How are those resolutions coming along? Â This year my resolution is…no resolutions! Â Actually, my intention in 2017 is to be more compassionate to myself and more forgiving. Â As always, I am here to help you continue cooking healthful meals from scratch. Â Nothing is better!
Here’s your dinner planner for the week:
Oh my stars.  As I sat down to write this, I realized that I have posted an entire year of dinner planners on the blog!  Time flies when you’re having fun cooking, don’t you think?  I hope you have found the post useful.  Even if you don’t use the recipes, I hope that seeing the posts has encouraged you to sit down and organize your meals for the week.  The idea is to help you cook more from scratch, waste less, save money and just be less stressed about cooking.  Please share what helps you get organized for meal preparation during the week!
I just returned home from a much-needed and very relaxing vacation, first in Hawaii and then at my parents’ house on Long Island. Â Both weeks were as perfect as I could have hoped for and I am feeling restored and ready for the new year!
Here’s your dinner planner for the week:
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a general happy holidays to everyone!  So sorry I am late with this post!  I hope you all had a festive and fun weekend.  These are my favorite two days of the year and I said to my kids in the car to Christmas Eve dinner that it warmed my heart that they were doing the same drive that I have done every year of my entire life to participate in the same traditions that I did when I was a child.  Very special.
I did a little bit of cooking this weekend and I am currently in a pow-wow with my mother and my sisters planning the menu for this week. Â This is not our exact menu since I have some recipe-testing to do and friends to visit for a dinner, but it’s a good start. Â I need to make latkes at least once this week, and on Friday we are having a big pizza party at my cousin’s house in Scarsdale which will involve procuring pizza from at least 5 or 6 neighboring pizzerias. Â It’s crazy and my husband loves every bite. Â New Year’s Day we always eat lentils in some form as they supposedly bring good luck in the coming year :). Â Have a wonderful week!
Aloha! Â I’m on a little getaway with my husband and the three kiddos in Hawaii for most of this week. Â This means I won’t be cooking a thing until I arrive at my parents’ house next weekend, but you might be. Â So I am posting a meal plan for you to help keep you organized in the kitchen this week. Â Truth be told, I forgot to email myself the master dinner planner document, so I winging it right now. Â Forgive me for any repeats from the last couple of months!
I’ve got one of my babies home from college and I am waiting for the other who will arrive later this week. Â I can’t wait! Â As usual, I am completely behind on my Christmas shopping, I might not do a holiday card this year, and I’ll probably have to pull an all-nighter to pack for our vacation, BUT we won’t eat take-out!
I know it’s super cliche if I say “I can’t believe it’s December already!”  But, I mean seriously.  Here’s my goal the next few weeks: get my holiday shopping done and be really mindful of my eating especially with respect to sugar and fun foods.  There are a lot of parties happening and treats flying around, so it’s easy to get caught up in the holiday vortex of champagne and peppermint bark.  Mindfulness is the key.  And some good healthy dinners in between!
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you were able to spend quality time with family and friends. I was feeling extra grateful this year and cherished being with so many loved ones.  But I was a little spent afterwards, so I took the weekend “off.” I am enjoying some quality time with my daughters before they return to school on Sunday afternoon and I haven’t been in the kitchen much, except for tossing some leftovers into the waffle iron. You could have seen this on my Instagram Stories on Friday!
Not the norm for me, but I sort of overdid it on the holiday eating this weekend. Ooops! Monday I am making a fresh batch of Bieler’s broth to get me back on track. Tomorrow is always a new day.
We had a great experience with our Korean exchange students (I don’t know if I mentioned we picked up another one last Sunday!), but today we said our goodbyes and they went back to their families. Even though we’ll miss them, the timing is rather perfect since my daughters are coming back from college on Tuesday evening for Thanksgiving break. They both said they can’t wait to come home, but I think they’re looking more forward to the food than seeing me. 😉 Speaking of food and Thanksgiving, I’m getting started on my applesauce and cranberry sauce tomorrow (Sunday.) My husband told me he is going to surprise me with a specialty cocktail on Thanksgiving. I don’t like surprises on Thanksgiving.
