Tag Archives: menu

Sunday Meal Plan – Week 10

Posted on April 6 by Jillian416 • 5 Comments

Hey everyone! Happy Sunday! It’s time to share my Sunday Meal Plan with you.

I wish I was in better spirits, because I really do enjoy linking up my meal plan, but we’ve had a rough week, and an especially rough weekend. You’re probably wondering what’s going on, or maybe you’re not, either way I’m going to share.

Over the last week, the tenants below us have had the volume on their TV / stereo up very high. The bass is completely audible through the floors and is quite disturbing when we’re trying to watch TV, or focus on something else. We tried to work with them, asking them on 2 separate occasions if they minded turning down the bass. We have absolutely no issue with talking, or other ambient noise that is caused by living above someone. After dealing with the noise for an additional few days, we reached out to our landlord, who was absolutely no help, and quite honestly made us feel much worse about the situation.

We texted back and forth with her on Thursday evening (she requested that we text). She said she’d contact them, and I’m certain she did. However, the music continued to be loud all night, and then again Friday night it was bad. I went to bed at 8:30 because I just couldn’t handle the noise. Seamus texted the landlord again, asking that she contact us at her earliest convenience. She called the next morning (Saturday), and upon our complaints of the noise, said that she was not their mother and had no control over the volume of their music or what they did. Also, going on to say that they deserve to have people over and live. I agree. We’re not asking them to not live or not have people over, we’re asking for them to turn their bass down.

We explained all this to her, but she didn’t want to hear it and began repeating the same things over and over again, about their right to live. Her only suggestion was to call the police, which we really didn’t want to do. We really would rather just handle things peacefully, so we’re thinking that we may write them a letter explaining that we don’t want a feud and that we have no issue with the actual music or their gatherings, simply their bass. Our hope is that by putting it all out there, they will want to be respectful of us, as we want to be of them. I’ll keep you posted, but this has really put our whole exciting move in a really crudy spot.

Now for our meal plan

Sunday: Crock-pot Salsa Chicken

Monday: Leftover Pulled pork

Tuesday: Hot Dogs and fries

Wednesday: Marinated Chicken and Veggies

Thursday: Homemade Chicken Fried Rice

Friday: Cheeseburgers and veggies

Saturday: Scrounge around the house

Oh! And I did manage to find my menu planners, so I’m back to writing everything out, and it was so much easier to make our meal plan and shopping list this week. Woohoo!!

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

Your turn!

Have you ever had a difficult landlord, that was unwilling to help?

What are you eats for the week?

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

Sunday Meal Plan – Link Up – Week 5

Posted on March 2 by Jillian416 • 5 Comments

It’s Sunday and that means Meal Planning!

Happy Sunday everyone! Who’s ready to go back to work?? Yeah, me neither, but it’s going to happen anyway so let’s get those meals planned and ready for the week ahead, that way we don’t have any unplanned meals out. 🙂

Seamus and I took a look at our budget, with the move and all the other expenses that come with a new house (new washer/dryer, and other odds and ends), we need to reel-in some of our spending. One of the easiest places for us to do this is by cutting out our meals out. We usually only do this once a week, on Saturday evenings, but for the next several months we’re going to aim to go out once a month only. This should save us some extra money, money that can then be moved back into our slowly seeping savings account.

This is a pretty steep goal for us, but I believe if we get inventive with our meal planning and plan some fun and delicious meals for our Saturdays, we should be fine. Plus, who doesn’t love a challenge? Am I right!?

Alright onto the Sunday Meal Planning

Sunday: Pecan-Crusted Tilapia,Couscous, Cauliflower

Monday: Chicken and Leeks

Tuesday: Homemade Steak Sandwiches, garlic fries

Wednesday: Crock-Pot Teriyaki Chicken (This is a new recipe, one I’m really excited to try!)

Thursday: Spaghetti and Meatballs

Friday: Mexican Pizzas

Saturday: Homemade Pizza

I’m really looking forward to the menu this week, but I have to be honest, even though we were only planning for one extra meal (because we usually go out on Saturdays), it took us almost twice as long to make the menu. HAHA I find that hilarious! I’ll let you know how the Teriyaki Chicken turns out, it really sounds delicious.

