I found out about this company (http://www.gobblegreen.com/) when I saw a promotion for a 1 week meal plan for $99. This included breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a dessert for 7 days. I have always wanted to try this out so I consulted with my husband and he agreed to participate with me. I ordered the meals and ended up waiting about a month to get my shipment (because they were backordered). I received two large boxes on my doorstep with frozen meals inside for the week. It appeared that everything was freshly made, then freezer packed, labeled, boxed, and shipped to my home. To be honest, when I first went through the meals I was a little nervous because there were a lot of food labels that I had not heard of before, but after reading the ingredients I realized that there wasn’t really anything that unusual from foods that I usually eat or prepare myself. So I decided to go full force on the following Monday morning with my vegan (gluten-free) meal plan. I was going to strictly only eat those food items Monday through Friday (and the following Monday and Tuesday, since its hard to stay on a ‘meal plan’ on the weekend). If you are a parent, you know what I mean when you sit down to eat and your child doesn’t want what’s on their plate, they want what’s on your plate. And I wasn’t about to share this with the baby.

About the company, “Gobble Green is an online marketplace where you will find a diverse and frequently updated selection of healthy, pre-packaged vegan meals. Our food kits are packaged in environmentally friendly containers and shipped directly to your home. Gobble Green is dedicated to making it hassle free for you to improve your diet, to make a smooth transition to veganism, to reach your health goals, to lead an environmentally responsible green lifestyle, and to support the ethical treatment of animals.” I’m not a vegan or even vegetarian by any means but I do love veggies and trying new foods. I traditionally only eat grass fed, organic meats, but I will on occasion eat non-organic beef (but never non-organic poultry). I’ll probably go back to my old ways after this but I think its fun to always try new foods and keep your options open.

Here are some photos of some of the foods I ate this week (my final review is at the end of this post…)

Tortilla Soup

Strawberry Steel Cut Oats and Coffee with Coconut Creamer

Scrambled Tofu and Mushrooms

Potato and Vegetable Mash

Letter Grade: C+

I was very optimistic going into this week but unfortunately I was disappointed in the food meal choices that I was provided. Because I participated in a ‘deal’ I was only given what the company decided to give me vs. items that I could choose myself (I did not know this going into the deal) and about half the foods I cooked but couldn’t eat because it either had no flavor, or I couldn’t take the smell (i.e. Curry flavors), or the texture completely turned me off (frozen and thawed salad). But I do have to say that I LOVED the other half of the meals and plan to adapt my own recipes based off of some of those foods. It’s a shame that it had to be this LOVE/HATE feeling towards my meals. I didn’t end up strictly eating those meals because I’m not one to only eat 3 meals/day. I typically snack all day long so I included my usual apple and raw almonds in between meals. If I had the opportunity to do this again I would probably pass because I could only find value in it if I enjoyed all the meals. I was proud of my husband for participating with me but I have to be honest that he typically consumes about 3 days worth of the food they provided in 1 day, so it wasn’t nearly enough calories for an active person. I’m actually looking forward to eating chicken and beef again! I’ve learned that a vegan lifestyle is not what works best for my family but I will try to incorporate some of these recipe ideas into our weekly meals.

This is my first official meditation Monday post… The reason I wanted to start this was because, for most people, Monday is the beginning of the week and it can be a difficult day after coming off of the weekend. Hopefully this will give you a little boost to help get you through the week!

My thought of the day comes from my favorite tea, Yogi Organic tea, they always make me smile and put me in a great mood for the day. Every tea bag has a quote on the end of it… And they have a great woman’s line of tea that support different times in a woman’s life.

Quote of the Day

I’ve been using the Crockpot a lot lately, mostly because I’d rather spend my time when I get home playing and running around with Bode than cooking in the kitchen. I love to cook but Bode doesn’t appreciate me taking any attention away from him. He’s always looking for my approval, which is cute and of course since I’m a working mom I will take any opportunity to spoil him with attention that I can get! Pinterest has so many great ideas for Crockpot recipes and I’ll be posting a few over the next few weeks but the one that I’d like to share first is Chicken Enchilada soup. As you may recall, I have a favorite chicken enchilada recipe I use often and I blogged about it a few months ago. But I was a little hesitant because my husband doesn’t exactly think that soup is a meal. Well this soup was definitely a meal and so delicious! Plus it made enough for lots of leftovers. I actually think it would be a perfect meal to serve for a dinner party or game night where you are sitting around chatting as you sip your soup… Enjoy!

Chicken Enchilada Soup (adapted from recipe found on Dainty Chef)

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
½ cup chicken broth
2 cups milk (whole organic)
1 can (15 ounce) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14.5 ounce) fire roasted diced tomatoes (Trader Joe’s)
1 package (10 ounce) fire roasted frozen corn (Trader Joe’s)
½ onion, chopped
1 whole bell pepper, diced
1 bottle Enchilada sauce (I prefer Trader Joe’s red enchilada sauce)
2 whole organic chicken breasts
Optional for serving – Corn tortilla strips, avocado slices, shredded Mexican cheese

Directions:
Combined melted butter and flour in a pot over medium-low heat. Stir until smooth.

Remove from heat and add the chicken broth and ½ cup milk, stirring to keep smooth.

Return to heat.

Bring to a moderate boil, until it thickens.

Remove from heat and add in the enchilada sauce and whisk together. Once combined, whisk in remaining milk until smooth.

Set aside.

In Crockpot, combine drained beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, and bell pepper. Place the raw chicken breasts on top of the mixture. Pour sauce mixture over ingredients.

Cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours or if you have a warm setting you can leave it in for longer (8-10 hours).

When you are ready to serve, remove chicken and cut or shred into bite-sized pieces. Add chicken back into the soup, mix together. Serve with desired toppings as noted in the ingredients section (Corn tortilla strips, avocado slices, shredded Mexican cheese). Also it was already a little spicy because the enchilada sauce I use has some spice in it but you could also add some jalopenos if you prefer even more ‘kick’.

Sorry I’ve neglected my blog for over a month now but it’s time to get back into it! I swear I’ve been busy with life, but aren’t we all? Yeah I know, ‘excuses, excuses’… But it’s time to get motivated to get back on track… I don’t know what it is but I feel like the busier I am the more productive I am, does anyone else feel like this? I’ve been busy lately but not that busy, just keeping up on “The Housewives” and doing a lot more cooking, lots of listening out for new words with my baby boy, took my first Hot yoga class, and I’ve even been taking more time to meditate and that always makes for a happier Nicole…

I’ll start back up with Foodie Friday this week… I have a few recipes that I have tried out recently that have blown me away with taste and easiness, thanks to Pinterest! Plus I’m thinking of starting a blog/day in the month of May that includes a picture of myself along with my diet and exercise plan for each day. My goal is to get down to my ‘wedding weight’ before my 30^th birthday and hopefully before we decide to add another member to our family. I know this challenge will keep me accountable for my actions as well as motivate me to stay on track! Stay tuned…