Mod Apron

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Oops! Posting this meal plan a day late. Sorry! Better late than never, right?

So the big events this week are:

1. My parents are visiting! They arrive tomorrow afternoon. They’re here for 10 whole days and I’m all atwitter with excitement! Our meals should be simple, summery and easy to prepare for a crowd. Hopefully the dinners I’ve outlined above will fit the bill.
2. Friday is Maya’s 4th birthday! She wants to go our family’s favorite Italian restaurant around the corner from our house. And afterwards, we’re throwing her a little surprise party with her friends and neighbors here at home, complete with a triple-decker chocolate cake from Blissful Bites. Oh man, I might be more excited that cake than she is! Actually, probably not; she’s ridiculously excited about her special day. Just like a very-nearly-almost-4-year-old should be!
3. You might notice that Saturday’s dinner is up in the air. That’s because Maya wants to visit a farm her birthday so we’re taking a road trip about 45 minutes south to Half Moon Bay. We’ll be hobnobbing with goats, chickens, horses and rabbits. And I have no idea how long we’ll be gone so I’m leaving dinner open that day. I’m sure we’ll figure out something yummy.

I was hoping to do a big grocery shop today in preparation for my parents’ arrival and the week ahead. But unfortunately, Dennis’ flight was delayed and he got home just before dinner so the shopping will have to wait until tomorrow. Hopefully mom and dad won’t mind tagging along.

This time 4 years ago, I was hugely pregnant (Maya was a week overdue!) and excitedly counting the minutes until we’d meet our baby girl. I totally expected that being a mama would be hard work, completely rewarding and a wonderful labor of love. What I didn’t anticipate was the fun, the joy, the bliss and all the laughing. Good lord, the laughing. I’ve never laughed so hard in my life as I have since the kids came along. This motherhood thing is hilarious! And every day just gets better and better. I’m pretty sure there’s no better job than the one I’ve got.

Have a great week, folks.

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Hey guys! Happy Monday!

Here’s the ol’ meal plan for the week. Nothing too shocking here. In fact, a lot of this meal plan is a total repeat of last week’s. 

You might notice that we are eating a lot of veggies & dip these days. It’s just so easy and the fam is totally digging eating our vegetables this way. Cali produce is amazing all year round, but especially this time of year. Everything just tastes so fresh and good, why not eat it raw?

Lastly, tomorrow (Tuesday) is Henry’s 1st birthday. My baby’s getting so big! We’ll be celebrating with birthday cake, which I’ll pick up tomorrow. But besides that, we’re not doing anything special for dinner. Henry’s favorite foods of the moment are raspberries and waffles with peanut butter, so he might just get that for his birthday meal. The rest of us with full sets of teeth will enjoy burritos and veggies. He’s only 1, so we’re keeping it nice and simple.

Hopefully, my long awaited camera will arrive tomorrow so I can snap some messy-faced cake eating pics!

Oh hey! I forgot to show you guys a pic of the sofa we ordered! Here it is, above.

It’s from Pottery Barn, it’s a sleeper sofa (which is why it won’t arrive until mid-September - I’m told sleepers take a lot longer to make), and we ordered it in “Caramel Twill” which is basically like a dark tan color. 

So excited!

Our living room still has a long way to go before it’s even functional, let alone perfect. But we’re saving up and paying cash for everything, so naturally it’s a process. Baby steps, right? At least we won’t be sitting on the floor anymore.

[image courtesy of Pottery Barn, of course]

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Hey now! It’s a very special episode of Meal Plan Monday! Why? Because it’s Dennis’ birthday week! [confetti!]

My darling husband is turning 40, dudes. As in FORTY. Let the festivities begin!

Actually, we’re not planning that much. Den detests a fuss and has practically forbidden me to make one. So we’ll probably just have a nice dinner (of the birthday boy’s choosing, which he has not done yet) and I’ve got an idea for a special secret dessert. Hee!

Other than the big birthday this week, it’s business as usual. Have a fabulous week, everybody!

