Getting back to "good"

My boyfriend has terrible eating habits. When left to fend for himself, he considers a turkey and cheese sandwich with a side of Ramen as dinner. No, no, no. While there have been some positive influences on his eating styles (he's now able to make tacos for himself), he has always pulled me away to my formerly stellar eating habits, and about 5 pounds of weight gain is the proof. Damn him.

But that's it! No more! It's back to meal plans, staying strong against unhealthy snacking and more dedication toward gym time for this rogue health-head.

Last week, I made two of my old favorites: a frittata and falafel. It's been a fairly long time since I made either, but they were great dinner meals and both were enough to have leftovers for work lunches.

This past Saturday I made a stop at Trader Joe's on my way home from the barn. I've been making a stop there about once a month lately, and stocking up on some staples (like pasta, sauce, frozen goods, etc.). I love the prices at TJ's - I'm able to get better quality goods much cheaper than the grocery store (at least compared to my neighborhood stores). TJ's isn't my favorite for most produce, since I find many of their items to be individually wrapped, but this time I did bring home a basket of plums, a couple bananas, a couple bags of carrots and romaine lettuce. These items were packaged the same way I'd find them anywhere else.

On Sunday, I went through everything I purchased and what I already had at home, and wrote out my week's meals on a dry erase board in the kitchen:

• Tempura shrimp with rice 
• Falafel
• Tacos (made with ground turkey)
• Pasta with turkey meatballs
• Caesar salad with grilled shrimp

I based my plan on what would produce leftovers that I could have for lunch later in the week, what I'd make when Ashley would be over during the week, and what would be the best meal to have after my 2-hour night at the gym. So it's sort of planning on top of planning and my God do I love a plan.