Monday, January 6th, 2014 - Day 1

Prior to starting, I did a thorough cleaning and reorganizing of our pantry and seasoning cupboard.  I'm sure this isn't necessary, but it was so nice to feel ready for the change mentally and organizationally.  We had gone grocery shopping over the weekend and loaded up on lots of items at Trader Joe's and Kroger's - let me just note that Kroger has a truly outstanding organic/natural section.  I knew it previously, but I hadn't really poured over the items like I did on Sunday afternoon.  They had some specialty flour (almond flour, oat flour) and other randomness (xanthan gum, Bragg's Nutritional Yeast, Chia Seeds) that I had been certain would need to be ordered online.  So yay for Kroger!  I think that you could get started on THM eating without a lot of the more specialty items... that being said, I was anxious to dive into some of the more yummy looking recipes and snacks and several called for ingredients I just did not have.

It was great to load up, and I would note that if you wanted to dive into THM with a lot of the items they mention throughout the book, budget yourself $75 - 150 above and beyond your typical grocery budget *for the initial shop*.  I do not think the weekly/monthly costs of eating in this fashion will be very much extra - as they point out in the book, there are many ways to do THM on the cheap, especially if you do not mind going without variety... But I do.  I love the process of eating, meal planning and serving yummy food up for others to enjoy; it is just hardwired into my DNA, and I know that it is not realistic that we would do beans and brown rice every night.  All of that being said, I priced out a typical month and it was not much more than what we were already spending - maybe an extra $40/month.

My wonderful husband helped me prepare the following template for THM meal planning.  If you are interested in the template, just leave a comment and I would be happy to email it to you!  Once I had filled it out and stuck it to the fridge, I felt ready to commence our week of healthy eating :-)

Green is for S or "Satisfying" Meals/Snacks; Blue is for E or "Energizing" Meals/Snacks; Orange is for FP or "Fuel Pull" Meals/Snacks.

S Breakfast: Fall Flavors Muffin-in-a-Mug w/ just a squirt of Fat Free whipped cream on top. Yum!  Tips on the recipe: use just a dash more cocoa and cook to only 50 or 55 seconds to ensure it stays moist. I also chopped up our cranberries, which dispersed the lovely tart flavor throughout the entire muffin.  Although I'm sure it works perfectly well in a mug, I used a ramekin and it really looked pretty (prior to me shoveling half of it and then remembering to take a pic, haha).

E Lunch: Tuna Medley + 2 Rye Wasa Crackers spread with a wedge of Light Spicy Laughing Cow Cheese (half of the package spread on each cracker for a total of only one wedge) + two cantaloupe wedges.  I can envision having this light, fresh lunch many times over the upcoming weeks, with a variety of light Laughing Cow cheese flavors, different fruits and whatnot.  For my tuna medley, I simply dumped one packet of tuna (in water, of course), chopped up a bit of orange pepper, red pepper and green onion and tossed with about a tablespoon and a half of a fat free, <5 grams of sugar/serving dressing (a wasabi dijon, to be specific - bought it at Kroger).

FP Afternoon Snack: Apple Pie Smoothie.  Note that in the recipe, this drink would be considered much closer to an E snack if you consume the full amount as listed.  A half serving is still well within FP, and so I split it with my husband.  We had differing opinions... He felt it was a little flavorless, while I felt it had a nicely subdued apple pie flavor.  My kids each had a taste too, because of course, and it had mixed reviews again - one loved it, one hated it and another was very "meh" about it.  I'm not sure what could be done to make this more palatable to those on the fence, but I would make it again for myself.

S Dinner:  4 oz. Boneless Ribeye Steak + Tossed Salad + Roasted Brussel Sprouts.  Oh yeah!  It was fabulous :-)  I had picked up three of the individually packaged boneless ribeye steaks at Trader Joe's for approximately $5.70/each.  That may seem high for one dinner, but the three steaks comfortably fed four adults and three children.  Definitely way cheaper than taking the same amount to a steak house! I pan seared the steaks in about two or three tablespoons of Kerrygold Butter (make the investment - the stuff is truly amazing) and seasoned with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.  It was my first time roasting brussell sprouts and we (adults) all went crazy for them!  I used Ina Garten's recipe and would not change a thing - the only step I did that is not outlined is chopping the sprouts in half before baking them.  Salad consisted of chopped up romaine, spinach, a sprinkling of cheddar and diced avocado, and tossed with a light drizzle of Ken's Steakhouse Ranch.

S Evening Snack:  Skinny Chocolate + 3 oz. red wine (pinot).  Now, I was nervous to make the skinny chocolate.  I messaged with my friend Michelle who is also a THM follower and sought some advice.  It just, I don't know... I guess it didn't seem like it could possibly be good.  I mean, I l-i-k-e chocolate.  Chocolate likes me.  I didn't want to ruin a good thing.  But I was pleasantly surprised.  The description so many have given of it tasting like a mellow Almond Joy is pretty accurate.  It was smooth, creamy and melted nicely in the mouth.  As it was my first foray into making it and I was sure it was going to be terrible, I waaay over-sweetened it.  Even so, it was still pretty good and the next time I will scale back and follow the recipe more spot-on.  I'm excited for all the variations that could be made and look forward to having this as an S snacking option!