- No refined grains such as white flour or white rice (items containing wheat must say WHOLE wheat…not just “wheat”)
- No refined sweeteners such as sugar, any form of corn syrup, cane juice, or the artificial stuff like Splenda
- Nothing out of a box, can, bag, bottle or package that has more than 5 ingredients listed on the label (And none of those five ingredients can be refined sugars or grains)
- No deep fried foods
- No “fast foods”
We are not able to afford to eat all organic produce or all organic meat, but I do the best I can to find locally grown produce and meat with no hormones or additives. We also do our best to purchase dairy products with no hormones. Starting in June we'll reassess and decide which processed foods we'll reintroduce, but it won't be many and they'll be in moderation.
We both made it through the week with minimal cheating. Monday afternoon we both had horrible headaches (it was a rotten day!), and so we decided to visit Sonic Happy Hour and get a medium Dr Pepper. Typically we would've ordered a large or a 44 ounce. Other than that, the only beverage we've put into our mouths this week is water. Thursdays are a hard day for me to follow the rules because I meet my family for lunch, and my grandpa always picks a "fast food" joint. This week's choice was Carl's Jr. Oy. I ate a garden side salad and a 3 piece chicken tenders. Not ideal, but after consulting their website I decided it was the best I could do. Since Thursdays are probably going to be a "cheat" day for me Aaron gets to cheat, too. He had pizza yesterday. It'll take awhile to get our pantry totally online with our goals. I'm not going to throw out food because it doesn't fit these rules, so a few ingredients this week were not ideal. We ate semi-sweet chocolate chips, regular pasta (sparingly in a soup), fat-free microwave popcorn, and bottled salad dressing.
Overall, I'm pleased with how the week went. My body is definitely craving sugar, but it's not terrible, and the caffeine headaches are minimal as long as I drink plenty of water. I'm sleeping better already, and I'm noticing that I feel full much faster and stay satisfied longer. Not a surprise considering how often we hear people say those things, but it really hits home when you experience it yourself. I also discovered a new recipe that knocked my socks off. I'll be making it again this week so I can tweak it just a little, take some pictures, and share it with you. AND I learned how to make corn tortillas. They are so easy and they tasted fantastic!!
This week I'll be looking for a yummy vinaigrette that my husband will eat. I'll also be trying several new things and, hopefully, will find time to blog about them. Aaron needed the computer every night this week for school, so I wasn't able to get much computer time. Here's the meal plan for Week 2:
Breakfast
Breakfast Tacos
Banana Nut Muffins
Vanilla Spice Oatmeal
Lunch
Mediterranean Tuna Lettuce Wraps
Turkey Sandwiches
Avgolemono
Dinner
Spaghetti Bolognese; Tossed Green Salad (tweaking this recipe)
Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
Creamy Tomato Basil Soup with Italian Sausage; Tossed Green Salad
Pesto Spaghetti with Grilled Shrimp and Mushrooms
Lemon-Thyme Chicken; Garlic Rice Pilaf; Parmesan Green Beans
Black Beans & Rice
Snacks
Homemade Granola Bars (Cherry Almond and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip)
Plain Greek Yogurt with Berry Sauce
Popcorn (popped the old fashioned way!)
I put the groceries away and forgot to take a picture, but here's the grocery breakdown (rounded):
Ezekial Bread $4.00
Bulk Grains & Nuts $11.50
Canned Goods (Sprouts brand; no additives) $8.00
Whole Wheat Pasta $2.50
Meat $25.00
Produce $18.50
Dairy $5.50
Total: $75.00
That total is still higher than I want our weekly budget to be, but we got a ton of food for the price, and I think at least two of our meals will make enough to freeze and use later this month.
Have a great weekend!
PS...I don't know what in the world is going on with the weird spacing in this post!
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