Freezer Meals in Review

Now for an update on the diet of the hour.  Last week I tried freezer meals to see how I like that and if it was something that I would look more into for the future.

Overall, I am not thrilled with them and will explain my reasoning.

I really loved the idea of everything being prepped and ready to go.  However, it could just be with these, but I found that there was still prep that needed to be done on the day of serving.  So, although I made a crazy mess on Sunday, I still ending up making lots of mess on the day that we ate.  We also would have to bake or cook certain parts of them (which I get) but it seemed like it would almost be easier to just make it the day of.

I don't feel that I saved any time with prepping and freezing them.  It almost took more time with having to make sure to thaw the food and prep on the day versus just doing the cooking that day.  I get that it maybe saved some time with the meat, but for most of it I could have thrown it in the croc pot or something.

I don't think that it helped me eat healthier.  Granted, I know this could be a lot with the recipes, but it was a lot of carbs and pasta sauce and things that can freeze easily.  There was no fresh produce or anything like that and I felt that with our meal planning we were more conscious of making those healthier choice.

I don't think it helped us save that much money.  I feel that our grocery bill was pretty comparable for when we have just mapped out our meals.

I really loved trying this out and really wanted it to work better than it did.  Maybe I am just looking in the wrong place?  Any readers out there have good suggestions of healthier freezer meals that really did cut down the prep time?

As for our menu this week - last week I was sick so several of the meals are still in the freezer that we will cook them.  We also will be doing Tri Tip from Costco tomorrow for football.  I will let you know what other fun things we try as we go.

Thanks again for reading and I will let you know our next health venture!

Stitch Fix Review #5

Hello world, this is my first official Stitch Fix review but technically the 5th package I have received.  I will start doing this as I receive my Fixes and let you know the things I keep and so on.

Item 1
Kathy Striped Fit & Flare Dress (returned)

     This was a surprise from my stylist and she said that she thought it would look really great with a blazer for teaching.  I tried it on and added my own belt that I had to break it up.  I really loved the fabric of this dress but did not feel comfortable in it at all.  I thought it was too tight and I also did not like the sleeves and how they fit on me.  I was disappointed but in the end, returned it.




Item 2
41Hawthorn Rowson Colorblock Striped Sweater (kept)
     I was really excited when I saw that this was in my fix!  I had pinned this on my pinterest board and was thinking how much I was going to love it.  When I opened the box I was disappointed because it was not the color that I had pinned.  However, when I tried it on I actually liked the colors on my more than I would have the lighter sweater.  This is also a great sweater because it is not very heavy so I didn't get crazy hot while I was teaching in it.  However, it is warm enough that I wasn't cold.  I kept it and have already worn it three different times.




Item 3
Collective Concepts Bradley V-Neck Blouse (kept)
     I had no idea one way or another if I was going to like this top but when I tried it on I really liked it. I often get nervous about looking too large in the chest (if you know what I mean) with these shirts that drape but was happy to find that it didn't happen with this one.  I really loved the cobalt color of the shirt too.  I think it will look really nice with either a skirt or pants.  I kept this one and have worn it once to school already.


Item 4
Pixley - June Polka Dot Skirt (returned)     I was really looking forward to this skirt as I had also pinned it.  I really like that my stylist looked at all of those things so that I could try them.  However, I did not like it as much as I thought I would.  Looking back if I styled it differently I may have been more apt to keep it but I did not like how it fit on me.  :(  Boo.  I really wanted that one to work.




Item 5
41Hawthorn Carmelita Crew Neck Blouse (returned)
     This was a surprise shirt too that my stylist thought I should try because she knows how obsessed I am with polka dots.  I tried the shirt and really liked the fabric.  On the back it was really cute because it had a gold exposed zipper that I liked, however, I thought it fit too short.  I don't need to be showing off that post c-section belly o mine.  I ended up sending this back but did not dislike it as much as I thought that I would.


Overall it was an okay fix.  2/5 which isn't too bad.  Much better for my pocket book.  I liked that my stylist listened to my board and wanted to let me try some things that I thought I would like.  This is why I love Stitch Fix.  They send me things to try and I can decide if I want them or not.  Now, I can work with them from here to find things that work for me.  For my next Fix I have asked for bottoms and jackets to help even out my tops.  Hope you enjoyed!

If you want to try Stitch Fix out, I highly recommend it.  Use my referral link so I can get some credit!  Cheers!

     

Meal Planning Week 2

Thanks all for the awesome ideas and positive feedback!  Since posting about meal planning I have had several friends message me ideas of what else I could do.

