April Wrap Up

I've had some hits and misses this month so I thought, "what would happen if I put together one meal plan of all the hits?"  That would result in one crazy good meal plan, that's what!  So this isn't a plan that we followed but it's full of stuff we did eat over the month that made the whole family happy.

April Wrap Up Meal Plan

Noteworthy Breakfasts

Overnight Oats continue to be my absolute favorite breakfast.  This month I've been back and forth between raspberry and peanut butter.  My basic formula is:

1/2 cup Steel Cut Oats

1 cup Almond Milk (I use homemade which I think is of secret ingredient to real fabulous oats).

1.5 Tbsp Chia Seeds

1 tsp Maple Syrup

Peanut Butter: add a generous spoonful of natural Peanut Butter

Raspberry: add frozen raspberries

Blueberry and Almond Overnight Oats

 

I single serve my oats and mix in the add-in's the night before so that they are literally ready to go in the morning.  But you could easily big-batch the basic recipe and add-in the flavors of your choice in the morning.  Also, you may want to adjust the amounts of oats, milk and chia seeds based on how thick/thin you like your oats.  Most recipes call for old-fashioned oats but I much prefer the texture of Steel Cut!

Red Beet Pancakes - I made these on a weekend and Marin was so excited!  She's been asking for them off and on since the last time I made them - for Valentine's Day in 2013!  We had them for Sunday breakfast, leftovers for Monday breakfast and there were two little pancakes left that Marin and I had for a quick snack after work/daycare one day.  These could easily be made ahead of time for a weekday breakfast and pancakes also freeze well and can be reheated right in the toaster!

Cottage Cheese & Vanilla Yogurt with Fruit and Nuts -  I haven't been eating this since I'm still dairy reduced these days but Dave loves this combo.  He eats cottage cheese like I eat oatmeal.  You can totally customize this one with whatever yogurt flavor, fruit/berry and nut combo you like.  It is delicious!

Lunches

This was a month of seriously easy lunches.  We've been on a kick of wraps, hummus and boiled eggs - not necessarily together but together works as well.

Homemade Tortillas - aka, the best thing EVER!

Veggie Wrap with Cheese & Ranch Dressing.  This happened on a weekend.  I had tortillas in the freezer, veggies that needed eating, ranch spice in the cupboard, leftover black beans & cheese... I put everything on the counter and we all came up with something a little different.  My version... tortillas with a generous scoop of ranch dressing, broccoli, orange tomatoes, red peppers and shredded cheese.  It was so good I had the exact same thing the next day.  I made one for Dave too and he agreed, delicious! 

Pork Fried Rice - I love making fried rice for lunch to use up leftover meat and vegetables.  My formula is to saute whatever vegetables I have on hand, add in the cooked rice and shredded meat, add a splash of soya sauce and mix it all up.  At the end I'll sometimes crack in an egg and scramble that in too.

Crispy Bean Tots - So Marin starts school in less than 5 months and I'm going to have to start packing her lunches.  I'm already super excited about this and putting a lot of thought into it.  I came across this recipe and wanted to give it a test drive.  When I taste tested one the night I made them I was less than enthused... found them kind of bland.  But for lunch the next day I dipped them in a little ketchup and thought I found a winner!  I think this will be school lunch approved.

Hard Boiled Egg, Veggies & Dip, Crackers and a slice of Avocado.  I found out one night that Dave didn't need lunch the next day.  I came very close to kicking up my feet and taking the night off but the image of a hard boiled egg came to mind.  And so I got off the couch and put together this almost no effort lunch for myself.  And totally enjoyed it!  This was what started my hard boiled egg craze this month. 

Greek Quinoa Salad - This is nothing new for us, we have it regularly.  I always make extra because if Marin comes anywhere near the kitchen when I'm making this she will make it her bedtime snack and before I know it it's half gone.  This will also be on the school lunch rotation.  It's simply quinoa, tomato, cucumber, feta and some Greek salad dressing.  I add either chickpeas or diced chicken to make it a meal.  If you're a black olive fan (we're not) throw those in too.

