Category: Meal Plan

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Food Meal Plan

5 Delicious Family Meals From Around the World to Add to Your Meal Plan

If you are a globe-trotting family, you can expect your family’s tastes to change more often. You can keep things interesting by adding meals from around the world to your regular meal plan. Here are five family meals you can try in your home today. 

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Spaghetti Bolognese

Spaghetti Bolognese, Meals From Around the World
Source

Spaghetti bolognese is a classic recipe from Italy enjoyed by families for generations. No wonder. Spaghetti bolognese is simple and delicious.

Whether you can’t think of something to make for the family or you want to combine the traditional with the modern, look to spaghetti bolognese recipes for the answer. You can level up your spag bol by adding some olives, chili, and parmesan.

Sukiyaki from Japan is one of the Best Meals From Around the World

There are many mysterious things about the country of Japan, including the customs, the culture, the festivals, and the food. You have to see it to appreciate it. But you can delve into the culture from the comfort of your home with a famous Japanese family meal called sukiyaki. 

Sukiyaki is a hot pot meal, a little bit like a stew, but with a difference. The hot pot contains slices of beef, tofu, and vegetables warmed up and flavored with soy sauce and mirin. In Japan, locals crack an egg on top of the stew and cook it on the surface.

Kofta Kebabs 

Kofta Kebabs, Meals From Around the World
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Kofta is a loan word from Urdu that means pounded meat. Families in Turkey have enjoyed Kofta kebabs for generations. You can make them using meatballs on a skewer and covered in a delicious sauce coating for flavor.

You can make meatballs for kofta kebabs from any meat, but traditionally, people make them from beef or lamb. Try lamb kofta for your next family meal. Kebabs are super for a special occasion or a summer BBQ. 

Tacos al Pastor 

If you want to treat your family to a global food experience, you can’t ignore the food of South America. Famed for its rice, wraps, and meats, Mexico and other nations in the region have a way of creating delicious food from simple ingredients. Don’t miss tasty tacos al pastor.

Like the gyros in the Mediterranean, you can make tacos al pastor with spit-roasted meat carved off and placed into a wrap with vegetables, sauces, and rice. Since you probably don’t have a spit-roaster in your kitchen, you can grill or BBQ the meat for an authentic family meal.

Butter Chicken 

You could feed your family with butter chicken from India. Families from North India have enjoyed this dish for generations. It consists of marinated chicken, yogurt and spices, cream, and curry. Serve it with nan bread.

Recap: Meals From Around the World

Your family will love these meals, and they’ll help your kids get a taste of food from other places. Do you have any favorite meals from around the world? Leave a comment and let us know. 🙂

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Adulting Family Activities Health Healthy Living How To Learning Meal Plan Our Family Parenting

4 Easy Ways For Parents To Lose Weight and Set a Healthy Example

Ways For Parents To Lose Weight

If you’re a parent, you likely don’t have much extra time in your day. Between work, family, and social life, your schedule is packed. Being so busy make exercising and losing weight almost impossible, but luckily, there are easy ways for parents to lose weight.

Consider signing up for classes and lessons like Body Transformations for Parents. These online classes can be easier to add to your daily or weekly life than you’d think. If that’s not possible for you, there are other things you can do to lose weight.

While dieting might be an option, finding the right one can take time. Adding some simple tips and tricks to your life will kick off that weight loss, though, and you don’t even have to go to the gym.

Ways For Parents To Lose Weight

4 Ways For Parents To Lose Weight

1. Work Out When The Kids Are Up

Many parents try to work out when their kids are asleep. That can be incredibly restrictive because not only can your children be up at the crack of dawn, but you could be exhausted at night. With constantly changing schedules, it’s hard to plan around sleep routines. Try working out when they’re up.

This approach can be easier than you’d think, especially if you let them join in on the fun. While this depends on what exercises you’re doing, basic yoga and other easy exercises are kid-friendly. You can also go on long walks with a baby in a stroller.

Finding exercises that your kids can be involved in can save you a lot of time and effort, too.