Oh and I have to share this awesome Weekly Meal Plan Printable. I’m in love!! I will be using them weekly, because I am a complete sucker for organization, and the best part other than them being adorable is that they are free. Check them out!

Alright, that about does it for this week – be sure to stop on over and visit Laura from Mommy Run Fast and Jill from Fitness, Health & Happiness.

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

30 Day Vegan Challenge – Week 1

Posted on June 12 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

I recently watched the documentary Forks Over Knives and it appealed to my desire to eat healthier. The movie promotes a whole foods, plant-based diet and it touts that it can (and will) assist you in getting off any blood pressure or cholesterol type meds you are on. Since I currently take 2 different blood pressure medications, it got the wheels turning, maybe this could work for me.

I immediately contacted my friend Kelly from Kohlrabi and Quince. She’s been a vegan for quite some time and has always been a supportive friend in the way of weight loss and I knew she’d do the same for me in regards to going vegan. I was not wrong! I sent her a message on Facebook in regards to watching Forks Over Knives and how I was considering the vegan lifestyle and almost immediately she responded with a huge long list of blogs, other books and articles, that she recommended (I will share the same list with all of you, sometime over the next 30 days).

One of the many recommendations she made, was for Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s 30 Day Vegan Challenge. I immediately jumped on the site and joined, I knew that I could handle anything for 30 days. But, before I fully committed to the Vegan lifestyle, I wanted to read more about it. I’m not one of those individuals that can jump right in and then adjust, I need to adjust, THEN jump. Which is what I did as of this Monday, 6/10/13. I highly recommend Colleen’s site (and I’m even getting into her podcasts, which you can subscribe to on iTunes), she goes day by day and ever so gently creates an environment where you can learn and grow as a vegan.

So for 30 days, I’ve elected to live a vegan lifestyle. I’m sure there are some questions, and I’m hoping to answer some (if not all) of those, to help another “newbie” vegan.

One of the most common questions, I’ve gotten just since mentioning going vegan is, How will you get enough protein?

Well, I’ll share something with you something that I have just newly learned, most fruits and vegetables have protein in them. So along with things like spinach or watermelon, you have beans, legumes, avocado, etc., that are just packed FULL of protein. It is much easier than you think to get enough protein on a plant based diet, and for those of you who are really worried, I am tracking my food intake on My Fitness Pal so that I can ensure I am getting enough.

Are Seamus and Emmett going to follow a plant based diet?

No. Since this is an experiment for me, I am not pulling anyone else into it, unless they want to. As for Seamus, he likes meat and wishes to continue to eat it, I’m completely fine with that. The wonderful thing is that Seamus is willing to try a meat-free meal here and there, so we will definitely be expanding our palate together.

Will you make two dinners?

Kind of. We’ve only grocery shopped for one week so far and how it worked was we came up with our meal ideas and then I bought similar items to make them vegan. So for instance, on a night where burgers are on the menu, Seamus and Emmett will have a beef burger and I will have a handmade veggie burger from Go Veggies. If you live in Buffalo, they sell their fair at the Elmwood-Bidwell Farmer’s Market and they are phenomenal, they also have a cafe off of Elmwood Ave. Do yourself a favor and check them out! So, technically it is two meals but they are so similar and can be cooked the same, so no added stress.

What happens after 30 days?

Honestly? I don’t know. At this point, I’d run, skip and hop to my favorite brie case at Wegmans but in 30 days I may feel differently. For now, this question will remain open. Stay tuned!

Why are you doing this?

Like I mentioned above, I’m on two different blood pressure medications and I want to get off both. I know I could simply drop some of the fatty foods I was eating but I want to challenge myself and what better way to do it, than by trying to be vegan.

Am I having cravings?

Oh goodness, YES! It’s only been two and a half days but I’ve probably craved every possible meal with dairy (not really meat) under the sun. This morning I wanted donuts, right now I’d love a cheese and pepperoni pizza but I am committing to myself for 30 days to be meat, dairy and egg free. 30 days is nothing, I can do it!

What’s a typical day look like for you, as vegan?

This is something I’ll share in a future post because I want to give you a couple days, not just one.

I’m very very excited for what the next month will bring and I will share my journey along the way with all of my readers.

What other questions might you have?

Filed Under: 30 Day Vegan Challenge, All About Me, Food & Fitness, Food & Recipes