Greek Quinoa Salad

Hummus Wrap, Veggies and Cheese - Tortilla or Pita filled with hummus, veggies and cheddar cheese.  Yummy!  I actually usually pack everything separate for this one and just dip the pita and munch.  I find it easier to eat and pack that way.  It's like being at a party and making a meal out of the appetizers.

Suppers

Slow Cooker Maple and Brown Sugar Pork Tenderloin - This met all of my Slow Cooker criteria - 1) Easy to assemble the night before; 2) Can be left for 9 hours unattended; 3) No time-consuming extra steps before serving.  I did thicken the juices as suggested which took about 10 minutes at the end of the day.  I would say this step is optional though because I taste tested using the juices before I thickened and it was still really good. 

Fish in Parchment Packets - this is such an easy, no mess way to cook fish.  Plus it's fun to have your own little packet.  I didn't follow this recipe exactly, but it's a good guide on how to prepare the packets and cooking time.  Just substitute with whatever vegetables and herbs (and they don't have to be fresh) you have on hand.

Panko Crusted Tofu w/ Soy Dipping Sauce - This meal is a huge hit in our house every time!  In fact I think next time I'll use two blocks of tofu.  It's one of the few things Marin always asks for more of.  Note: I omit the chili pepper from the sauce because we're not bit on spicy food.  I usually serve it with a stir-fry and/or rice.

Panko Crusted Tofu

Chicken Skewers with Kale Greek Salad -The chicken was marinated in a yogurt lemon sauce that gave the chicken a really nice flavor.  If you can do this step in the morning it would make for a really quick weeknight meal as well.  I made a Greek Salad using Kale and our favorite homemade Greek salad dressing.  A hit!  Lemon roasted potatoes wouldn't be wrong either.  haha.

Spaghetti w/ Mushrooms, Garlic and Oil - We don't often have pasta for supper but Dave wasn't going to be home for supper on this particular night and I was just in the mood for something really easy.  I find every week needs that one recipe to make on the night that you're just out of steam.  For me that's usually Thursday.  Plus we both really enjoyed this!

BBQ Steak, Baked Potatoes, Sauteed Mushrooms and Arugula Salad with Vegan Parmesan.  Winter is OVER!  Hurrah! And we just bought a new grill so this is what we made to test it out.  Always fabulous, I LOVE this meal!  The steak marinade we use can be found on my Favorites page under 'Salad Dressings and Spice Mixes'.


Since I was only posting one plan for the whole month I added a lot of variety.  Many of these meals could stretch over a couple of days making this a two week meal plan.  Hope some of our favorites become your favorites too!

Now bring on those May flowers!

Sandra

Week 48 - Dairy Free, No Problem!

PDF Version of Meal Plan

Wow... Week 48 already!!  I've been spending a lot of time lately contemplating where to go with this blog at the end of 52 weeks.  It's had so many personal benefits that I can't see giving it up, yet in it's current format it's a bit too time consuming to keep up while working full time.  I have some ideas that I'll share in a recap post at the end of the year but I'd love to hear any thoughts you might have!  Feel free to either comment or send me a Facebook message if you have ideas or would like to share what you felt worked or didn't work.

Recipe Quick Links

Almond Milk, Oh She Glows
Granola, Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations
Raspberry Chia Jam, Eat Good 4 Life
Avocado Corn Salad, Sobey's Inspired
Whole Wheat Tortillas, 100 Days of Real Food
Maple Soy Salmon, Chatelaine
Vegan Parmesan, Oh She Glows
Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken, Skinny Ms.
Ginger Mushroom & Kale Beef Stir-fry, Gimme Some Oven

Week in Review

The dairy-free trial continues and I didn't find it so hard this week.  Here are the highlights...

Almond Milk - I would drink this over dairy milk anytime and trust me when I tell you, it's really simple to make and far superior to store-bought!