2. Don’t Eat Off Your Kids Plates

You could often see yourself eating some food off of your child’s plate. That’s especially true if they’re finished, and there are a few leftovers. Depending on the food, you could find taking a few bites irresistible. I struggle with this, especially when they have Wendy’s chicken nuggets leftover LOL.

As harmless as this might seem, the calories add up much faster than you’d think. If you’re on a diet, these small bites throw off your planning and tracking. Skip these unhealthy choices and make sure that you have healthy snacks when you’re hungry.

3. Deconstruct Your Dinners

If you’re a picky eater, it can be challenging to find healthy food that you like. You could take a different approach. Try deconstructing the dinners that you like. That will let you remove some of the unhealthy parts and replace them with healthier alternatives.

The number of meals you can deconstruct can be surprising, so it’s worth trying with some of your favorite dishes. You can break down the ingredients of pizzas, burgers, and even tacos to make them healthier.

4. Play With Your Kids

Your kids love playing with you, and you love spending time with them. Plus, kids are always on the move. Take advantage of this and spend more time playing with your kids. You’ll get so much exercise as you chase them around that you burn tons of calories.

Ways For Parents To Lose Weight

Parents don’t always have the time or energy to go to the gym. Thankfully, that’s not the only place you can exercise to help with weight loss. Use these tips for parents to lose weight and see how much of a difference it makes for you.

Losing weight can help make you more of a role model for your children. If they see you exercising and eating healthy, they’re more likely to do the same. Help them start on a healthy path for life by showing them what a healthy lifestyle looks like.

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Health Healthy Living How To Life Meal Plan

5 Simple Changes you can Make in Your Life to Be Healthier

be healthier

If you want to be healthier or make some positive changes in your life, it is easy to do. It only requires you to make a few simple changes, and you’ll be glad you make the effort. By implementing these tips, you will find how to be healthier in your life.

Be Healthier
Source

How to Be Healthier

1. Fill 50% of Your Plate with Non-Starchy Vegetables

Vegetables are separated into two categories, including “starchy” and “non-starchy”. Starchy vegetables have more calories than their non-starchy alternatives. Non-starchy options include spinach and other dark-green vegetables, cauliflower, and carrots.

If you fill your plate with non-starchy vegetables, you will find that you have a good way to improve your diet. These are all low in calories, but they are packed with nutrients. On top of this, they are packed full of fiber and water.

2. Use a Smaller Plate

Believe it or not, the size of your plate can affect the amount you eat. Scientists have found that those who eat from large bowls tend to eat 56% more food when compared to those who use smaller bowls. Eating from a smaller plate is a great way to trick your brain into eating less. Using this tip can be useful if you feel like your portions are far too big.

3. Swap Refined Carbs

Refined carbs, commonly referred to as empty carbs, are processed and stripped of all their nutrients. Empty carbs mean that they are adding more calories to your diet, but you aren’t getting any nutritional benefits from them.

Examples of refined carbs can include white bread, white rice, or even white flour. If you have a diet that is rich in refined carbs, then you may find that you are at risk of experiencing chronic diseases, including Type 2 diabetes. Choosing unprocessed carbs such as whole wheat flour or brown rice allows you to eat delicious, filling foods without empty calories.

4. Avoid Temptation

Sometimes, it is tempting to have a drink during the weekend or eat at a restaurant when you feel like you have nothing in the fridge. That being said, you should try to avoid this, if possible.

By eating well during the week and then failing during the weekend, it will affect you more than you initially realize. To get around this, it’s a good idea to invest in some zero percent alcohol, as well as making healthier versions of takeout meals you love at home.

5. Add Some Fruit

Fruit is a fantastic way for you to add some color to your plate and flavor to your oats in the morning. Fruit is loaded with vitamins and minerals, not to mention that it can help you get your five-a-day with ease, too. You can blend your fruit up into a smoothie, too, making it a healthy treat.

Be Healthier

Be Healthier

Improving your health doesn’t have to be hard. Use this simple tips to be healthier, and you will quickly notice the difference.