After my massive shopping trip last Monday, you’d be right to assume I was done buying groceries for the week. But then, 2 things happened:

1. We started running low on produce. With all this clean, healthy livin’ I don’t think I properly accounted for all the extra fruits and veg I’d be nomming on. I partially blame California and its incredible produce - year round, but especially this time of year - on this. Plus, Den and the kids have certainly been helping to make a dent in our fruit and vegetable stockpile.
2. I received a “spend $15, get $5 coupon” in the mail yesterday from a market that I don’t normally frequent because it’s not on my usual walking route. But for $5, I’ll definitely walk the extra 3 blocks! That’s a good deal!

I bought:

• a bulb of garlic
• a giant head (this sucker is SOLID) of green cabbage
• 3 bananas
• 2 organic yams
• large tub of Chobani (so addicted!)
• 2 organic nectarines
• pint of raspberries
• 3 organic Fuji apples
• hella organic broc
• bunch of organic celery
• package of Next Organics Dark Chocolate Cherries (okay, this was a total splurge, but it’s a little pressie for Dennis’ 40th birthday next week! He is going to LOVE this!)

My total came to $23.11. But I had that coupon, remember? So I ended up paying $18.11 for my haul today. Those Dark Chocolate Cherries accounted for a lot of my bill.

So, after today’s little supplemental produce shop, I’m only left with $17.43 in my $50 per week budget for next week. Next week will be a challenge for sure!

Holy moly I did a super big shop!

You’re lookin’ at:

• bag of organic tortilla chips (Den’s request)
• 2 boxes of squeezable applesauce pouches (Okay, so these aren’t the most budget-friendly at 50 cents per pouch. We’ve just been out of the house so much lately, and I’ve needed food that I can throw in my bag for Hungry Henry. He’s still a bit too young and too toothless to eat most regular food, so applesauce is the perfect take-along snack. And I love these pouches because no refrigerator, spoon or bowl is required. I justify this purchase because they really do save me time and make my life much easier.)
• box of Ak-Mak crackers (yumster!)
• edamame hummus (hey hummus, please meet Ak-Mak crackers, above)
• tub of organic cottage cheese
• bag o’ lemons (I have been going through them like crazy lately!)
• 3 potatoes
• 2 yams
• 2 Preserve toothbrushes (I just love these toothbrushes and their mail-back program so much!)
• small bottle of balsamic vinegar
• jar of marinara
• bottle of peppermint Dr. B’s
• half gallon of organic milk
• jar of salsa
• 2 organic pears
• mango
• 8-pack of yogurt for Maya’s lunchbox
• 4 pink lady apples (used to be 5, but I ate one while unpacking these groceries. Ha!)
• 5 bananas
• box of button mushrooms
• 2 Cashew Cookie Lara Bars (my little pre-gym treat)
• 2 cans organic garbanzo beans
• bag of organic baby spinach
• a bunch of organic green beans
• bag of organic carrots
• 4 Cali yellow peaches
• box of cherries (I’d like to make a batch of my homemade cherry jam out of these but I suspect Dennis will get to them before I have a chance.)
• large box of organic Cali strawberries

My cupboards and fridge were pretty bare before today’s shop, so I went a wee bit over my $50 per week budget. My total today came today $64.46. 

I am OK with the overage. We really needed a bunch of stuff. Next week, I’ll try to cut my grocery budget to $35.54 to make up for going over this week. Or maybe not. I may just give myself a pass on this one. Haven’t decided yet.

July, is that really you? Wow, you’re still weeks away in my head. This year is flying!

After a week of visitors and then a week of chaos, we are back on track with a brand new meal plan here at Apron Headquarters. Did ya miss it?

This meal plan is ever-evolving, it seems. Now that I’ve committed to improving my health, you’ll probably see some subtle changes on my meal plans. White stuff like bread, sugar and refined grains will be taking a back seat to vegetables, vegetables and more vegetables. And while a lot of the meals will look the same as always on paper, I’ll be making a much healthier version in real life.