Granola & Raspberry Chia Jam - I made the granola to use up some almond pulp and paired it with So Good Coconut Yogurt and Raspberry Chia Jam.  Awesome replacement for my typical Greek yogurt & berry snack.  This raspberry jam is ridiculously easy to make and really delicious!!  Making homemade granola happens only on rare occasions in this house... this is my latest favorite store-bought variety.

Love Grown Granola

Black Bean & Avocado Salad Wrap - This was basically the Avocado Corn Salad that I've made numerous times, with the addition of black beans to make it more of a meal.  Then I scooped it up with a warmed fresh tortilla.  Mmm, mmmm....

Quinoa & Pomegranate Salad with Arugula - This was a simple recipe.  I mixed quinoa and bulgar, added pomegranate seeds and a mix of peppers and sugar snap peas.  For the dressing I used a pomegranate vinaigrette.  To pack it for lunch I laid arugula in a bowl and topped it with the quinoa and then mixed it up just before eating.  I think the arugula was a key ingredient.  It's a bit strong and peppery so it's a good balance for the sweetness of the pomegranate.  I mention this one because it was quick, easy and made lunch for two days, and also because we were able to reinvent it so it wasn't just a repeat lunch.  The first day it was paired with black beans and the second day with leftover pineapple chicken and worked well with both.

Maple Soy Salmon - It was so good last week we had it again.  This recipe is a winner!

Vegan Parmesan -  Our typical Arugula and Kale salads have Parmesan cheese (I typically use shaved fresh Parm).  This week I substituted with Vegan Parmesan.  I would say it more closely replaces grated Parmesan but I thought it was really good and was able to totally enjoy my favorite salads.

Kale Salad all dressed up with Vegan Parmesan

Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken - This was one of those "super-easy-do-all-the-prep-the-night-before- leave-it-for-the-day-and-come-home-to-a-fully-cooked-delicious-meal" slow cooker recipes.  And it used just a few basic ingredients.  And it made enough to have leftovers for lunch.  Love!

Slow Cooker Totally Awesome Pineapple Chicken

Ginger Mushroom & Kale Beef Stir-fry - I actually thought this was just ok but Dave totally enjoyed.  I'd say it was his favorite from the week.

So basically I loved everything this week!

Note:  Dave and Marin did not eat dairy free - they had things like milk, yogurt, cottage cheese and cheese.

Happy Weekend!

Sandra

Week 47 - Eating Dairy Free in a Cheese Loving Family

Printable Version of Meal Plan

Sooooo, remember way back in my first post I said....

"this is not a ‘diet’ nor am I a trained dietician! No one in my house has allergies, it’s not gluten-free, dairy free or anything else free – although it is free to follow me!!" 

Well that's mostly still true, but after more than 3 decades of living with Eczema I'm attempting to get to the root cause of my flare-ups.  First test is to eliminate dairy for 3 weeks.  I can't lie... my first reaction was that this was going to be torture.  I mean, no cheese???  For 3 weeks??  But then I thought to myself, "Self... this is only for 3 weeks (for now anyway) and I will see this as a fun challenge".  So instead I'm going to concentrate on all the delicious things I can eat, instead of what I can't.  Isn't that very "glass half full" of me??  I am however secretly hoping this is one test that I'll fail miserably.

I had planned out this week prior to this dairy challenge so I ended up just tweaking the plan for myself only.  The Week in Review includes notes on how I de-dairy'd (yes, I totally made up that term) my planned meals.

Recipe Quick Links

Easy Overnight Oats, Marin Mama Cooks
Ranch Dip, 100 Days of Real Food
Almond Milk, Oh She Glows
Maple Soy Salmon, Chatelaine
7 Vegetable Soup, Oh She Glows
Vegan Caesar Dressing, About.com
Freezer Chocolates, Practical Paleo
Pumpkin Spelt Muffins, 100 Days of Real Food

Week in Review

Breakfasts - We typically do our own thing for breakfast anyway so this wasn't a biggie.  Although I think for me this was the biggest challenge since I didn't have a chance the first few days to research what my options were or even to get to a store to get a milk alternative.  So I stuck mainly to overnight oats, eggs and of course, fruit! Mid-way through the week I made a batch of Almond Milk which helped.

