menu planning monday 10.19.09

Monday: Smoked Turkey Breast with wild rice and steamed broccoli

Tuesday: Chicken-Vegetable stir fry

Apprehension-Free Wednesday: Breakfast casserole, cheese grits, and fruit salad will be served at church prior to the Worship Service.

Thursday: WYFL Homecoming Pep Rally and hot dog dinner

Friday: Fish Tacos with pinto beans

Who knows what the weekend holds!

For more menu planning ideas, check out OrgJunkie!

menu planning monday 09.28.09

Monday: Grilled Portobellos with Pasta and salad

Tuesday: Chili-Lime Shrimp with coconut rice

Apprehension-Free Wednesday: Dinner at church will be BBQ Pork, cole slaw, baked beans, bread, and dessert.

Thursday: Grilled hamburgers, pinto beans, and baked tortilla chips

Friday: Chef D's Birthday -- going out for sushi then back home for some Gigi's German Chocolate Pie!

roast beef panini with pumpkin bisque -- happy fall!

I thought I would do a review of today's meal, since I enjoyed it so much. The pumpkin bisque was very easy, especially since I used the stick blender directly in the sauce pot instead of transferring to the blender. I did use more salt than the recipe called for and toasted my raw pumpkin seeds on the stove top instead of roasting them. It was perfect for the first day of the fall season.

The panini was another winner. I used the Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted whole wheat bread and added a wedge of Laughing Cow light swiss cheese (spread on the the insides of the bread as if it were mayonnaise). Since I do not own a panini press, I improvised and used my George Foreman grill. I have not used it in a long time and now I have found a reason to use it!

I found both of these recipes while researching the flat belly diet. I still do not have a flat belly (after 4 weeks of adjusting my eating plan), but I have lost 6 lbs. and do not feel hungry in between meals.

menu planning monday 09.21.09

Monday: Pasta with Walnut Basil Pesto (358 calories) with oven-baked turkey meatballs (350 calories) and fresh butter lettuce salad with dried cranberries and sunflower seeds

Tuesday: Hearty Roast Beef Panini (270 calories) with Pumpkin Bisque (210 calories)

Apprehension-Free Wednesday: Chicken enchiladas, refried beans, rice, salad and dessert will be served at church prior to the worship service.

Thursday: Slow-cooker African Chicken Stew (439 calories) with Red Pepper-Scallion Corn Muffins (345 calories) (edited: decided to go with lemon, rosemary, and balsamic grilled chicken thighs instead with mashed and sweet potatoes and a salad on the side)

Friday: Scrapbooking retreat for the girls and Boys Night Out for the guys!

Don't forget to check out OrgJunkie for more menu planning ideas!

menu planning monday 09.07.09

For those who read my last week's menu plan, I wanted to share that I lost 4 lbs. during my week of anti-bloat jumpstart menus. They were not totally appetizing (mostly due to the salt restriction), but I do feel much better. I will now be starting to include more menus higher in monounsaturated fatty acids (nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil, and even dark chocolate!).

Monday: Labor Day Holiday - since we will be visiting at a friend's house, this will also be a holiday from my new eating plan.

Tuesday: Cheesy Pasta with Spinach with a side of fresh oranges

Apprehension-Free Wednesday: Dinner served at church will be poppyseed chicken casserole, green beans/peas, salad, bread and dessert.

Thursday: Sesame Chicken Stir-fry with grilled pinapple

Friday: California Burgers with steamed baby carrots

Please check out the other menu plans at OrgJunkie.

menu planning monday 08.31.09

I think I am going to try something new this week. A friend of mine shared a 4-day anti-bloat menu that helped her last week and I am going to try it out. I am just posting the dinner portion here, but there are specific things for all meals for 4 days -- my friend lost 4 lbs. by following this plan. Unfortunately, I do not think the rest of my family is ready for any 'anti-bloating'!, so I will be making some additional items to suit their needs.

Monday: Grilled tilapia, green beans, roasted red potatoes drizzled

Tuesday: Grilled chicken breast, sauteed fresh cremini mushrooms, brown rice

Wednesday: Grilled or baked turkey breast cutlet, green beans, roasted red potatoes

Thursday: Grilled chicken breast, sauteed yellow squash, brown rice

Friday: Tonight is the first local high school football and we bought season tickets. After all this 'anti-bloat' this week, I am not going to ruin it all by eating at the stadium. But, I do want something a little tastier than plain grilled poultry or fish. Tonight's celebratory 'end-of-anti-bloat-week" dinner will be: steak, baked potato and salad.

Saturday: Youngest son's birthday is being celebrated this weekend, so I am going to let him choose the meal for tonight:)

For more (non anti-bloat!) menu planning ideas, check out OrgJunkie!

menu planning monday 08.17.09

We made it through the first week of school and lived to tell about it! I was able to follow my meal plan except for Thursday (a 10:00 am meeting lasted until after 4 pm!). I am grateful for an understanding family who appeared happy to have sandwiches that night:)

The boys did great with their lunch planning, but I think I will have them plan one week at a time instead of the night before.

Monday: Panko-crusted cod fillet sliders (need to use these rolls before they go bad) with freshly-picked hydroponic lettuce salad (with tomatoes and peppers from my garden)

Tuesday: Baked teriyaki chicken thighs with whole grain/wild rice medley and panko-fried zucchini strips. Mini blueberry dump cakes for Bible Reading Group dessert.

Apprehension-Free Wednesday: I am so happy that Wednesday night suppers have resumed at church. This week's meal will be roast beef, mashed potatoes, lima beans, salad, rolls and dessert. They are also trying a new feature: Domino's Pizza for the children (and any adult that signs up for that in the place of the regular dinner). I think my children will be pleased:)

Thursday: Homemade pizza (recipe posted soon!) with crudites

Friday: Scrapbooking Night for the girls and Boy's Night Out for the rest!

Saturday: Dinner club at our friends, the M's!

For more menu planning ideas, check out all the other links at OrgJunkie!