Weekly Meal Plan 3 - Tuna Salad and Steak

So this round of monthly grocery shopping, the husband and I decided to prep for a week at a time instead of changing the menu out daily throughout the week which is what we did last month. See last month's meal plan HERE.

So we bought for 4 different weeks but the meals within the week stay the same, although 1 day each week I take a maintenance day at 1900 cals.

We thought this would be a good experiment to try out and learn from and would make prep time a snap.

You see, we have two kids who are involved in sports, church, and music. Every night of the week (almost) one or the other has an practice or meeting. I usually have time to cook, but sometimes it gets a bit hectic.  The idea of getting it all ready to go ahead of time and then just grabbing to eat together sounded really nice!

You can see week #1's meal plan HERE

You can see week #2's meal plan HERE

And here is week #3's menu from the monthly shopping trip:

Breakfast	VenusCrossing PB Cup Protein Shake with PB2 and Spinach 205 cals – 11 g carbs – 6 g fat – 31 g protein
Lunch	VenusCrossing Lean Tuna Salad 310 cals – 40g carbs – 3g fat -34g protein
Snack	Quest Peanut Butter and Jelly Protein Bar, microwaved for 20 s 1 tbsp Jif peanut butter 295 cals – 24g carbs – 18g fat – 24g protein
Dinner	4 oz marinaded and cubed eye of round steak, braised in the crockpot 1/2 cup steamed French green beans 1 medium sweet potato, roasted 367 cals – 31g carbs – 3g fat – 50g protein
Dessert	½ cup strawberries, sliced ½ cup 2% cottage cheese, unpacked 126 cals – 10 g carbs – 2 g fat – 16 g protein
TOTALS	1303 cals – 116 g carbs – 32g fat – 155g protein

I also have coffee with a tbsp of creamer in the morning as well as a couple of other supplements with a few calories, of course since those are personal preference I did not include those here.

We just picked a few meals we really like and are going to rotate through them for the month. Basically 4 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 4 snacks, 4 dinner, and 4 dessert options. We spent $503.37 for everything this month including extra options for our kids and household items like dog treats.

BREAKFAST: VenusCrossing PB Cup Protein Shake with PB2 and Spinach

205 cals – 11 g carbs – 6 g fat – 31 g protein

Recipe HERE

We buy the big containers of fresh spinach at Sam's Club. I freeze the spinach before it turns bad and continue using it frozen.

LUNCH: VenusCrossing Lean Tuna Salad

310 cals – 40g carbs – 3g fat -34g protein

Recipe HERE

SNACK: Quest Peanut Butter and Jelly Protein Bar, microwaved for 20 s

1 tbsp Jif peanut butter295 cals – 24g carbs – 18g fat – 24g protein

Quest bars are pretty magical when heated. I put mine on some wax paper greased with a little nonstick spray before heating. Then top with peanut butter goodness. SO GOOD. Besides microwaving, try putting under a broiler for 1-3 minutes and it turns into a fresh baked cookie! 

DINNER: Steak and Sweeties 

4 oz marinaded and cubed eye of round steak, braised in the crockpot1/2 cup steamed French green beans1 medium sweet potato, roasted367 cals – 31g carbs – 3g fat – 50g protein

We cubed the steak and put into the crockpot topped with a little all purpose marinade. We like Plum Creek marinade, but any all purpose meat marinade will work. Cook on high for 2-4 hours. Roast the sweet potatoes on a cookie sheet for about an hour at 400 F while the meat cooks. We throw the bags of green beans in the microwave for 4 minutes and call it day!

DESSERT: Cottage cheese with Strawberries

½ cup strawberries, sliced

½ cup 2% cottage cheese, unpacked

126 cals – 10 g carbs – 2 g fat – 16 g protein

We buy the large tubs of cottage cheese, and buy frozen sliced strawberries. I defrost them in the microwave for about 30 seconds before mixing with my cottage cheese.

Next week, I will share the final weekly meal plan for the month!

X- Liss