Tag Archives: meal prep

Weekend Meal Planning

Posted on November 23 by Jillian416 • 2 Comments

Howdy! It’s Sunday again and that means we’re meal planning here in the O’Keefe household. However, after shopping today, I’m really beginning to wonder why we torture ourselves on Sundays. It was SO busy!!

Before I get into my meal plan, I wanted to tell you about my weekend – It was GREAT! I’m really not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. Yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving with my side of the family. Thanksgiving day is always spent with Seamus’ parents and usually my mom will have her dinner the Saturday or Sunday afterward, but since I have some busy siblings, we had to adjust. This actually worked out, because now when we get back from CNY next week, we won’t need to travel to my parent’s the next day. Thanks busy siblings! 😛

Anyhoo – I got up early and headed to Panera to do some of my virtual assistant work, I always seem to think better there. After working for about 3 hrs, I came home to the cuddliest of boys. Emmett just wanted to be held, cuddled or nuzzled by me and who am I to say no. So, while daddy got ready to go we hung out on the couch wrapped in each others arms. I just love that little boy!!

Eventually we hit the road, and made it to grandma’s in plenty of time! We were a little worried because of all of the snow that had fallen between where we live and my parents (in case you haven’t heard or seen the images, here’s a good synopsis), but there was no need for worry. We got there quickly and easily!!

Emmett was so excited to see my mom, sister and brother. He’s not positive who everyone is yet (because he doesn’t see everyone all the time), but he sure does love being around people who shower him with attention. That’s pretty much all you need to do in order for him to like you. LOL There were 3 dogs there, which is weird for Emmett because he’s not used to any, but by the end of the night he was lightly petting and playing with the dogs. Yay!! Once we eventually move, I’m sure Seamus and I will want to get a dog, so I’m glad E adjusted easily.

Dinner was delicious, my brother made some amazing mashed potatoes (yes, seriously!) and then for the rest of the evening we just visited, joking and chatting with one another. It’s times like those that I treasure most! I really wish we all got together more frequently, when we do we have such a good time.

Today has been a bit of a whirlwind. I was up early, worked and then made us all a yummy breakfast, I’ve done some laundry, cleaned out the fridge (YUCK!!) and we’ve gone grocery shopping. Emmett is quietly napping now, Seamus is playing his video game and I am blogging away. THIS is what Sundays were meant for.

Our Meal Plan

It will be a pretty easy week because we have Thanksgiving on Thursday and then will be traveling home on Friday, so we’ll just grab something on the way. LOVE easy weeks!

Sunday: Homemade Pizza (carry over)

Monday: Rotisserie Chicken & Potatoes

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday (with Seamus famous guacamole)

Wednesday: Fettuccine Alfredo Spaghetti Squash

Thursday: Thanksgiving!!

Friday: On the road

Saturday: Scrounge

Quick and easy!! We don’t host Thanksgiving, maybe one day when we get a house, but for now I am lucky enough to enjoy the cooking of my mom and Seamus’ mom. Yummy in my tummy!!

I’m joining and linking up with Laura from Mommy, Run Fast! and Jill from jillconyers.com.

Your turn!

Do you host Thanksgiving, or do you just bring a dish to pass?

Anything fun on your emal plan this week? Share in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you!

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Filed Under: All About Me, Link-Ups

Let’s Talk – Some Changes & a Meal Plan

Posted on November 16 by Jillian416 • 9 Comments

Life is full of changes, and I don’t always cope so well with them – but if I want to become a successful solopreneur certain things need to evolve.

I have always enjoyed blogging, I’ve had 3 or 4 different blogs in my lifetime, and I’ve enjoyed writing for each one, but I always seemed to run out of post ideas. I never looked at the full picture, or the different angles that a topic can come from. Even with Baby Doodah! I haven’t fully grasped how many readers I could reach if I just buckle down and really look at this like a business. Yes, it is a hobby and I enjoy every single minute that I get to be at the keyboard, writing (90% of the time), but I do want to gain audience members, too.