After the first week of planning meals I noticed a couple of things:

1.  I ate a lot better

     Instead of searching around last minute to figure out what to cook for the boys - I knew what I had and what I was going to do, and had all of the ingredients ready.  Because we planned for healthier meals, we ate much better.

2.  We spent less money

     Normally Luke or myself would be running to the grocery store 3 or 4 times a week to get things to make food.  When there, we would also pick up other things and spent more than we needed to.  With having everything planned out, there was no need to go to the store and I only had to go once to get more milk.  I am estimating that we saved $30-$50 for the week.

3.  We were not wasting food

     This seems extreme after a week but you would be amazing *and disgusted on how much food Luke and I have thrown out in the past.  We buy something, thinking we would cook it, never get to it, and throw it out a week later.  This has always been frustrating to me (having lived in very poor countries before) and I am happy to say that this is making a change.  We used what we had and I did not have to throw anything out.  We were able to eat leftovers and I think did a great job.

For our week 2 of meal planning I took an idea from my friends Cindy and Gail who mentioned 'freezer meals'.  I had glanced at them on Pinterest thinking "oh yea, that looks like a good idea" and left it there to rot on my board.  However, this week, I decided to give it a go.

I returned to that good old pin and dusted the cobwebs off and set off on the freezer week adventure.  The meals I went with are from Passion For Saving with her week of meals.  I loved this because she had it all set out (shopping list and all).  All of the recipes seemed really good and things that my boys would eat.  I will be interested to see the flavor but excited to give them a try.

It started with the grocery shopping.  I went to Walmart and spent more than she had said.  I figured that into me buying organic meats mostly since I like to think the chickens and turkeys had good lives before they enter my belly.  Total for all of the groceries I spent about $80 for 6 meals.  $13 a meal to feed 4 people seemed pretty good to me.  After the shopping - it was onto the prep.

Let me just start by saying - freezer meals are great, but man, the mess is a lot.  I have never been a great cook and get easily overwhelmed with recipes (just ask my husband) but what I liked about these from Passion For Saving was that she put in the beginning what you needed to do BEFORE assembling the freezer meals.  That way, you aren't prepping and then realize that you need cook something before adding it to the bag.

Putting them all together was not that difficult and they fit very nicely into our freezer.  I am excited to taste them and will let you guys know how they turned out!  Please let me know if you have any other fun healthy ideas for week 3!

Teaching Week 3

Another week and another successful dressing… wait what?

I felt really good about this week and feel that it is getting easier to put things together - and (thanks to your comments and suggestions) I am not as afraid to put things together that I normally would not.  So here are the teaching looks I had for the week.  Let me know what you think and what could be improved!

Day 1:  Comfy New shorts look.
    I am wearing one of my favorite Stitch Fix tops (which you have seen before) that is really comfy and light.  I decided to put it with some shorts that I hadn't worn before.  I liked this look but kind of felt like a zoo keeper or something.  The shorts also went up really high so I felt like I had to keep pulling them down (not so attractive).






Day 2:  Finally a photo of me in the black shirt!
    Another Fix shirt that I have mentioned but never had my photo in.  I wore them with some Lucky Brand jeans that my mom got me from TJ Maxx.  Yes, I am not afraid to say that my mom sometimes still buys me clothes and I wear them.  These jeans are tighter around the top so I use the classic rubber band extension technique.  However, the legs fit so much better and it is so much nicer than having to pull them up all the time.


Day 3:  The sassiest day
     I pulled out the Polka Dot Fix pants and added some bling to it.  I listened to what you guys said about not being afraid to go bold and did a little bit of what I had.  I took and old Target tank top I had (blue with shiny stripes) and covered it with a white cover shirt.  I really liked this look and felt like it actually went well together.  Again - thanks for the encouragement and giving me ideas to keep going.


I only had three days because I had a lot of subs this week with meetings and things.  Any pieces that you think would look good together, or ideas for outfits I should try, comment and let me know!

Meal Planning

One of the things that I have tried to work on (that I mentioned earlier) was to not go out to eat as much.  As so, we are moving to make weekly menus for ourselves.  That way we can do our grocery shopping one time, know what is going to happen and resist the urge to just go out and get something fast.  Although this seems like an easy task, it can be kind of tricky with two kids that you mentally have to predict for.  We also have decided that instead of planning for everyday, we would leave one or two open for left overs. That way we are reducing waste and hopefully also saving some money.

