Meal Plan Monday (err... Tuesday) and Halloween fun!

Sorry that I flaked yesterday on my Meal Plan Monday post, so here it is a day late....

Dinners:
-Baked Penne with low fat ground beef and a big salad
-Butternut Squash Soup (we were supposed to have it last week but stuff came up)
-Stir Fry Veggies with Quinoa
-Sloppy Janes made with Lentils
-Healthy Pizza
-And of course Leftovers.

I did alright last week with eating, I didn't stick to my meal plan perfectly, and I super indulged on Sunday... I had *gasp* McDonalds!! But I did walk a lot that day and had a healthy dinner so maybe, just maybe it won't show on the scale?!

Yeah I know...probably not!

This weekend, we did some early celebrations of Halloween. KBeaner had her Halloween party at Dance Class and then we went and did a Halloween parade and party in the next town over! So much fun, it was all free and they had so many fun games and activities.

KBeaner even won "Funniest Costume" for her Mittens Fluff n' Stuff from Lalaloopsy (although barely anyone knew who she was, apparently Lalaloopsy is not as a big deal in other people's houses like it is in our house! haha)

 

This is Mittens from Lalaloopsy                                                                  KBeaner as Mittens

All the Halloween Party fun!

 

5 Fun and Frugal Halloween and Fall Crafts

 

First some business...I've been busy this week and lacking the motivation to write a weigh in day post even though I should since... I lost ONE pound!!! I'm super excited! Hopefully I'll lose another next week. Now on to the crafting fun...

 

 

 

5 Fun and Frugal Halloween and  Fall Crafts....

 

1. Spooky Halloween Ghost-
Materials you need: paper plate, toilet paper, tape and black crayon/marker. (Optional hole punch and yarn to hang them up)
This a super easy craft, just draw a spooky ghost face on your paper plate, then take long strips of toilet paper and tape to the back. Voila! A spooky ghost! I hole punched a hole on the top, and strung the ghost with white yarn, so that it would be easier to hang.

2. Stained "Glass" Leaves

3. Paper Plate Pumpkin-
Materials you need: paper plate, orange and black construction paper, glue stick.
Another super easy craft, just rip up orange construction paper, or you could cut them to make it neater. KBeaner helped me rip up the paper (lots of fun) then cut out some black eyes, nose and mouth for your pumpkin. Then let your little one go crazy with the glue stick and decorate the paper plate.

4.Fall Puzzle Tree-
Materials you need: paper, paint, old puzzle pieces, glue and crayons/markers.
First we collected all of the random puzzle pieces we have laying around the house. Then KBeaner painted them autumn colors. While they were drying KBeaner drew a picture of a tree (with no leaves) then she glued the painted puzzle pieces onto the tree to look like leaves.
It was fun and a great way to reuse those random puzzle pieces.

5. Spooky Glitter Decorations-
Materials- wax paper, glue and glitter. optional: paper and markers to make the designs.
Make a design on a piece of paper then cover with wax paper, let your little one trace the drawing with glue, and then go crazy with glitter! Once dry, trim and hang up!
Now I had seen on Pinterest someone had made window clings with glitter glue and plastic wrap, I tried  it and they didn't stick to the windows so I put them on wax paper so I could cut and then hang.

Hope you all try these crafts, and have lots of fun with them!

Post your pics of your crafts in the comments :)

Meal Plan

I kind of slacked on my meal plan from last week. I ate a lot more leftovers than I thought so I ended up not making all of my meals, which works out well since that is less that I have to buy for this week!

My breakfasts pretty much are always either oatmeal with some fruits/nuts or peanut butter toast with a fruit.

For lunches this week I am going to try to make myself have a salad before having my "main" lunch such as leftovers from the night before or a sandwich. I'll let you know how that works out, I have not been in the mood for a salad lately!


Now onto Dinners...

 
 
 



-Pizza (check out my awesome dough with spinach so you can add an extra veggie serving!)
-Stir fry with veggies and quinoa
-Turkey breast, with stuffing and veggies
-Taco Soup leftover (froze some from the last time I made it)
-Butternut Squash Soup (check back later in the week for a recipe!)
-Leftovers






What is your meal plan/ideas for this week?

weekly weigh in/check in

Hey all... it's weigh in day!

I was super excited to weigh in today, I had tracked and ate well the majority of the week, and I got a good amount of exercise.

The scale did not show that, I maintained. I'm glad it stayed the same, but it would have been nice to see the number go down just for some extra motivation. I guess I have to continue motivating myself.

I do feel healthier since I did get a lot of exercise, and I ate better than I have been in the past month or so. I am excited to keep getting healthier, and being an even better role model for my daughter.

This week I am going to try to get more water in, I think it will help a lot. I do well one week with water and then get back into not drinking enough. Not sure why I just can't be consistent with it! Check back and see how I did next Wednesday.

Anyways hope all of you are enjoying the beautiful Autumn weather!!

