Planning

I have been obsessively reading vegetarian websites, vegetarian magazines, vegetarian blogs and vegetarian cookbooks for over a week now. I have been to the grocery store twice to buy foods to make the switch back to vegetarianism easier. Unfortunately, these things were not united by planning. I checked my pantry, fridge and freezer to make sure I had the ingredients I needed for a couple of recipes and then just bought a bunch of food. Tuesday and Wednesday went really well. I knew what I was going to make, so I came home and just made it. They were good meals, too. Tonight, however, I came home with no plan.

Fortunately I had picked up a couple of cans of red beans, so I was able to pull together red beans and rice, some baked potato wedges and green beans for a yummy dinner, but I see a definite menu and grocery shopping list in my future for next week.

Lunch today was good. I remembered the salsa, but I still ended up foraging in my cubicle at 3:30. I found some caramel rice cakes, and I spread one with a bit of peanut butter, which really hit the spot. I know what my afternoon snack will be tomorrow! I was impressed, too, because the rice cakes were actually dairy free. They did have some honey, but I am so happy that it wasn't high fructose corn syrup. I have my lunch mostly made for tomorrow, so that will make my first week at work this year complete with lunch brought every day! It's a short week, but only 1 day short. I am feeling pretty good about this.

We didn't make a lunch for the girl tonight, but we have been heating the chik'n patty or nuggets in the morning anyway. She brought her lunchbox home from school today (who knows how long it has been there...), so we can throw an ice pack in and she can bring a soy pudding and a Silk Alive yogurt smoothie. Her lunch should come together pretty quickly. This was only a three day week for her, but we made it through her first week, too.

One week down, well, let's not think about how many to go. I prefer to dwell on the success of this week completed, not the many weeks, months and years to come.