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of reading, learning and personal development. I’ve been reading blog upon blog about how important it is to have a business plan for your blog. That is literally something I NEVER considered for my blog, in fact – even right now – I have NO Idea how to go about doing that. I have an idea, but I am one of those people who needs specific instructions before I can move forward.

I’ve managed to find a couple of fantastic resources (here are a few for your viewing pleasure, How to Build a Blog Business Plan and How to Create a Successful Business Plan for Your Blog) that will help guide me in the right direction, and I can’t wait to get started. It’s essentially grown-up homework for something that I really enjoy doing, that can only lead to success. Right!?

Things around the blog won’t be TOO different from the outside. I’m thinking I will change the days that I regularly post, right now I aim for Sun-M-W-F, and then my weekend link-up post. I am thinking it will be a good idea to switch to Sun-Tues-Thurs and my weekend link-up. I will be posting less, but my content will be more in-depth, I won’t feel rushed to pump out a blog post so that I can meet my own expectations and those of my readers. I’ll be able to spend time gathering information, thinking through and actually writing multiple drafts of posts. It all sounds really exciting to me! I can be such a nerd. HA HA

Anyway, I wanted to come clean to you, my loyal and valued readers. I love keeping you up to date on everything I have planned, because it is you that I write for. I really hope you stick around!!

Kind of random to put these two together, but that’s how I roll…

My Meal Plan

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs & bacon

Lunch: salad with ham and sliced chicken, sunflower seeds, bleu cheese, purple cabbage and honey mustard & baby carrots

Saturday: (we’ve started meal planning and shopping on Saturday evenings) Spaghetti Squash Fettuccine Alfredo

Sunday: Pork Fried Rice (we’ll be having cauliflower rice)

Monday: Rotisserie Chicken & Baked Potatoes

Tuesday: Homemade Steak Sandwiches

Wednesday: Greek Meatballs & Spinach

Thursday: Scrounge Night

Friday: Homemade Pizza

There you have it!! My confession on changes coming and my yummy weekly menu. We do have a lot of repeats this week, but why mess with what’s broken, right!?

I’m linking up with Laura from Mommy, Run Fast! and Jill from jillconyers.com. And, also linking up with the Motivate Me link-up hosted by Janice from Fitness Cheerleader and Rachel from RunningRachel.com.

Your turn!

How do changes of any kind make you feel?

If you are making a meal plan this week, what’s on it?

Looking for a quick, easy and FREE way to get your news? Check-out theSkimm and sign-up for your daily email box delivery of the world’s news, plus if you share your birthday, you get it listed at the bottom of the newsletter on your day. It’s like celebrating with thousands of people!!!!

Filed Under: Family, Food & Recipes, Uncategorized

Flint Lockwood and a Meal Plan

Posted on November 2 by Jillian416 • 1 Comment

Making our meal plan was pretty easy this week, but before I get to that, I want to share Emmett’s costume – he was Flint Lockwood from the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movies.

A few weeks ago, Seamus was at Kohl’s shopping and came across a t-shirt that had the tuxedo print on it. He obviously bought it, because what’s cuter than a 2 year old wearing a tuxedo shirt. HEHE At this point we still were unsure what Emmett would be for Halloween, he had mentioned being Daniel Tiger from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, but it has a head piece and Emmett isn’t fond of putting things on his head. So, we kept thinking…

One Saturday morning when Emmett decided to sleep in, Seamus and I were just laying in bed brainstorming ideas and he had the brilliant idea for Emmett to be Flint Lockwood. With his tuxedo shirt, and a pair of jeans, all we would need is a lab coat! Did you know you can get them in child-size lab coat and at an affordable cost?? This is the lab coat (affiliate link) we purchased for Emmett and it fit him perfectly.

This worked out perfectly, because to Emmett it felt as though he was just wearing regular clothes not a costume so there was no fighting to get dressed. Plus, he loved that his labcoat had pockets and he could hide his many necessities (ie: his hot wheels, binkie, Percy from Thomas and Friends). It was really the cutest thing!!