Easy Overnight Oats

Feta Stuffed Omelettes and Roasted Sweet Potatoes - Totally enjoyed this lunch, the roasted sweet potatoes were an exciting addition to my lunch box! 
Dairy-Free Option: Omit the Feta and don't add milk to the eggs (you can simply omit or add water instead)

Salmon w/ Steamed Vegetables - This was dee-licious!  I've been wanting Salmon for weeks but haven't been able to find it at a decent price.  This week I found trays of salmon pieces (the bits they trim off the "pretty" pieces) for a very reasonable price so I stocked up.  I made Maple Soy Salmon.  Mmmm.... so good!  Actually I think the small pieces worked great for this recipe because it really soaked up the flavor.  Definitely my winner this week... and dairy-free.

Tuna Salad Sandwich on Whole Wheat Kaiser with Veggies & Dip - Tuna Salad was on my mind because a friend mentioned she had made sandwiches with tuna and goat cheese.  I had some goat cheese to use up so I was going to give it a try... but then goat cheese was put on the 'do not eat' list.
Dairy-Free Option:  Use avocado and lime for the Tuna Salad instead of mayo.  Omit the dip.

Lemon Rosemary Chicken Thighs w/ Salad - I didn't follow a recipe for the chicken (I used boneless, skinless thighs).  I really just cooked them in a skillet with lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper and rosemary.  For the salad I used the Organic Supergreen Mix from Costco, a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice, aged white cheddar and apple.
Dairy-Free Option:  Use Nutritional Yeast in place of Parmesan.  I mixed Nutritional Yeast with a small amount of olive oil and used my fingers to blend.  The result was crumbly. 

Turkey "Dinner" - In honour of American Thanksgiving we had a mini version of Turkey Dinner.  This was turkey cutlets served with cranberry sauce, a celery root puree (in place of mashed potatoes) and a mix of roasted vegetables.
Dairy-Free Option: No butter on the veggies.  No milk in the puree.

Salsa Shrimp with Couscous - This was another meal I was totally digging this week and as a bonus it could not have been easier to make.  In fact I'm going to write out the recipe so that I remember to do it again sometime.  And I think I can safely say that this would be even better with some feta crumbled in.

Salsa Shrimp with Couscous

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• Minced garlic (1-2 cloves)
• 1 Cup Salsa
• Juice of 1/2 Lime
• Cooked & Peeled Frozen Shrimp (adjust amount based on servings required.  I used about 2 cups)

Directions

1. Heat the oil over med-high heat in a skillet
2. Add the garlic and sauté for about 1 min
3. Add the salsa & lime juice to the skillet, stir
4. Immediately add the shrimp (frozen or thawed) and cook until heated through
5. Serve over whole wheat couscous.

7 Vegetable Soup with Pumpkin Seeds and Croutons - This is a vegan recipe from Oh She Glows (awesome blog - go check it out!) so no Dairy issues here.  I would say this soup was good and I enjoyed it for lunch but found it lacking on its own for supper.  I skipped the croutons because they weren't dairy free so I think a side of garlic bread would have nicely rounded out this meal for me.

Kale Chicken Caesar Salad  - We don't do this meal often but it's a tasty and quick supper - Cook a couple of chicken breasts and then dice up and toss on top of a Caesar Salad.  I typically make the dressing found on my Salad Dressing Printout.  I highly recommend using Kale instead of the more traditional Romaine for a nice twist.  Tip: Massage the kale with a little olive oil and lemon juice before adding the dressing.  This will help the Kale absorb the dressing better.
Dairy-Free Options:  Use this vegan Caesar salad dressing; Check ingredients on croutons or omit; Replace the parmesan with nutritional yeast or this Vegan Parmesan (which I have not tried but most certainly will be!!)  Note:  I found many recipes for vegan Caesar dressings, I chose this one because it used ingredients I had on hand.

