What I Made This Week: A Follow-up Post to Reducing Food Waste, Saving Money, and Food for the Soul

Food for your soul and dollars back in your pocket. Delicious with a side of savvy!
5-7 min read

I had a very tiring and mentally-draining week. It was one of those weeks when I try to reason why bad things happen to the kindest people. Life can change in a blink of an eye, and while it can be scary, I feel that it’s so important to count your blessings.

I really needed to take some time to reflect, journal, and repair myself back to a normal state. And boy, am I glad I did that.

Amazing things happen when you take care of your soul.

I feel much more refreshed, energized, and happier. I’m not 100% there yet, but I feel I’m in a good place. I hope that this week will be a better week, mentally and physically (I got a minor neck sprain from working out last week. Talk about a rough week!). I’m also looking forward to having Friday off for the Fourth of July!

As a follow-up to my recent post, How to Strategize Your Meal Plan to Reduce Food Waste and Save Money, here are the things I’ve made this week. It feels good to reduce food waste, save money, and feel more like myself.

If you’re looking for meal ideas, fast forward to any of these days:

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

Monday: Spaghetti & Meatballs

spaghetti and meatballs recipe — Spaghetti & Meatballs (Meatballs not pictured). Plus, a side of chicken!

simmering spaghetti sauce — Simmering tomato sauce

Mmm, I love pasta. Nothing like some good ol’ comfort food and a lot of carbs. I also chopped up a bunch of onions to use in other recipes for the remaining of the week. So, I don’t have to shed tears everyday, just today. Hooray!

#TacoTuesday: Tacos, Mexican rice, Pico de Gallo

Using leftover tomato paste from yesterday's spaghetti dish — Using leftover tomato paste from yesterday’s spaghetti dish

Taco Tuesday is one of my favorite meals of the week. Is it yours?! I used the leftover tomato paste from yesterday’s spaghetti dish to use in the Mexican rice.

Also, remember onions I chopped yesterday? It went into the Pico de Gallo (not pictured) and the Mexican rice. I also chopped up some extra cilantro to use for Thursday’s dish. Saving time and reducing food waste – I’m a fan.

Wednesday: Japanese Curry

japanese curry and rice — Japanese curry and brown rice

japanese curry leftovers — Japanese curry leftovers

I made a ton of Japanese curry and it felt good to have leftovers for the next couple of days. I used the already-chopped onions and mushrooms from Monday in the curry, so I practically made this dish in lightning speed. I like to eat this with brown rice instead of white rice, but that’s my personal preference.

Thursday: Israeli Couscous Salad and Falafels

rainbow cous cous salad — Rainbow couscous salad

a small plate of cous cous salad, pita bread, falafels, and hummus

I can still taste the couscous salad I made last week. It’s veggie-packed with cucumbers, rainbow tomatoes, onions. I made the falafels using the Trader Joe’s Falafel Mix. It doesn’t taste exactly like the real thing, but it’s nice to have when you’re in a pinch. Plus, you can bake them!

Friday: Mapo Tofu

This brings us to the last meal I made of the week. Mapo tofu with bok choy. It was delicious! This was a standalone recipe, so I prepped, chopped, and cooked everything the day of. I used LKK Black Bean Sauce for the tofu (see prior blog post for more details), and it was superb.

Hope you enjoy! If you like what you’re reading, follow The Smarty Femme so you don’t miss a post. Click the Follow button on the top right-hand side (desktop) or bottom right-hand side (mobile).

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