We made it about 6 houses down the street before we decided to call it a night. I wasn’t expecting to get far, it was chilly and drizzling, but I thought we’d at least make it down the street, oh well. At the first house, while we were waiting for Emmett to grab his candy, the family dog ran out to sniff Emmett. Very sweet dog, Emmett was not in danger, but because Emmett doesn’t have a lot of experiences with dogs, he was freaked out. So, every house going forward we had to coax him to come up, that they didn’t have a dog, that it would be okay – it got to the point where he was just crying. Poor guy! I kept asking if he wanted to go home and he’d tell me no, I asked again and he said yes. So home we went. I’m glad we got out and got to experience everything – next year will be even MORE fun. 🙂

Now our Meal Plan

Breakfast: 2 Scrambled Eggs & bacon

Lunch: Salad with ham and chicken, blue cheese crumbles, sunflower seeds and honey mustard dressing

Sunday: Pot Roast

Monday: Breakfast for Dinner

Tuesday: Tacos and Guacamole

Wednesday: Homemade Steak Subs

Thursday: Scrounge day

Friday: Rotisserie Chicken & Baked Potatoes

Saturday: Balsamic Pork & Asparagus (Seamus found this recipe, I need to get it from him so I can share it)

It’s a pretty easy week, but one that will be super yummy!! Have you seen my post with tips to make your meal planning easier? You should check it out, these are my TRIED and true tips – they really work.

Join me and link-up with Laura from Mommy, run fast! and Jill from jillconyers.com.

Your turn!

What were you or your children for Halloween? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

Looking for a quick, easy and FREE way to get your news? Check-out theSkimm and sign-up for your daily email box delivery of the world’s news, plus if you share your birthday, you get it listed at the bottom of the newsletter on your day. It’s like celebrating with thousands of people!!!!

Filed Under: Family, Food & Recipes

Sunday Meal Plan – Week of 10/27/14

Posted on October 26 by Jillian416 • 2 Comments

Happy Sunday! I’m so happy to have you here!

Before I get into the meal plan, I wanted to just talk about what a sweet little boy Emmett has been. Why? Because I love him and because I’m a proud momma. He’s been so full of pleases and thank yous and it just warms my heart each and everyday.

This morning, Seamus said he woke up and was telling him thank you for everything, getting him out of the crib, changing his diaper, giving hugs, etc. The best part for me is that he is using please and thank you appropriately. He doesn’t seem to have any confusion on when to use please, thank you and you’re welcome. I love it! I realize it might seem pretty silly to some, but when you have a child, you are just so proud of everything they do. 🙂

Love him!

So how was your weekend?

Ours was pretty awesome! Saturday I got up early and headed to Starbucks to get some of my work done. I have a desk at home, but as soon as Emmett starts waking up, I lose my concentration. I had a lot to do and wanted to be productive, so I showered and headed out. I’m glad I did, too! I got so much accomplished!

When I got home, Emmett and I spent some time playing with Play-Doh (Emmett is partial to the Play-Doh fun factory – affliate link). With the this set, there is a mother, father, and boy cut out. He had me help him make one for each of us. Then he took the mother and father and had each of them say I love you to the other and then give each other kisses. It was the sweetest thing! I’m so glad that we’re showing him what a loving and happy relationship is all about.

We also headed down to visit my parents which was really nice. It’s always so laid back there! Emmett plays and we chat, he loves playing with all the different toys that grandma has!

Today will be filled with laundry, grocery shopping, food prep and tidying up. Nothing exciting, but all things that need to be done.

And now, onto our meal plan

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, feta & 2 slices of bacon

Lunch for the week: Chicken Soup, Rice Crackers & mini sweet peppers

_______________________________________________________________

Sunday: Chili & Corn Bread

Monday: Spaghetti Squash – Fettuccine Alfredo

Tuesday: Rotisserie Chicken & Asparagus

Wednesday: Pork Tacos

Thursday: Steak, Chick Pea and Tomato Salad

Friday: Homemade Pizza

Saturday: Scrounge Night

Lunch for the week: Chicken Soup, Rice Crackers & mini sweet peppers

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, feta & 2 slices of bacon

I’m linking up with Laura from Mommy, Run Fast! and Jill from jillconyers.com, be sure to stop over and link-up your meal planning posts.

