1/4/09

Breakfast
Today I went for another new twist on oatmeal. I made the last (finally) packet of maple and brown sugar oatmeal, but this time I added a sliced banana along with about 2 tablespoons of walnuts and 1/2 cup of skim milk. It was nice to find yet another delicous way to enjoy oatmeal. I can't believe I used to eat it plain, with nothing added to it at all besides milk. This project has really helped me get out of my "comfort zone," especially with breakfast. It used to be oatmeal every day in the winter, and cold cereal every day in the summer. Aside from making breakfast more interesting, this has also helped me stay full longer and incorporate more food groups-especially fruits-into my daily intake.

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 1 oz whole (oatmeal)
Fruits: 3/4 cup (medium banana)
Vegetables: 0
Milk: ½ cup (skim milk)
Meats & beans: 1 oz (walnuts)
Oils: 0

The cost of this meal was approximately: $0.83

Late morning snack
I really enjoyed my mozzarella cheese plan yesterday-it was an easy way to include a milk product in my diet. Once again, I had 2 1-inch cubes of cheese with 9 All-Bran crackers.

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: ½ oz whole (crackers)
Fruits: 0
Vegetables: 0
Milk: 1 cup (mozzarella cheese)
Meats & beans: 0
Oils: 0

The cost of this meal was approximately: $0.63

Lunch
It was a workday, so I brought lunch with me. I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread with about 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and 2 teaspoons of grape jam. I also had an ounce of Baked Lays and 12 raw baby carrots (counts as a cup of vegetables). I love baby carrots because they are another easy, portable way to get vegetables. I usually eat them plain, but sometimes I eat them with low fat or fat free salad dressing for variety.

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 2 oz whole (bread)
Fruits: 0
Vegetables: 1 1/2 cups (chips and carrots)
Milk: 0
Meats & beans: 2 oz (peanut butter)
Oils: 2 tsp (peanut butter)

The cost of this meal was approximately: $1.10

Dinner
I knew I had a can of black beans sitting at home, and really wanted to find a way to incorporate them into a meal. Once again, CookingLight.com was my savior! I found a recipe for enchiladas that sounded really good, so I stopped by the store to pick up the remaining items I would need to make them: enchilada sauce, reduced fat cream cheese, and Manny's whole wheat tortillas. Instead of using soy crumbles, I opted for the frozen chicken I had on hand instead. I also used about 1/2 cup more cheddar cheese than the recipe called for: you can never have enough cheese, plus I use the reduced fat kind so there's less guilt :) They turned out really good...Matt definitely approved! I put two on my plate, but only ate about 1 1/2 because they were very filling. I also had a glass of orange juice, which seems like a weird combo, but actually worked quite well.

recipe:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=549755

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 2 oz whole (1 1/2 7" tortillas)
Fruits: 1 cup (orange juice)
Vegetables: 1 cups (1/2 cup beans-counting as a veg this time + 1/4 cup each of salsa and enchilada sauce)
Milk: 2 cups (1/2 cup of cheddar cheese)
Meats & beans: 2 oz (chicken)
Oils: 0

The cost of this meal was approximately: $2.89

How did I do today?
Grains: 6 oz out of 6 oz (all were whole)
Fruits: 2 cups out of 2 cups
Vegetables: 2 ½ cups out of 2 ½ cups
Milk: 3 1/4 cups out of 3 cups (I actually went over?!)
Meats & beans: 5 oz out of 5 ½ oz
Oils: 4 tsp out of 6 tsp

Total cost for the day: $5.44