Diana at The Chic Life is hosting an Eat in Month challenge for January. The rules are up to you.. how long you want to participate, what constitutes eating out, etc. In an effort to eat healthier and save money (really trying to stick with my resolutions this year), I decided to participate. It’s January 8th.. 8 days into the challenge, and I’ve only eaten out once (lunch at Panera Bread on Sunday because we were running errands and I had a gift card).
Mike and I sit down each week to plan out what we want to eat during the upcoming week, make a grocery list, and hit up Publix for our supplies. This isn’t really any different from what we did all of last year. The change is that we are no longer accounting for our weekly pizza delivery night or (for the most part) eating out while out and about on the weekend.
Breakfast: Most days it’s either an apple and banana with peanut butter or an english muffin with peanut butter on one side and strawberry jelly on the other. A couple days I’ve made a little egg scramble with diced peppers in it, though. (My mom got me one of those little pans made specifically for cooking eggs for Christmas.. made clean up so much easier.)
Lunch: All last week, Mike came home from work on his break and we made buffalo chicken salads (in an attempt to recreate my favorite salad from Saladworks, a restaurant that sadly does not exist in SC). Weekend lunches consisted of leftovers from the previous night’s dinner.
Dinner: This is where I’ve been getting a little more creative. I love trying out new recipes.. it makes eating so much more fun. Another goal for this month is to try at least one new recipe each week. I’m hoping it ends up being closer to 2 or 3 new recipes a week though. I’ve already talked about the Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes, but here’s what dinner has looked like other nights…
Chili (which is perfect for leftovers)
Zucchini “Spaghetti” with Meatballs
Sirloin Steaks (cooked on our new George Foreman grill) with Mashed Potatoes
There have been a few other nights that have not merited a picture because there was nothing new about the food to us, but I can assure you every meal has been delicious. We’re saving money and losing weight.. and both very happy about it 
this sounds like a great idea, can’t wait to see what creations you will come up with
I really like eating in better than going out so I’d totally be in for participating with this. Although a lot of times it’s out of my control because I’m still living at home, but I’m going to try it for as long as I can