Breakfast
This morning, after my cup of coffee (no latte this morning) I made my own apple cinnamon oatmeal. I woke up knowing that I wanted oatmeal, but as I am on my quest to try new things, I decided to get a little creative with my additions: half of an apple, chopped into small pieces (about 1/2 cup). I added this in before I cooked the oats (1/4 cup + 1/8 cup) with a cup of skim milk. That way, I figured, the apple would get softer. After it was done cooking, I added a generous amount of cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of raisins. This was so good! I used to eat the packaged apple cinnamon oatmeal, and never liked it-I guess fresh ingredients make all the difference. Yum! Now I'm ready to try and get through this chapter of reading for Biochem before I head to class. Happy Thursday!

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 1 1/2 oz whole (oatmeal)
Fruits: 3/4 cup (1/2 from apple and 1/4 from raisins)
Vegetables: 0
Milk: 1 cup (skim milk in oatmeal)
Meats & beans: 0
Oils: 0

The cost of this meal was approximately: $0.81

Lunch/Snack
Before I went to class, I had a small lunch of the leftover tortellini pasta with pesto and veggies from last night. The portion was about a cup of tortellini with 1/2 cup of mixed peas & carrots and a teaspoon of pesto, topped with a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese. This was a small lunch because I knew I was going to want to eat again later before I headed out to practicum. Later, I had the other half of the apple from this morning (I preserved it by placing it in a tupperware container of water) with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and a 6 oz cup of fat free yogurt.


All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 1 ½ oz (tortellini)
Fruits: 1/2 cup (apple)
Vegetables: ½ cup (peas & carrots in pasta)
Milk: 1 cup (1/4 from cheese in tortellini and ¾ from yogurt)
Meats & beans: 2 oz (peanut butter)
Oils: 3 teaspoons (1 from pesto sauce and 2 from peanut butter)

The cost of this meal was approximately: $1.77

Breakfast for Dinner!
I LOVE making big breakfasts, but am not always in the mood, nor do I have the time needed for preparing them, in the morning. Tonight I made an egg casserole: sautéed potatoes with tomatoes, spinach, Better n'eggs, and cheddar cheese. This time, I used frozen potatoe wedges (Alexia brand). I thawed them for a couple minutes in the microwave, chopped them into small pieces (it ended up being about a cup total), and then sautéed them with a little vegetable oil (about a teaspoon per serving) in a skillet. It would be cheaper to use a whole potato, I know-but I had these on hand, and they are already seasoned-plus they cook much faster this way. Once the potato was nicely browned, I added a cup of canned diced tomatoes (store brand-no salt added variety). I did not add the juice-I drained it off before adding to the skillet. Then, I threw in about 4 cups of fresh spinach. As soon as the spinach was wilted and the tomatoes were hot, I added 1 ½ cups of Better n’eggs and scrambled everything together. I split this into 2 servings for me and Matt, and added ¼ cup of reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese (store brand) to each one. I also had 2 slices of whole wheat toast with a teaspoon of Smart Balance Light and an 8 oz glass of orange juice. This is a very satisfying and healthy meal that is good morning, noon or night!

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 2 oz whole (toast)
Fruits: 1 cup (orange juice)
Vegetables: 2 cups (½ from potatoes, ½ from tomatoes and 1 from spinach)
Milk: 1 cup (cheddar cheese)
Meats & beans: 3 oz (from ¾ cup egg substitute)
Oils: 1 teaspoons (vegetable oil for sautéing)

The cost of this meal was approximately: $2.48

How did I do today?
Grains: 6 oz out of 6 oz (4 ½ were whole)
Fruits: 2 ¼ cups out of 2 cups
Vegetables: 2 ½ cups out of 2 ½ cups
Milk: 3 ¼ cups out of 3 cups
Meats & Beans: 5 oz out of 5 1/2 oz
Oils: 5 teaspoons out of 6 teaspoons

Total cost for the day: $5.06