Week 1:
This week was short—only four days—and honestly, it felt like 2025 hit me like a truck. I kept things simple, leaning on struggle meals from my childhood (those meals born out of necessity when resources are tight). Most of my meals were leftovers or pantry staples:
Week 2:
This week, I stepped up my game with more planning and meal prep, finishing up odds and ends from the pantry and freezer. Here’s what I made:
Week 1: Success/Challenge
Success : Simple meals kept things manageable.
Challenge: My meals weren’t the most nourishing.
Week 2: Success /Challenge
Success: Efficient meal prep and creative substitutions.
Challenge: I’m running out of a few staples—rolled oats, oregano, and pantry odds and ends.
Week 1 Meals
- Sun butter and peach jam sandwiches.
- Over-easy eggs on rice.
- Chicken chili (prepped earlier and paired with rice).
Not the most inspiring, but it worked!
Week 2 Meals
- Bolognese Lasagna: Used up all my lasagna sheets and a stash of canned tomato sauce. Made a double batch—two went to neighbors, and one hit the freezer for a lazy day.
- Bolognese Sauce: With no lasagna sheets left, I froze several batches for future pasta nights and paired some with spaghetti this week. Fun hack: I subbed marjoram for oregano (1:1), and it worked perfectly!
- Pumpkin Purée: Baked the last of my garden pumpkins, puréed, and froze them for overnight oats.
- Apple Butter Sauce: Canned the last of my apples (minus three I used for apple butter oats).
- Granola: Used up most of my rolled oats.
- Harina de Maiz: A quick, nostalgic cornmeal porridge for breakfast.
Other highlights:
- Grilled Mediterranean chicken.
- Hard-boiled eggs (eaten with olive oil or smashed into a mayo-filled English muffin).
- Rice with sardines and hard-boiled eggs.
- A burrito stuffed with black beans, spinach, veggie powder, chicken, green olives, and topped with ranch dressing.