I’m excited to do a big shop. Trader Joe’s, here I come! We are out of practically everything! (And as usual, the Grocery List has exceeded its parameters and has spilled over in to the To-Do column. I put the Grocery List in lavender to alleviate any confusion.)

One last note - if you ever want to see a recipe for any of my meal plan meals, please feel free to email me and I will post any recipes requested. Most of these meals I could practically make in my sleep, but I will do my best to type out some coherent directions. 

Happy Monday, folks! And Happy Canada Day to my friends up north!

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Hello, Monday! While I’m sad to see another too-short weekend come and go, I can’t really be mad at this bright, beautiful, 77 F (25 C for my Canadian friends) blue sky day.

If you’ve seen my meal plans before, you might notice that today’s looks a bit different. I’m in the midst of embarking on some intricate lifestyle changes, people! Let’s just call it “sharpening the saw”. I’m giving myself a long-overdue little health tune-up by means of some simple dietary adjustments, greater mindfulness and a daily commitment to my yoga practice.

On the meal plan, this translates to :

• A different type of breakfast for moi. My old breakfast of coffee/tea and toast was not serving me very well at all. I’m switching to a warm grain (millet, rice, quinoa, etc.), some soaked raisins and a sprinkling of sunflower seeds instead. I’m replacing morning coffee with hot water with lemon and fennel. Plus whatever herbal tea strikes my fancy! (And as you can see above, we all have our breakfast favorites!)
• Actually eating a proper, sit-down lunch. Every day. No exceptions. This has been my biggest challenge since kid #2 came along. After feeding both the kids their lunch, I never seem to have enough time to feed myself, and this really must change. I’m going to tweak our schedule a bit so that I can fit in a balanced lunch too. The days of eating a handful of pretzels and an apple (and sometimes another cup of coffee) are gone. A proper lunch! Yes!
• No more snacking. (This has served as a poor substitute for missing lunch anyway.) Thus, I have only included Kid Snacks on the meal plan. Three squares a day for me. Nothing more, nothing less.

• My Grocery List was so long, it spilled over into the Notes column. For visual ease, I put the items I need to purchase for this Meal Plan in green.
• Dennis is in LA all day on Wednesday so the kids and I are on our own for dins. Rather than make a fancy dinner, I’ll just throw together whatever leftovers we’ve got hanging around plus a few odds and ends. I love dinners like that. And it’s a great way to use stuff up!
• Another week of hot weather is ahead, which explains why my meal plans are featuring more cold food lately. It’s hard to get excited about soups and stews when you’re wearing a tank top and sandals. Just my opinion.
• My parents are coming! My parents are coming! I seriously cannot wait. They’re arriving on Saturday and I’m counting the seconds until they get here. Aside from all the help they give me with the kids, I just adore their company and I’ve got lots of fun stuff planned for their visit. And since they don’t arrive until the weekend, this week’s meal plan isn’t hugely impacted by the extra people in the house. But next week should pose a fun challenge as I attempt to feed 2 extra people on my $50 per week budget. (I honestly love challenges like this!)
• Sunday is Father’s Day and mom and dad are taking us out for dinner to celebrate! I’m excited!
• There won’t be a grocery shopping expose this week, folks. Yesterday, my friend Kendall rented a car and surprised me with an offer to drive us the 6 blocks up to Trader Joe’s and back so we could both do a big shop. This was my opportunity to stock up because, since we don’t own a car, I am usually limited to whatever I can fit in the stroller. Honestly, I’m totally fine with stroller shopping and I always make do; but when the opportunity to do a major stock-up presents itself, I am compelled to take advantage. I moved some money around and spent much more than I normally would on yesterday’s grocery shopping trip (obviously), but I’m okay with it because I had a little nest egg set aside for just such an occasion.
• Lastly, Parks & Recreation is quite possibly the funniest show in the history of funny shows. This comment is clearly not meal plan related but it really needed to be stated.

Fin! Have a glorious week, my friends.