Summer Eat-in Challenge-Day Three

Today I totally overslept. I set my cell phone alarm for 8:00-P.M.. Of course, I did not realize this until I woke up at 8:45. Urghh. I hate when I do things like that. Oh well. I didn't have anywhere to be early....but I had hoped to get some stuff done. Apparently, it was not in the stars. After being lazy with my breakfast and coffee for a little while, showering, and doing my Bible study for the day, I went to visit my friend Sabrina and her 9-day-old son Grayson. SO CUTE. I took the leftover Ro'tel dip from last night and we had that for lunch. I came home, almost hitting a turkey-that's right, a TURKEY-on the way home. It was pretty funny. I worked out for the first time in 2 weeks-so bad!

For dinner tonight I decided to do spinach salad with hot bacon dressing instead of grilled chicken caesars. I had forgotten to get the chicken out of the freezer and I did not make it to Publix to get sourdough, so the only bread in the house is double fiber whole wheat-good for toast and sandwiches, but not croutons for caesar salad! I did, however, have baby spinach from a buy-one-get-one-free special on Earthbound Farm salad, bacon, eggs, and mushrooms. I cooked the bacon, then drained it on paper towels and poured out the drippings into a bowl. I cooked half a container of mushrooms (another BOGOF deal) into the pan and cooked them till soft. I put the spinach in a bowl and topped it with crumbled bacon and the cooked mushrooms. I put 3 tablespoons of bacon drippings in the pan, added 1/2 teaspoon of dijon mustard into the pan, and then whisked in 3 T. of red wine vinegar. I poured it over the salad, put the salad in bowls, and topped them with sliced boiled egg. I served a grilled cheese on the side. Yum! By the way, I got my spinach salad recipe from The Pioneer Woman. She rocks!

After dinner I went to buy a dress at Ann Taylor Loft. Guess what? Sold out of my size! I was not happy...but I did make it over to Fresh Market to buy some gourmet junk food-Kettle Chips and Jones Soda....

Tomorrow's dinner-chuck roast, mashed potatoes, and brown gravy with mushrooms (assuming I make it to Publix tomorrow).

Sorry. My life is pretty boring....

The Summer Eat-in Challenge-Day Two

Today was grocery day. I slept in (a little, anyway) and was lazy watching the Today Show while drinking my coffee in bed. I met my mom and sister for lunch at Chick-fil-a then went to Target to buy some Method cleaning supplies to use as door prizes at my Pampered Chef party on Sunday. By the time I got home, I was not in the mood to make a grocery list! I did it, though, and managed to save a little over 30 dollars, paying $49 for $82 worth of groceries. Not too bad.

For dinner, I made Ro'tel dip in my Crock Pot. I used Velveeta bought with a coupon, the store brand version of Ro'tel tomatoes, some leftover taco filling that I had in the freezer, and some baby spinach to add some nutritional value : ) I threw it all in the Crock Pot on high before I put my groceries away, then let it heat while I put everything away and did some cleaning. After about an hour, we had a yummy dip for the chips we bought the other night to eat with our frozen pizza. The problem with Ro'tel dip is that I can't stop eating it. The good news, though, is that I got on the scale this morning and discovered that I had "miraculously" lost 4 lbs. since Saturday. I don't know what it is that my body does not like about traveling, but it really does a number on me. Geez!

Dinner tomorrow night: Grilled chicken Caesar salad????

The Summer Eat-in Challenge

My job is stressful. Some nights it is hard to come home, work out, and cook dinner. This results in way too much eating out. The sad thing is, I love to cook. I own every kitchen gadget and appliance known to man (okay, maybe it's not that extreme) and more than 30 cookbooks...but when you are tired, dinner out just seems easier.

Unfortunately, eating out is not free, or even cheap. Even a fast food restaurant sets us back about $10. It is also unhealthy, especially when you consider that the eating out is often accompanied by a lack of working out, because I am SO tired. This=5 pound weight gain in the last few months. That may not seem like a lot, but when you are 5'3", this can mean the difference between your "skinny" jeans and your "not-so-skinny" jeans. And since I just lost a bunch of weight last year, my "skinny" clothes are pretty new. I do not like the idea of having to "upsize." Finally, eating out is really kind of gross. I HATE fast food, except for a few exceptions (Chick-fil-a, Zaxby's, Krystal-yes, KRYSTAL) and even casual dining restaurants kind of gross me out these days. I like knowing what's in my meal.

So, I have decided that now that vaca is out of the way and I am off for the summer, I will start a summer "eat-in challenge." This means that I will cook dinner EVERY night, with a few exceptions-on Saturdays, we may cook breakfast/lunch and go out for dinner; we eat dinner at my parents' house on Sundays; we will probably go somewhere really nice for our 8th anniversary (yea!) in July; and if we do a weekend trip or something, cooking is obviously out. I want to try to cook as many different things as possible, but my main goal is just to cook a meal at home every day. I have also decided that frozen meals (pizzas, Bertolli meals, etc.) count. They are not ideal, but they work in a pinch. We are label readers, so we try to choose the healthiest frozen meals, and it's definitely less expensive than eating out.

So, the challenge starts tomorrow. Wonder what's for dinner....