1.8.09

Breakfast

Today I went for espresso rather than regular coffee. I added a cup of steamed skim milk to the espresso, along with a packet of Equal and a little cinnamon. It was a nice change from the sugar free caramel syrup. Although I do like the flavor, it seems like a bit much for breakfast. I also made some oatmeal this morning. I used ¼ cup of plain quick-cooking oats and added ½ cup of skim milk, ¼ cup of dried blueberries, 11 almonds (sliced myself), and ½ of a packet of Equal to make up for the lack of sweetness. It was really good-who needs the single serving packets? This was much cheaper, too. I also had a cup of orange juice.

All together, this meal provided:

Grains: 1 oz whole (oatmeal)

Fruits: 1 ½ cups (dried blueberries and orange juice)

Vegetables: 0

Milk: 1 ½ cups (skim milk with espresso and oatmeal)

Meats & beans: 1 oz (almonds)

Oils: 1 teaspoon (almonds)

The cost of this meal was approximately: $1.35

Lunch

There was plenty of the lentil soup left over from dinner last night, so I heated some up for lunch today. I had about 2 cups of the soup with 4 tablespoons of fat free plain yogurt added to it (I mixed in two and then added another two on top-extra yummy!). I also had 6 raw baby carrots on the side. The soup was even better the next day, after allowing all the flavors to come together overnight. It is a very filling meal too, due to all the fiber provided by the beans. Cheap and nutritious…I love lentils!

All together, this meal provided:

Grains: 0

Fruits: 0

Vegetables: 1 ¼ cups (spinach and carrots in soup, and carrots on the side)

Milk: 1 ¼ cup (yogurt)

Meats & beans: 4 oz (about 1 cup of lentils in the soup)

Oils: 0

The cost of this meal was approximately: $0.58

Afternoon Snack

I knew I’d be having dinner late tonight, so I had some mozzarella cheese (2 1-inch cubes) with 9 All-Bran crackers. This is a great snack, but it’s starting to become a staple for me. I might have to find a way to switch it up so I can keep some variety!

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

Dinner

I decided to make a somewhat simple dinner tonight-no recipe required. I love making pasta dishes because the possibilities are almost endless, and you can make it into a whole new dish just by changing the type of sauce or a few ingredients. Tonight I made whole wheat rotini pasta and tossed it with pre-made pesto sauce (Classico). I steamed broccoli, carrots and fresh spinach in the microwave and served it on top of the pasta. My portion was about 2 cups of pasta with about a tablespoon of pesto and 1 ½ cups of vegetables.

All together, this meal provided:

Grains: 4 oz whole (pasta)

Fruits: 0

Vegetables: 1 ½ cups (carrots, broccoli and spinach in pasta)

Milk: 0

Meats & beans: 0

Oils: 2 teaspoons (pesto sauce)

The cost of this meal was approximately: $1.40

How did I do today?

Grains: 5 ½ oz out of 6 oz (all were whole)

Fruits: 2 cups out of 2 cups

Vegetables: 2 ¾ cups out of 2 ½ cups

Milk: 2 ¾ cups out of 3 cups

Meats & beans: 5 oz out of 5 ½ oz

Oils: 3 tsp out of 6 tsp

Total cost for the day: $3.96