Is anyone else watching The Next Food Network Star? I am. Last season was the first time I watched with any regularity and I’m hooked back in this time around. I’m really pulling for Melissa d’Arabian to win this time around. I love all of the tips, tricks and info she shares during her demos and feel like her show would be something I would actually watch.
As a soon-to-be-stay-at-home mom, I enjoy her frugal shopping strategies and home cooked meals that are both healthy and picky-eater approved. On a recent episode, she talked about how she likes challenging herself to skip the grocery and make meals for a week using what she already has in the house.
I find myself going to the grocery just for fun sometimes and end up spending waaaaay more money than is really necessary. I decided to adopt Melissa’s strategy this week, skip my usual Saturday grocery trip and get creative. When I sat down to menu plan, I was extremely surprised at how much food we already have in the house. I’ll be posting our meals as they appear this week.
Lunch
I snapped a pic of my eats for the work day before sticking them in my lunch bag.
In the picture:
- Dannon Light ‘n Fit blueberry yogurt
- fresh pineapple chunks
- grapes
- Laughing Cow Light Swiss wedge
- Arnold’s Multigrain Sandwich Thin
- Gardenburger Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil (it’s hiding)
Dinner
We purchased a roast on sale several weeks ago and it’s just been chillin’ in the freezer since then. I popped it into the crock pot (still frozen) with a can of beef broth and a small can of mushrooms. To season, I sprinkled the top with some Garlic, Garlic and Onion, Onion. 8 hours later, voila!
I saw a commercial for these the other day and it reminded me that I’d received a package from the generous folks at Buitoni to sample.
***Product Review***
Here’s what the manufacturer’s website says about them:
A blend of earthy mushrooms, including sweet, rustic portobellos and delicate criminis, creates an impeccable pairing with fresh-roasted garlic and imported grana padano and parmesan cheeses, wrapped inside thin layers of stone-ground semolina pasta.
I’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to break them out and this seemed to be it. The verdict? Delicious! My husband and I both agreed that this pasta needs no heavy sauce to make it flavorful. The rich mushroom filling does the trick just fine. We topped ours with just a bit of beef broth that cooked in the crockpot with the roast. The nutrition information wasn’t necessarily the most figure friendly, but I found that 1/2 of the recommended portion was more than sufficient as a side dish. These were nice for a casual weekday supper and I think they’d also be great for a more formal event as well.
Tonight’s veggie was zucchini from our garden, cooked just until tender in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and garlic. I topped mine with a little paprika.
Dinner is served!
My meat and potatoes husband, was over the moon with excitement for this meal. It makes me feel great when I can prepare something that he really enjoys.
After dinner, I straightened up the kitchen, packed lunches, this workout (3 sets, 15 reps of the advanced moves) from FitPregnancy.com, tossed in a load of laundry and chilled with the hubs and the pup.
It’s off to bed for me now. Hope everyone had a great Monday!
Melissa is my favorite too! I used to like Debbie until the most recent episode. And the only other guy left…what’s his name? The one that has won the most? He is my second favorite.
I don’t get food network, but really really really wish I did now that I’ve read your post!
I love Melissa too! I hope she wins (although I think I’d be happy if Jeffry won too!!). I did see the episode where she added in the uncooked brussels. I often (maybe this is strange) eat the loose leafs that fall off the brussels when I’m cutting them up before cooking them. They’re tasty….a strong green flavor, but I do prefer them cooked. I think they’d be great raw shredded in a salad or slaw.
Thanks for the advice on the HRM. I want a garmin because I think the tracking/mileage they give you for running is awesome!!! But I teach group fitness classes too and they don’t really work in that environment (from my understanding)…so I think I will probably get a polar.
Have a good one
I wish I could watch it but I don’t have cable.
Melissa sounds great though. I gotta pull for people with my own name, right?!
Have a great day!!
I’m Team Melissa as well.