One thing I have found very hard while trying to lose weight is a healthy diet.  Myself, I have never been the healthiest eater, and now with two kiddos, I try to eat healthy but find that Mac and Cheese and hot dogs are always stocked in the house.  As I go through this I would love kid friendly, healthy recipes that have worked for any of you!

I am going to post our menus and let me know if you are interested in more details like the recipes or cost.

Here is what we have planned for this week:

Tonight: Hot Pot with friends
    This is a great healthy recipe that we love.  You take broth and dip veggies, meats or whatever else you want in it and then can use a peanut sauce to flavor it.  I prefer veggies versus meats which helps for sure.  It is also a very social meal to help me eat slowly.  I really recommend this to anyone and can post some ideas if you would like.
  The boys enjoy this too because we put noodles in there and they love the peanut sauce.  We have also been putting some bread in that they enjoy as well.  Its a messy meal but a good one.

Sunday:  Burgers
     Maybe not always the healthiest meal, but the boys love these.  We bought some beef patties from Costco and keep them in our deep freezer.  This is a nice go to meal for us.  We use cheese from Grocery Outlet Bargain Market and veggies from either our garden on the store as well.
     What we like to do to give our burgers a little something extra is use potato buns.  We also will but avocado on them and sometimes a fried egg.  If we have any bacon we will occasionally put that on them too.

Monday:  Slow Cooker Mushroom and Tuna Penne
    This is our new recipe for the week that we are trying out.  I found it in our slow cooker book and it looks like a fancy Mac n' Cheese with veggies and protein thrown in.  I am excited to try it because in the book it mentioned that it is an easy recipe that kids tend to enjoy.  Here is hoping.  :)

Tuesday:  Steak Quesidillas
    My husband went on a frozen meat spending spree a couple months ago and the result is a heck of a lot of meat in the freezer.  In order to free some space, we are trying to go through it and use as much as possible.  In there we found a cut of steak that you wouldn't normally just eat - so we are going to throw it in a quesdilla and hope for the best.  To be a little healthier, we use whole wheat tortillas versus flour.  We will also top our with cubes of avocado and cherry tomatoes from the garden.

Wednesday:  Left Overs
     Probably the pasta.  Making sure it is not wasted.

Thursday:  Won Ton Soup
    Our boys love asian flavored meals and so do we.  We lived in China for two years and miss the food a lot!  We have some frozen won tons from Costco and plan to cook it in a broth with other vegetables to make a pseudo hot pot.  I have a feeling the boys will really like this.

Friday:  Free Day
     I think any healthy balance of life and work deserves a free day.  That does not mean going to McDonald's and getting two Big Macs, but eating something reasonable at home that you want.  We built this day in for not only our sanity but the kids too.  :)

A then back to square one.  I will let you know how the week went food and fashion wise.  If you have any ideas for next weeks menu that are healthy and good - please let me know and I would love to try them!

Teaching Week 2

We are in the thick of it now.  Week two has come and teaching is going going going.  Here I am sharing the choices in clothes that made the cut.

Day 1:  I went comfy this day with wearing the same dark Bermuda shorts and a top from Mango that I purchased years ago.  I really like this top because it is lose and I like the colors a lot.  And also, if you can't tell, I'm obsessed with polka dots and stripes.  I maybe need to stay away from those...

I have not changed anything about my make-up because I feel that it is doing what I need it to do.  People have been very nice to me and encouraging me at work which makes things really nice.  





Day 2:  I went a little sassier this day.  I went with my favorite Stitch top that I have purchased and a pencil skirt that I inherited by my fashionable sister in law…again. :)  I liked the blue with the black and white and thought it went together.  Be honest, did I hit the mark here or do they not match?  I went with the flats I got from Payless with memory foam in the and can't get over how comfortable they are.  That is an Owen win.








Day 3:  Another Fix top (the first one I ever kept) and a pair of Target jeans.  I have a very hard time with jeans because my waist is wide and my thighs are not.  So they get really baggy in the legs but fit right in the top.  Does anyone have any advice on how to fix this problem?  Even when I was not as heavy I had the same problem and would love to find a pair of jeans that fit well and were comfortable.







Day 4:  I do not have a good photo of the clothes for this day because I have decided I need to invest in a full length mirror.  On Fridays we are encouraged to wear our district core value shirts and I chose to wear a gray one.  For the bottoms I wore my Stitch Fix polka dot pants and a pair of black flats.  I really loved wearing my pants out for the first time and was happy with how they fit. 

My only problem I have had with these pants is I have no idea what to wear with them on top.  I figured the solid gray would work, but I need more ideas.  So blogging world - please leave my comments or message me ideas to try because I would love to wear these more, but I need guidance!


