A week of real food...

After suffering through three weeks of microwave dinners, I switched back to cooking real dinners and bringing homemade sandwiches to work for lunch. (See menu here.)

First of all, having a menu and the necessary ingredients on hand made enacting my dinner plans easy. I didn't have to think about what to make. Second, I started making dinner right when I got home from work. This way, I was able to satisfy my typical 6pm hunger and if anyone wanted to eat later, they were free to reheat any leftovers. We're all adults in the house, we can fend for ourselves! I needed to give up my "Mother Hen" point of view and re-evaluate my need to have "dinnertime" be a regularly-scheduled group activity. I have, and it feels great!

Third, I wanted to be flexible in what day I ate the meals on the list. I've found that if I make a list of menus that are not date-specific, I fare better than if I commit to having fish on Monday and chicken on Tuesday, for example, because I never know what I'll feel like eating that evening. I shopped for all the ingredients on my weekly list on Sunday and was ready to go Monday-Friday. The one day I did commit to was Wednesday when I made whole wheat noodle lasagna for everyone who came to our Project Runway finale party. Every inch was gone by the end of the show!

Lastly, I incorporated fresh meats and vegetables into the dishes. Not only did they taste much better than any microwavable food, but my hunger was satisfied longer. I managed to make everything on my list, save for the shrimp gumbo. Fortunately, that will be on this week's menu list, as the shrimp are safely stowed away in the freezer and can be thawed pretty quickly.