Menu Planning for the Week of February 11-Clean Eating and Mostly Paleo

Breakfast
green smoothies for hubby and me
Kashi cereal for the kiddos
strawberry and cream cheese wafflewiches for the kiddos
some recipe of baked oatmeal
slow cooker apple cinnamon oatmeal

Lunch
homemade lunchables for the kiddos
baked potatoes for the kiddos
soup for the kiddos
leftovers for hubby and me

Dinner
shrimp scampi and roasted broccoli
stuffed peppers and roasted carrots
meatloaf and bacon green beans
garlic pork chops and pistachio "couscous"
orange-rosemary chicken and roasted asparagus
steak burritos and spicy avocado salsa
chicken curry stew and roasted cauliflower
cashew-crusted chicken and zucchini ribbons

**many of these meal ideas came from emeals.com healthy breakfast, healthy lunch, and paleo menus

Freezer Cooking Results for October 15

This month I did my freezer cooking a little different. I followed a lot of the recipes from the traditional menu at Once a Month Mom. I also found one recipe from the whole foods menu that sounded awesome. I shopped yesterday (dreading the check-out line the whole time) and was pleasantly surprised when the total wasn’t bad at all!! I chopped lots of veggies last night and cooked some of the chicken last night and had it ready to go for today. Having done that, I still cooked all day. I finally got done with cooking and packaging 9 1/2 hours later! I am pretty sure it wasn’t supposed to take me that long but this is quite an accomplishment for me because I am usually not done that fast and I don’t have nearly as large a yield of food. Everything that my family and I sampled was scrumptious…especially the muffins and the pasta!!!

Here’s the complete list of items making my freezers bulge right now:

• over 5 dozen pumpkin chocolate chip muffins
• over 3 dozen harvest pancakes
• 3 meals of spinach artichoke pasta
• 1 meal of chicken and wild rice soup
• 1 meal of taco soup
• 2 meals of Monterrey chicken
• 4 meals of Mexican chicken lasagna
• 1 meal of seasoned taco meat
• 3, 3 cup containers of chicken broth
• 5 lunch portions of taco soup
• 9 lunch portions of chicken and wild rice soup
• 3 meals worth of salsa chicken

Menu Plan for the Week of October 3

I love fall! I love the way the air smells outside. I love the way the leaves change color. I love watching the wind blow the trees and bushes around. I also love fall food—you know, the chili, the soup, the hearty meals that we all eat during fall and winter. Yum!! I can’t wait to implement more of that food into my meal plans in the weeks to come .

Monday: homemade cheese pizza and salad

Tuesday: chicken fajitas and black beans

Wednesday: grilled chicken and veggies

Thursday: Not My Mama’s Chili and grilled cheeses

Friday: eat out

Saturday: eat out

Menu Plan for the Week of September 12

This is simply gonna be an awesome week…We started yesterday with our nephew’s birthday; Wednesday is dd7’s birthday (she’ll be 8 of course!), and we have an early release day from school for parent/teacher conferences (which means I still have to work but I will have a sort of workday in between conferences to plan and get my room back in order )!
Monday: Bullseye pizza and salad with ranch dressing
Tuesday: breakfast for supper—scrambled eggs, hashbrown potatoes, toast, and fruit
Wednesday: EAT OUT FOR DD7’S BIRTHDAY
Thursday: Mexican chicken and rice skillet and salad
Friday: Black bean soup with cheddar cheese and sour cream
Saturday: beef and bean burritos
Sunday: something simple or leftovers

Menu Plan for the Week of September 5

Having just filled two freezers with food, I have the unique problem of not knowing what to fix for supper this week—not because we don’t have any groceries, but because we have a variety! I love it!! Here’s the tentative plan.

Monday: eat out for Labor Day

Tuesday: shredded chicken tacos and black beans

Wednesday: grilled chicken with Normandy veggies

Thursday: shepard’s pie

Friday: Mexican rice casserole

Saturday: beef and bean burritos and Spanish rice

Sunday: something simple or leftovers

Freezer Cooking Results for the Weekend of September 2-4

When I thought about freezer cooking this weekend I really hadn’t planned on too much—a couple batches of chili, a batch of waffles, and my usual pb & j sandwiches for the kids’ lunches. I’m not sure what happened after that but this freezer cooking session just kinda sprouted legs and came alive! It wasn’t one day or even a day and a half—over two days worth of cooking!!

Here is the yield from this labor-fest…

2 meals worth of white chili

1 meal worth of regular chili

25 whole wheat Belgian waffles

3 loaves of whole wheat cranberry bread (one of which has nearly been devoured by our family for breakfast!)