Pumpkin Spelt Muffins - I had to make a batch of dairy-free muffins to get me through the week. I modified this recipe replacing the butter with a 50/50 split of applesauce and coconut oil.  Honestly, couldn't tell the difference.  In fact I often replace butter or oil with applesauce in muffin recipes with only a slight difference in texture.

And I leave you with this.... it might not look like much but I assure you this is what I would call "a darn good snack!".  And it's dairy free!

Freezer Chocolates and Almonds

Happy Weekend!

Sandra

 

Week 40 - Snack Time

Printable Version of Meal Plan

We celebrated our anniversary last weekend by going out to one of our favorite local Italian restaurants.  We shared a cheesy appetizer, I ordered a pasta with a buttery sauce and then we shared a super rich chocolate dessert.  It was all amazingly delicious but I rolled out of there and was in a state of fullness for the rest of the weekend.  It made meal planning a real challenge because I wasn't in the mood to eat anything.  Add to that that Dave's schedule for the week was very up in the air.  So I jotted down some ideas and a loose plan and decided it would be one of those weeks that we just make up as we go along.

By Monday evening my fullness level was almost back to normal and I was ready to eat again so I made up for my uninspired meal plan by filling in the blanks with lots of tasty snacks.  So I'm skipping the regular week in review to instead talk about what we were snacking on...

Snack Attack!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins (Weelicious) - I had extra zucchini to use up so I found this recipe for Zucchini loaf and adapted it a bit.  I replaced the oil with apple sauce, used 1/3 cup of honey instead of 1/2 cup, added chocolate chips and made them into muffins instead of a loaf (they cooked in 20 minutes).  They made a dense and not overly sweet muffin which was fine by me.  My little taste tester approved too!  If you want to make them a little sweeter I'm sure an extra banana wouldn't hurt.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Hmmm... where did that muffin go??

Happy little taste tester.

Almond Milk (Oh She Glows) - I raved about almond milk when I started making it earlier this year and after taking the summer off I'm back in a groove, making at least one batch a week.  Once you make it a couple of times it really becomes something you can do with your eyes closed.  And it makes me happy to look in the fridge and see a jar of the frothy goodness.

Ricotta & Almond Spread w/ Fruit - If you start making almond milk you'll quickly realize you have to get creative with using all that pulp!  I love to mix it with ricotta cheese (roughly equal amounts) and a little maple syrup to use it as a dip for apples or pears or to spread on an English Muffin.  Yum is all I can say about that.  If you don't have almond pulp, almond butter (or peanut butter) are equally as good.

Veggies & Ranch Dip (100 Days of Real Food) - I'm trying to make veggies a daily snack (0 Weight Watchers points so eat up!)  I can eat raw veggies straight up but a little dip gives them some pizazz and our favorite at the moment is Ranch.  I premix the spices so it's a breeze to mix up little containers for lunches.  I'm also trying to get into a routine of cutting veggies early in the week so that they can be an easy grab and go snack any time.

Cheddar Crackers (Weelicious) -  We all love these cheddar crackers.  Must see if I can find a little pumpkin cookie cutter to add a little fun to the next batch.  Although I will say using a cookie cutter adds a great amount of time.  I typically just roll out the dough and then use a knife to cut them into squares.

Cheddar Crackers

Freezer Coconut Chocolates (Practical Paleo) - I made these on the weekend with a couple of simple modifications.  I added unsweetened shredded coconut and instead of making them using molds I lined a cookie sheet with parchment and froze the chocolate as one big square.  When it was fully frozen I used my hands to break it into small pieces which I'm storing in a bag in the freezer.  I find one piece the perfect little something when you want a sweet treat.

Roasted Chickpeas (Rachelleb.com) - I had extra chickpeas from my salad on Wednesday so I roasted them and seasoned with a little salt & cumin.  Yummy alternative to chips.  I like this recipe because it's the basic formula and then you can season them however you want.  These would be great tossed in a salad too!

