What’s for Dinner?

October 11th - 17th 2020

Hey guys, so glad you are here!! I’m excited to share our Family Menu for this week and a few tips that help me stay on track with my nutrition. 

Let me start by sharing a little bit about myself and my family to give you a better picture of who I am. 

I have been married for 18 years to my amazing husband that you will often hear me refer to as “ Bigfoot”. A coworker of mine nicknamed him Bigfoot because he avoids social gatherings and is a rare sighting, and the name stuck..   We have 4 kids, Tyler, Cole, Drew, and Ryan. Our oldest son, Tyler graduated from Texas Tech Dec 2019 and got married in March of  2020! We are thrilled to gain another daughter, Cory Jo is the sweetest. Cole is a senior this year, so we are preparing to send another one off to college. Drew is a sophomore, and she’s getting her driving permit this month, and shopping cars non-stop. Ryan is in 6th grade and can’t wait to play football in school next year. 

I have been in education for 20 years. The last 8 years I have been an instructional coach and I love supporting teachers as they move out of their comfort zone to try new strategies and work to master their trade.  It’s an awesome feeling to have a teacher ask me to help them as they try something new, or ask to share their new ideas. I also just became a Certified Coach for FASTer Way to Fat Loss. So I’m excited to expand my coaching skills into health and fitness. 

Now what you are all here for; DINNER IDEAS!

Here’s our plans for the week:

• White chicken chili recipe is from Pinterest 

• Brinner- if you are part of the FWTFL community it’s a Low carb day. Enjoy bacon, sausage, eggs. Maybe breakfast tacos with no tortilla (or try a low carb option)

• Beef Tacos- last low carb day of the week for FWTFL Friends, so make it a taco salad with all the fixing, or use a low carb tortilla. 

• Beef Stew - you may have your own recipe, but I linked my Mom’s if you need one. She always made hers with potatoes, carrots, onions, and tomato sauce. The longer you cook it the more tender the meat. So this isn’t your 30 min meal. If you have a busy night, you may want to save it for the weekend. 

• Meatloaf- I use oatmeal instead of crackers or bread crumbs. 

• Orange chicken- I buy Crazy Cuizine from Costco in the freezer section, and there is enough for 2 meals. I make white rice the night before and store it in the fridge overnight to make homemade fried rice, with some oil, onion,scrambled egg, and whatever veggies you like. My family prefers peas and carrots in the fried rice so I usually make stir fry veggies on the side (side note: I don’t like eggs, so no fried rice for me, I’ll have white rice and veggies) here is a Fried Rice Recipe as an option

• Lazy Lasagna - quick easy, add a side salad.  Saturdays are TREAT Days in the FWTFL world.  I will probably use a gluten free Noodle and enjoy a warm chocolate chip cookie from Great American Cookie Company, SOOOO GOOD! 

TIPS TO MAKE LIFE EASIER:

Dinner Prep: 

• White chicken chili is a crockpot recipe. You could put everything in the crock pot the night before and store in the fridge till the morning. 

• If you want to move the lasagna to a weeknight, you could prep this on the weekend, cover with foil and store in the fridge. Heat it up and you are done! (FWTFL Tribe not Monday or Tuesday)

• Brinner, Tacos, and orange chicken are less than 30 min meals, so schedule those for your busy nights. 

Prep for low carb days:

I like to make something on Sunday so I can take to work Monday and Tuesday for my low carb days. I have to really plan my Low Carb days for success, as I know those are the days I struggle.  So our Sundays will usually include a Salad or carb friendly soup. And I just double or triple it so there’s leftovers. 

Last Sunday’s salad

After dinner this is what’s left.

 Add some protein and lunch is taken care of for Monday and Tuesday. 

This Sunday I’ll be having soup for lunch. 

Hope these tips were helpful!

If you are looking to get your health back on track, boost your metabolism, or sleep better and have more energy, or maybe you are looking for your tribe for accountability there’s still time to join my next round with FASTer Way to Fat Loss. It starts October 19th and runs for 6 weeks. Menu ideas, and live (and recorded) low impact, at home and gym workout options are available on the app with membership. And I will be your coach encouraging and pushing you towards your personal goals each day. Don’t wait, you will be so proud of yourself 6 weeks from now!

Have a great week!

Cindy