Good Monday morning!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend and are starting this week with a refreshed spirit, ready to tackle this week ahead!  I’m excited about a fresh week and a clean slate to get all the things done and to continue on the healthy food journey I started. I thought I’d share what I eat in a week since eliminating meat in my diet to help you come up with healthy meal options or put together your own meal plan!

Eating Less Meat

After two weeks of totally being off my game- just busy with work and life and not consistently working out,

*Thanks to Blue Apron for sponsoring today’s post! 

As we settle into our fall schedule of activities, I’m finding less and less time to do my meal prep. Time to call on Blue Apron! I’ve used this service before with great success. This time I was looking to do one of their meat-free options to change it up because my husband has been on a semi-vegan kick lately. The Summer Vegetable Paella was a perfect way to end our “summer” and head into fall with a festive dish!

If you’re not familiar with it, 

Happy Monday friends! This weekend flew by and I’m feeling like I need a rewind! My in-laws were visiting with us, so we kept things pretty low key and just hung out.  I had some down time, so I went through all 46 pages of the women’s Nordstrom Anniversary Sale catalog online and narrowed down the “must haves” from each category so you don’t have to feel like you missed something- there’s too much!

Then, after going through everything, I had to place another order- shhh, don’t tell Jimmy!!  for things I didn’t see in my store and wanted to try out.  I’ll share them with you on Friday when the sale opens to everyone! In the meantime, if you find a field of money trees, send directions!!

On Sunday, I got to visit a very special friend in the hospital and I wanted to ask for your prayers for this precious little girl named Savannah.  She’s just two days older than Jordan and has already undergone her second open heart surgery.  On Sunday, she was doing well and in great spirits, smiling and scooting around her hospital room floor in her Minnie Mouse pajamas, showing me her toys and handing me books to read to her.  She’s already been in the hospital for 3 weeks this time and so ready to go home.  I don’t even know how her mom is holding up, but she says any mom would do the same.  She’s asking for all the prayers she can get that the surgery was successful (she won’t know for 3-6 months) and if you leave your well wishes in the comments or on my Instastories, I’ll forward them onto her.  Thank you so much!

I couldn’t think of anyone who would appreciate a warm, cozy circle cardi more than a mama staying with her baby in the hospital, and she loved it!  I picked up 4 more for Christmas gifts too. 😉

Today, I’m answering two of the most frequently asked questions around here- what do I eat in a day and how do I plan my weekly menu??  Although my bikini contest prep days are in the past, I still try to eat healthy most of the time with protein at each meal and 4-5 meals each day.  I’m hungry that often, so it’s no problem for me to eat that often and I never skip breakfast! I would chew my arm off!

I do indulge in sweets though- it’s my weakness! I workout 4 times a week and still prefer a strong, athletic build, and even though I’m still working on my ab separation, I have seen an improvement with consistent workouts and more ab-focused exercises.

Similar Sports Bra ⋅ High Waist Leggings ⋅ Tank ⋅ Shoes ⋅ No Show Socks

HOW I PLAN OUR MENU

I’m not the biggest fan of grocery shopping just because it usually takes so long and it’s harder to complete with kids in tow, so I sometimes order groceries online for pickup at Kroger or my husband goes.  Usually on Saturday morning, I take stock of what we have left in the refrigerator (not much), throw out the bad leftovers, and spend a good 30 minutes browsing my cookbooks or Pinterest boards for healthy meal inspiration.

I have to think about including Jordan in these meals now since she’s a good eater who eats a lot and thankfully, everything!  James is still super picky and eats his same food without much branching out.  I’ll usually pick 4 recipes to cook and plan for leftovers, along with a couple things to eat for lunch and snacks to have on hand.

Using this Grocery List magnetic pad helps me organize things because I can write on the left side what we’ll be eating and put the groceries we need on the right.  I think it’s out of stock now and I might cry because it’s the pad I like the most!