Saturday, January 28, 2017

Fitness after 50. Week 7. Meal Plan AND a Giveaway.

This is my new series about fitness.  I am certainly no expert.  Posts will be about what's working for me.  There will definitely be running plans, flexibility, and basic weight lifting.  You can also expect nutrition ideas, recipes, and, well, probably lots maybe a little bit of whining.  ;-)

I hope I have the courage to tell you about the failures.

  If you'd like to read the premise for all of this, take a look at these previous posts.


Week 7.  Meal Prep

 I want to talk about cooking dinner most days.  Don't get me wrong.  We like going to restaurants, but consider that to be once a week treats for the weekend, not a daily habit.  Sometimes you'll see us drive thru a burger joint, but only in a pinch.

Handsome Husband and I share kitchen duty.  Sometimes he cooks, sometimes I cook.   Other times we cook together.  There's something very sexy about cooking together.  I love being in the kitchen with him working side by side, occasionally brushing against him.  He's such an attractive man.  Oh, wait.  Where was I?  Food.  Right.


(Any photos of him generate beard care questions.  He shops HERE)

You might remember I've had two surgeries this past year.  When I was in physical therapy, I would be completely sapped of strength afterward.  I got to come home to a lovely plate ready to eat.  He's a really good guy!  ;-)



About a year ago, though, we were in a strange rut, tired of all our favorite recipes.  Neither of us wanted to cook or go grocery shopping, and both of us were being pretty dang grouchy about it.  Local restaurants were seeing us more and more.  One of my co-workers had tried Blue Apron, and had some free meals to give away, so we gave that a shot and liked it!

Here's what happens.  You go on their site and choose your menu preferences.  Then they overnight a box that's sort of like a cooler with all the ingredients you need along with detailed recipes.  If you need one carrot, you get one carrot.  If only one egg is needed, only one egg is sent.  Sometimes we receive ingredients we've never even heard of before which is pretty cool.  It's always fun to try something new!  Over time, you "earn" free meals to share with friends.  Our favorite neighbors like Hello Fresh, very similar to Blue Apron, and we swapped free meals.  We enjoy Hello Fresh now, too!  When the meal kits first began, we requested weekly deliveries until we started missing our longtime family favorites.  These days, we alternate weeks.  One week we get a delivery which reduces shopping time by quite a bit.  That's nice.  The next week, we go to the grocery store and pick up items for our standbys.  Any leftovers land in our lunch boxes.  We are definitely back in the habit of cooking most evenings.

I said all THAT to say THIS.

While eating out can be fun (and you don't have to clean up afterward, which is great) nutritionally, it can be quite the land mine.  It's important that we plan and cook our own meals, knowing the ingredients and controlling the amount of salt, sugar, fats and portion size that lands on our plate.  We do not eliminate any food groups, as boredom can be a big problem around here.  Not everything we cook is super low calorie either.

No matter how much we exercise, we have to eat well to maintain a healthy weight range.

Giveaway

If you live in the United States and would like to try the delivery boxes, I have a few free meals I can give away.  Just message me below that you're interested.  I'll need your name and email address so please send that to me at

Stone (dot) Cottage (dot) Adv (at) cox (dot) net

If you're not in the US, or just don't like the idea of groceries being delivered, here are some

Target's Printable Grocery Coupons



What do you like to cook?  How do you plan your meals and get the shopping done?

;-)  -Marci

16 comments:

  1. We've been trying to make different meals lately. You get tired of the same old meals all the time!

    Colletta

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    1. We certainly get bored with the same ol' things around here! -Marci

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  2. I have been so bad lately going through drive thru's. I woke up this morning with a new mindset so today is day 1 of healthy eating and getting back into a fitness routine. I would love to try the meals! keshakeke(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Drive thru's have a way of calling our names, don't they? I'm sending you an email right now. -Marci

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  3. Thanks for sharing an alternative to cooking every night at the What's for Dinner link up! BTW - the coupon link didn't work for me.

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    1. Thank you for letting me know about the link misbehaving! I just corrected it. -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

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  4. As much as I love to cook, it's tough getting a meal on the table every night when busy or tired. Some days I say to Mr Delightful, I'm in the mood to cook but not to go shopping for the ingredients or clean up afterward! :D That's why I like to cook "big" and freeze stuff.

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  5. While it's convenient to eat out, I prefer to cook at home most of the time, too. I am picky about how my food is handled, and I like to know the food I eat is fresh. Best of luck with your fitness and nutrition plan.

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  6. I get tired of eating out and am always on the look out for new ways to fix basics that we like.

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  7. We have to drastically change our bad eating habits due to my husband's recent heart attack. I've been putting it off for years. So now I just need to plan meals that are healthier. Thanks for the post! Is the giveaway still going on?

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    1. Yes! I still have some meals to give away. Will you please email me at Stone.Cottage.Adv (at) cox.net? I just need your full name and email address. -Marci

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  8. Hi
    I found you at Proverbs 31. I have allergies and hubby has lost 40 pounds by eating Veggie-Paleo. It works for us. Recipes are delicious. Tonight we had cod, with artichokes, tomatoes and capers. Yummy. Of course added even more vegetables on the side.
    Blessings
    Janis

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  9. Our daughter gifted us with some Blue Apron meals and we are enjoying them!

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  10. Best wishes on your fitness goals, and thank you for sharing your journey at the Healthy Living Link Party!
    Blessings, Leigh

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  11. Cooking from scratch is definitely the way to go for the majority of the time, but it needs planning and is not impossible. I double up cooking some meals and freeze them so there's often an easier option in the freezer, but sometimes a takeaway / restaurant is the preferred option. Thanks for sharing with #PoCoLo

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  12. It is so tough not to get bored with the regular meals, the Hubby and I switch around what we eat and try new recipes occasionally.
    Thanks for linking to #pocolo
    (Sorry for the epically late comment!)

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