Organizing, Budgeting, and a Meal Plan

Two of my goals for 2014 were 1) to become more organized, and 2) to stick to my grocery budget. I also get asked the question, "What do you eat?" all the time, so, I wrote up a meal plan and grocery list to knock out all three. Usually I just go to the grocery with a few things in mind, and then buy anything else that sounds good. It has worked for the past few years, but every night is a game of, how do I make beans, mangoes, and sauerkraut into a delicious meal? This is my attempt to challenge myself to stick to my meal plan, budget, and to answer the age old question, "what does a vegan eat?"

A few notes-
The "prep" work for some of these dishes (beans, bread, etc) simply means soaking the dried beans and cooking them (tip: I add a piece of kombu to the cooking water to aid digestion), and for bread, well, making and baking it. I try to eat a 100% whole foods, home cooked diet. We may occasionally hit up the Whole Foods salad and hot bars, or Cosmic coconut for a kale salad, or soup and smoothie, but for the most part I cook all of my meals, and the majority of Matt's (unless he has an overnight flight, then he goes to Mellow Mushroom and eats pizza, ha!).

Also, I didn't specify, but all foods are organic (if possible), vegan, and gluten free.

My classes are listed next to the dates, because it reminds me I need to have an easy throw together dinner for those nights when I go straight from work, to class, then come home to a hungry husband.

I eat (drink) the same breakfast almost every day. I just like it that much. Occasionally I'll have a green vegetable juice instead, but for the most part this banana-almond smoothie is my go-to.

Many people ask why I eat gluten free. Do I think gluten is the root of all evil and you should quit eating it? No, but I have a gluten intolerance. Not eating gluten has naturally kept my autoimmune disease from flaring, kept me off the terrifying medications my Doctors were trying to keep me on, and has truly given me back my life. If you are having issues, get the test, or just stop eating gluten for 30 days and see how you feel. If you, like my husband, can tolerate gluten just fine, then eat, my friend, eat! If you would like more info on this, just ask.

The grocery list is simply the things I needed for this meal plan, but is not a complete list of everything you would need to make the meals below.

Without further ado, this week's meal plan...

Meal Plan for January 31-February 7

31-Jan	Friday
Dinner- Baked potatoes topped with back bean chili and no-cheese sauce (a mix of veggies, raw cashews, and nutritional yeast), and steamed broccoli
1-Feb	Saturday (Body Sculpt)
Breakfast- Banana-Almond Smoothie
(Frozen banana, baby spinach, almond butter, almond milk, ground flax seed, cinnamon/cacao)
Lunch- Leftover chili and no cheese sauce atop quinoa, with steamed broccoli
Dinner- Veggieful Salad with blackened tempeh and a lemony-herb vinaigrette
2-Feb	Sunday (Yoga)
*Prep beans and bread for the week
Breakfast- Banana-Almond Smoothie
Lunch- Smashed Avocado & Garbanzo massaged kale salad
Dinner- Broccoli no-cheese soup, small salad, and homemade bread
3-Feb	Monday (Yoga)
Breakfast- Banana-Almond Smoothie
Lunch- Leftovers from last night's dinner
Dinner- Mushroom stroganoff, steamed greens with garlic, and a salad
4-Feb	Tuesday
Breakfast- Banana-Almond Smoothie
Lunch- Leftovers from last night's dinner
Dinner- Black bean tacos w/ corn tortillas (make your own), salsa, guacamole, veggies, and no-cheese sauce
5-Feb	Wednesday (Pilates)
Breakfast- Banana-Almond Smoothie
Lunch- Leftovers from last night made into a taco salad
Dinner-  Veggie lettuce wraps with rice noodles, tempeh, and spicy  almond-tahini sauce
6-Feb	Thursday
Breakfast- Banana-Almond Smoothie
Lunch- Use leftovers to make an Asian noodle salad
Dinner- Sweet potato with creamed kale, small salad (make 2, 1 for lunch tomorrow)
7-Feb	Friday (Sew Memphis)
Breakfast- Banana-Almond Smoothie
Lunch- Leftovers from last night
Dinner- My sister is coming to town!!!
*Snacks- Apples, clementines, green juice Shopping List Lemons-5 Limes-4 Apples-8 Clementines-1 box Bananas- 2 bunches Yellow Bell Pepper-4 Red Bell Pepper-4 Green Onions-2 bunches Onions-1 bag Mushrooms-3 pkgs Shallots-2 Broccoli-3 Romaine hearts-3 pkgs Baby Spinach-1 pkg kale-3 bunches chard-3 bunches Potatoes: 2 Baker 2 sweet Avocado-4 Cherry Tomatoes-1 Cilantro-2 bunches Parsley-2 bunches Cucumber-2 Celery-2 Tahini- 1 Nutritional Yeast Cacao Powder Apple Cider Vinegar Extra Virgin Olive Oil Raw cashews Quinoa Quinoa Noodles (for mushroom stroganoff) Brown Rice Noodles (for lettuce wraps) Masa (corn meal for making the tortillas) Tempeh-2