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Adulting Health Healthy Living How To Life Meal Plan

3 Common Mistakes When You Are Trying to Live a Healthy Life

Live a Healthy Life

While most people want to live a healthy life, many struggle to stick to it. Others find it hard to begin living a healthy lifestyle at all. Those who fail at sticking to a healthy routine likely struggle with giving in to temptations. Those who can’t seem to begin at all tend to have this problem because they are constantly procrastinating.

While it can be a struggle to get up and hit the gym or cook and eat healthy meals for a whole week, there are mistakes you could be doing that may limit you from getting your desired results. Such errors aren’t evident because everyone thinks they are doing what is suitable for their health.

Here are the top health mistakes you are making trying to live healthily, to help you get a better insight:

3 Common Mistakes When You Are Trying to Live a Healthy Life Common Health Mistakes, Healthy Life, Healthy Living, How to Be Healthy #healthmistakes #health #healthy #healthylife #healthyliving #howtobehealthy #behealthy #stayhealthy
Source 

1. You Fail to Commit to Your Health Goal

Everyone has different health goals that may include improving their overall health, living longer, reducing weight, building muscles and abs, following a healthy diet, sleeping better, and healing from a specific illness. While such goals may change with time, most people fail to commit to them.

You fail to commit to your health goals if you continually procrastinate on things like going to the gym or drinking a gallon of water daily. Failing to commit also happens when you have set unrealistic fitness goals for yourself. The best thing to do is set SMART healthy goals, which means that they should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound to help you commit.

2. You Don’t Take Breaks

Research shows that taking a break is the best way to help reduce stress and maintain excellent performance. You can take a break from work, life, and a romantic relationship. You can also take a break from your health routine as a way to recover lost energy, stretch and get relief.

While following a healthy routine, you must take breaks, and there is no limit to how you can do this. For instance, you can relax by using homegrown cannabis, which also helps achieve personal enjoyment.

If you don’t yet grow this plant, it would be best to start doing so and ensure you use the best rosin press for better results. These machines are highly reliable for extracting rosin from your cannabis in high concentrations.

There are also some traditional methods you can try when you need to take a break. You can take a long rest, go a day without exercising, or even take a vacation!

3. Sticking to What Doesn’t Work

Another mistake you might make while trying to sustain a healthy lifestyle is doing what doesn’t work. With a busy life schedule, you are prone to doing things that may not have effective results. For instance, if you are busy with work or taking care of the children, you are more likely to have limited time for exercising.

With limited workout time, you may do light exercises that give mediocre results. The best thing to do is find something that works for you. Or, have a specific schedule that suits your lifestyle. By doing this, you can have enough time to find the health routine that works for you and ensure you stick to it!

3 Common Mistakes When You Are Trying to Live a Healthy Life Common Health Mistakes, Healthy Life, Healthy Living, How to Be Healthy #healthmistakes #health #healthy #healthylife #healthyliving #howtobehealthy #behealthy #stayhealthy

Bonus Tip For Living a Healthy Life

There were only supposed to be three tips, but there’s one more common mistake you may make when trying to live a healthy life –

Pushing Yourself Too Hard

The more stress and pressure that you put on yourself to reach your goals as fast as you can, the harder it’s going to be. It’s not a race against anyone in the world, so it’s okay to take your time. Focus on the next goal that is in front of you, and work on getting there at a healthy pace. For example, if your next goal is to kick an addiction that you may have then getting help may be the best possible idea, but you need to break it down. You can look at how to find a good addiction therapist online, and that’s the first step. Then, you can take the second step now that you have achieved something and feel good about yourself for doing that.

Recap: Live a Healthy Life

Sticking to a healthy lifestyle can be daunting, but it is easier than you think to live a healthy life. The reason most people fail to start or stick to it is that it does take hard work and dedication. However, the above mistakes also contribute to the cause.

Make sure you stop doing the things listed above so that you can live a healthy life. What health tips do you swear by? Share them in the comments!

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Big Kid How To Meal Plan Our Family Parenting Recipe Teenager

6 Reasons Your Child Should Eat Tomatoes Every Day

tomatoes

Mmmmm tomatoes. One of my all time favorite foods. I can’t say the same for the rest of my family, however, but realistically, your child should eat tomatoes every day.

