Seven Ten Clark

First half of the month menu tiiiiime! I slaved over this thing, you guys, so bask in its glory.

1. Roasted spaghetti squash with mushrooms, with garlic bread on the side
2. Hot dogs and baked beans!
3. Thai curry, loosely following this recipe, but with frozen veggies
4. Burgers and Brussels sprouts
5. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes
6. Fettucini with Balsalmic Delicata Squash & Bitter Greens
7. Italian bread pizza
   Take a loaf of Italian bread, cut it in half lengthwise, spread with sauce, add toppings and cheese, pop in a 350* oven for 10 minutes. PIZZA!
8. Grilled apple and cheese sandwiches and side salad
   One of our local restaurants (Red’s Alehouse) makes this with brie, mozzarella, slices of Granny Smith apples, caramelized onions, and arugula. I am determined to recreate it.
9. Spaghetti with Swiss Chard and garlic chips
10. Quinoa salad
11. Breakfast at dinner
    We usually do some variation on the egg+toast+breakfast potato theme
12. Tacos
    Tortillas, spiced black beans with diced chiles, avocado, sour cream, cheese, onions, tomatoes, PERFECT.
13. Ravioli and sauce with salad
    We’ve got some leftover refrigerated stuff from Costco that rocks my socks.
14. Jambalaya
    We’ll be making this dish vegetarian by using Soyrizo and some grilled chicken things, and using veggie stock. Yum!

We already ate Dish #13 last night, when we decided to wait until today to go to the grocery store. OOPS. Oh well, it was delicious.

Okay, yes. I know I owe you some big time updates on the house. We’ve done some huge, marvelous things! Hardwood floors! Garage! Baby! I’ve been away too long, and I’ve got a SERIOUS case of catch-up to do. I promise I will! But first, I want to tell you about what we’re doing here at Seven Ten Clark for the month of January.

We’re doing a food challenge! We will not be eating out (the food kind, not the dirty kind) for the entire month of January. No restaurant food*, no fast food, NO JUNK! Looking back over our finances (because I’m the money-watcher in our household), we spend wayyy too much money on food. Money that would be better spent elsewhere. Hello, daycare-that-costs-a-mortgage-payment! Hi there, giant-student-loan-debt! While we don’t usually spend our shared household account money on eating out, between the two of us, Kevin and I will definitely see a big leap up in our bank balances if we’re not going the easy route and grabbing what’s convenient.

It’s just not healthy, either. We’re vegetarian, so it’s not like we’re guzzling grease-encased fried chicken bits, or lardburgers. But still, our go-to delivered food is pizza, and that does not make us good vegetarians. We’re not honoring our bodies by filling it with cheese and bread 90% of the time, and we’re both coming to the conclusion that we want to be in a healthier place. Kevin has started riding his bike back and forth to work every day, and the trip will be easier when his body’s fuel is higher quality. Obviously, I could stand to get down to a healthier weight.

I’ll admit it, we’ve had a pretty good excuse up until now (her name is Clare). But we can’t milk that excuse forever! And now’s the time to make the change, especially before she starts eating solid foods. It’s time to meal plan, grocery shop, and have some fun in the kitchen!

So, I’ll be writing up our meal plans here, taking pictures of particularly delicious homemade foods, and showing you our progress! We’re already on Day 3 of January, and we’ve been eating up stuff from the pantry to prep for shopping tonight.

Wish us luck!