2 batches of chocolate protein bars—16 servings

2 batches of carrot cake protein bars—16 servings

1 batch of cinnamon swirl protein bars—8 servings

12 sandwiches for the kids lunches—Thank goodness for the 4 day week this week! I ran out of peanut butter!!

10 cups of chicken broth (besides what was used in the white chili)

2 (2 cup) bags of black beans

2 (2 cup) bags of shredded chicken

2 shepard’s pies

2 bags of breaded okra (fresh from the garden—really, I hadn’t planned on this item but my mother-in-law called and asked if we wanted any okra and we of course said—YES!)

4 (2 cup) bags of white rice

2 lunch-sized servings of white chili

4 lunch-sized servings of regular chili

 

Let me just add…I am completely worn out!!!!! And yes, I did post this after 1 am—I just finished putting the last of the food into the freezer! Thank goodness I didn’t fix any more food because the freezers are packed to the gills!!!

Menu Plan for the Week of August 22

Well school is off in full swing which means that things around my house are too. It’s so crazy around here that I dare not put a date to any of these menu ideas!

So, here they are (in no particular order)…

grilled London broil and steamed veggies

California rolls, lettuce wraps, sauteed zucchini (my dear husband is experimenting with all of this—he is a fantastic cook)

grilled chicken breast and steamed veggies

breakfast for supper—scrambled eggs, toast, and fruit

beef and bean burritos

pizza night

slow cooker BBQ beef sandwiches

Menu Plan for the Week of August 15

Well, we have officially all gone back to school! So far, our home hasn’t gone too crazy (thankfully). This is the first full week of school, though. We’ll see….

Monday—hotdogs, chili, tater tots
Tuesday—eating out for DS’s birthday!!! He’ll be 7
Wednesday—crescent chicken, garden veggies
Thursday—shredded chicken tacos, black beans
Friday—pizza and salad night
Saturday—grilled London broil, garden veggies
Sunday—something easy, maybe leftovers

Linked to http://www.orgjunkie.com/

Freezer Cooking Results for August 12

Well, I didn't do a ton of freezer cooking today, but we got some accomplished which was the plan! I made a huge batch of whole wheat waffles for my kids to have for breakfast before school. I think it made about 27 Belgian waffles. At 1 huge waffle each for breakfast with some fruit, that should last for 9 mornings! I don't think that's bad at all considering I have three kiddos and limited freezer space!
We also made enough peanut butter sandwiches for the kids to have for a week of lunches! Now I know it doesn't take a long time to make a peanut butter sandwich but when we are making three every evening and making coffee and laying out clothes and cooking supper and doing our chores and everything else we do to get ready for our day...well, you know. It's just nice to not have one more thing to worry about! We plan to do this most every week (my kids love peanut butter sandwiches).
Soooo, our tally is: 27 Belgian waffles and 15 peanut butter sandwiches for a very short amount of time on a Saturday afternoon--plenty of time left to play!!

Menu Plan for the Week of August 8

Well, we go back to school this week…I started back Friday and the kids start back this Thursday. It’s gonna be crazzzyyyy around the Brooks household.
Here are the menu “ideas” for the week---very subject to change…

• chicken fajitas on whole wheat tortillas and black beans
• grilled chicken salad
• beef burritos and Spanish rice
• shredded chicken tacos
• grilled London broil with fresh garden veggies
• grilled chicken with fresh garden veggies
• eat out

Menu Plan for the Week of July 25

Well, this is a crazy week—two weeks til school starts back for me and the kids are taking swimming lessons and we have Bible School. Ah, the joys of summertime. It’ll be over all too soon… Here’s the proposed plan for the week…

 

Monday—kids eat at Bible School, parents ??

Tuesday—kids eat at Bible School, parents??

Wednesday—kids eat at Bible School, parents??

Thursday—chicken fajitas, black beans

Friday—beef bbq sandwiches, bbq beans

Saturday—grilled chicken wraps in whole wheat tortillas, grilled zucchini

Sunday—shredded chicken tacos, corn

 

**By the way, all of the meat on the menu is either prepared and ready to cook or already cooked and in the freezer !!

Menu Plan for the Week of July 18

Ok, so I haven’t menu planned in a while--crazy summer at the Brooks house ! I’m not even gonna write days of the week on this one, but I am gonna write breakfasts and lunch ideas because we are on summer vacation from school still.


