What's For Dinner?

Each week I have tirelessly planned what we were going to have for dinner only to not follow through simply because I didn't feel like making it. Now that I am finding meals that I can make ahead of time I wanted to share what we will be making for dinner each week and the blogs that I use to find my meals.
Have you ever noticed really fit people answer the question so evasively? "What do you have for dinner?" Their responses are so vague with "chicken and steamed veggies" and I feel like screaming can you be more specific!! Needless to say the specifics will be here and I will be charting what we thought of our different meals for the week.
This week I found this amazing blog called www.mynaturalfamily.com
She posts a ton of recipes and I chose only 4 this week since it is a short work week and I made a ton of food so I figure I can do leftovers some of the days too.
1). Paleo Lasagna
2). Santa Fe Chicken
3). Sun Dried Tomato Chicken
4). Beef Stew

Here are some pictures of what I prepped and I wish you could come into my kitchen to smell how good all of this is. For the 2 hours it took me to prep all these meals it is well worth it for the time and energy it will save me during a busy back to school work week as well as allowing myself to make sure we are eating healthy as a family. Some of the recipes called for things I had never used before like Tapioca Starch. I was able to find it at Wegman's so if there are any ingredients you struggle with finding just let me know. I can give you a rundown of what I used, but I was able to find most of the items on the list. Cost to prep all 4 of these meals which I know will last us all week was $100. To feed a family of 6 on that cost alone is a shock for us because we have been close to $200 weekly so money savings was big and that just makes this even more exciting.
Share what you are making for dinner or post a recipe you would like me to include in our family menu. I am always looking for ideas!!

Meal Prepping and I can still get my healthy shake in while I work

Sun Dried Tomato Chicken-this was still hot so the bag was steamy which is why I opened it. Smells so good 

Santa Fe Chicken 

Paleo Beef Stew 

Paleo Lasagna

5 Most Effective Ways to Start a Routine

As the new school year is approaching I am reminded that the little routine I have developed with the kids is going out the window. I am going to have to figure out breakfast, lunch and dinner in a different way and I also have to think about my workout routines and meal planning.

Here are my tips to starting a new routine that is going to help you with those Back To School Routines and keep you on track towards your goals!

1). Plan your morning ahead of time. Think about the tasks you need to complete before you or the kids walk out the door. Start with the biggest one first. So if you are looking to workout, shower, get the kids ready for school and eat breakfast decide which one is your biggest task. For me I am going to do the routine in the order I listed. My workout takes 30 minutes and if I plan ahead I will be able to get that done and out of the way for the day.

2). Resist the Phone! Sure it is fun to check Facebook and see what is happening in the news, but when getting into a routine it is a huge distraction and once you get sucked into the social media vortex you realized you just lost 15 minutes of time.

3). Set Goals! What do you want to accomplish in your day? What is most important and what can you leave for another time? One thing I do with my routine is if there is something I didn't accomplish at the end of the day it automatically gets added to the next day. Making a checklist is a great way to start a routine and gives a sense of accomplishment when you can check a box off. I love lists!

4). One of my favorites-Start with the easy routines first. What does this mean? You need to look at what you want to accomplish and go for the easy ones. If you start with the most difficult first it will be less likely to make it into a "routine" but rather a hassle and something you will abandon. An example would be my goal of trying to get up at 5AM to workout. It hasn't happened yet, I just go to bed too late and I'm not mentally ready. So I need to plan ahead and start with 6AM and then work my way to an earlier time.

5). LESS IS MORE!! Do not add to much to your new routine. If you have over 10 items on your routine you will become overwhelmed at the amount of tasks to accomplish in a day. Take baby steps and find the most essential. As you ease into the easy routines you can add to them, but do not exceed 10!!

I saw this quote from Steve Jobs and thought it was really something that puts life in perspective. We get dragged into so much "other" stuff that sometimes we lose sight of what we really want. So as you start your routine make sure it adds value to your life!

Comment below with what your routine will look like? Help other parents getting ready to tackle the new school year and even if you aren't a parent are you going to be starting a new routine yourself?