What About Me Wednesday + Meal Planning

Hellooo! Isn’t it fantastic that it’s already Wednesday?! Oh how the world would just be a better place if Monday was officially part of the weekend :) So today I want to share with you a new thing that I’m going to try out here on the blog. I’m starting a segment called What About Me Wednesday where each Wednesday I’ll share a random fact or FAQ with you all and I hope that you’ll share some back with me! That being said, if you have any questions you want me to address - be it about cooking, tips, recipes, eating my way through Manhattan and New Jersey, Shaun, our kitchen or apartment, etc - please ask and I’ll try my best to answer. Sound ok?

So for today’s What About Me Wednesday, I’m going to share a little secret that has nothing to do with cooking. I am the farthest thing from an early riser.

But oh how I wish I was! I’m completely envious of people who wake up at 5:30 everyday, get in a good workout and then have the entire day ahead of them. I am just not one of these people! If I can work out in the morning, it’s a rare occasion and it takes a whole lotta convincing myself to do it. I struggle every morning to even wake up for work on time. What can I say, I love my warm and cozy bed! My mom is a super early riser and I really, really wish that I had gotten this gene. I think I'd get so much more out of life if I was this way. What about you? Are you an early riser? Or a night owl?

For the second part of today’s post, we’re talking meal planning. I have really been trying to get in the habit of planning out our meals each week. It’s a bit time consuming, but I’m hoping to get into the swing of things as the weeks go on! I scour magazines and cookbooks for what I want to try out and then head out to the grocery store to get my supplies for the week.

just a small sampling of my extensive cookbook collection
So today I’m sharing this week’s meal plan that I devised on Sunday morning. I try to plan out each dinner and then have a few things around to suffice for lunch since both Shaun and I bring our lunches to work almost everyday. For this week’s lunches, I made a batch of lightly dressed egg salad (still working on the perfect recipe) and a tray of whole wheat farfalle with lots of veggies. And here’s the dinner rundown:

Sunday
Dinner: mushroom & spinach tarts with salad (recipe coming soon!)

Monday
I had planned to make cod with broccoli quinoa pilaf, but someone decided that he wanted buffalo chicken nuggets instead. I made him go out for the ingredients.

Tuesday
I had planned to make pizza (with whole wheat dough and fresh mozzarella) but Shaun didn’t feel well so he didn’t want dinner. I had zumba and pilates, so by the time I got home, I simply heated up some leftover nuggets with a few slices of cheese and crackers. A dinner of champions.

Wednesday
The original plan was for leftovers, but since I have fresh cod in the fridge, we will probably have this tonight.

Thursday
I broke out my new Ina Garten cookbook and added her roasted shrimp with feta to the menu. We’ll see how this new recipe goes!

Friday
I had originally planned to either go out or order in, however, since I didn’t make the pizza on Tuesday, this is a viable option for Friday’s dinner.

Saturday
I hardly ever cook on Saturday because we are usually out and about!

So that’s how I had planned out the week of meals. I also filled in the gaps with lots of fruit, veggies and Chobani Greek yogurt (our new favorite snack!). To plan out our meals has taken a lot more effort than I thought it would, but I think that it’s the best way to eat healthier and also do some cooking in advance so that I’m not starting from scratch every single night after work. There was one point where we were eating dinner at 9:00 each night, which is just not a healthy way to live!

So what do you think? Have you ever tried meal planning? Any tips to share?