Breakfasts
oatmeal with blackberries and walnuts
cereal
raisin pecan zucchini bread
oatmeal pancakes

Lunches
leftovers from supper
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
scrambled eggs and wheat toast

Supper
grilled london broil with grilled veggies and steamfresh rice
beef burritoes in low-carb tortillas
grilled chicken and BBQ baked beans
lasagna (from the freezer )
leftovers

Our New Composter

My husband and I recently decided to give composting a try. We have lots of grass clippings, leaves, and such around the house PLUS lots of garbage that a family of five creates. We like to garden and would like to do more of it and have healthier plants and flowers. Sounds pretty win-win to me!
We purchased a small ceramic compost bin for our kitchen (it has a charcoal filter so we don't smell anything) and a larger compost tumbler for our back yard.
We are excited about this because it is frugal and green. We won't be throwing away nearly as much garbage--we'll be recycling!!
We don't know a whole lot about composting but I am sure we will be learning quickly...






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Cabbage Rolls

Well, we are so thankful to have an abundance of fresh produce from my in-laws. They gave us onions, cabbage, cucumbers, squash and zucchini, green beans and lettuce so far. I sure don’t want this to go to waste because 1) it’s really good, fresh produce, and 2) it’s FREE! So…I don’t eat cole slaw and I didn’t know what to do with the head of cabbage until I started thinking about the cooked ground beef I had in the freezer for just such an occasion. I am pretty sure I have never made or eaten cabbage rolls until tonight, but this won’t be the last time I’m sure. These were awesome! Even DS6 was excited when he saw his plate (and he’s a pretty picky guy). I found this recipe in my Betty Crocker Cookbook and tweaked it ever so slightly. We are watching our weight after all!
1 head of cabbage
1 lb. lean ground beef, cooked and drained
1/2 c. uncooked quinoa
1 c. water
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce (or two 8 oz. cans)
onion (as much or as little as you prefer—I added two small onions from the garden and they equaled about half a store-bought onion)
16 oz. container of fresh mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. olive oil
onion powder, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
Mrs. Dash, to taste

First, add quinoa and water to a small pot, cover and let boil about 10-15 minutes.
Heat olive oil in a sauté pan. Add the mushrooms and onions and let them cook down for a few minutes.
While those ingredients are cooking, add separated cabbage leaves to a pot of boiling water. Let boil until limp (about 10 minutes). Drain and set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, put ground beef, onion powder, garlic powder, Mrs. Dash, salt and pepper, 1/2 of the tomato sauce and the quinoa, mushrooms, and onions when finished.
In a small bowl, mix the rest of the tomato sauce, lemon juice, and sugar. Set Aside.
In a cabbage leaf, place a small amount of filling (about 1/3 c.). Roll the leaf around the filling much like you would roll a burrito. Place in a slightly greased 9x13 in. pan. Repeat this until all filling has been used.
Pour the small bowl of remaining tomato sauce over the cabbage rolls and bake until heated through and the cabbage is browned a little around the edges (about 30-40 minutes).

NOTES: You will most likely have cabbage leaves left. I just ate the ones I had left over .
The original recipe called for uncooked ground beef and 1/2 c. uncooked instant rice to be combined in the filling. I had cooked ground beef in my freezer that needed to be used, so I changed the original recipe a bit.
I have recently found a love for quinoa because it is soo good for me (and you) and I can eat it on a diet easier than rice. Plus it is full of vitamins and protein.

Raisin Pecan Zucchini Bread

We got a bunch of zucchini out of my husband’s parents’ garden and some of it was too big to grill or sauté and I was sooo……EXCITED! Because big zucchini is PERFECT for making zucchini bread and I LOVE zucchini bread!!!
Around here, we are all trying to watch our eating habits since we returned from vacation where we all gained a bunch of weight!!! (and I mean BUNCH!) I this original recipe from my Betty Crocker Cookbook. I did change a few ingredients around, though. So here is my revised recipe…
3 c. shredded zucchini
1 c. Splenda
2/3 c. sugar (original recipe called for all sugar)
4 large eggs (or 1 c. egg substitute)
2/3 c. natural applesauce (original recipe called for oil)
2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. whole wheat flour (original recipe said either all purpose or whole wheat)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. chopped nuts (I used pecans)
1/2 c. raisins

Lower your oven rack so that your bread will be more centered. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray the bottom of two loaf pans.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the zucchini, sugar, Splenda, applesauce, vanilla, and eggs.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, then add the nuts and raisins. Divide the batter between the two loaf pans and bake for 50-60 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick (if it  comes out clean, the bread is done).
Cool the bread in the pan for at least 10 minutes on a wire rack , then loosen the bread from the loaf pan with a butter knife. Let the bread cool completely, then wrap tightly. It will keep at room temp. for 4 days or refrigerated for 10 days. Or you can do like I am going to if any is left and freeze it.

