Fall!

Hey everyone, it's cold out! In Wisconsin, we joke that we have two seasons: Construction, and Winter. The weather got cold very suddenly (went from mid 70's to upper 50's in only a few days!) and I'm officially in fall mode! I love fall fashion, I love snuggling up under my covers with hot chocolate or a Chai latte, and watching a good movie.

However, many of us have a hard time eating cold weather favorites because they tend to be hearty dishes and therefore fairly caloric. But it doesn't have to be like that. With my newly cleaned out fridge, I'm ready to cook! I'm breaking out my crock pot this week and I can't wait.  One of the things I always looked forward to for dinner when younger was my mom's beef stew. It's just...awesome! It's so simple too. I want to share this with everyone, because it will definitely become a staple in your home!

My Mom's Beef Stew: ( 4 servings, 392 calories!)

12 oz Beef chuck, cut into cubes
1/2 packet onion soup mix, or 1 cup onions (cuts down on sodium!)
4 red potatoes, cut into small chunks
1/2 lb baby carrots
10 oz frozen peas
1 cup of water

-Mix soup mix with water
-Add everything to crock pot, except frozen peas. Add water/onion soup mix mixture
-Cook on medium heat for the day, and let it do it's thing! Add a little more water if looking dry
-30 minutes before you're ready to eat, add the frozen peas
-Eat!

                                                  

We usually would serve this with a dinner roll or a salad, but this is very filling on its own!

Here is my grocery list for the week (the man doesn't usually help me with this---shame on him!), and just a side note. While many people don't support Walmart, the grocery section really does have lower prices than most stores. While on a budget, I can't complain, and I'm always wowed by the low prices. They actually even have an online store where you can get your groceries delivered, and the prices are the same as my local store. So I've been utilizing it to calculate the cost of my groceries, which is really awesome!

-Tortillas (cheaper than Wraps which are not worth the cost!)
-Salad mix
-Tomatoes
-Light tuna in water
-Celery
-Bag of apple slices
-Mini veggie trays ( I love these! They're cheap and perfect for a snack or as a side!)
-Spaghettios (1 serving can, girl needs her comfort food)
-Shredded cheese
-Bagels (Walmart carries Western Alternative Bagels, which are lower in calorie and awesome!)
-Whipped cream cheese
-Rotisserie chicken (loads of ideas for this!)
-Corn
-Light Caesar dressing
-Salsa
-Greek yogurt

I have some staples at home already I want to use up, so I planned my meals around what I have, and what I want to have over the week. I'm also about to start a "Walking Bootcamp" due to the fact my knees aren't great (at 22?! Not fair!) and I don't have room to exercise at home. I'm going to ease into this, and hopefully this will be my motivation to exercise more. I'm really bad at it.



I'm about to do the Open Doors Milwaukee tour of the Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear! There are free historical tours all over Milwaukee today (and yesterday), and I love seeing what my city used to look like <3

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

-Whit