This Week's Meals and Being Prepared (Sept. 9-14, 2013)

I like being prepared.  Don't you?  ;-)



Okay, so maybe that above picture is a bit much; however, I sure can appreciate the same sentiment when it comes to food and having meals ready when I need them.  

I am still doing great with weekend prep-work for the days coming ahead.  I may not always make the time to share them here on this blog; but for now I'm committed to taking a few minutes to share what I'm doing here to make our family's life easier!  So YAY for me to keep a written record of it (so I can repeat it again several weeks from now) and HOORAY for you if you're reading this and it helps your family too!  

Here's what I did this weekend - I made a double batch of my fake tomato sauce (beet sauce).  This is our replacement for tomatoes which my husband no longer eats.  I made twice the amount; therefore I was able to freeze half of it for later!  I used the beet sauce as a base to make this pizza zucchini recipe and a chicken Parmesan one this week too. 

Because I felt like changing up our snacks and treats, I tried out a new banana bread with a hint of pear and also an upside down berry cake too. 

In addition, I made a different pancake for breakfast too which the girls and I enjoyed.  It was very filling - These chocolate peanut butter pancakes!

So this is the lineup for the next several days:

Breakfast this week - Alternate chocolate-peanut butter pancakes with scrambled eggs or a veggie omelet

Lunches this week - Alternate Leftovers of the following:
Chicken Parmesan over spaghetti squash noodles and spinach
Pizza Zucchini with salad
Jambalaya Stew - which I had in my freezer fron a few months ago, yippee!

Dinners this week - Dirty rice with green beans,
Mexican Meatza with salad
Grilled fish with sweet potato and mixed veggies
Big salads, breakfast quiche or take-out on the other nights

Snacks and treats this week - Banana Bread
Upside down berry cake


Oh joy, it's going to be a great week, at least as far as the food goes!  ;-) 

Have a good one!

Mandy

This Week's Meals (Sept. 2-7, 2013)

My first week back in the work force went well.  Being prepared and having those meals ready to just reheat were my lifesavers!  I didn't do quite as much cooking this weekend as I hoped for but I still managed to plan out four lunches for my husband and me this week.  I also made a breakfast for my daughters and pulled out a soup from the freezer.  Not bad for a weekend with my husband and girls all feeling sick and me having to put in four hours at the office on Labor day! 

Why do I do all this?  Why do I slave in the kitchen?  Because being prepared keeps you on the right track and allows you to have the healthy lifestyle you want and need to survive.  Having good food on hand keeps you from making bad choices....  I'm a firm believer in that.  When people are lazy, they become careless and reach for quick fixes like fast food and processed foods.....that's when you get into trouble and cause your body stress, tension or simply become ill because of the crap you are feeding yourself.  Don't do it!  Just spend an hour in the kitchen and help yourself in the long run with better-for-you and your family choices.

Once you get into a preparation and meal planning routine, you can see great results and be a lot less stressed!

Here's how our week is planned out:



Oh wow, I love seeing our fridge stocked up with containers ready to go just like the above!

Our meals -

Breakfast for the girls and me- Alternate Scrambled Eggs with Pumpkin chocolate chip pancake

Lunches for husband and me - Alternate the following:
Meatloaf (with added carrots and spinach inside!) and steamed broccoli,
Basil-onion chicken burgers with green beans,
Sausage and Kale soup - lucky me I had this already in the freezer from the last time I made it! 

Dinners - Leftover meatloaf for two nights
Hot dogs,
Skillet Sausage with Sweet potatoes and spinach,
Pepperoni Pizza using this crust recipe
Salads with all dinners listed above
And take-out on Friday night to wind down the work week.

Snacks - Protein, protein, protein!  This week I'm bringing deli meats, my favorites by Applegate farms and some Amish cheese too.  I have it all packed in a bag like this: 

Protein is what fills me up and sustains me until my next meal.  Don't reach for crackers or bread or empty carbs folks!  Grab healthy protein and you'll feel better and have more energy throughout the day!

For more meal planning ideas, check out this post I did awhile back for ideas you can serve in a month!  Enjoy! 

Have a great week!  I know I will since I already have so much less cooking to do or plan!

Stocking Up and Being Prepared

I start a new job outside the home this week.  I'm actually VERY EXCITED about it!  It is a temp to hire job working for a local TV station.  I'm so thrilled at this opportunity.  I hope it will be amazing.  The people seem great.  It's the equivalent of a local PBS station - therefore it's everything I believe in - quality programming, education and community outreach.  I can't wait to learn more and see how I can help. 

I will miss my girls, that is true.  But with V in Kindergarten and L so active and into everything, I realize that they will thrive and love being around other children.  I've laid a good foundation for them this summer but I think we're all ready to return to school in our own respects. 