My little guy, Liam, is the only person in my house (other than myself) who likes tomatoes. And when I say he likes them, I mean he LIKES them. He eats them first every time I put them on his plate and then asks for more.

The rest of my kids (and even my husband) aren’t fans of tomatoes. They won’t touch them. It’s crazy to me because I eat them raw all the time.

I’ve been trying to push more tomatoes, though, because they are SO good for you. I’ll explain how I’ve been sneakily using more tomato later on in this post but first, I want to tell you WHY your child should eat tomatoes every day.

how to get your child to eat tomatoes

Why Your Child Should Eat Tomatoes Every Day

1. Helps prevent cancer

Tomatoes contain an antioxidant called lycopene, which has been proven to prevent cancer and slow down the growth of potentially cancerous cells. Higher amounts of lycopene are found in cooked tomatoes, so adding tomatoes to your baked dishes is even better.

2. Helps bone health

Two nutrients that are vital for maintaining and strengthening your bones are calcium and Vitamin K, both of which are found in tomatoes. In order for your child’s bones to repair themselves from minor injuries, they should be consuming a decent amount of those nutrients.

The antioxidants found in tomatoes also help promote the amount of calcium found in your body. Long term, the benefits of tomatoes can prevent osteoporosis and other bone diseases.

3. Good for heart health

It’s never too early to think about your child’s heart heath, and tomatoes can help with that. To prevent heart attacks, strokes, and other heart problems, Vitamin B and potassium are necessary. By making this a regular part of your child’s diet, you are setting them up for long-term heart health.

Teaching them to love tomatoes will also make them more likely to continue eating tomatoes when they are adults, further protecting their bodies from heart disease. A bonus, you and your spouse will also benefit from the Vitamin B and potassium.

4. Improves vision

Vitamin A, found in high amounts in tomatoes, is great for your eyesight. Not only can it improve your vision, but it also can prevent night blindness.

5. Prevents and fights against diabetes

If diabetes runs in your family, you should take extra precautions for your children. Tomatoes play an important role in preventing diabetes because it can help restore biochemicals that are off.

Additionally, the fiber found in tomatoes can make the symptoms of diabetes less severe. It has been found that fiber leads to a balancing of blood sugars, lipids, and insulin levels.

6. Good for mental health

The antioxidants in tomatoes can promote positive mental health. They can help decrease emotional stress and prevent neurodegenerative disease. With depression on the rise for children and teenagers, you should be especially receptive of anything that will help.

reasons your child should eat tomatoes

How to Get Your Child to Eat Tomatoes

Like I said before, only one of my kids actually enjoys eating tomatoes. Liam (my youngest) will munch on them all day if I’d let him (although with his eczema I definitely wouldn’t let him).

The others claim they don’t like tomatoes, so I have to sneak them into their diet in other ways. This is easier than it sounds and doesn’t involve a ton of prep work.

Some of the ways to get your child to eat tomatoes include:

  • Spaghetti sauce
  • Grilled cheese served with tomato soup for dipping
  • Raw tomatoes served with ranch
  • Add diced tomatoes to pasta dishes
  • Use tomato sauce as an ingredient in sauces or dips
  • Help your child grow a tomato plant. This is super easy, and they will be more likely to eat the tomatoes that they grew.
reasons your child should eat tomatoes

Final Thoughts On Reasons Your Child Should Eat Tomatoes

The reasons your child should eat tomatoes mainly revolve around health, but they are also an easy, quick, and healthy snack for when you are on the go, too. By teaching your child to love this food, you are protecting their health now and in the future. You’re also teaching them healthy eating habits and allowing them to take care of their own bodies as they get older.

What is your favorite way to incorporate tomatoes into your family’s diet? Do you ever have to sneak tomatoes into your child’s diet? Tell me about it in the comments!

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Meal Plan

Meal Plan 5/21-6/3 (With Link to FREE Printable)

Today is meal plan Saturday. Sounds like fun but not really… who really enjoys meal planning? Not me, but it has to be done.

I use a meal plan printable that I created myself. It is perfect for the way I meal plan and is so easy to read and use. Feel free to download it for free!

