"Thrive"

If you've been following my Garage Girls Facebook posts, my theme this past week has been "thrive".  What things are you passionate about and help motivate you?

Growing up in a big Italian family, food was always the center or focus of our day!  On the weekends during breakfast, my father would ask, "What should we have for lunch?"  Our family gatherings were filled with homemade & delicious treats.  Because of this, enjoying family and food has always been something that has helped me "thrive".  I am trying to pass on  family traditions with my children, one in particular is enjoying meals together.

Many of us are busy with work, kids, sports, etc. and are looking for ways to put a healthy meal on the table.  Feeding my family nutritious meals is very important to me.  I want them to enjoy "real" food and appreciate the health benefits of eating clean & healthy.  They understand that to thrive & excel requires nourishing the body with food and movement.

We have incorporated planning our weekly meals together so they feel like they have a say in what they are eating.  I ask all 4 of them to pick a meal and they help prep, cook, and clean up.  It gives us one- on- one time together which we all love, and they are learning important life skills.

I do my market shopping usually on Mondays, so Sunday morning while eating breakfast we discuss our meal picks.  Each child gets a night and so does my husband and I, leaving one night free for pizza, take out, etc.  After discussing, tweaking, and making my list, I hit the market.  Weekly meal planning has saved me time and money!

We do have some rules.  We agree to look through some cook books or magazines for some new and healthy ideas and try every few weeks to not repeat.  Tough for many because once they find something they like they want it each week!  It's becoming harder for the older kids to really participate with the planning and cooking because of sports and homework.  However, they really like having a say and do their best to participate.  We all look forward to eating dinner together and talking and sharing stories.  Some nights there are more of us at the table then others, but we try and make it work.  The memories at the table are priceless!

Here's this week's menu:

Monday: mini-pizzas for an appetizer made with pie crusts, BBQ chicken, fresh veggies, salad and watermelon.

Tuesday:  Shrimp risotto with onion and zucchini

Wednesday:  egg & sausage sandwiches on a bagel with sauteed mushrooms, onions and spinach

Thursday: Roasted veggies and chicken

Friday:  salad and pizza

Saturday:  grilled flank steak, roasted potatoes (sweet and white), & string beans

Sunday: seared tuna steaks on top of arugula and brown rice

If anything seems interesting to you and you'd like the recipe, please contact me and Ill be happy to send it to you!

Enjoy all.  Here's to a great week ahead!

Donna

Fresh ideas for the week

Love waking up a little early and having some quiet time drinking my Sunday coffee, sitting on the deck and skimming through some magazines.  Lately I've been caught in a recipe slump, but found some new things to try this week in the May issue of Fitness and Real Simple.  I showed the pictures of the meals to the kids and received some thumbs up, so hopefully they will like the new flavors!

This week at a glance is not too time consuming...fairly simple prep work and recipes.  If any of the recipes seem interesting to you and you want to give them a try, please contact me and I'll pass them along.

Monday:  Shrimp with radicchio, roasted potatoes and snap peas (substituting shrimp for scallops because of cost).  Grilling shrimp, and the greens mix is easy to put together.

Tuesday: Crustless herb Quiche.  This looks great and has bacon in it, so everyone will be happy!

Wednesday:  Grilled pork tenderloin with mashed cauliflower and potatoes.  I haven't made pork in a long time and it's so easy to do on the grill.  Love using fresh rosemary with pork.

Thursday: Grilled chicken Caesar salad.

Friday: Steak and Tzatziki sandwiches with fresh veggies on the side.  This is an easy Friday meal and will be great for every one's different schedules!

Saturday:  Carb loading dinner before the big Memorial Day soccer tournament!  Pasta with sauteed veggies and leftover grilled chicken from Thursday.

Sunday:  Roasted Salmon with green beans and apricot and pistachio salad.

Hope these come in handy when you're planning your weekly meals.  I know it takes some time and organization, but I realy think it's helpful when shopping to know what the week looks like.  It definitely saves me some time and money at the market.  Please be in touch if you'd like a recipe!
Enjoy your week.

Donna

Meals at a glance

May is one of my favorite months.  Spring weather, sporting events, later days, eating outside, and grilling are a few things I love. This week is filled with fun activities...girls F.I.T. training, soccer, elementary school art show, and in-laws visiting for one night.  Planning ahead so I do not have to work so hard each night cooking, and making extras on some nights to use later in the week!  Just bought some of my herb plants to put on my deck so I will be using them for many of my meals now.  Very excited!

Here's a glance at this week's menu.  Please contact me for any recipe, and I am happy to send them along.

Monday:  Grilled chicken and vegetable ka-bobs over Israeli Couscous.  Grilling some extra chicken to use on Wednesday night.  Marinade is lemon infused olive oil and salt and pepper.  Veggies-red onion, green and yellow squash, & cherry tomatoes.

Tuesday: Grilled skirt steak and stir fry veggies-broccoli, snow peas, onion and carrots.  Fresh oregano added.

Wednesday:  Grilled chicken and pesto pasta with a mixed green salad.  Using my basil!

Thursday:  grass fed beef burgers and sweet potato fries with cucumber salad (made with Greek non-fat yogurt and fresh dill).

Friday:  Picnic dinner!  Making this an easy night for me.  Platter filled with cheese and crackers, veggies, cut up pita bread and hummus, kale chips,  hard boiled eggs, and shrimp cocktail.  Watermelon and ice cream sundaes for dessert in case they didn't eat  enough!!

Saturday:  Out for the evening at our son's coaches wedding!  If we were home, something easy on the grill.  Pork tenderloin with a veggie side dish and maybe some rice.


Sunday:  Grilled salmon and cod with quinoa and fresh green beans.

Enjoy your week all.  I hope some of these come in handy during your busy schedules.

Meals at a glance...

Spring feels like it has arrived, now it just has to stay!   I love going to the market this time of year because of the fresh produce and herbs.  Still trying to keep it simple and healthy this week.  Some favorites and some new flavors for our meals.

If one or more dinners interests you, I am happy to send you the recipe.  Our meals at a glance this week look like this...

Monday:  3-Ingredient meatloaf with a mixed green salad.

Tuesday:  Sauteed spinach, garlic, onions, cherry tomatoes, great northern white beans and goat cheese over brown rice pasta elbows.

Wednesday:  Grilled chicken and zucchini in whole wheat pita pockets.

Thursday:  Grilled flank steak, string beans and roasted potatoes.

Friday:  Pizza night!  I make my own pizza on Ezekiel tortillas with veggies and goat cheese and will order one for the rest of the family!

Saturday:  Baked Quinoa and roasted veggie casserole.

Sunday:  Grilled salmon, brown rice, roasted asparagus and tossed salad.  Ellie's homemade vegetable rolls of Mother's Day appetizer!

Nothing too fancy this week folks!  Crazy sports schedules and busy with work so trying to keep it healthy, real, and simple!

Enjoy and please reach out for recipes!

Donna