Menu Plan Monday 5 - Week of August 15, 2011

This is what our family will be eating this week:

Special Notes: I recently signed up for "The Six O'Clock Scramble," which is a service you pay for that suggests a weekly menu. I like it because you can modify each week's menu according to your family's dietary needs and it helps me to expand my repertoire of dinners. One of the best features is the shopping list. Every ingredient is marked with a key that identifies which meal or side dish the ingredient is meant for. That way, if you are whizzing through the market with small children on the verge of an unexpected meltdown, you can quickly edit the list (in your mind) for the critical items you need for that night's meal, or the next few nights' meals instead of the whole week. Also, if you are a multiple location shopper, like me, you can easily figure out whether or not you have enough ingredients from one store to complete the meal. 

Monday: Black Bean Burgers (The Six O'Clock Scramble) with a side of sauteed yams and corn.


Tuesday: Honey Sesame Spaghetti (The Six O'Clock Scramble)

Wednesday: Black Bean, Fennel and Tomato Stew (The Six O'Clock Scramble)


Thursday: Moo Shu Vegetable Wraps (The Six O'Clock Scramble)

Friday: Apple Bacon Cheddar Frittata (The Six O'Clock Scramble)

Saturday: Coconut Chicken with Mango (The Six O'Clock Scramble)

Sunday: Leftovers (The Six O'Clock Scramble)



Further Inspiration:
Looking for more menu planning ideas? Check out "Meal Plan Monday" on OrgJunkie.com.


Info on Who I Feed:

Our family consists of myself, my husband, our preschool daughter and toddler son. Everyone has different food preferences. I love onions, garlic and peppers and flavors like stir-fries. I'm not fond of meat, but eat it sparingly. I don't ever eat pork (no, not even bacon), lamb, rabbit or veal. I love carbs. My husband is directly opposite - no garlic, onions or peppers, lots of meat. Our children fall in the range between us. 


I try to be budget-minded and healthful, but some weeks are easier than others. Every now and then I get on a diet type of kick. I'm going to label each week's meal plan according to the overall healthfulness of it. 


At the end of the week, I will make notes about whether or not we stuck to the plan, adaptations and how the meal went over.

Menu Plan Monday 4 - Week of August 9

Craving Levity



This is what our family will be eating this week:

Special Notes: I'm taking everything from the "You on a Diet" book. I can't say I've actually done the whole diet / exercise program outlined in the book, but I have given a number of the recipes a stab and they're very good. They're also easy and quick to make. It's funny, but this is one of the best cookbooks I've used, as far as the recipes being well written and consistently producing yummy food. I'm ready for a change and thought I'd give the whole two-week "You on a Diet" thing a spin. We'll see what results I get in energy or weight! The "diet" involves exercise as well, and you have to follow it for breakfast and lunch as well, but I'm just listing the dinners here. 

Monday: Asian Salmon with Brown Rice Pilaf (p. 285, You on a Diet)

Tuesday: Stuffed Whole Wheat Pizza (p. 287, You on a Diet)

Wednesday: Mediterranean Chicken with Tomato, Olives and Herbed White Beans (p. 289, You on a Diet)


Thursday: Royal Pasta Primavera Provençale (p. 290, You on a Diet)

Friday: Apricot Chicken and Green Beans with Almond Slivers (p. 291, You on a Diet)

Saturday: Turkey Tortilla Wraps with Red Baked Potato (p. 292, You on a Diet)

Sunday: Broiled Trout, Orata with Rosemary and Lemon, Rock Aparagus (p. 293 & p. 301, You on a Diet)


Further Inspiration:
Looking for more menu planning ideas? Check out "Meal Plan Monday" on OrgJunkie.com.


Info on Who I Feed:

Our family consists of myself, my husband, our preschool daughter and toddler son. Everyone has different food preferences. I love onions, garlic and peppers and flavors like stir-fries. I'm not fond of meat, but eat it sparingly. I don't ever eat pork (no, not even bacon), lamb, rabbit or veal. I love carbs. My husband is directly opposite - no garlic, onions or peppers, lots of meat. Our children fall in the range between us. 


I try to be budget-minded and healthful, but some weeks are easier than others. Every now and then I get on a diet type of kick. I'm going to label each week's meal plan according to the overall healthfulness of it. 


At the end of the week, I will make notes about whether or not we stuck to the plan, adaptations and how the meal went over.

Menu Plan Monday 3 - Week of August 2

Feeding Hungry Athletes


This is what our family will be eating this week:

Special Notes: This week my husband will be out on Tuesday night, so I get to prepare a simple meal that he usually isn't fond of. On Saturday, he's riding a century on his bike (100 miles... like a marathon for cyclists), so I really want to carb and protein-load him afterward. In addition, we belong to a CSA, which we pick up our food from on Wednesdays. This last week's box had a fair amount of beets and potatoes, which I'm going to need to use ASAP. Finally, our pear tree is booming... I think on Saturday I'll plan to make pear-based pierogies for Sunday. We're off to a family gathering on Sunday, so it would be nice to show up with something in-hand. 