Sprouting, and lessons learned

Sprouts are delicious. I have always been a lover of them. Mung beans sprouts on top of soup or salad, alfalfa sprouts in your sandwich, can't get enough! For Christmas, my husband, Matt, gave me some new varieties I had not tried sprouting before, lentils and garbanzo beans, yum! We have also started sprouting wheatgrass for our juices. It's such a fun activity, I love coming home  from work and checking on my little "garden." The thing about sprouts is, you have to do a lot of waiting. Sprouts take patience. Now, compared to other plants, sprouts are ready to eat very quickly. With most varieties, from the time of soaking to consumption only takes about a week, but the thing is, aside from watering them, and making sure they are properly draining, all you are doing is waiting.
There is a lesson to learn from all this. Sometimes, we treat life like sprouts. We are so worried about the end result, where we see ourselves in ten years, what we want to do once we get (insert goal here), how we will feel once we lose 10, 20, 30+ pounds. We believe happiness is a destination, and we sit around waiting for whatever it is that will take us to it (a person, a promotion, etc.). The thing is, the only thing keeping us from being happy at this moment is us. Happiness is not the cause of something, happiness is a choice, a state of being. At this moment, as I write at my desk in a cramped apartment, I could easily say, "Once we have a house, and an office, and all the storage we need, once I have the yard and beautiful garden I want, then..." Instead, I choose happiness today, at this very moment. I am happy because I have a roof over my head. I am happy because I have a loving husband to share my cramped living quarters with. I am happy because I have a lovely little kitchen garden working hard at sprouting away, right at this very moment. But even without any of these "things," I can choose happiness. I can find something positive and focus on it. I do not have to wait to sprout and become my full potential before I get to be happy. I think choosing happiness is part of what grows us, what pushes us to who we are supposed to be, and where we are trying to get to. It's not a de-motivator, it is the ultimate motivator! And can we all agree this world needs more happy? The only thing keeping us from being happy today is us.
Well, I'm off to water some wheatgrass.

Thanks for reading,

Wendy

The First Post

I decided to start a blog. I know, I know, everyone and their Grandma has a blog now. I am late to the game. This blog won't be on any specific subject, more a way to journal memories. I want to share a small look at our lives. A way to connect with faraway family and friends.

Currently, Matt (the husband) and I are renting, while saving up to buy land and build a small, happy home. I dream of owning land to garden, and trees to climb and hang hammocks from. A big backyard for the dog and (future) kids to run through. A laundry line to hang clothes from. Until then, I'm a happy "kitchen farmer" who grows herbs, sprouts seeds, and brew kombucha in our little apartment kitchen. Join in on our successes and failures (and maybe pass along a little old timer wisdom) in this crazy, lovely life.

If you read this, thank you.

-Wendy :)