Your turn!

Anything fun, new or interesting on your meal plan this week? I’d love if you shared in the comments below!

Looking for a quick, easy and FREE way to get your news? Check-out theSkimm and sign-up for your daily email box delivery of the world’s news, plus if you share your birthday, you get it listed at the bottom of the newsletter on your day. It’s like celebrating with thousands of people!!!!

Filed Under: Food & Recipes

A Meal Plan & A Confession

Posted on September 14 by Jillian416 • 7 Comments

[photo source & license]

Confession Time

Hi guys! I have a confession to make – I’ve been super lazy with my posting lately, I’m not saying that I don’t enjoy posting or that I don’t want to post, just that I’ve been lazy. Lately, every time I’ve sat down to type, I’ve gotten distracted by one thing or another, time passes, and nothing has been written. For whatever reason, I haven’t been able to keep my head in the game.

Last month, I thought the reason was because I hadn’t made my usual monthly editorial planner. When that happens I tend to get overwhelmed with ideas (not a problem for some), and when I get overwhelmed and have no plan, I end up essentially throwing in the towel and wandering Facebook (feel free to like me on my Baby Doodah! FB page) or going through my email. Both pretty easy tasks, but nothing that helps get me closer to accomplishing my goals.

So,if you’ve been wondering why you haven’t seen a lot of new, fresh content, this is why. I’m sorry about that! I haven’t been absent, I login to Baby Doodah! several times a day, adjusting things behind the scenes, just haven’t been as great about sharing new posts. I’m hoping that by coming here, confessing to all of you, that I will get my head on straight and WORK.

I hope you’ll all be coming along for the ride!! I have some new and fresh ideas brewing and I want to get more professional and focused with my writing. It feels really good to come clean to all of you! Thanks for listening (reading)!

Now for that Meal Plan

We’re traveling out to Syracuse on Friday to go see The Tenderloins (yay! CANNOT wait! We love their show, Impractical Jokers and are stoked to see them live) and spending the night. We likely won’t return until late Saturday, so we won’t need meals for those two days. Hopefully, this will lend itself to a cheaper grocery week.

Sunday: Chicken Shawarma (this is a carry-over)

Monday: Mexican Beef Bowl (crock-pot meal)

Tuesday: Burgers on Romaine & Corn on the Cobb

Wednesday: Spaghetti Squash Bake

Thursday: Chicken Spanakopita Meatballs (this is a new one, and we’re so excited to try it)

Friday: Traveling

Saturday: Traveling

If you struggle to make a meal plan, you should check out my post from last week, with my tips to making a meal plan.

Alrighty, so that right there is my confession and my meal plan. 🙂 As usual, I’m linking up with Laura from Mommy, Run Fast! and Jill from jillconyers.com. Join us and link it up!

Your turn!

Do you have any confessions you’d like to make, or get off your chest? Share in the comments below!

What’s on your menu for the week?

Looking for a quick, easy and FREE way to get your news? Check-out theSkimm and sign-up for your daily email box delivery of the world’s news, plus if you share your birthday, you get it listed at the bottom of the newsletter on your day. It’s like celebrating with thousands of people!!!

Filed Under: All About Me, Family, Food & Recipes

Sunday Meal Plan – Week #26

Posted on August 17 by Jillian416 • 6 Comments

Happy Sunday, readers!!

Another great weekend is nearly in the books. We have had an astounding weekend. Saturday we went to Dunkirk to celebrate my dad’s birthday. His actual day was this past Wednesday the 13th, but weekends are always easier to celebrate on. We had a mini-BBQ, lots of hot dogs, hamburgers and pasta salad. I didn’t eat the greatest but it was really delicious!

One of the best parts of Saturday was that Emmett got to meet one of his idols, Rolley. 😉 He seriously loves Bob the Builder and was so excited when we took a walk by my mom’s house and they had this cement roller there. I wish I had video’d the whole thing, his excitement was ADORABLE!