NOTES: The original recipe says that 3 c. shredded zucchini is about 2-3 medium. I used 4 medium-large zucchini and ended up with enough to make four batches of this recipe (which I did all day yesterday )!
I have found that this bread works really well with the disposable foil pans because it doesn’t overbrown and it comes out of the pan easier.
I have made this bread without the nuts and raisins and it was still super good.
The best way to shred the zucchini is in the food processor. If I had to shred all that zucchini with a cheese grater I would lose my mind!
I wrap my bread first in wax paper, then in aluminum foil to make sure it is tightly sealed.




My oldest daughter helped me make my first batch of this yummy bread yesterday. I was so glad to have such an eager helper!

Menu Plan for the Week of June 6

I went back to cycle 1 (for the most part) and had great success. As of when I weighed in Friday morning, I was down 20.1 lbs. I had gotten here once before a few weeks ago and just couldn’t make it stick. It was almost like I thought, ‘Ok, I've lost 20 lbs., let’s see how quickly I can put some weight back on.’ Anyway, this promises to be a hectic week of soccer practices and games, field trips, and our last week of school—not to mention we are getting ready to attend my husband’s graduation so we will be packing and cleaning the house…..

Monday: frozen meals because of multiple soccer practices and games after school

Tuesday: freezer meal (chili)

Wednesday: grilled fish and veggies

Thursday: baked turkey tenderloin and veggies

Friday: breakfast for supper

Saturday: freezer meal (lasagna?)

This is linked to Organizing Junkie

Menu Plan for the Week of May 30

Well, I have officially started back on cycle 2 of the 17 Day Diet, but unofficially I don’t know if I am going to stay there for 17 days. I am having a hard time with this…I feel like I am getting stuck in a rut with this diet. I am going to post my meal plan and hope for the best…
Monday: frozen meals because of multiple soccer practices after school
Tuesday: grilled chicken and veggies
Wednesday: eat out because of an out-of-town doctor’s appointment
Thursday: baked turkey tenderloin and veggies
Friday: eat out because of a retirement dinner
Saturday: eat out because I will be shopping for my trip to pick my husband up from OSUT!!!

Of course, I will not be doing a lot of grocery shopping this week since we will be eating out so much. When I eat out, I try to stick with chicken, salads, and either broccoli or green beans. I try extremely hard not to have bread. Most likely, these meals out will be a Zaxby’s salad or a Wendy’s salad (I am currently in love with their new berry and almond chicken salad).

This is linked to Organizing Junkie

Menu Plan for the Week of May 23

Well I made it to a total loss of 20 pounds, but I gained it and lost it all last week! Oh well…This week I transition back to cycle 2 on Thursday, which means more carbs and a greater choice of lean meats every other day.

grilled chicken salad with lite honey mustard dressing (I am trying out Newman’s Own and it is yummy!)

• grilled turkey burgers (without the bun) and veggies
• grilled chicken with veggies (several times with different spices or marinades or sauces)
• chicken fajitas without the tortillas—just chicken, veggies, spices, salsa, and low-fat cheese on top
• baked tilapia with veggies
• ground beef taco salad without the chips

Veggies to Use this Week: salad, broccoli, carrots, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, green beans, asparagus, brussel sprouts, mixed veggie steamers

Menu Plan for the Week of May 16

I must say, last week when I started back on cycle 1, I didn’t follow it exactly. I did have a little chocolate every now and then—ok, I believe it was every day. However, the proof is in the chocolate pudding because I lost about 5 pounds, bringing my total to 19 pounds of weight gone from my body!!!!!!!! I think the difference to having chocolate everyday before this diet and while on this diet is balance. Yes, I had my chocolate, but I also stuck to the diet the rest of the time.  So, I am writing this menu plan a little different this week than I usually do…I am just going to list out my possibilities for yummy suppers for the week-not by day of the week.

• grilled chicken salad with lite honey mustard dressing (I am trying out Newman’s Own and it is yummy!)
• grilled turkey burgers (without the bun) and veggies
• grilled chicken with veggies (several times with different spices or marinades or sauces)
• chicken fajitas without the tortillas—just chicken, veggies, spices, salsa, and low-fat cheese on top

Veggies to Use this Week: salad, broccoli, carrots, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, green beans, asparagus, brussel sprouts, mixed veggie steamers

Menu Plan for the Week of May 9

Well, after 20 days of floundering on cycle 3, I am starting back on cycle 1 of the 17 Day Diet...

Monday: grilled chicken and veggies

Tuesday: grilled chicken and veggies

Wednesday: grilled chicken and veggies

Thursday: turkey tenderloin and veggies

Friday: grilled chicken salad

Saturday: grilled chicken salad

Sunday: turkey tenderloin and veggies

Veggies to Use this Week: salad, broccoli, carrots, green peppers, onions, green beans, asparagus