Preventing Hanger

One of my non-negotiables is food. More specifically, healthy, nutritious, filling foods at regular intervals.

I get hangry. Really, really hangry. I'll be fine one second and absolutely insane with hunger the next. I usually carry snacks and the people I spend most of my time with become experts at gauging my hunger and preventing the worst of it from happening...eyes glazing over, color draining from my face, everything gets muffled sounding, and I break out in a cold sweat, quickly followed by the sudden inability to deal with anything at all.  It's an all out meltdown, 2year old style...not pretty...


Over the years I've learned ways to prevent such occurrences...namely, eating 80/20 paleo and not skipping meals or snacks...like, ever.

I NEED these pillows!

Eating healthy takes some planning, but luckily I'm a super type-A personality and planning is my favorite thing to do! I use this handy little weekly menu planner/grocery list. 

Here is how I fill it out:

* Each family member is assigned a specific color and their activities are written in that color.
* After the week's events are written on each day I access which day will need fast (crockpot or leftovers) meals and which days I'll have more time to cook.
* I assign each day a full meal (entree, veggie, any additional sides) 
* Use the "Shopping List" portion to 
   1) On the left: write down the things (and amounts) I KNOW we'll need to buy
   2) On the right: write down things I'll need to check the pantry and fridge for before shopping

It was especially handy when I nannied my 3 girls in Chicago, everyone had different sports/music/tutoring schedules, needed different things on different days and this really helped to keep all of us organized. 

So...what's on the schedule this week...

Monday: Mom and Kurt met up with little brother Josh and amazing fiancee Jillian at my work
Tuesday: Pumpkin Waffles with baked sweet potato and apple compote
Wednesday: Zucchini Lasagne with salad and homemade dressing (ranch or balsamic)
Thursday: Pan seared scallops with broccoli
Friday: Cumin spiced chicken and sweet potatoes
Saturday: Taco salad.

To be honest...there is usually a carb involved. Mom and I eat mostly paleo but we don't force it on Kurt. Sure, he's learned to eat lettuce wraps and cauliflower rice but he still uses a tortilla or wants some bread on occasion. 

I'll work on posting the recipes this week and let you know how they all turned out, Wed-Fri are new recipes from a cookbook I've never used...we'll see how it goes!