Learning to Live with Independence, Thrift and Health

 Many of the choices you'll see in this five week experiment are made to increase your health and enjoyment and do so while saving your money for other priorities.  Learn to be independent from the pressures of advertising and social groups by making solid, rational decisions about your health and spending.  Stay with it and possibly learn some new patterns that will stay with you for the rest of your life.

Breakfasts

Three Breakfasts

• Homemade Granola  with Milk or Yogurt
• Plain yogurt. Flavor it with your favorite jam or maple syrup.  Better ingredients, better flavor and much less expensive than buying bunches of little containers.
• 1 Banana-sliced

Two Breakfasts

•  Home cooked oatmeal- flavor it with brown sugar or jam or maple syrup.
• 1 egg  (cooked how you like it)

Scrambled, fried, hard or soft boiled, poached. If you're going to fry your egg, put some oil in a skillet over medium heat.  If it starts sizzling when it hits the pan, it's too hot.  It will probably stick and/or get crunchy brown...unless you like that sort of thing.

Two Breakfasts

• Toast w/ fried egg on top

If you're late to class, scramble your egg, throw it on some toast and you're out the door.

• Yogurt.  Flavor it how you like.

Lunches

Two Lunches

• Chicken salad sandwich w/ lettuce 

Remove the meat from two chicken thighs from this week's casserole.  Mince the meat and  add chopped sweet peppers, pickles, mayo, salt and pepper.  This will provide enough for two good sized sandwiches for two lunches.

• Orange

Two Lunches

• PBJ sandwich,
• sliced apple and a
• cheese stick

One Lunch

• 1 chicken thigh from the casserole
• Cut up carrots & sweet peppers with cottage cheese for dipping.
• 1 banana

One Lunch

• Green salad (bagged salad mix)
• 1 chicken thigh-meat removed and chopped on top of salad
• Sliced sweet peppers if there are leftovers
• cheese chunks
• Vinaigrette –you might want to pack this separately 3-4 Tbs
• Sliced apple

One Lunch

• Tuna sandwich w/ lettuce
• Cheese stick and an
• Orange
• Apple crisp for a treat!

Dinners

Four Dinners

• Chicken & Rice casserole (1 thigh each night)
• Green Salad with a Simple Vinaigrette
• Roasted Carrot Chunks (1 lb split between four meals)

Two Dinners

• Chicken Noodle Soup

You'll make a richer, slower soup in Week 5.  This is a "quick and easy" soup.   You should learn both ways.  For the quick way:

• • Chop meat from 2  cooked chicken thighs
  • Add 1 quart box of chicken stock
  • 1 bag of mixed frozen veggies
  • 1 Tb. chicken bouillon

Cook for about 30 minutes over medium heat.

• Cook a bag of your favorite noodles.  Place a serving of noodles in a bowl and pour the soup over.  Store the remaining noodles in a zip lock bag in the refer. 

If you add the noodles to the soup for cooking and reheating they will get soggy and fall apart.

•  Toast (if you don't have a toaster, a frying pan with some butter works or the oven broiler..but keep a close eye on it!)

One Dinner

• 2 scrambled eggs
• Toast
• Cottage Cheese and Fruit (check your left overs)