What I Eat in a Typical Week

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I don’t typically join in for link-up prompts anymore (other than my beloved Amazon purchase posts), but I thought that this was a fun topic, and it’s also something that I’ve never really mentioned much on the blog.  So today, I’m linking up with Shay and Erika to share what I eat in a typical week.  And that means I'm two for two on the link-up prompts this week!

I loooove food and I’m not a picky eater, other than the fact that I don’t like much in the way of fish and seafood.  I love going out to eat, I love trying new things, and I love love love a good conversation over a great meal with family and friends.  Therefore, I do let myself enjoy a variety of foods, and I don’t deprive myself of the things I love. 

However, I also believe that food is primarily meant to be fuel for our bodies, and I do feel much better when I eat healthier, so the phrase “everything in moderation” is something that I’ve always lived by when it comes to eating my favorite things that aren’t so healthy. 

Since I do try to eat healthy most of the time, but I do allow myself to splurge, a typical week for me consists of healthy breakfasts, lunches, and dinners throughout the week, and a bit of splurging on the weekend. 

Here’s what a typical week looks like for me:

Weekdays

Breakfast – I eat one scrambled egg with a tiny sprinkle of cheese for breakfast every. single. morning, Monday – Friday.  I’m not a big breakfast-eater (unless it’s later in the morning), so this is always my go-to, and it always fills me up just enough.

Mid-Morning Snack – After I get home from dropping the kids at school and doing my morning workout, I’m usually hungry, so I almost always grab a bar of sorts – Lunabar, Larabar, or Belvita Breakfast Biscuits (the Belvitas are just glorified cookies, but man, I love them) and then I have a cup of hot cinnamon tea.  I take my tea with hot water and one teabag, and that’s it.  I don’t add milk or sugar or honey or anything else.  This Harney and Sons Hot Sunset Cinnamon Tea is PERFECT just the way it comes.

Lunch – For lunch, I have several things that I keep on hand, and I just grab a combination of two or three of the following items: a sweet potato with olive oil and brown sugar, a salad using spinach leaves and various toppings, a smoothie with tons of fruits and greens (this is my go-to recipe), a fruit and Greek yogurt parfait, avocado toast, steamed broccoli, a turkey sandwich with lots of spinach, steamed green beans, steamed carrots, an apple, grapes, pineapple, an orange, and various berries (we almost always have strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries on hand).  Occasionally, I’ll have leftovers for lunch, but I typically leave the leftovers to B because I always end up feeling sleepy if my lunch is too big.  I’ll also eat canned soup (Progresso is my fave) occasionally, but I’ve been trying to avoid it because it has so much sodium.  After lunch, I almost always have a small handful (probably around 8-10) of dark chocolate peanut M&M’s, but I’m trying to break myself of this habit.  I have a major sweet tooth, and I love to end a meal with something sweet.

Afternoon Snack – I don’t eat an afternoon snack every day, but if I do, it’s typically a Lunabar, a Larabar, or an apple.  Occasionally, I’ll have cheese and crackers or my favorite Ritz Cheese Crispers, but I try to keep my snacks healthy for the most part. 

Dinner – During the week, I cook dinner every night, and I try to keep the dinners mostly healthy.  I love to do different kinds of baked chicken, stir fry, various pastas, pulled pork, different sausage dishes, and the occasional ground beef meal.  I pair every main course with a couple of veggies and/or fruit to ensure the kids are getting their veggies as well.  We also loooove breakfast for dinner, and we have that almost every week.

Dessert – I have a very small bowl of Publix frozen yogurt or light ice cream nearly every single night of the week.  It’s my guilty pleasure and my splurge of the day, and I have no regrets.  Haha.

Drinks – During the week, the only thing I drink is water and TONS of it + my hot cinnamon tea.  I try to get in at least 60-90 oz. of water every single day, and that’s literally the only thing I drink besides my one cup of cinnamon tea.  Once in a blue moon (mostly during the holiday season), I will get a latte from Starbucks in the morning, but those almost always make me feel so sluggish that I’ve been getting them less and less.

 

Weekends

Breakfast – I almost always make homemade waffles on Saturday, and then we almost always have cinnamon rolls on Sunday.  Occasionally, we’ll have donuts instead.  On the Saturdays and Sundays where we don’t have these things, I always just have my trusty rusty egg with a sprinkle of cheese.

Mid-Morning Snack – I never have a mid-morning snack on the weekends, because we wake up later on the weekends, so I eat breakfast later, and therefore don’t need anything to hold me over until lunch.  I do, however, almost always have my cup of hot cinnamon tea, so I suppose this falls in that category.

Lunch – Some weekends I may make grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup or hot dogs and mac and cheese, but most weekends, I just eat the same thing I do during the weekdays.  I try to eat pretty healthy for lunches on the weekends since we almost always eat out for dinner on Friday and Saturday night.

Afternoon Snack – Most weekends, I don’t have an afternoon snack either, although, I will occasionally have a cup of hot cinnamon tea.

Dinner – Pretty much every Friday and Saturday night we go out to eat (pre-Covid) or we get takeout.  Weekend takeout almost always consists of less healthy food – pizza, cheeseburgers, pasta, tacos, etc.  And then on Sunday we almost always eat a homecooked meal, whether it’s at my mother-in-law’s or my parents’ house.  If neither of them cook, then I do.  We rarely get takeout on Sunday.

Dessert – A small bowl of Publix frozen yogurt or light ice cream… or occasionally, on the weekend, we’ll get Dairy Queen Blizzards for dessert instead.

Drinks – Most Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, B and I drink some kind of adult beverage with dinner.  Most weekends, we’ll have a beer one night, liquor one night (typically a Moscow Mule or a marg), and wine one night.  We never have more than one drink on these nights unless we’re doing something out of the ordinary.  And other than my one alcoholic beverage each night with dinner, I’m chugging all the water… and drinking my cup of cinnamon tea.

And that’s what I eat in a typical week!  Now just for fun, I thought I’d share an actual sample of what I ate one day last week and then share what I ate one day last weekend:

 

Sample Weekday Menu:

Breakfast – One scrambled egg with a small sprinkle of cheese, water

Mid-Morning Snack – Belvita breakfast biscuits, hot cinnamon tea

Lunch – Avocado toast, steamed green beans, steamed carrots, small handful of dark chocolate peanut M&Ms, water

Afternoon Snack – Apple, water

Dinner – Chicken stir fry with rice, red peppers, pineapple, steamed broccoli (recipe here), water

Dessert – Small bowl of Publix frozen yogurt

 

Sample Weekend Menu:

Breakfast – Homemade waffles, water

Mid-Morning Snack – Hot cinnamon tea

Lunch – Turkey sandwich with spinach, apple, water

Afternoon Snack – Hot cinnamon tea

Dinner – Five Guys cheeseburger and fries, Moscow Mule

Dessert – Small bowl of Publix frozen yogurt

 

For me, it’s all about balance.  I eat healthy for most of the week, and I try to squeeze in as many fruits, veggies, and lean proteins as I can.  Then I allow myself to splurge on the weekend because I don’t want to deprive myself completely of the things that I love.  This has worked well for me for my whole life, and I don’t foresee changing much in upcoming years other than to maybe try to kick my M&Ms and/or frozen yogurt habit.  Or squeeze in even more veggies.  You can never have too many of those.  ;o) 

Happy Wednesday, y’all!