Since I'm going back to that 8 to 5 job (or rather 7:30 to 4:30 in my new case), I know my time will be less in the kitchen when it comes to preparing healthy, fresh meals.  So I'm doing more work on the weekends to set us up for the week.  I am stocking up and preparing ahead of time so our breakfasts and lunches will be ready to go. 

Yesterday I took three pounds of grass fed meat (combination of beef, sausage and veal) and made eleven burgers.  I also took two cans of wild-caught salmon and made eight salmon patties with it.  I baked about ten sweet potatoes. I made my banana cinnamon pancakes and added blueberries to them for this morning and tomorrow's breakfast.  I portioned out the burgers for lunch and froze the three or four I had leftover for future lunches.


Burgers and salmon patties are made with extras to place in freezer.


Baked sweet potatoes for the whole week.  They just need re-heating. 


Today my plan is to steam broccoli and carrots for our lunches this week.  I will make an egg quiche with vegetables for my breakfast for the next several days.  I will also make my favorite carrot bread/muffins for snacks to enjoy this week. 

On average, I spend about 2 hours in the kitchen on a Saturday and Sunday doing prep-work in the kitchen.  That may seem like a lot to some folks - four hours within two days?!  It's worth it to me though.  There are many hours in a day and I can get that done in the mornings while my kids play together.  Those hours will save me tons of time during the work week. The prep-work I did already will allow me to have the following for this week:

Breakfast each day - Alternate egg quiche and pancake

Snacks - Carrot bread, spoonfuls of peanut butter or almond butter, cheese, grapes

Lunches - Alternate burger and salmon patty with a side of sweet potato and steamed veggies. 
On future weeks, I will make my chicken basil burgers and meatloaf.  Or I could make pumpkin chili or sausage and kale soup.

Dinner - This will vary.  I imagine I will cook two nights a week, something quick like my stir fry or my dirty rice.  The other nights I will just eat a large mixed salad.   

Dessert - I always have my 90% Lindt Dark Chocolate bars on hand!  :-)

One day a week for lunch and dinner I will allow myself to eat out.   Now that I'll be bringing in some income again, I feel justified to spend a little cash to give myself a break in the kitchen.  I will still make healthy choices in what I choose for take-out though as I always do.

On weekends we will have more time for some of my more labor-intensive meals that involve homemade sauces and lots of vegetable chopping.  This would be things like our Mexican Meatza and Baked Cauli-tater Casserole.  

I think this will work great for our family and allow us to keep up our healthy eating habits without rushing around in the kitchen each day.  I will keep you posted here on how we are doing and how work is going. 

Cheers to the start of something new with preparation in place!
Mandy

Meal Planning and What We Eat for a Month

I have been meal planning off and on for over three years now.  Even before I had children, I would cook in bulk on a weekend, trying to tackle 2-3 meals to last my husband and I half a week while working outside the home. 

Then I took it to another level when I became a full-time stay at home mom.  I planned meals for a week, two weeks and even a month at a time.  I admit that I don't do that much planning now with my active eight month old baby crawling around; plus I'm traveling more in the car with my five year old's preschool and gymnastics classes.  However, I do try to plan a few days in advance. I shop fresh and local whenever I can.  I bulk buy when I can too.  My deep freezer is my best friend. 

Since I was doing a sugar detox in December (and I'm doing another one now actually), I've been writing down all the foods I've eaten.  Unfortunately I don't have time to blog every day on what I'm eating; however, I thought it would be helpful for both me and anyone who happens to read this what I consume in a month's time.  It will help me see what my family enjoys the most and what helped me stay lean and full-of-energy.  Plus a few weeks from now when I feel stuck for a meal idea, I can come back to this page and look at my list.  I'll review my plan and say, Oh yeah, I need to make that again! 

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So here we go: Here is a sample monthly meal plan of foods that my family and I have eaten:

Sample Monthly Meal Ideas

Breakfast ideas:
1. Honestly my breakfast meals will be boring to most.  Why?  Because we eat Eggs!  Eggs!  And More Eggs!  Plus meat and veggies. 

2. But once a week or so, I make my Giant Pumpkin Custard Pancake and we'll enjoy that too. 

Maybe once a month I will make something sweet like this:
3. Paleo Waffles 
4. Blueberry Clafouti or
5. Banana Cinnamon Pancakes. 

But that's about it.  We love eggs.  It fills us up.  We mix it up by using different vegetables and meats and making omelets but it's our staple!

Lunch ideas:
1. Lunch is typically leftovers for my husband and me. 
2. Or we have salads. 
3. Or just hot dogs by Applegate Farms wrapped in lettuce.
4. Or if I'm not real hungry, I will just eat a handful of almonds and my SCD Yogurt that my husband makes for me.  Often my eggs from breakfast fill me up until 2 or 3p.m. and I'll skip lunch and just have a snack.