Roasted Chickpeas

Roasted Squash - this was an accidental snack.  I had chopped my (buttercup) squash into small bite size pieces to roast for my salad on Wednesday... and then popped one in my mouth and realized it tasted like candy! 

Apple Chia Seed Jam (Oh She Glows) - I made a batch to mix in with my overnight oats and the extra I ate just as is.  So good.  I love everything apple this time of year.

Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (Weelicous) - I actually made this recipe the weekend before last and we're just finishing them up.  Which is my main reason for being in love with this recipe.  They were easy to make, made a huge batch and last for up to two weeks.  And they were a hit with everyone in the family. 


Some of my other favorites that I've either recently made or are on my mind....

Pretzels and Tzatziki -  Pretzels had fallen off my radar for a long time so this was a treat last week.

Apple Chips - I loved these!!  They're easy to make but take a long time to cook so load up the oven with as much as you can.  I plan to get a batch of these in the oven for the weekend.

Apple Chips

Apple Sandwiches - I've taken a bit of a break from this one but have it on the brain again.  I typically do a nut-butter filling but if that's an issue for school this Nut-free "Nutella" (again... Weelicious.  Am I gushing??) would probably make a kid very happy!

Apple Sandwich

Potato Chips (Canadian Family) (or use other veggies such as sweet potato or beets) - guilt free chips, what's not to love!?  I want to try beet chips next week.

Roasted Edamame - I actually like eating just thawed edamame with a little salt but roasting kicks it up a notch.

Popcorn - We had two standard popcorn versions - Cheesy (butter and nutritional yeast) or Sweet & Salty (butter and honey with a sprinkle of salt).  I'm feeling the need to experiment with new seasonings.

Smoothies - Marin is feeling the smoothie love these days, I think because I typically give her creative control (within reason).  Last week we made a strawberry, chocolate (I mixed cocoa powder with maple syrup) and coconut blend that was awesome!  She also usually wants to add a green which is also awesome.  Smoothie packs and pops (make a smoothie and pour it into Popsicle molds) are great to have on a hand for a quick morning or afternoon smoothie fix.


And here's my helpful tip for the weekend... if you prepare a slow cooker meal before you head out for the day make sure you plug slow cooker in! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sandra

Week 21 - Breakfast To Go

Printable Version of Meal Plan & Grocery List

Marin's gotten into the habit of crawling in bed with us most nights.  She just brings her pillow and blanket and climbs in and we're typically too tired to do anything about it.  But it always results in a restless sleep and inevitably an extra snooze and me inhaling breakfast so I can run out the door to catch the bus.  So I decided to try some breakfast on the go options this week.  It was a nice change.  I typically have half an hour alone in my office before my office mates start to arrive so it was kind of peaceful nibbling my breakfast and sipping my coffee. 

Recipe Quick Links

Chickpeas & PB, Oh She Glows
Slow Cooker Deli Chicken, 100 Days of Real Food
Avocado Corn Salad, Sobey's Inspired
PB & Fruit Breakfast Wraps, Food.com
Almond Milk, Oh She Glows
Green Monster Smoothie, Oh She Glows

It wasn't intentional to have so many Oh She Glows recipes in one week, but it's a great blog - you should check it out!

Week in Review

Tuesday

Love Crunch Granola

Breakfast - Yogurt Parfait.  I layered frozen raspberries and blueberries with plain greek yogurt and a drizzle of honey.  I packed some chocolate granola in a separate container so it wouldn’t get soggy.  It was a pretty big helping and I found it kept me going most of the morning.  I assembled in the morning and the berries were still a little on the chilly side so I would recommend using fresh fruit and/or assembling the night before.  This is granola the I picked up this week... huge hit!