 

Meal Plan and Workout Plan

This week my meal plan went pretty well, I only veered off track for Saturday night dinner... I had boneless chicken wings... MMMM.  I feel okay with it though since I ate well every other day.

For working out I didn't do a typical workout, I did however, rake leaves for an hour or so 2 days and I moved a cord of wood with a couple of friends. I also went walking a lot and did a lot of cleaning, I feel like I was more active than normal.

For this coming week I again plan to workout at least 3 times.

Now for the meal plan...

Breakfast ideas...
-Oatmeal with berries and almonds
-PB and banana toast

*I know that is only 2 ideas for breakfast but I really only eat a variation of those 2 for breakfast on most days*

Lunch ideas..
-leftovers
-salad with chicken
-taco soup
-quesadillas with veggies

Dinners...

-Spaghetti Squash Tuna Casserole (I didn't make it last week)
-Roasted chicken with veggies and rice
-Pizza with veggies and probably chicken from night before
-Bethenny's Zesty, Cheesy Mac and Cheese I don't think I will do the veggie bacon (or any bacon) PS I love her new talk show!
-Stir fry with veggies and quinoa
-Leftovers

Don't forget to check out Simply Healthy Mama and Honey, I Shrunk The Mom out for their Meal and Workout Plans!

weekly weigh in and mental health awareness

Hey all its my weigh in day... and I maintained again. Hopefully making my meal plan and workout plan for the week will help, and keep me on the straight and narrow. So far so good.

It is Mental Health Awareness week.

Yesterday marked the 7 year anniversary of losing a friend to suicide. I know a few others who lost their battle with mental illness. It shouldn't be this common, it shouldn't be happening at all.

I think a lot of times people are afraid to talk about it. I used to be afraid to talk about it, I have suffered from depression and anxiety my whole adult life, its not fun, but it is important to talk about it. Nowadays I am an open book when it comes to my depression, I'm sure sometimes I make people feel uncomfortable, but hey maybe me telling the struggles I used to have, and the struggles it took to find the right combination of medicine that worked best for me, I might just help someone. I might make someone's life a little bit easier, or at least make them feel better for even a minute knowing they are not the only one.

THEY, YOU, ANYONE, you're not alone! A lot of people suffer in silence, there is no reason. I think that the stigma of mental illness is slowly going away but it is still there. There is nothing to be ashamed of, if you had cancer would you be ashamed? NO! If you met someone with cancer would you think less of them? I hope the answer is NO! Like cancer, mental illness is an illness!!

I used to be embarrassed about the fact that I will most likely be on an antidepressant for the rest of my life, but then I finally realized...who cares!? I have a chemical imbalance, and the medicine helps me. If I had another illness that I had to take medicine everyday for, would I have been embarrassed? probably not.

Long story/ramble short, don't be afraid to talk to someone if you are feeling depressed or anxious, and if you notice that someone you know seems depressed or not themselves, talk to them, ask questions and listen.

Here is a website that has a lot of information about suicide prevention.

I hope this has helped someone, even just a little.

Meal and Workout Plan

Alright to get me back in the swing of things I have decided to start meal planning. I've been incredibly lucky to become friends with two bloggers, Angela from Honey, I Shrunk the Mom and Laura from Simply Healthy Mama, we all have been struggling lately, we are all in a slump, well we were in a slump. We are getting out of that slump as we speak! :)

Anyways we decided to start meal planning each week, and sharing it on our blogs. If you haven't checked their blogs out I strongly recommend them both! Make sure to check them out each Monday to see their meal plans as well!

My Meal Plan for the week is...

-Carrot Soup with homemade bread
-Pizza (with my healthy dough and lots of veggies)
-Spaghetti Squash Tuna Casserole
- Taco Soup with homemade bread
-Sloppy Janes with Lentils instead of hamburger
-And Two nights of leftovers

I didn't put any days with each meal, I'm new to meal planning, and each time I have tried before I get discouraged and overwhelmed when I try to plan out each day, I like the idea of being able to change my mind if I want to.

Now for workouts...my goal is to workout at least 3 times this week. I plan on doing Brazil Butt Lift again, but I am starting out small, if I do workout more than 3 times great, if not I will not get frustrated with myself, but I WILL do it 3 times!!

I plan on having a nicer meal plan next week with Lunches and Breakfasts, this weekend I was crazy busy with an all weekend long garage sale! More on that later this week....

Confession time..

Yeah...so... I ate horribly this past week. I didn't gain this week, but I feel like crap, mentally and physically because of how horribly I ate.

I felt that all I did this week was eat, and not healthy foods, I had Chinese one night and had left overs for a few days, I think that really did me in and started that downward spiral of eating unhealthy.

I'm not sure why I don't make myself eat healthy, I know that I can do it, I've done it before I can do it now. I need to keep reminding myself that I do not want to go back to where I was before. I cannot and I will NOT!

I am treating this confession as the first step to holding myself accountable and getting back on track!

Who is with me?! We do it!!!


Here is a sneak peek of my family photo shoot we did this past weekend... Please be sure to check out QH Photography  and to "like" her on Facebook!