Overall I would say I had a successful week with clothes.  I am going to try one more week of just working on clothes and making sure I am not slipping (which some days I maybe started to…) and then will possibly venture into the hair world.

Thanks again for all the support and feel free to message me with your stories and ideas of clothes that you wear!

Happy weekend!

Weight Loss…kind of

Part of this 'make over' is also to get my body in better shape.  I ran a marathon this year but I still have what I like to call my front butt.  I feel that I am in a place where I can be realistic about my body now and have come to terms with the fact that I won't ever be 22 again, however, that doesn't mean I have to accept my post c-section belly.  

I have been doing a challenge with my husband and his family to help us adopt a healthier lifestyle.  The things that we are focusing on in our health challenge include:

     Less alcohol

     Less soda

     Not going out to eat (especially fast food :( )

     Exercising consistently

There are more things that we are adding to our routine but these were the four that we have been really focusing on together.  

Alcohol

    My husband and I are drinkers, we love a rum and coke after work or a glass of wine, but have decided that we need to cut back for our liver's sake and the pocket book.  So far we have been doing pretty well with this portion of the challenge but are continuing to work on it.

Less Soda

    I love soda, call me Mrs. Dr Pepper.  However, that sugary yumminess is not what my bodies needs. So we have cut out buying soda.  However, I am not a crazy person and if I want a soda at a restaurant, I feel that I can do that.  Moderation right?

Eating Out

    Luke and I have a hard time with this one.  It may not necessarily be fast food, but a Papa Murphy's pizza or so on.  We are working on setting a weekly menu so we can help our budget as well as our guts.

Exercising

   It's good to do right?  We are signing up for the Beaver Freeze triathlon in April and so we are slowly training up to that together.  I am excited to get back out there and do more than just run, but bike and swim.  My shins could sure use the break.

So with all of that I will be updating you as to if we made our goals and what it is looking like for now. I started this weight loss journey at 175 lbs.  I am happy to say that after about 2 weeks I am down to 170.  5 lbs gone!  I wish it could come off faster but I also am reminding myself that slow and steady wins the race. It is also important to celebrate those little victories.  So, take that 5 lbs, take it in the face!

Teaching Fashion Week 1 and the 30x30 light challenge

So I decided to wait a week before posting some of the outfits I wore.  I felt pretty good about my choices this week and think that they worked out well.

Day 1

I felt pretty good in this outfit but really didn't like how the pants photographed.  I wore my Stitch Fix top, necklace and cardigan that I love.  The pants, I won't lie, came from Walmart.  They are really comfy and stretchy so I don't mind wearing them.  The shoes were ones I picked up from PayLess that have memory foam in the souls, so they are comfortable to wear all day long.  I think my make up held up really nicely too.

Day 2

This was the first full day with kiddos so I wanted to make sure I was comfortable and cool.  I went with another of my fix tops and an Old Navy skirt that I have had forever.  I also wear a pair of running shorts underneath so I don't accidentally show off something that I don't need to.  :)  I really loved this shirt because of how the cut is, no pit stains!  I get hot easily so it was nice to know that I wasn't leaving a giant sweat circle.  I also went with my other necklace and flats from I am not sure where.

Day 3

Another fun and comfy day.  For my bottoms I went with a pair of dark bermuda shorts and a polka dot top I got from my very fashionable sister in law.  I really liked this outfit because it was comfortable and felt good to walk around in.  My hair was dry by the time I got to school but ended back up in a ponytail.  I am not sure I am ready to embark on a hair mission with everything else.  I went with my Stitch Fix necklace again but found that these get hidden behind my lanyard when I wear it… so we may have to do some investigating into larger jewelry if it is going to be a priority.

Day 4

I don't have this one photographed because I completely forgot.  I went with the same dark jean shorts again and wore my black Stitch Fix top.  The photo I found isn't great but it looks awesome on.  I really loved using my same shorts again because I was throwing in the 30x30 challenge a little bit.  I don't have many bottoms so I have to work with what I got.

Day 5

I also don't have an up close photo of this day because we played bubble soccer in the afternoon, that meant I wore a school T-Shirt and running pants.  Don't get me wrong it is the best feeling the wear my black stretchy pants to school, but a little against what I am trying to do.  Oh well, it was really fun and I scored two goals.  I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in futbol with a twist.

Overall I felt like it was a good week for fashion.   I never felt uncomfortable but I know that I felt better about how I looked.  I will let you know how week 2 goes!