It's Dinner Time!

A few of my blogger friends have been blogging recently or for a while about losing weight, becoming healthier, and how this incorporates into our lives. Most of us are moms and are taking care of families, maintaining careers, and somewhere in between trying to take care of ourselves. Let's face it, it usually takes the back burner to the other priorities in our lives.
If I had my druthers, I would own my own gym (like Revolution Fitness) and my gym would offer food preparation that coincides with your workout plan. I think that many people can find the time to work out, but the portion of that healthier lifestyle gets lost in the meal preparation for our families.
I don't toot my own horn much, but I will say that I am a pretty good cook and that I can create a meal idea within minutes. I know many people who look in the pantry and for them it is like trying to solve a calculus problem. They have the ingredients, but no idea how to put them together.
I am going to start by saying, that planning is essential to making meals. As well is, having a well stocked pantry with items that fit your diet and tastes. Let me start out by saying that I do not grocery shop without my meals planned out ahead of time, and I also make sure that I am stocked with the staples that allow me to create stuff on the fly.
The staples that I keep in my pantry are: A collection of Barilla Plus Pasta, Elbows, Penne, Spaghetti, and Rigatoni.
I keep Soba noodles as well.
Bread Crumbs ( I prefer the Corn Flake bread crumbs) but occasionally I make my own.
Kalamata Olives
Sun Dried Tomatoes, not packed in oil
Banana Peppers
A large jar of artichoke hearts
Goat Cheese
Feta Cheese
Blue Cheese
A variety of bagged cheeses
Real Butter, not margarine
Can of Cheese soup
Cans of black beans
Cans of chick peas
Bag of fresh spinach
Frozen spinach
whole wheat tortillas
90/10 ground beef
lettuce
tomatoes
red onion
sweet yellow onion
Greek salad dressing
ranch dressing
carrots
lemon and lime juice
honey
an assortment of fruit
oatmeal
I own a lot of dried spices and I frequently buy fresh
easy cook bacon
Pizza Kits
I also keep a stock of things for the kids to eat, for quick meals they can have on the fly. Turkey hot dogs, the pizza kits, etc. That ensures that we do not go through the fast food drive through. Then the adults can always eat later.
A lot of my stocked items come from Costco. And for all of you that know me, you know how much I heart Costco. Of course these are all things that we like to eat. You have to figure out the things you should have on hand to make the meals that you like.
For example. Tonight the kids ate before the adults due to craziness. So I made macaroni and cheese from scratch with a sundried tomato and bread crumb topping.
The salad is spinach with bacon crumbs, apples, blue cheese with a dressing that is olive oil, honey, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
I had dinner made in 45 minutes on the fly. This prevented us from ordering crappy carryout food.
I will recreate my meal list from this week, showing you that it can be done easlily and healthy with a little preplanning and a well stocked pantry.