Monday: Apricot Chickenwith Green Beans and Almonds (p. 291 You on a Diet)

Tuesday: Summer Pasta with Garden Tomatoes, Basil and Parmesan

Wednesday: Rosemary Shallot Pork Tenderloin with Fig-Balsamic Compote by Gabi Moskowitz over at Broke Ass Gourmet, served with roasted potatoes and beets

Thursday: Taco Thursday with Ground Turkey

Friday: Asian Steak and Noodles (p. 48 The Working Mom's Fast & Easy One-Pot Cooking)

Saturday: Pasta with Sausage Spaghetti Sauce

Sunday: Leftovers, Gabi Moskowitz's Sweet Potato and Pear Pierogies with Chilies (after a Mid-Day Family Meal at Sister-in-Law's)


Further Inspiration:
Looking for more menu planning ideas? Check out "Meal Plan Monday" on OrgJunkie.com.

Info on Who I Feed:

Our family consists of myself, my husband, our preschool daughter and toddler son. Everyone has different food preferences. I love onions, garlic and peppers and flavors like stir-fries. I'm not fond of meat, but eat it sparingly. I don't ever eat pork (no, not even bacon), lamb, rabbit or veal. I love carbs. My husband is directly opposite - no garlic, onions or peppers, lots of meat. Our children fall in the range between us. 


I try to be budget-minded and healthful, but some weeks are easier than others. Every now and then I get on a diet type of kick. I'm going to label each week's meal plan according to the overall healthfulness of it. 


At the end of the week, I will make notes about whether or not we stuck to the plan, adaptations and how the meal went over.

Menu Plan Monday 2 - Week of July 26

Yummy Healthful Meals from All Over the World 

Most of these recipes are relatively fast. They're all fresh and healthful.

This is what our family will be eating this week:

Special Notes: Some links point to the book that I'm getting the recipe from with page number after.

Monday: Asian Salmon, Brown Rice Pilaf, (both adapted from "You on a Diet" p. 285 - adaptation: no garlic) Sautéed Spinach

Follow Up Note: Super easy to cook. Used leftovers in salad the next day. 

Tuesday: Rice Noodles with Vegetable Chili Sauce (p. 170 The Detox Cookbook)

Follow Up Note: Ended up cooking on Thursday night. Took about 20 minutes of prep, 45 minutes total. Very easy and delicious.

Wednesday: Crockpot Sweet Potato Andouille Sausage Stew from Gabi Moskowitz's Mom at Broke Ass Gourmet (leftover vegetable chili sauce over leftover brown rice pilaf for me)

Follow Up Note: Cooked on Tuesday. The children wouldn't eat it. Fortunately there were lots of leftovers (that's sarcasm). Froze to serve in a few weeks. Had about 5 extra servings. Husband wants more sausage next time.

Thursday: Roasted Chicken with Carrots, Onions and Potatoes from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Follow Up Note: Cooked on Wednesday. Used extra vegetables. Served Thursday night for children. I always forget it takes 1.5 hrs to cook. Whoops. 20 minutes prep, started at 5:30. Must remember next time that I need to start prep at 4 if I want to serve it at 6.

Friday: Indian Rice with Tomatoes and Spinach (p. 176 The Detox Cookbook)

Follow Up Note: This was DELICIOUS - everyone in my family ate some of it. Very quick to make (10 min prep, 30 cooking). I added a few teaspoons of sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes. I used fresh tomatoes, as per the recipe, and it's a great meal to make to use up super ripe tomatoes (though they don't have to be super ripe - it's just that when they're past salad or sandwich ripeness it's harder to find uses for them). This recipe could be more cookie cutter by using a can of diced tomatoes and frozen spinach.

Saturday: Bean Salad with Tuna and Red Onion (p. 158 The Detox Cookbook) Saved!!! Got an invite to dinner at a friends house! We are OUTTA Here! :-)


Sunday: No idea. Again. I'm thinking "leftovers."




Further Inspiration:
Looking for more menu planning ideas? Check out "Meal Plan Monday" on OrgJunkie.com.


Some of the recipes come from these sources, all of which I find inspiring and have simple, relatively quick, very healthy and diverse recipes:


The Brokeass Gourmet


The Detox Cookbook (don't follow the "program" outlined - it's aggravatingly complex, but the recipes are great)


The Barefoot Contessa (not exactly healthy... somewhat fattening, but will teach you how to roast like nobody's business)


You On a Diet (every recipe I've tried has been delicious and easy)



 Info on Who I Feed:

Our family consists of myself, my husband, our preschool daughter and toddler son. Everyone has different food preferences. I love onions, garlic and peppers and flavors like stir-fries. I'm not fond of meat, but eat it sparingly. I don't ever eat pork (no, not even bacon), lamb, rabbit or veal. I love carbs. My husband is directly opposite - no garlic, onions or peppers, lots of meat. Our children fall in the range between us. 


I try to be budget-minded and healthful, but some weeks are easier than others. Every now and then I get on a diet type of kick. I'm going to label each week's meal plan according to the overall healthfulness of it. 


At the end of the week, I will make notes about whether or not we stuck to the plan, adaptations and how the meal went over.