Meal Planning Week of July 23rd

Every once in a while in our household we need a reset.  A reset isn't a cleanse it just means we need to take a few weeks and eat really clean.  I actually really enjoy doing this from time to time.  I find that eating simple takes less time at night.  Eating simple for us means eating one serving of protein and one serving of steamed or grilled vegetable for every meal.  This can start to seem boring at times but we only do it for a few weeks so it isn't too bad.  The best part is how you feel after doing it though.  Unfortunately this does not lend itself to stellar meal planning blogs but I will let you know what we are eating each night.


Sunday- Grilled chicken skewers with teriyaki marinade and crab asparagus soup

We use a simple recipe for crab asparagus soup.  Two packets of egg drop soup mix from the Asian food section.  Make soup as indicated by directions but leave out egg.  Add two large handfuls of asparagus and a package of either imitation or real crab meat.  Simmer and enjoy.

Monday- Blackened Grouper with steamed green beans

I prefer to use Emeril's Blackening Seasoning which I find at King Soopers.  However, you could use any seasoning in a very lightly oiled pan.

Tuesday-Grilled chicken kabobs marinated in Italian dressing mix

Wednesday- Blackened Salmon with steamed broccoli

Same as the grouper, just a different fish and a different veggie.  This is really good the next day cold on top of a salad (and you don't have to be the person who microwaved the fish!).

Thursday- Shoestring Sweet Potatoes with sheet pan fajitas on top

https://sweetcsdesigns.com/crispy-baked-shoestring-sweet-potato-fries/http://lifemadesimplebakes.com/2016/06/sheet-pan-chicken-fajitas/

Meal Plan: Week of July 9th

We took the week off last week from meal planning and boy could you tell.  I feel like I was at the grocery store every other day.  When I wasn't at the grocery store I was at a pick up place.  It made me realize a few things; first off that meal planning is cheaper, secondly it is healthier and lastly with our office being leading to a busy lifestyle it definitely saves time.

Sunday-  Grilled Shrimp with Corn Avocado Salad

For the shrimp I don't really have a recipe just grilled any way you like it or substitute any other grilled protein

Monday - Summer Tomato Cucumber Quinoa

I am going to add some sort of bean to this recipe for protein

Tuesday- Sweet Potato Broccoli Chicken Bake

Wednesday- Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas

Thursday- Pesto Chicken and Veggies

Meal Plan for Week of June 25th

Mason's Birthday week brings family in town and busy nights to our house getting ready.  Trying to keep it as simple as possible this week.  It is weeks like this when I don't want to plan, but by the end of the week I'm so thankful to have it all planned out.




Sunday- A busy day means grabbing roasted chicken and salad on the way home!
Monday- Quinoa Power Salad

http://www.thegardengrazer.com/2014/04/quinoa-avocado-spinach-power-salad.html
Tuesday- Chicken Enchiladas (We used leftover roasted chicken in this recipe from Sunday night.  A good easy way to get chicken is to buy a roast chicken from the grocery store and use that)

Wednesday- Tofu Tacos

http://thewoksoflife.com/2014/07/loaded-crispy-tofu-tacos/

Thursday- Brats and Broccoli Salad ( I usually go bun free on brats with stone ground mustard to make the healthier.  The bun is the calories and carbs.)

http://damndelicious.net/2017/06/19/creamy-broccoli-salad/
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Meal Plan for week of June 18th

This week starts with Father's Day Sunday.  For most of us that means barbecues and drinks in this warm sunny Colorado atmosphere. We hope everyone had a fantastic Father's Day weekend celebrating the Dad's in their lives. We are going to start the week of with some all American barbecue chicken and end it with Japanese sushi bowls for a little world traveling. Have a great week!