Mon: Chicken Fried Rice
Tues: Leftovers/anything – we do this on some baseball nights when we won’t be getting home until late. We keep little things in the freezer and pantry for the kids to have for dinner when we don’t actually have time to cook, or they can eat leftovers from the day before.
Wed: Brinner (breakfast for dinner) – I’m planning on chocolate chip pancakes, sausage, and assorted fruit.
Thurs: 7 Can Soup
Fri: Hamburgers with Brussel sprouts and fried potatoes
Sat: Sylas’ choice (it’s his birthday this day)
Sun: Pizza night with the in-laws
Mon: Spinach Artichoke Ravioli Bake
Tues: Leftovers/Anything
Wed: Taco Casserole
Thurs: BLT with avocado
Fri: Pizza Quesadillas 
Sat: Oven Baked Meatball Sandwiches
Sun: Pizza night with the in-laws

I just want to point out that when I say “pizza night with the in-laws” we don’t literally eat pizza every time. We go to Chris’ parents’ house and they order from Pizza Hut. We do sandwiches, pasta, salads, wings… whatever we’re feeling that day. I realize that it sounds like we eat a TON of pizza.

What is on your meal plan for the week?

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Meal Plan

Meal Plan 5/7 – 5/21

Every two weeks I spend my Saturday morning drinking coffee and making a meal plan for the next two weeks. My meal plans start on Monday, but I do all my grocery shopping on Sunday.

I use a meal plan printable that I created myself. It is perfect for the way I meal plan and is so easy to read and use. Feel free to download it for free!

Anyhow, here is our meal plan.

Mon: Skilled Pork Chops with Fried Potatoes
Tues: Leftovers/anything – we do this on some baseball nights when we won’t be getting home until late. We keep little things in the freezer and pantry for the kids to have for dinner when we don’t actually have time to cook, or they can eat leftovers from the day before.
Wed: Baked Ziti with Ricotta and garlic bread
Thurs: Bean burritos with tortilla chips
Fri: Fried chicken, potato salad, and green beans
Sat: Ribs, corn on the cob, and macaroni salad
Sun: Pizza
Mon: Brinner (Breakfast for dinner).
Tues: Crockpot chicken tacos
Wed: Chicken taco stuffed potatoes
Thurs: Crockpot Philly cheese steak
Fri: Pesto and mozzarella grilled cheese with tomato soup
Sat: Beer bratwursts and corn on the cob
Sun: Pizza

We love to cook on the grill when it’s nice out so both Saturdays will be food cooked on the grill. Corn on the cob is also something we have ALL THE TIME in the summer, and the recipe I linked to is one I’ve literally been using for YEARS. It’s sooooo good. Try it out!

I’m on a hunt for a yummy tomato soup recipe that is easy and doesn’t require a million ingredients. If you know of any, please let me know!! I’ll be forever grateful. 🙂

What is on your meal plan for the week?

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Meal Plan Printables

Meal Plan with Printable

So, before I began meal planning, we would have nothing in the house for dinner. I’m not even kidding. Chris or I would be running to the store on our lunch breaks or after work to pick up something quick to cook. Since this is how we did it, we rarely had anything new and exciting for dinner. We were just grabbing simple things that we could grab and go. OR, even worse, we were just grabbing fast food on our way home. It was awful. We were spending way more money than we should have been, wasting time, and not really enjoying our meals.

Once I began meal planning, things changed. We hardly ever eat fast food anymore and we all enjoy dinner more. I plan dinners for two weeks, do my grocery shopping during the weekend, and then we are all set for the next two weeks.

When I meal plan for breakfast and lunch it’s pretty simple and honestly, we hardly ever have what is actually on the plan for these meals. I only put it on the plan so I know what food to buy and have an idea of what options we have. We always have eggs, bread, ingredients for pancakes, bagels, lunch meat, frozen pizza (on days we need a quick lunch), PB&J, on hand anyway so we stick with this most times. On the weekends our breakfasts get a little fancier because we have more time. During the week Chris, Peyton, and Nevaeh have to leave for work and school pretty early so we do quick stuff. My toddlers are so easy when it comes to breakfast… Sylas always wants Honey Bunches of Oats (in our house these are known as Honey and Boats since Sylas couldn’t say the whole thing when he first started eating them a couple years ago) and a banana, and JoJo always wants eggs, toast, milk, and a banana. Liam eats whatever is put in front of him, so it varies.

