Monday, December 26, 2011

Monday Menu Planning

I apologize for leaving you all blowing in the breeze without a menu plan last week.  Between the upcoming holiday and a three day migraine, last week was largely unscripted at our house.  The only plan was to stay upright until the children were all tucked snug in their beds. I could post a summary of what I fed the family, but...well. That'd just be embarrassing.  Suffice it to say no one starved, and this week I'm making a plan to help keep us on track.  

Monday
Lunch: leftovers (ham, mashed potatoes, clementines)
Dinner: Quinoa pasta with spaghetti sauce and ground turkey, green beans, beets, applesauce

Tuesday
Breakfast: Apple Cranberry Crisp, Sausage balls
Lunch: sunbutter and jelly sandwiches, grapes, mixed veggies
Dinner: Squash soup, oven roasted cauliflower, watermelon, dinner rolls

Wednesday
Lunch: sunbutter and jelly
Dinner: salmon, sugar snap peas, mango

Thursday
Breakfast: Baked sweet potatoes and breakfast millet
Lunch: dunno yet
Dinner: Pizza night!

Friday
Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: veggie soup and grilled cheese

Saturday
Breakfast: hash browns with veggie saute
Lunch: Ham, oven roasted veggies, raspberry applesauce, gf pumpkin pie
Dinner: see lunch  (family gathering, all day grazing anticipated)

Sunday
Breakfast: Donuts
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: veggie pot pie

Please note: I post a link to the original recipe whenever possible, but this does not show the modifications I make to each recipe.  Modify each recipe as you need in order to make it safe for your own dietary restrictions.  Enjoy the last week of the year!

Monday, December 12, 2011

Monday Menu Planning

Here it is, Monday again.  Goodness how the week flew by!  Happy to report that last week was much simpler at meal time with a plan in place.  Hope this week will prove to be the same.  Here is the weekly line up, with links where applicable. (Remember that these are the original recipes, and do not include the modifications I make to adapt to our families dietary restrictions.) No frills, just meals. Let's cook.

Monday
Breakfast: Oatmeal or Grits
Lunchbox: Lettuce/Ham wraps, carrot sticks, grapes
Dinner: Split pea soup w/hambone, cornbread, peaches

Tuesday
Breakfast: Cranberry Apple Crisp (yes, really!)
Lunchbox: sunbutter and apples, green beans with pumpkin seeds, raspberries, popcorn
Dinner: Chili Mac, peas

Wednesday
Breakfast: Baked sweet potatoes with cider millet
Lunchbox: sunbutter and apples, melon, peas, terra chips
Dinner: Vegetable Chili, flatbread

Thursday
Breakfast: Blueberry muffins
Lunchbox: veg chili
Dinner: Shrimp shish kebabs, corn salad, broccoli, blueberries

Friday
Breakfast: Sausage and oven roasted veggies
Lunchbox: ham/lettuce wrap, corn salad, grapes
Dinner: Mandarin pork, roasted cauliflower, carrot salad

Saturday
Breakfast: Pumpkin waffles
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: spaghetti with meatballs, california veggies

Sunday
Breakfast: hash browns with sauteed veggies
Lunch: sunbutter and jelly on gf bread
Dinner: Veggie pot pie, salad w/cranberry dressing

Note: Unless I run out, all lunch boxes are packed with a v-8 fusion or 100% juice juice box, a smoothie, and fruit snacks.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Monday Menu Planning

Raise your hand if you frequently find yourself standing in the middle of the kitchen with every cupboard door open, blankly staring at the contents within as if a volunteer will miraculously hurl itself from the shelf and shout "Me! Pick Me! I would make a GREAT dinner!" C'mon now. No one is looking, you can put your hand up.
While I know that dinner needs to be prepared every night, it still seems to creep up on me until WHAMMO. It's witching hour, the little people are cranky and hungry, and I'm still trying to decide what to make.  
Honestly, though, staring into the cabinets waiting for inspiration to strike is far less perilous than googling dinner recipes. That is just a time warp guaranteed to end in a bowl of emergency cereal to hold the natives over until dinner is actually *made*.  I could recipe surf for hours.  And I have.
In an effort to return a small amount of sanity to my life, I have decided to embrace menu planning.  With this powerful tool I will eliminate the nightly debate, avoid dinner delays, feel less inclined to wine while the children whine.  Well, maybe we won't get that carried away. But knowing what to make for dinner really could alleviate some of the last minute decision making stress that happens here, so it's worth a try.
Going forth, I shall post my weekly meal plan here on Monday.  I hope it will help people to see that while I do avoid a lot of foods in my home, we still eat pretty typical fare.  And if nothing else, I'll have a much better grocery list for shopping on Wednesday!
I'll link to the original recipe when I can, but please understand that I modify most of them to meet our dietary needs.  You can cook along with me if you'd like.  

Monday
Breakfast: Pumpkin Pie (yes, really), hot tea or cider
Lunchbox: cubed ham, carrot sticks, grapes, V-8 fusion, fruit snacks, smoothie
Dinner: Spaghetti marinara over quinoa pasta, california mixed veggies, pineapple chunks, orange juice

Tuesday
Breakfast: cereal
Lunchbox: sliced apples with sunbutter, grapes, carrot sticks, zuchinni muffin, V-8 fusion
Dinner: Hearty potato soup, buttered bread, mandarin oranges, cranberry juice

Wednesday
Breakfast: sweet potato and black bean saute
Lunchbox: sunbutter and jelly on bread, mandarin oranges, smoothie, terra chips
Dinner: sauteed salmon with mango salsa, oven roasted beets, steamed broccoli, orange juice

Thursday
Breakfast: Pineapple coffee cake, hot tea or cider
Lunchbox: salmon salad, smoothie, fruit snacks, beets, grapes
Dinner: Pulled pork, oven roasted cauliflower, honey glazed carrots, pineapple chunks

Friday
Lunchbox: bratwurst, apple slices, carrot sticks, V-8 fusion, fruit snacks
Dinner: Irish Cottage Pie, grapes

Saturday
Breakfast: Pumpkin Donuts
Lunch: quinoa pasta with squash sauce and navy beans, peas
Dinner: Pumpkin and mushroom soup, flatbread

Sunday
Breakfast: Sauteed potatoes and vegetables, cantaloupe
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Baked orange roughy, green beans with pumpkin seeds, cherries

Granted, this may not be the most nutritious week we've had, but I tried to keep it easy this week.  Come back next week for more!