken soup from the stock on Friday and finish with a roasted pork loin on Saturday... Sunday evening would be leftovers of the soup and loin. 

I head to my lunch mains next. Lunches I am mostly getting from the pantry this week due to the challenge but I plan them similarly to dinners in that I check what I have protein-wise first and go from there. This week I will be having tuna boats (made with homemade mayo!) but I decided to try out some 'taco boats' this week as well so I tossed some chicken thighs, taco seasoning, and a can of salsa on the stove to cook on low last night and now I can mix it up and have tuna some days and taco meat the others. I will save half of the taco mixture for the freezer for another week as I made more than I needed for just that purpose. It could also be for a dinner that I planned poorly or planned to eat out but ended up not feeling up to getting out... planning ahead with a few meals in the freezer is rarely a bad idea I have found.

Breakfasts often will be a rotation of 2-3 meals for me, I'm not very picky when it comes to my breakfasts but I need it to be a protein and lower on the carbs if possible. Sometimes I will make a paleo breakfast bread for the week though and have a little of than with my protein option. Other times I will have a smoothie with lots of veg and fruit plus some algae for the iron and protein content. It has to be fast in the morning and keep me going until 1-2pm as I don't always know when my lunch will be. I love paleo pancakes but I'm not a morning person so those are typically saved for 'breakfast for dinner'... which should probably make it onto next week's rotation because yumm!

The final thing I do is add my veggies and fruits to my meal plan. I insist on at least 2-3 servings of non-starchy veggies with lunch plus an optional fruit depending on my breakfast choices. For dinners I insist on at least 2 servings of non-starchy vegetables and I have one starchy vegetable depending on the rest of the meal plan for the day. I try to limit my carbohydrates as an excess of them tends to make my more symptomatic but that's my personal preference. Occasionally this is different, for instance I plan on having a whole baked potato tonight with my roasted chicken and green beans... that is more than one serving of starchy vegetable but it isn't an every night occurrence and I have no plans tonight other than resting (I am sick so getting over this cold with rest is a must) so I don't need to worry so much about carbs so long as I don't go crazy.

Once I have my meals planned out I double check my fridge, freezer and pantry for everything I need to make my meals before I head to the store. For instance: chicken soup needs an onion, chicken, tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes. All these items are in the pantry other than the onion... did I add an onion to the produce section of my list? I did and I have everything else so I'm done with that meal. I also make sure that I went over my household goods stocking list the week before (One of my to-do's during the week is to check on things like pantry staples, toiletries, pet items, etc. and add things that I am low on to my shopping list. This week I added toilet paper, borox and dog treats for instance.) so that I don't run out of anything during the week. I also double check my stock of homemade items like mayo, ketchup, salad dressing, and etc. based on my menu needs to ensure I have enough for the week. If I don't it get's added to my to-do list in the Notes area of my planner... a condiment is usually something I can make in a few minutes during the meal prep for the week if I am prepared.

Then I head to the store. The whole process, minus the shopping, usually takes me about 30 minutes but it took longer at first until I got into a pattern so be prepared for that. I have saved money and noticed that food waste has gone down significantly as well and that is always a good thing!

This is the that Menu Planner I am currently using. I adapted it from several different sources I have used over the years to fit my needs to feel free to do the same!

How do you meal plan?