Today I spent a long time in the kitchen getting ready for the upcoming week. I have some things to do after work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, so I wanted to get some of my meals prepped ahead of time to make for less work when its time to cook dinner.
Before we went grocery shopping this morning, I planned out our meals for the week using Pinterest. I usually plan meals by searching on Pinterest, using recipes I have saved, or looking at blogs. I also make recipes from the Runner’s World Cookbook pretty often. This week I found several new recipes to try, so I am going to share my weekly meal plan:
Sunday: Skinny Orange Chicken with quinoa and broccoli
I prepped the sauce and quinoa.
Monday: Roasted chicken with red potatoes and asparagus (I hope to go to body pump Monday evening, so this meal can be prepped ahead and Rob can put it in the oven when he gets home from work, so it will be ready to eat when I get home from class).
I chopped up some the veggies so it will be easier to put together tomorrow.
Tuesday: Pasta Primavera with chicken.
I also chopped up most of the veggies I will need for this meal
Wednesday: Rob volunteered to cook fajitas:)
Thursday: Chicken fingers with sweet potatoes and green beans
I should have enough time to make this on Thursday.
Friday: Pasta, turkey meatballs, salad
I froze half of the meatballs I made last week, so I’ll just defrost them this week.
Saturday: Crock Pot Beef and Broccoli with rice (We usually go to church on Saturday evenings and don’t get home until 7, so its nice to have something ready when we get home.)
I also prepped:
Hummus: using this recipe
Banana Muffins: I read about these on Megan’s blog but they are originally from The Real Life RD
Black Bean Brownies: I tried a new version from The Little Honey Bee
I also peeled and chopped beets to keep in the freezer and use in smoothies:
And washed and sliced strawberries, and washed blackberries. I am planning to use these with plain Greek yogurt this week.
I also wanted to share that I am getting ready to start the process of making some changes to the blog. While I still feel like my blog is relatively “new”, after 9 months of blogging I feel like I have learned more about what I want to share through this blog. When I first started out, I thought I would (obviously) talk about running, but I also expected to talk about drinking wine and social things. I have realized I hardly ever talk about drinking. I think that’s because its not a big part of my life. Instead, I have found that I enjoy sharing my efforts to find balance between running, working out, healthy eating, and some indulgences.
I have also wanted to make the switch to self-hosting, which will give me more options for designing my blog. For now, Running Out Of Wine won’t be going anywhere, but I will be brainstorming what I want this blog to be and how I will make that happen. It may switch as early as this week…or it may be a month. It all kids of depends on how creative I am and how complicated some of this technical stuff is.
I would love to hear any comments about what you have liked reading about, or what you would like to see more of on the blog! I feel like connecting with readers and other blogs as helped to give my blog its identity, so I don’t want anyone to stop reading if I make changes!
What are your meal planning strategies?
If you blog, have you ever made big changes (ie blog name, switch to self-hosting, etc.)?
Any suggestions for me as I am about to start this process?!
Looks like you have a delicious week ahead of you! I’m excited to see how you are going to transition! I love you blog and name – even if you don’t talk about wine a lot, it shows that you think about it and aren’t just about running!
Thank you for the feedback! It’s nice to know what you think of the name. Part of me wants to make it a little more “professional” if I use it as a means of running coaching, but I also want it to represent me well. We’ll see how it goes!
I use Pinterest for my meal planning too! Good luck with your blog changes. Being so new myself, I have no advice to offer, but I’m looking forward to seeing what you plan to do.
It’s pretty overwhelming, and I feel like I am constantly learning something new when it comes to blogging!
I need to be better about meal planning, I decide on meals at the last minute and end up going to the grocery store a few times a week. Thanks for the inspiration to plan my weekly meals!
I use to do the same thing! I realized it saves time and money to plan ahead.
