Meal Plan for the Week

Follow along this week as I take you on a journey of what I feed my family.  We are currently on the Gut & Psychology Diet and have been since January of 2010.  We are out of "intro" stages and working on foods that are friendly to everyone in the family.  I would love feedback throughout the week from GAPsters and others too.  

MONDAY

Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs
Snack: Mango
Lunch: Bacon, Avocado, Cucumber, Almond Cookie
Snack: Green Smoothie
Dinner: Honey Chicken Thighs with Onions & Mushrooms. Sauteed Greens with Garlic
TUESDAY
Breakfast: Bacon and Avocado
Snack: Persimmon
Lunch: Chicken with Almond Pesto.  Steamed Carrots, & Almond Cookie
Snack: Green Smoothie
Dinner: Cowboy Stew with Sauteed Green beans

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast: Almond Muffins & Bacon

Snack: Pear

Lunch: Meatballs, Steamed Squash & Green Beans

Snack: Green Smoothie

Dinner: BBQ T-Bone Steak, Roasted Asparagus, and Bone Broth

THURSDAY

Breakfast: Sausage Patties and Sauteed Onions

Snack: Pineapple

Lunch: Steak, Steamed Beets, & Cucumbers

Snack: Green Smoothie

Dinner: Roasted Chicken with Gravy, Roasted Carrots and Brussel Sprouts,  Baked Kale Chips

FRIDAY

Breakfast: Steamed Squash & Eggs

Snack: Blueberries

Lunch: Chicken Salad and Baby Carrots

Snack: Green Smoothie

Dinner: Chicken Curry with Peas, Carrots, Cauliflower, Broccoli, and Squash

SATURDAY

Breakfast: Sausage Gravy with Almond Flour Biscuits, Sauteed Cabbage

Snack: Avocado

Lunch: Leftover Curry with Squash and Carrot Pie

Snack: Fruit

Dinner: Pressure Cooker Brisket with Green Beans, Carrots, and Mushrooms

SUNDAY

Breakfast: Coconut Flour Muffins with Coconut Yogurt

Snack: Avocado

Lunch: Quiche, Broth, and Coleslaw

Snack: Green Smoothie

Dinner: Roasted Fish, Salad, Steamed Squash

Meal Planning

Fridge on Saturday

I have gone in and out of meal planning and I have found that when I do it, I not only save money, but my time, which is far more valuable to me.  When every meal is planned I don't waste food, I tend to not over eat, and I tend to have a LOT less stress.  I feel like I have a good rhythm now to how I accomplish this goal every week.  First, I assess what I have in the fridge (I do this on Saturdays).

Farmer's Market Bounty Sunday Morning

Master List on Left, Grocery List on Right Sunday Evening

Next, I shop at the local Farmer's Market to get what is local and in season (I do this on Sunday).  Then I take that Master list (fridge & freezer food, food from Market) and I look at my past meal plan and adjust meals according to what our activities are in the week and what foods have changed seasonally.




At this point I make a grocery list, listing the foods in similar categories to make for easy shopping.  Then, I shop for the remaining items at my local Co-op (I do this on Mondays).  

Sunday's Meals

This beautiful drizzly day started out with some nourishing foods.  Before breakfast we started with juicing 3 carrots, 1 beet, handful of mint, 1 pear, 1/2 of a cucumber.  I ran the pear and the carrot through first and saved the pulp for a pie later in the week.  Tip: wash juicer immediately, even before you drink the juice; it is so easy to clean when you commit to this ONE rule.  I was considering adding the date/time stamp so you could follow along with how long things take, but it bugs me a little to have that writing in the corner.

For breakfast today I made muffins from an amazing gluten-free website.  They were called cinnamon muffins!  (My little helper on the left there).  This was the first muffin we tried that combined a nut flour and coconut flour.  They were yummy!  We also had bacon.  While I was waiting for the bacon and muffins to cook, I reheated our planned lunch and packed for our outing that day.  Here you can see the beautiful muffins and the bacon are finished.  I am heating up some bone broth and left-over grass-fed organic ground beef that I made into taco meat the night before.  I have also steamed some beets that will be served with several Tablespoons of bacon grease.  In the cup there is not tea, but I am straining the bacon fat so there are not bits of blackness in it.  I find this metal tea strainer works great!

