Happy 2009!

Breakfast
I didn’t get to bed until 3 am last night, and I had to be up at 9 to get ready for work. Yes, work. I have to work every other holiday, and lucky me-today was my turn! At least I got a later shift, rather than an early one. I was definitely half asleep and on autopilot today, so I just had a packet of oatmeal with ½ cup of skim milk and ¼ cup of raisins along with a small (4 oz) glass of orange juice. Of course, I also had a big cup of coffee-I will need a lot more before the day is done, I’m sure.

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 1 oz whole (oatmeal)
Fruits: ½ cup
Vegetables: 0
Milk: ½ cup (skim milk)
Meats & beans: 0
Oils: 0
The cost of this meal was approximately: $0.74
Lunch-2nd run of leftovers
I had leftover pasta, meatballs and sauce for lunch again. This time it was 1 cup of pasta, ¾ cup of sauce, 3 meatballs and 3 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese (I’m determined to use this stuff up!). I also had 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce with some cinnamon that I added myself. This is another easy and inexpensive way that I have found to get fruits into my diet, especially in the winter when produce prices are through the roof. I bought a large jar of the store brand applesauce (I always buy unsweetened-I don’t think it needs the extra sugar). It’s very easy to portion out, and all it needs is a little cinnamon to top it off.

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 2 oz (pasta)
Fruits: 1 cup (applesauce)
Vegetables: ¾ cup (pasta sauce)
Milk: ½ cup (Parmesan cheese)
Meats & beans: 3 oz (meatballs)
Oils: 0

The cost of this meal was approximately: $1.77

Dinner
I had a plan to use up more of the leftovers from the other day. I still had a lot of green beans left, so I made a meal that would go along with them. I sautéed some frozen chicken breast (about 4 ounces for my portion) in olive oil and garlic and served it over ½ cup of brown rice. I heated up about a cup of green beans for myself, and split a large sweet potato (baked in the microwave) between me and Matt. As usual, I added about a teaspoon of Smart Balance light to the potato along with my newfound addition, a few shakes of cinnamon. Very good, and I got to use up more leftovers, too! After dinner, I was still craving something sweet so I had a piece of banana bread. I heated it up in the microwave for about 20 seconds…it was almost as good as if it had just come out of the oven!

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 2 oz whole (rice and banana bread)
Fruits: 0
Vegetables: 1 ½ cups (green beans and sweet potato)
Milk: 0
Meats & beans: 4 oz (chicken breast)
Oils: 2 teaspoons (Smart Balance and olive oil)

The cost of this meal was approximately: $1.63

How did I do today?
Grains: 5 oz out of 6 oz (3 were whole)
Fruits: 2 cups out of 2 cups
Vegetables: 2 ¼ cups out of 2 ½ cups
Milk: 1 cup out of 3 cups (oops-should’ve had a cappuccino today!)
Meats & beans: 7 oz out of 5 ½ oz
Oils: 2 teaspoons out of 6 teaspoons

Total cost for the day: $4.14