I hope you make the chicken nuggets – they are super easy and take no time at all 🙂 how did the brownies turn out? They look good and your food prep is awesome! I switched to self hosting a few months into blogging and it was the best decision ever – pain in the butt (I’m terrible at the techy stuff) but awesome now that I have control over so much more. Good luck with it 🙂
The brownies are GREAT! I have made a few versions with beans before and these are my favorite! Also looking forward to trying the chicken nuggets this week!
I am TERRIBLE with meal prep and planning. You are so ahead of the game here and I need some of your motivation! I know it would make my life so much easier if I planned a little bit in advance because at this point I’m always scrambling around when I get home to get dinner ready and I miss out on hang out time with my daughter. That skinny orange chicken sounds so good!
With my old blog I self hosted and did a complete re-brand at one point. I really love your blog and don’t think you should change a thing! You have a good mix of stuff on here. I’m about to switch to self hosted with RSR too so if you need any advice, let me know!
Thank you! I will keep that in mind because I really have no idea what I am doing:)
Honestly ever Sunday when I meal plan/prep I complain about it but I am always glad during the week that I got it done!
Sounds like you have a delicious week ahead! I really need to get better at prepping. I plan my meals, but I don’t do a lot of prep. I do prep for my lunches though. Baby steps right?! I think our blogs evolve just like we do as people! Can’t wait to see what is in store!
I used to just plan and not prep (some weeks I still don’t) it just kind of depends on busy I am. Some weeks I like to enjoy my Sunday and not worry about it- but when I know I have a busy week ahead its great to get it done ahead of time!
We do weekly meal planning as a general rule rather than prepping … but we also have four to cook for, and the boys get lunch at school and breakfast is individual on weekdays (based on schedules).
I have seen people have great luck with name changes and self-hosting (like Laura), and others have more issues (can’t recall who offhand). I love your blog name as well … maybe it is because I love running and I love wine! 🙂
Haha I think alot of people come across my blog due to a love of running and wine:)
I’m sure cooking for 4 makes for more of a challenge!
Not sure if you were planning to chance the name of the blog, but don’t do it! It’s catchy even you write about nothing having to do with wine, it shows you are a real person who’s not too uptight. Good for you with meal planning! I usually just buy a bunch of stuff with no plan and hope some decent meals come out of it 🙂
Thanks for the feedback! I was considering changing my name but haven’t come up with anything so I think I’ll be keeping it the same. Its helpful to hear what others think of it!
This is the most helpful self-hosting guide I’ve ever read. I know so many people that have used it! I switch almost a year ago and it has been really great ever since. Let me know if you have questions 🙂
http://www.thesmallvictories.com/the-dummy-guide-to-self-hosting-moving-from-wordpress-com-to-self-hosted-wordpress-org/
Thank you! I will definitely check it out!
WOW, your prep is amazing!! Love that you do so much, and I bet it makes it much easier throughout the week. In terms of major changes, I started out self-hosting (due to a lot of research before starting) and have never changed the name, but I really believe in doing what feels right for you. If talking about wine isn’t cutting it for you, then you shouldn’t feel like you “need” to do it! I love your running recaps, race recaps, and hearing about what’s going on in your life (which often has to do with running!). But again, do what’s right for you!
Thanks for the feedback! I’m still figuring it out but I figure a blog can be a work in progress, and change as my life and interests change.
The same thing happened with me with crow pose. I took yoga once or twice a week and could never do it. Then one day, BAM. Like I’d been doing it forever!
Can you believe this rain we got yesterday? I’m in southern MD and we had a BUNCH of road closures. That sink hole was bananas though.
I have no idea why this comment went to the wrong post. It was meant for todays. haha.
That happens sometimes, not sure why:)
The rain was crazy! I’m so glad we are finally getting some nicer weather. I really can’t believe that sink hole!
I ran Philly several years ago. It’s a great race, I think you will like it!
I’m really excited for it! I actually ran it in 2011 but it was my first marathon so the goal was just to finish!
I am just working on my meal plan for next week. Thanks for the ideas!
I hope you find something you like!