And then today has been super productive!! I woke up at 5:30 this morning, thinking I’d get some time to get work done, but Emmett had other ideas. He wanted to wake up at 5:45 and spend some time cuddling on the couch watching Bob the Builder. I can’t say I blame him, I am pretty awesome, but it cut into my work time. haha

Ah well!! In the end it worked out. I pulled my laptop out while he watched TV, I got a few odds and ends done, and then eventually I made him breakfast. After breakfast, we woke Seamus up, mainly so I could get to our hamper and start our laundry. I’ve gotten 4 loads of laundry done, grocery shopping, food prep and some Beachbody stuff all complete and it’s only just 3 pm. Feels good to be so productive!!

Our Weekly Meal Plan

This weeks’ meal plan has some new recipes on it, ones that I am REALLY excited to try!!

Sunday: Chili & corn bread (carry-over from last week)

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: White Pizza Stuffed Zucchini Boats

[source]

Wednesday: Chicken Shawarma

[source]

Thursday: Steak, Chick Pea & Tomato Salad

Friday: Marinated Chicken with Sauteed Corn with Bacon and Leeks

Saturday: BBQ Bacon Hot Dogs and Baked Fries

The BBQ Bacon Hot Dog is going to be a Seamus creation. He went to a food truck that sold that type of hot dog, but didn’t get the chance to try it, so now he wants to make it at home. We’re saving it for the weekend, since we like to be less indulgent during the week. I’ll be sure to report back on how delicious (or not) it ends up being. 🙂

Like I said, we’re trying a few new things this week and I am very excited about that! We needed to spice up our Sunday meal plan.

I’m linking up with Laura from Mommy, Run Fast! and Jill from jillconyers.com

Your turn!

How was your weekend?

Have you tried any new recipes recently?

Looking for a quick, easy and FREE way to get your news? Check-out theSkimm and sign-up for your daily email box delivery of the world’s news, plus if you share your birthday, you get it listed at the bottom of the newsletter on your day. It’s like celebrating with thousands of people!!!!

Filed Under: All About Me, Family, Food & Recipes

Sunday Meal Plan – Week #24

Posted on July 27 by Jillian416 • 6 Comments

Phew! Is it really Sunday evening already? Boo!!

We had such a fantastic weekend. We had no set plans, but we managed to enjoy ourselves fully!! Saturday, Seamus took Emmett to run a few errands and then to the playground for some father / son bonding time. 🙂 Not really, it was more because momma had a lot of work to get done and Seamus was thoughtful enough to take him out.

And, because my husband rocks my socks, he came home with a gorgeous Peace Lily. I’m SO lucky! Not only does my husband take our kiddo out so that I can get work done, but then comes home with gifts. Love him! 😀

That evening we went out for pizza, mainly because we had forgotten to pull anything out of the freezer for dinner. Whoops! Not that I minded pizza, though! We went to Blasdell Pizza for their chicken finger pizza which is amazing. We don’t go out there often because it’s a bit of a trek, but it’s always well worth it when we go.

When we got home, Emmett wanted to watch the movie we got him for his birthday, The Lego Movie. We got it mainly because the main character’s name is Emmet (with only one t), but also because it looked good, and it DID NOT disappoint. Super cute!!

Sunday, was an even more laid back day. I got up early, around 5, made coffee and went right to work on some things for the blog and for my fitness business. (BTW – It really does feel fantastic to be so motivated!) Once Emmett started stirring, I went in and got him and we all cuddled in bed together for almost an hour. It was HEAVEN!!! Eventually we showered and made our way to Wegmans, but it was so nice to be so leisurely.

After shopping, we had lunch, Emmett napped (I also napped) and then we went out for Ice Cream to our local favorite spot, Anderson’s. Afterward, we, of course, had to make a quick pit stop to a playground, then back home to play in the backyard.

It really was such a lovely weekend, I’m REALLY sad to see it go!! 🙁