Sunday - Barbecue chicken sandwiches with tossed salad

https://www.familyfreshmeals.com/2014/06/best-crockpot-bbq-chicken.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+FamilyFreshMeals+(Family+Fresh+Meals)

Monday - Fajita Chicken Sweet Potato Skins

https://www.buzzfeed.com/mercedessandoval/these-chicken-fajita-sweet-potato-skins-are-literally-pure-h?utm_term=.qcbkx2QxNo#.um8PAbGAKx

Tuesday - Chicken Flatbread Wrap w/ Greek Salad

http://thecozyapron.com/grilled-lemon-chicken-flatbread-wraps-and-that-golden-hued-evening-sky/

http://www.thegardengrazer.com/2014/04/ultimate-greek-chopped-salad.html?showComment=1401027833304&m=1#c4721069182962316090

Wednesday - Italian Beef and Zucchini fries

http://www.mashupmom.com/easy-five-ingredient-instant-pot-italian-beef/
http://www.skinnytaste.com/baked-zucchini-sticks-13-pts/
We are going to swap chicken for the beef but use the same recipe

Thursday - California Sushi Bowls

http://wonkywonderful.com/california-roll-sushi-bowl/

Weekly Meal Plan June 11th

I remembered last week how much easier doing this meal plan makes life during the week.  Last week we were able to stick to a healthy plan without much work.  We spent less money because we didn't eat meals out and we felt better because we consumed mostly healthy foods.  Sometimes coming home and cooking meals is a challenge after being in the office all day, but with a plan, it becomes much easier.  Hope everyone had a great weekend, time to get the week started again.  It is supposed to be another nice week so I am sure we will aim to grill a little bit.

Sunday - Shrimp Boil

 http://www.ladybehindthecurtain.com/country-shrimp-boil/

Monday - One Sheet Pan Balsamic Chicken and Veggies

http://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/one-pan-balsamic-chicken-veggies/

Tuesday - One Pan Mexican Quinoa

Wednesday-Grilled Chicken Skewers and Marinated Cauliflower Orzo Salad

 http://www.trailstotable.com/marinated-cauliflower-greek-orzo-salad/
http://reciperunner.com/greek-lemon-chicken-skewers-tzatziki-sauce/

Thursday- Turkey Burgers and Broccoli Salad

http://blessherheartyall.com/skinny-greek-yogurt-broccoli-saladNothing Fancy on the turkey burgers, frozen patties with your typical condiments.  Thursday is always our toughest cooking day in our house.
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Weekly Meal Plan June 4th

The return of the weekly meal plan!  After a few busy weeks and some traveling the meal plan returns.  This is the perfect week to do some grilling and make some salads.  It is supposed to be a wonderful weather week in Colorado.  Hope every one has an awesome week and come visit us in the office for an adjustment if you are feeling a little off.

Sunday- Baked Chicken Strips and Sweet Potato Fries

http://momsneedtoknow.com/baked-sweet-potato-fries/#_a5y_p=3898490
http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/baked-chicken-fingers/

Monday-Honey Mustard Chicken Salad

https://cafedelites.com/2016/05/11/honey-mustard-chicken-avocado-bacon-salad/

Tuesday-Garlic Lemon Chicken Skewers with roasted Brussel Sprouts

https://thecafesucrefarine.com/lemon-garlic-and-rosemary-chicken-skewers/
http://www.eatyourselfskinny.com/balsamic-roasted-brussels-sprouts/#_a5y_p=5125993

Wednesday- Chicken Stuffed with Mozzarella, Basil and Tomato

http://www.walkingonsunshinerecipes.com/2016/04/hasselback-chicken-stuffed-with.html#more

Thursday- Mediterranean Lemon Chicken Salad (Good use for leftover Chicken from Tuesday)

https://cafedelites.com/2016/07/05/grilled-lemon-herb-mediterranean-chicken-salad-recipe/

Weekly Meal Plan May 14th

Had a great turn out at the oil party in the office on Saturday - so big thank you to everybody that made it.  We went down to Lakewood today for Mother's Day Brunch, still feeling pretty full from jalapeno biscuits and gravy (I know not a very healthy choice but it was delicious). 