We spent the day outside at the Farmer's Market, the park, and went to the Pumpkin patch today.  Lots of fun, but planning meals for everyone can be a little stressful for me.  We ate some organic fruit that we purchased while shopping.  After we stopped at home to drop off our beautiful bounty of mostly organic veggies from the market, I through together some cookies and we were off to a party!  These cookies are super easy and only have these 6 ingredients :
2 1/4 cups almond meal,
1/4 cup cacao powder,
2 Tb. arrowroot powder,
1/2 tsp. baking soda,
1/4 tsp. salt,
 & 1/2 cup honey.
Blend dry ingredients by hand or in the cuisinart.  Add honey, blend.  Scoop with wet hands little flattened balls on a cookie sheet.  Bake for 10-15 minutes at 350*.  They were all eaten at the party in approximately... 3 minutes, maybe less!!!

For dinner tonight, as following the meal plan from
last week, we had fish.  We bought some sushi grade Ahi Tuna and fixed it up deliciously.  The cooked was sauteed in bacon grease, and the raw was sprinkled with salt and toasted sesame seeds.  We had the tuna served with a big green salad (greens, grated carrot, cucumber, tomatoes, avocado); dressing was ground-up almonds with some home-made mayo, fresh dill and chives, and salt.  Served with more avocado and bone broth.

Saturday is meant for taking inventory of what is in the fridge...

This helps me with meal planning for the week. I look through what has been eaten, what is left, and what needs to be replenished. Today's meals have been mainly made of the leftovers or extra veggies/meat in the fridge. This picture is before I clean it out, as I am sure that there are some items in there that could be useful in the compost.

To walk you through, slightly...
Upper shelf: Lettuce, Spinach, Kombucha, Eggs
Next shelf: Several jars of Bone Broth, Mushrooms, Cabbage
Next shelf: Leftover soup, brussel sprouts, green beans, misc.
Lower shelf: Carrots, kale, cucumbers
Upper Drawer: Beets, asparagus, broccoli
Lower Shelf: Honey cured Bacon

A Slightly Asian Flair

Sunday: Spicy Asian Noodle Salad with Mango and Hearts of Palm Salad

Monday: Mango Chicken Salad

Tuesday: White Bean Soup with Sausage and Kale

Wednesday: Asian Noodles with Chicken and Pineapple

Thursday: off to Visit my parents in Fort Bragg!

Friday: Fort Bragg

Saturday: Fort Bragg

A "Pressure Perfect" Delight

Sunday: Brown Rice Pilaf (pecans, cranberries, spinach, carrots, celery) and Turkey with gravy. (Pressure Perfect pg. 210)

Monday: Minestrone Soup and Home-made Whole-wheat Bread

Tuesday: Risotto with turkey sausage, white beans, and tomato (PP, pg.199)

Wednesday: Coconut Curry Split Pea Soup (PP, pg.46)

Thursday: BBQ Chicken and Potato Salad (PP, pg.289)

Friday: Moo Shu Chicken with Whole-wheat tortillas (PP, pg.149)

Saturday: Chili with Quinoa and sweet potatoes.

Creating a Mealplan for CHEAP!

I challenged myself this week to plan meals that were inexpensive and resourceful. I made it out of the grocery store for less than $35.

Sunday: Bean Burritos

Monday: Split Pea Soup with Dill (recipe below)

Tuesday: Chili with Corn Bread Muffins

Wednesday: Chicken with Roasted Potatoes and Bok Choy

Thursday: Coconut Red Curry with squash and green beans over brown rice

Friday: Beef and Potato Burritos

Saturday: An assortment of veggies and such from the fridge. The garden is full of Swiss Chard, so maybe that!

Split Pea Soup with Fresh Peas and Potatoes (Whole Foods for the Whole Family)
Oil
Onion, chopped
Garlic, minced
1 tsp. cumin
4 stocks Celery, chopped
2 Carrots, chopped
3 Red Potatoes, skinned and cubes
1 c. split peas
4c. veggie stock or water
1/2 c. or more of fresh or frozen peas
salt
dill

Sautee onion and garlic in oil. Add cumin and black pepper. Add Stock or water. Chop and add carrots, celery, and potatoes. Add split peas. Pressure cooker: bring to pressure for 13 min. quick release. Soup pot: bring to boil, simmer for 1 hour, until peas have dissolved. Add peas cook for a few minutes. Add salt and dill to taste. Serve warm.

I like to make this soup with these. I make and bake them while waiting for the soup to cook.
Whole-Spelt Biscuits (substitute w.wheat if so desired)
2c. whole flour
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder
1 c. almond milk
2 Tb. oil

Mix together, form into biscuit shapes. Cook at 400* for 10 minutes.