"He who fails to plan is planning to fail"

Winston Churchill said it darn right when he said, "He who fails to plan is planning to fail." I had my first "oops" this week when I left the house for a meeting this morning, and realized halfway there that I would be gone for a few hours, and hadn't brought a snack. BIG no-no. Only after I got home did I realize that I had a small bag of roasted almonds with me the entire time. I had planned ahead a while ago, and simply forgot today.

With that now behind me, I made sure to start my meal planning for the week. That includes making hte list of dinners for the week, moving proteins out of the freezer and making sure they're defrosted and prepped, cooking a few of the proteins and so on. I tend to focus on my protein first, since that seems to be the hardest part for me to figure out each night. And since I have a plan ahead of time, it makes life SO much easier.

In addition, on nights that I work later, I plan for simpler meals. I work part-time for my church, and then part-time as the Administrative Director for a nonprofit children's residential summer music camp (Sierra Mountain Music Camp, iSMMC.com), plus I have a 16 month old son. That's enough to keep ANYONE busy. Mondays and Wednesdays are my longer days, so for this week, Monday is spaghetti & meatballs. WHAT?? Yes, that's what I said. Whole wheat pasta with homemade, no sugar added spaghetti sauce and scratch-made turkey meatballs, seen below.

My recipe for turkey meatballs is pretty simple - ground turkey breast, one egg, herbs (I used "Butt Rub"), one grated zucchini (sneaking veggies in there!), garlic, onion, salt and pepper. I then used a cookie scoop to create equal portions, rolled them out, browned them in a little EVOO, and finished them in the oven at 350* for 15 minutes. Simple. 30 meatballs done, ready for Monday's dinner, and for later this week.

I have to share last night's dinner as well - grilled whole wheat veggie pizza. SO GOOD. I cheated a bit, and used a pre-made dough, but it made it easier on me. The dough I purchased is from Winco, and is only $1.49, plus it's whole wheat. I rolled out the dough with a little corn meal, then heated up the grill. On it went for about 3-4 minutes on one side, then I inverted it, brought it inside, brushed it with EVOO, and added thinly sliced zucchini, cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced purple onion, crumbled feta, and a bit of leftover grilled chicken (optional). The crust was thin, crispy, and everything was so good. In the future, I'd put down aluminum foil perhaps after the toppings are on, so then the toppings can "cook" while crust doesn't burn. Other than that, so yummy, so fresh.

So it's back to the meal planning for the week - so far we're good through Wednesday, so there will be more to come! Tomorrow night is spinach salad with boiled eggs, red onion, and cucumber. Simple dinner for Sunday night, plus that gives me more time to prep for the week. I've noticed on the nights I have more time, it helps to prep for more than one meal that night, so then the pressure is taken off of the busier nights.

And the best part, I am NOT planning to fail. I'm planning to succeed.