Goal: Eat More Veggies

As I sort out SMART goals from "learning/purpose" goals and continue to reflect on the distinction, I am going to stick with a "SMART" goal for eating more veggies this month.

Specific? Quite. I am simply going to include vegetables at lunch this week. Yes, sadly, that is sufficient to define "more."

Measurable. All I have to do is look at my plate: is there a veggie (or fruit) on it? Check.

Achievable: Eating nothing but veggies may be unachievable, but including some in my lunch should be more than doable. (Weird criterion. How is this different from the two above? Maybe it was needed so the acronym would work.)

Realistic: As long as I'm not relying on fresh tomatoes, we're good.

Timely. I'm planning on doing this conscientiously and deliberately for the next week. After that, who knows. I'm "looking for" a few staple lunches I can eat over and over again without having to think too hard or spend more than 10 minutes dishing it out.

I am great for planning dinner. But lunch has always been a challenge. I decided to start planning lunch a few months ago, but I've been rather half-hearted about it. The boy loves rice: he'll make a great pot of basmati and dig into it for days, plain. More often than he should, though, he also eats chicken nuggets and breaded fish from a box and swedish meatballs: I have been letting him heat up one of these nasty choices--and making Kraft Dinner when called upon to make an effort. We are not big on eating leftovers, unfortunately. However, part of wanting to be more healthy is to eat more healthily, right? So, here are my lunch plans for next week: I don't know what my son is going to eat.

Sunday:
Actually, this will be a brunch made with homemade waffles, fresh fruit and yogurt --or whipped cream if I can get it. It is my birthday, after all!

Either Sunday night or Monday I will make a soup for my husband to take to work for lunch. (He heats it up in the microwave.) This week I have planned to make Mark Bittman's Two Pea Soup with Frizzled Ham, from The Food Matters Cookbook.) I reserve the right to have a bowl at any time!

Monday:
More-Veggies Less-Egg Frittata from Mark Bittman's Food Matters Cookbook. (About 1 1/2 cups sauteed veggies bound with an egg per person, plus onion, herbs and parmesan cheese.)

Tuesday:
"Oven-fried" Fish and oven roasted potatoes with oven roasted beets and parsnips.

Wednesday:
Spinach, onion and cheese quesadillas.

Thurday:
Ham, raw spinach and carrot wrap. (This really is more of a summer choice.)

Friday:
Grain Bowl.
(1/2 cup cooked grain, 1/2 cup beans, with 1 cup sauteed veggies.)

Saturday?
Ugh. Looking at this list of healthy food, I'm feeling the urge for the orange stuff in the blue box. If I mix in some frozen peas, will it count? I'm kidding, but barely. I have no idea what to prepare. The best thing to do would be to pick something from up above and repeat it. There's quite enough variety to keep me going. Really, I only need three or four seasonal lunches to alternate. However, some of Bittman's "salads" looks enticing, so maybe I'll pick one.

Sunday:
leftovers.

And there we have it.
What are you having for lunch next week?