However, here are a few other ideas for lunch for you:
5. Eggplant Personal Pizza - I eat on this for two days!
6. Skillet Salmon Burgers
7. Cucumber Sub Sandwiches
8. Deli meats (chicken, ham, turkey) topped with cheese, tomato, avocado and wrapped in lettuce
9. Sausage and Acorn Squash Stuffing
10. Easy, Creamy Tomato Basil Soup - from my old food blog, before I went grain-free, sugar-free and free from processed foods.  You can omit the dairy and use coconut milk in place of butter and creamer here!


Dinner ideas for a month:
1. Chicken from the barbecue pit or grill with roasted veggies or kebobs - we marinate our chicken in olive oil, garlic and spices for a few hours.  Then my husband grills until done.  We do kebobs with onions, bell peppers and squash. 

2. Sloppy Joes - like this delicious Grokky version recipe with broccoli chips and side salad

3. Sausage and Peppers with tomato sauce over "spaghetti" (spaghetti squash that is)

4. Blackened or grilled fish in the skillet with steamed mixed veggies - my husband makes this every Friday night for us.  He uses a fish rub and cooks the fish (usually Tilapia or Trout) in butter.  It's divine!

5. Pepperoni Pizza Pot Pie/Casserole - this is the best!  We eat with green beans usually.
*Note you can split the spaghetti squash between meals for day 3 and 5 to stretch your foods!

6. Leftover Buffet - you must have some leftovers at least one night a week.  Just enjoy it.  Sometimes the second time or third time eating it tastes even better after the flavors have sat awhile.  We try to make it seem more fun by serving it in colorful plates or different dishes.  Put on some fun music and enjoy the family time at the dinner table!

7. Balsamic Vinegar Pot Roast (I tweak this recipe) and serve with carrots and a sweet potato

8. Creamy, Sun-dried tomato chicken with mixed veggies and side salad

9. Meatloaf with a side of zucchini carbonara

10. Leftover Buffet again - wear some silly hats or create a theme to have the meal be more fun!

11. Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry with egg drop soup

12. Mexican Meat and Squash Casserole with green beans

13. Slow Cooker Lime Chicken Fajitas (omit the sweetener) served with guacamole and carrot chips

14. Sausage and Spinach Bake with spaghetti squash noodles - omit kale and use spinach

15. Blackened or grilled fish in the skillet with steamed mixed veggies - yes, again!  You should strive to eat fish once a week or a few times per month!

16. Burgers wrapped in lettuce, asparagus and side salad - I make my burgers different each time.  I use different meats but I always season it with onions, garlic, coconut aminos and other organic condiments. However, I will work on a recipe to post soon!

17. Chicken Marsala severed over cauliflower rice with a side salad and broccoli chips

18. Dinner Out - you've earned it!  Look for a meat-friendly or fish-friendly establishment that is top quality.  Stick with oil and vinegar for your salad and order some great veggies too.

19. Slow Cooker Primal Pumpkin Chili topped with cut up hot dogs and a side salad

20. Big Mixed Meat Salad - choose your favorite leaves; I like spinach and lettuce.  Then I load it with every meat I have in the house - deli meats, hot dogs, leftover beef or chicken, whatever I can find in the fridge.  I mix it up!  I top with tomatoes, onions, peppers and more.  This is loaded with so much meat you don't need a side!

21. Unstuffed Peppers Casserole with sweet carrots and green beans

22. Paleo Chicken Nuggets from Eat Like a Dinosaur cookbook and serve with sweet potato fries

23. Slow Cooker Jambalaya Stew over cauliflower rice, serve with side salad

24. Mexican Meatza with side salad

25. Orange chicken with steamed veggies

26. Skillet Sausage with sweet potato and spinach

27. Steaks (or make burgers again) with carrot fries and side salad

28. Dirty rice with sausage and green beans

29. Avocado and Cilantro Chicken Salad with sauteed yellow quash

30. Crab Cakes with asparagus and roasted veggies

31. Homemade Pizza using this pizza crust recipe - put your own sauce and favorite toppings!

32. Skillet Garlic Shrimp with cauliflower rice and mixed vegetables

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So that is a sample of the kinds of food we eat over a month.  I hope this helps you discover some new dishes to serve your family.  If you've got other ideas that don't resemble anything I've posted here, please share them in the comments. 

We don't have access to a lot of game animals.  My husband and I aren't much for eating a ton of pork or on-the-bone meats.  He doesn't eat salmon either.  Yeah, he's crazy!  Therefore our meal plan will look differently than some other Paleo enthusiasts out there.  But they work well for our family and they feed our growing girls! 

Happy Meal Planning!