Anyhow… back to my meal plan.

So, the way that I do it is super simple.

  • Make a list of the meals you plan to have. Don’t bother writing the ingredients out just yet. Simply make a list of however many meals you are planning for. I do two weeks at a time, so 14 meals. We do eat leftovers once a week, but I still put “leftovers” on the list just so I don’t get confused thinking I missed two days.
  • Plan for events and late nights. If you have big kids who have sporting events or school activities, make sure you think about that when you are planning your meals. You will want to plan a crockpot meal or a leftover night on those nights. Peyton has baseball on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so we normally do a crockpot meal on Tuesdays and leftovers on Thursdays.
  • Write the ingredients for one meal at a time. I don’t look at all the meals that include one pound of chicken and then write, “3 pounds of chicken” on my list. I only look at one meal at a time and write out the ingredients for only that meal. It seems tedious, but I find that I stay more organized and don’t miss ingredients or add too many of a certain thing to the grocery list. I do this on a piece of scrap paper or on the back of the printable (included below) and add the ingredients to the grocery list on my printable later.
  • Check your pantry. Sometimes I forget what I have on hand and I hate wasting money. Nothing irritates me more than buying something and then discovering the exact ingredient is already in my pantry at home. I learned my lesson quickly here. Once my list is finished, I go through my cupboards and pantry and cross any items off the list that I already have.
  • Re-write the ingredients in an organized way. So now that you have all the ingredients written out separately and you crossed off any items you already have, it’s time to organize. The way that I do this is by imagining my grocery store and starting in the back of the store. Anything that is in the back, I put at the beginning of my list. I go through all the individualized ingredient lists for meals and THEN I combine all the ingredients. This is where the “3 pounds of chicken” gets written instead of “1 pound of chicken”. I visually work my way to the front of the store, writing my list in the order that I will shop. This organized list gets written on the printable.
  • Check your meal plan each night. Don’t mess up your meal plan and be stuck with fast food for dinner because you forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer!! Can you tell we eat a lot of chicken? It’s been my example every time. LOL. But seriously, this has happened to me more times than I’d like to admit. I start getting my ingredients out to make dinner only to realize I never took the frozen meat out of the freezer the night before. UGH. Then I have to do the “call of shame” to my husband and tell him we have nothing for dinner. Oops.

 

I didn’t get a picture of my Meal Plan list filled out before I tossed it (I clearly wasn’t thinking), but I’ll share a list of the dinners I have planned for the next two weeks.

Mon: Slow Cooker Potato Soup – This is the best potato soup recipe I have EVER tried and I have tried a bunch of them. I do leave the bacon out, however.
Tues: Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells – When I made this before, I thought it has too much spinach so I am going to put less spinach this time.
Wed: 30-min Garlic Parmesan Pasta With Crispy Chicken
Thurs: Leftovers
Fri: Tacos
Sat: Taco Stuffed Potatoes
Sun: Pizza
Mon: Stuffing Topped Pork Chops
Tues: Chicken Enchilada Soup
Wed: Corn Chowder
Thurs: Leftovers
Fri: Ham and Turkey Club Sliders
Sat: Chicken Fried Rice – One of my husband’s FAVORITE recipes. He takes the leftovers to work with him every time.
Sun: Pizza

 

Every recipe for this current meal plan we have tried before and loved EXCEPT the corn chowder. That is the only recipe we haven’t tried yet. For the Taco Stuffed Potatoes, we use taco leftovers from the day before. We have also tried it with chicken tacos and it is just as delicious (if not MORE delicious).

 

Meal Plan Printable

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meal Plan Printable in color

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meal Plan Printable Vaeh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tell me what is on your meal plan for the week! I’d like to see your yummy ideas. Oh, and tell me which version of the Meal Plan printable you downloaded. I couldn’t decide which one was the cutest!