Sunday- California Sushi Bowl

http://wonkywonderful.com/california-roll-sushi-bowl/

Monday- Eggplant Roll-ups

http://recipesfoodandcooking.com/2015/01/12/skinny-eggplant-roll-ups-eathealthy15-giveaway/
I am going to add ground turkey to the roll ups for a little protein

Tuesday- One pan Shrimp Fajitas

http://www.number-2-pencil.com/2016/09/21/one-sheet-pan-shrimp-fajitas/

Wednesday-Chicken Avocado Caprese Salad

https://cafedelites.com/2016/08/30/chicken-avocado-caprese-salad/

Thursday-Slow Cooker Honey Glazed Garlic Chicken and Veggies

http://damndelicious.net/2015/06/05/slow-cooker-honey-garlic-chicken-and-veggies/

run out of excuses.

lets be honest, just when i feel like i’ve got a grip on this workout thing, motivation drops, life goes crazy and then POOF, an excuse appears. its like magic, really. just when i need a reason not to get that run in, life almost always throws me a bone and gives me a solid reason not to.

take last week for instance. in a normal week, we operate at the level of busy, which is manageable, but much easier when you are firing on all cylinders. but then the stomach flu hit me. i had no choice but to sit life out for a day and do my best to recover. losing a day out of your week is hard and then trying to make up for it while you still aren’t one-hundred percent is even harder. 

so with 2 weeks until the colfax half-marathon, this weekend was supposed to be my longest training run, the grand finale, final push of training, if you will. but i was dehydrated and weak from being sick. i didn’t want my last big run before the race to be horrible and possibly injure myself or even get sick while running (no one wants that!). so i didn’t do it. 

but then i started feeling bad. excuses are so easy. and while this was a pretty good one, nothing about training for a race is supposed to be “easy.” and while the stomach flu wasn’t a part of the training plan, excuses aren’t either.

20,000 steps before 8:00AM!

so i found a way. it involved waiting an extra day to know that nasty flu was behind me. it meant getting up at 5:15am and starting my run in the dark so i could be home to be with mason in time for dr. chris to head up to adjust his sunday morning patients. it wasn’t the easy way. or the way i wanted to do it. but the satisfaction i got from pushing myself beyond the excuses was more than worth it. it wasn’t the 11 miles i was supposed to do this weekend, but 9.5 miles felt far greater than doing none and letting the excuses win. 

i’m not saying this is how it goes every time i want to sit one out. but this is a great reminder for me that the easy way doesn’t feel so good. and when the calendar is full and it doesn’t seem like there’s time to squeeze that run in, take a second look. 

but i’m not gonna lie, the nap i’m about to take is going to feel pretty amazing too!

- kristen

Weekly Meal Plan May 7th

When I went to the grocery store this weekend, I was thinking warm and sunny.  Warmer weather always makes me think seafood boil.  I am not sure why my mind goes there but it just always sounds good when you are sitting around the backyard.  Of course then the storm rolled in tonight, but oh well, I wont let that disturb my tasty shrimp and super hot cocktail sauce ( Ketchup and extra hot horseradish).  Another busy week in our house, Kristen is doing some freelancing and we have our oil party Saturday in the office.  As well as trying to get out all the wonderful Mother's Day gift baskets to our clients who ordered them in the office this year.  So we really tried to add a few recipes that can be done a head of time.  Our go-to quinoa power salad and a soup.  Hope this helps give you ideas for the week.

Sunday- Shrimp Boil

http://www.ladybehindthecurtain.com/country-shrimp-boil/
Monday- Quinoa Power Salad

http://www.thegardengrazer.com/2014/04/quinoa-avocado-spinach-power-salad.html?m=1We add Black beans and Feta to this recipe, adds a little protein and makes it delicious

Tuesday- Tofu Tacos (no fancy recipe for this one)
First step I press the water out of my tofu which gives it a better texture.  I just slice one brick of tofu in 8 cross sections.  Then I place it between two cutting boards with paper towels between the cutting boards and tofu.  After the tofu has been pressed I coat it with a mixture of sriracha and honey.  Throw it on the grill for a couple minutes per side and cube it up.  Then I simply fill corn tortillas with the tofu and any other toppings I desire.

Wednesday- Thai Cocunut Chicken Soup

https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/slow-cooker-thai-coconut-chicken-soup/7cc193b0-0b00-4ff5-9527-ae68db64039b

Thursday-  Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet

http://www.primaverakitchen.com/ground-turkey-sweet-potato-skillet/