Wednesday's "What We Ate Jan. 7-13, 2013"

For some strange reason, I really enjoy planning. If we're going on a trip or throwing a party, I just love thinking intentionally about how to do it really well. There's just so much satisfaction in a job well planned, & there's no exception when it comes to the meals we eat.

When John & I got married, we had two totally different schools of thought for how to go about getting dinner in our bellies:

My way went something like this: What can I make for dinner this week that will be healthy & tasty? When can I go grocery shopping for all or most of those items? What nights do we need a quick meal? When can we take the extra time to cook something more complicated? 

John's way went something like this: What do I want to eat tonight? OK, let me go buy it.

One way isn't necessarily right or wrong, but if you're trying to stick to a budget, my way usually wins (sorry, honey). Plus, since I'm the one who takes care of the grocery shopping & meal planning (we both cook), I've created a system that works wonderfully for all of that. On Sunday afternoons (usually while Ruby is sleeping so I can be 100% focused), I start perusing all our recipes. I look on Pinterest, through some cookbooks I have, food blogs I envy, & this massive binder of other recipes that I've collected through the years. I look through our cupboards, our fridge, & freezer inventory (yep, I'm that dorky) to see what we need to eat up. I look through our calendar to see what our week is going to be like. I also make sure that we're not eating meat every night (usually we eat chicken once a week, fish once or twice, & any other meat maybe once a week) or pasta twice in a row or something like that (not that that would be a bad thing...)

My inspiration for creating posts on "What We Ate" has come from a few other fellow bloggers who share their weekly menus. I thoroughly enjoy reading about recipes that other people (read: real people) have tried & perfected. I love getting fresh, creative ideas for healthy meals that my kid will eat & simultaneously won't break the bank or cause me to have to shop online for the ingredients. I decided that since our lives change spontaneously & our food calendar doesn't always stay the same, that I would share what we actually ate instead of what I planned for.

Some people may think it's a little silly to write about what we've been eating, but chances are if you're still reading this, that you're gonna enjoy this. I love hearing about what you're eating & I can always use a little more healthy food-centered motivation in my life. Please, please, please feel free to comment below on what you're eating or have eaten this week & in the meantime, enjoy a little inspiration from our little kitchen.

Sunday's dinner: frozen Annie's cheese pizza with added mushrooms, spinach, & Roma tomatoes

What We Ate Jan. 7-13, 2013

Monday: Salmon burgers with sweet potato fries
Tuesday: Vegetable fajitas
Wednesday: Spinach & goat cheese-stuffed chicken with roasted mushroom quinoa
Thursday: Falafel salad with whole wheat pitas & coconut chocolate pie for dessert (it was my bday!)
Friday: Dined at Kate's On State for my bday (I ate the seafood & wild mushroom ravioli=heaven!)
Saturday: French onion soup & salad
Sunday: Frozen cheese pizza with added mushrooms, spinach, & Roma tomatoes