We have officially been at home for NINE weeks. Since March 16- and silly us, thought we’d only be quarantined (when my hubby got home from traveling) for two weeks. Joke’s on… well, the entire world. Truthfully, I am SO grateful that we are safe and being at home is a fair trade for our health and I couldn’t be more appreciative that I still have a thriving business during this time. That’s not to say it’s been the easiest financially- my husband works in the professional sailing world and it’s kind of hard to stay six feet apart with seven guys on a thirty foot boat… the math doesn’t exactly add up ;). So we’ve definitely been keeping a closer eye on our budget, and for budget and health’s sake, we’ve been shopping less.
Slowly we’re moving towards shopping once a week, again, as things are opening up here in New England, but we were shopping every 2-3 weeks, and this time- we actually made it four with only one small Aldi shop (scroll down to see). This is a couple weeks ago- I’m a little behind in sharing- so this is a mix of meals we ate with ingredients much from our pantry and freezer- plus what we enjoyed on Mother’s Day!
If you’re also a budget-conscious mama, I’d love for you to join me for my FREE Healthy Mama on a Budget Challenge, starting June 1st! We’re kicking it off on May 29 with a live video + Q + A session with Paige Schmidt, finance coach. Learn more + join for free here.
Ok, onto the eats!
For past ‘meals at home’ posts:
Breakfast
Still lots and lots of smoothie bowls! I’ve found myself craving these almost every morning. They’re packed with fiber and protein… so they keep me full for hours (which is SO welcomed when I’m busy with homeschool + work!).
Of course, I also love my egg scrambles- tis one is egg, some leftover cheese from one of our many cheese boards, leftover chicken sausage and hot sauce over arugula. Random- but totally hit the spot.
These waffles, guys these might be the BEST healthy freezer waffles I’ve had! The brand is Birch Benders and they were SO delicious. I served them up with some blueberry sauce (frozen blueberries heated with a splash of water + maple syrup) and almond butter.
Wren also loved them!
Intuitive Eating note: these were delicious, but I did notice I was hungry ~1.5 hours later. Not enough protein for me! It’s SO helpful to notice these things- it helps us to choose meals that serve us more in the future! It’s not that this meal was bad, it just wasn’t enough for me. I’ll eat it again- and either expect to be hungry earlier (and eat sooner) or pair it with some eggs for extra protein.
On mornings I run, I just have a perfect bar before I head out. GOSH I love perfect bars. I was avoiding them for a month or so to see how my body felt (they have dairy and dairy isn’t always my friend)– but my body seems to love them (thank goodness, because my tastebuds certainly do!).
When I get back from my run I always have an extra big brunch- this feels *much* better to me than trying to have a big breakfast and then head out for a run.
Lunch
Eggs all day long! Scrambled eggs with spinach, avocado on it’s last leg, feta and hot sauce on a coconut wrap.
Intuitive Eating note: this was filling, but NOT satisfying. I wish it had been a siete wrap! I love these wraps- but I’d rather them be for tuna wraps or similar, it was too sweet and not the savory I was looking for. This made me hanker for food pretty soon after- because it wasn’t what my body wanted. Totally normal and part of the intuitive eating process! (Want guidance in learning to listen to what your body wants AND needs? Click here to learn more about coaching with me).
This Sunday was Mother’s Day! My sweet six year old cooked me up my favorite brunch combo (with the help of daddy, though I have no doubt she could do most of it herself if we let her- she’s totally my little sous chef!).
A sort of before-and-after… after my run with the chef, and cleaned up with my littlest sassypants!
Dinner
Date night at home was this delicious and easy restaurant-worthy pasta dish I cooked up for the Momunity Facebook page. We both loved it! The kids had mac n’ cheese (yes, from a box! that’s how we roll with date night at home!).
Easy dinner: sauteed peppers and onions (from the freezer), chickens sausage + cauliflower rice.
Quinoa + herb beef stew with feta. This was ok- I realize I don’t love tomato based dishes. I much prefer fresh and herby (like pesto!) or creamy.
A typical weeknight dinner for us- Whole chicken (cooked in the crockpot), crispy sweet potato chips, and spicy mayo (I served mine with arugula for some extra greens).
An easy #instantpot dinner– leftover chicken, with leftover cauli rice, sweet potato and frozen veggies, mixed with an easy sauce of coconut milk, thai green curry paste, fish sauce and coconut aminos. This was SO good! No recipe needed.
More asian- inspired meals because that’s what we had left in the fridge! Sesame noodles + crispy tofu with sauteed veggies, topped with crushed peanuts and cilantro. We all loved this!
And of course, Mother’s Day! Our stay-at-home order was lifted the day before Mother’s day, and thankfully we’ve been seeing my parents since the very beginning of COVID (when we thought my husband might not be allowed home after traveling overseas- thankful he was!), so we got to celebrate with my parents. Indian food takeout, local beer, prosecco and Sage’s homemade ice cream sandwiches- Daddy’s famous chocolate chip cookies with cookie dough ice cream- my favorite! These were SO good.
Snacks!
I don’t always share snacks- but I snack nearly every afternoon– and usually it involves chocolate. Here are two recent favorites:
1) Trader Joe’s truffle marcona almonds + Lindt 70% dark chocolate (just sweet enough + perfect paired with the salty, umami nuts)
We’ve been loving sunny family drives! This one was a cold brew + chocolate kind of afternoon.
Last but not least- we did a small shop! Not a huge one- under $100, just enough to refresh our fresh items and get us through the next week or so.
I hope you enjoyed a peek into my eats! One more week before our a big shop, I think we’re doing pretty well!
+ view comments . . .