Menu Monday - Come And Get It!!

Okay, close your eyes and picture me ringing the dinner bell.  Come and get it!!!  Okay, open up!  Are you feeling the Menu Monday spirit?

How 'bout on Mondays we concentrate on menus, food and cooking! 

Let me tell you a little about our family's food journey.  Well, I LOVE food and I LOVE cooking!  My favorite meal to cook is breakfast.  Probably because I am a total morning person!  Anyways, I love to eat and cook.  That can be a dangerous combination!!  It has been for me in the past, but we have been working hard the last couple of years to remedy that. 

I have struggled with my weight most of my life.  I allowed my weight to determine my happiness and direction in life.  When the number on the scale was low....happy days!  When it was high....well, not so happy days!

A couple of years ago it hit me that I was no spring chicken (though I am definitely not old!) and this body is not getting any younger.  Losing and gaining weight, being happy and unhappy were not going to cut it if I was planning on being around to be a Mimzy to any future grandchildren!  I also felt very convicted and responsible for my children's eating habits.  I was very careful to feed them healthy meals and snacks, but once they started entering the "teenager zone" where I had less control  I realized that my "do as I say, not as I do" attitude was not going to cut it, I knew I had to get busy!!

Well, fast forward two years and I still have a lot of weight to lose, but I have slowly lost a significant amount, learned to move more and have been making a valiant attempt to transition our family from a highly processed way of eating to eating whole, less processed foods.  We are by no means perfect!!  In fact, a couple of nights ago we all enjoyed some Totino's pizza!!  But, we strive day by day.

I am still researching and learning about the benefits of whole foods and know of a ton of websites that you can read to gain more information (let me know if you want some addresses for them!), but I am enjoying the journey with my family and learning how to cook and bake new foods in new ways!

So back to Menu Mondays!  I am thinking the best way to do this is that I will post my menu each week.  Most people have their own recipes and way of making things, so I will leave that to you, unless I find a super-awesome one to share!  Sound good?

Here we go...

Monday Breakfast - Whole Wheat Banana Muffins/Eggs/Melons
Monday Lunch - We usually meet my mom for lunch on this day!
Monday Dinner - Sandwiches/Fruit  (We have deep cleaning as a family after dinner on Mondays.  We have found that if we all work together, we can get it done in about 1 1/2 hours and then we have a special "clean house" dessert!!)
Monday Snack - Mix of nuts, seeds and chocolate chips

Tuesday Breakfast - Eggs/Whole Wheat Biscuits/Hash Browns with Peppers/Citrus Fruit              
Tuesday Lunch - Hummus/Pitas/Raw Veggies/Salad
Tuesday Dinner - Veggie Stir-Fry/Brown Rice/Pineapple
Tuesday Snack - Sonic Happy Hour Run for Slushies (see, I told you we are not perfect!!)      

Wednesday Breakfast - Whole Wheat Waffles/Peanut Butter/Strawberries
Wednesday Lunch - Black Bean and Red Pepper Quesadillas (we make some yummy whole wheat tortillas!)  This is by far our family lunch favorite!
Wednesday Dinner - Pesto Whole Wheat Pasta/Salad/Homemade Bread
Wednesday Snack - Peanut Butter Balls (Daughter #3, Bubble, makes these and they are sooooo good!)

Thursday Breakfast - Whole Wheat Cinnamon Bread/Cream Cheese/Apples
Thursday Lunch - Sandwich/Fruit (we have speech/debate club all afternoon, so we go easy on Thursday!)
Thursday Dinner - Willie the AcCOWntant's Famous Chickpea Tacos/Corn on the Cob/Homemade Salsa/Tortilla Chips
Thursday Snack - Peanut Butter Balls that Bubble made on Wednesday!!  Still good on day #2!

Friday Breakfast - Yogurt/Granola/Fruit/Nuts
Friday Lunch - Pesto Wraps/Pine Nuts/Raw Veggies/Organic Chocolate Bar
Friday Dinner - Turkey Chili/Cornbread
Friday Snack - Popcorn with Fresh Mozzarella

So now you hopefully have some ideas for your menu!  I would love to hear what you are planning for this week!