Patting myself on the back.

I purposely waited until Sunday was over to throw myself a mini party for our week long accomplishment. For months I’ve been considering a cash budget but I could never force myself to do it…well last week that changed. I stayed persistent, fought through the urges to spontaneously spend and stayed 90% on budget! I say 90% because we did buy gas sooner than expected (both needed some over the weekend) and then spent about $14 on misc items not in the budget. Even though we strayed a tiny bit I am so proud of our self control! And the best part about the week was I carefully planned out meals for every night so it didn’t feel like we were missing anything when we came home from work. I’ve shared before my love for Gina at SkinnyTaste.com and she was my go to for last week’s meals. They taste so good for being “healthy” and each suggested portion fills me up. 

I’ve shared a few times my desire to eat as natural and organic as possible (inspiration from Michael Pollan of Food Inc to our week long organic challenge) and after reading another story last week my feeling about this subject have been renewed. I won’t go into much detail but a typical family of four decided to take a 100 day challenge of eating zero “junk food” and has since sparked a lifestyle change and pledge to rid your family of the junk. Seeing that not everyone in our house has such a passion for this we are not diving in head deep but I will start swapping items out for the more natural/ organic versions like I used to do frequently. Because of this I spent $15 more grocery shopping than my budget allowed for but I would say it’s worth it.

 

(it takes too much time to link all the recipes but if it says Skinny it means I got it from Gina!)

Last week’s menu:

1. Skinny crispy coconut chicken over salad with honey mustard and a side of baked zucchini sticks

2. Creamy beef with onions, peppers, and mushrooms over rice

3. BBQ Pulled chicken sandwiches with a side of corn

4. Skinny Enchiladas with a side of yellow rice

5. Grilled chicken with “Italian salsa” (tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, fresh mozzarella cheese cubed, salt, pepper, seasoning) with a side salad

This week’s menu:

1. Skinny meatloaf cupcakes with whipped potato frosting and a side salad

2. Herb chicken with goat cheese and lemon butter sauce with a side of sweet potato wedges and broccoli

3. Skinny crock pot taco chili over rice with corn tortilla chips, Mexican cheese, and sour cream

4. Skinny crispy shrimp over salad with eggs and raisins with a side of cauliflower fritters

5. Breakfast for dinner—eggs, chicken sausage, pancakes topped with fresh fruit

I hope by seeing how we finally succeeded after many failed attempts this encourages you to do the same!