1.27.09 - Let it snow!

Breakfast
I'm back on the oatmeal today, after only a only day hiatus. It is such a nice winter meal though, and today is definitely a winter day! We got a couple inches of snow last night, and are due to get a few more before the day is over. I dutifully checked the school closings this morning, hoping I would see my college on them, and was sorely disappointed. It really is just as exciting when you get a snow day as an adult... until you realize that it's your money down the drain, of course! Today I made my oatmeal with 1/4 + 1/8 cup of quick oats, a cup of skim milk, 1/4 cup of raisins and 2 tablespoons of walnuts. I also added a pretty generous amount of cinnamon on top of the oatmeal, and had a cup of OJ on the side. Now, off to school!

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 1 1/2 oz whole (oatmeal)
Fruits: 1/2 cup (raisins)
Vegetables: 0
Milk: 1 cup (milk)
Meats & beans: 1 oz (walnuts)
Oils: 1 teaspoon (walnuts)

The cost of this meal was approximately: $0.75

Snack
I had a Market Pantry banana nut granola bar as a snack between classes. I'm going to wait until later to have lunch, because Matt and I are planning sort of a date for this afternoon, weather permitting.
All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 1/2 oz whole
The cost of this meal was approximately: $0.25



Lunch
We ended up going to Bread Company (Panera) for lunch. I got a "pick two" with black bean soup, 1/2 of a Mediterranean veggie sandwich, Baked Lays chips, and a latte. It was a pretty good lunch-fairly balanced as it includes almost all of the food groups (fruit is missing). Panera is definitely a luxury at the prices they charge, but I tried not to think about it and enjoyed the time together, along with the people watching, and winter watching, out the window.

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 1 oz (bread)
Fruits: 0
Vegetables: 1 1/4 cups (chips and veggies on sandwich: lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and onions)
Milk: 1 1/4 cups (1 from skim milk in latte and 1/4 from feta cheese on sandwich)
Meats & beans: 3 oz (2 from 1/2 cup beans in soup, and 1 from a tablespoon of hummus on sandwich)
Oils: 0

The cost of this meal (if I had prepared it at home) was approximately: $1.45 (quite a difference from the $10 I paid in the store!)

Dinner
I made "fake chicken Parmesan" for dinner tonight. This is a lot like regular chicken Parmesan, with a Boca "chicken" patty substituted instead of meat. I like to use vegetarian substitutes once in awhile, although I'm not a vegetarian. The Boca products are very good, but I will say they are a bit pricey at $3.49 for a package of 4. It is, honestly, cheaper to use real meat-but it's nice for a change, and they are very easy to prepare-just pop it in the oven for 15 minutes, whereas with real chicken I would have had to wait at least twice that. The rest of the meal was equally quick to throw together: whole wheat spaghetti, Classico tomato & basil pasta sauce, and frozen broccoli steamed in the microwave. I had a cup of pasta with 1/2 cup of sauce, a Boca patty with 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese melted on top, and 1 1/2 cup of broccoli with a teaspoon of Smart Balance Light and a little Mrs. Dash on top. Not exactly an Italian classic, but nice for a cold, snowy evening when you don't feel like doing much!


All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 1 oz whole (spaghetti pasta)
Fruits: 0
Vegetables: 2 cups (pasta sauce and broccoli)
Milk: 3/4 cup (mozzarella cheese)
Meats & beans: 2 1/2 oz (Boca patty)
Oils: 1 teaspoon (Smart Balance)

The cost of this meal was approximately: $2.36

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

Total cost for the day: $4.82