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I’m horrible at making a meal without a recipe — it’s like I’m not creative in the area of food — I need something to inspire me, (Pinterest, how I love thee!).  I’m also horrible at eating breakfast — I can usually scrounge up something like a fried egg sandwich, or some cereal, but I’m also great at skipping breakfast altogether — not a good thing, I know.  But give me a recipe, and I’m set!  I love finding amazing recipes that I can stash away in my little red recipe box — adding a tried and true recipe to the mix always makes my heart happy.  I love cozy meals, a sweet place setting, homemade bread, a piping tea pot of Greg’s chai, and making things that taste good — whether it be nutritious, or calls for a little too much butter!

I also feel bad because I know I could make Greg something special for breakfast every morning before he’s off to work — but I’m pretty slow in the mornings, so he usually walks out with a mug of cereal and a spoon — although, I must say, the boy could live off of cereal — he loves it that much.  Yet, I still feel bad as a wife because I could be giving him something more — something made with hands and heart.  When it’s time to give Dhara breakfast every morning, I’ve been resorting to toast with jam, yogurt, cereal, or the occasional simple egg sandwich.  This makes me feel bad too because I’m home, and I have time, and I really do enjoy cooking.

Sooo, last week I decided I would work on a weekly meal plan that incorporated a good breakfast and 1-2 dinners a week.  (We live in my parent’s house — so we split up who cooks dinner every night.)  And lunch is usually comprised of leftovers or a sandwich.

The way my mind works, I’m an organizer at heart — almost in an OCD way — so a meal plan really gets me excited to be in the kitchen because I know what I’m making on any specific day, and I know I have the ingredients for whatever I’m making because I went to the supermarket the week before in preparation for the following week’s meals.  Yes, it’s a good thing, at least for moi over here.  Moreover, it helps my family eat alot more healthier.  So here’s what last week looked like:

Monday:  Fried egg, bacon, avocado, and tomato on wheat toast (sooo good!) with an enzyme smoothie (coconut water, strawberries, blueberries, mango, banana, kale, orange juice concentrate).  Homemade ginger honey cheesecake for dessert.

Tuesday:  Cereal with a probiotic smoothie (kefir, plain whole yogurt, blueberries, mango, banana, orange juice concentrate).  For dinner, I made a simple burrito bar with whole wheat tortillas, seasoned chicken, black beans, onions, cheddar cheese, cilantro, jalapenos, sour cream and salsa.  Mama’s Red Raspberry Brew before bed.

Wednesday:  Wheat waffles with syrup and strawberries.

Thursday:  Cream of wheat topped with strawberries.  For dinner, it happened to be my mom’s birthday, so my sister and I cooked up a meal of onion bhajis with cilantro chutney, chicken tikka masala, Szechwan green beans, naan, and mango lassies topped with a dash of crushed cardamom.  Mama’s Red Raspberry Brew before bed.

Friday:  Yogurt and cereal with an enzyme smoothie (coconut water, strawberries, blueberries, mango, banana, kale, orange juice concentrate).  I was supposed to make buckwheat pancakes as per the meal plan, but something came up!

This week, my meal plan includes: breakfast bran muffins, homemade granola, gluten free sandwich bread, fish soup, and a homemade iron infusion.  Meal planning, hmmmm, yes.