Lunch – Chickpeas with PB and Maple Syrup on Pita.  This was one of the first recipes I added to the favorites list but haven’t actually made yet this year.  This sounds a bit odd but I promise you, it’s actually pretty tasty.  But what I really love about this recipe is that its super easy and uses ingredients I almost always have on hand.  So at 10pm when I’m laying on the couch being tempted to skip making lunches this recipe will come to mind and I think ‘surely I can get my butt into the kitchen for 5 minutes to pull this off’.  I like it with pita or lettuce.

Supper – Haddock and Vegetable Parchment Packets.  I have been seeing recipes for fish baked in Parchment parcels for ages and have always been tempted to try this method of cooking.  Finally, I did!  And we were pretty impressed.  Best part – super easy cleanup!  I didn’t actually follow a recipe but referred to a few to get an idea of how long to cook and at what temperature.  So this is what I did:

Haddock and Vegetable Parchment Parcels

I filled each parchment parcel with

o   1 Tbsp Butter

o   Slices of Zucchini

o   Haddock Fillet

o   Strips of Red and Yellow Peppers

o   Salt & Pepper

o   Drizzle of lemon juice

Fold it up (I just made up my own method of folding, but this might work better - How to Steam Fish in Parchment), place on a baking sheet and bake at 425F until done.  Time will depend on thickness of fish.  Mine were <1" and done in 15 minutes.  I served this with boiled potatoes but rice would be good too.  Marin gobbled this up – fish first!  Kid approved!

Wednesday

Breakfast – Egg “Mac” Muffin (can I call it that??)  Tuesday night I made a couple of egg sandwiches.  Fried egg on an english muffin (toasted and buttered) with cheddar cheese.  I wrapped those puppies in parchment paper and they were ready to go in the morning.  I warmed mine up in the microwave when I got to work and it was perfect.  I think the parchment made it feel like take-out.  I would totally do this again.  Would be great for an early morning road trip.



A Stack of Egg "Mac's"



Egg "Mac" & Cafe at my desk



Lunch – Rice Salad with Soy Dressing.  I don’t know the original source of this recipe – I requested it after eating it at a gathering and love it for lunch.  I always make enough for two days.  We love the soy dressing.

Rice Salad with Soy Dressing

Dressing - 1/4 cup Soya Sauce, 1/4 cup Oil, 2 cloves of garlic minced.  Mix well. 

Make ahead - 1 p

epper (any color, diced), 3 stalks celery (diced), 2 green onion (chopped), 1 cup mushrooms (sliced), 1/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins, 2 cups brown rice (cooked).  Mix all ingredients with dressing.

Add Spinach and Cashews before eating.  I add the spinach the night before when I'm packing lunches and the cashews just before eating.

Supper – Whole Chicken in the Slow Cooker with Avocado Corn Salad.  Yum and yum.   I love this chicken recipe – definitely a slow cooker gem!  You don’t add any liquid so it doesn’t come out like the typical slow-cooker ‘stew’.  I use foil balls instead of onion, as the recipe suggests.  The meat is moist and falls right off the bone – so good!  The corn salad is one I found in the Sobey’s Inspired Magazine a couple of years ago and has become a summer go-to recipe.  I’ve served it at a couple of gatherings and it’s always been a hit.  It’s better with grilled corn and fresh cilantro but this week I made it with frozen corn and frozen cilantro cubes and it was still darn tasty.

Thursday

Breakfast – PB & Fruit Breakfast Wraps.  I’ve had this on the menu before but typically make it on flat wraps with oatmeal.  This time I used Pita and chocolate granola.  OMG… so good!  I also use real strawberries in place of the jam in this recipe.  I assembled it before heading out the door and the pita was a tad soggy in a couple of places but nothing major.  I find wraps easier to handle so if you’re going to be eating this in the car or literally on the run I would suggest a wrap, but I typically prefer pita to tortillas.  Mmm, mmm, mmmm….



PB & Fruit Breakfast Pita with Almond Milk

 

Lunch – Leftover Rice Salad.  This is great on day two but I would definately suggest not adding the spinach and nuts right away, otherwise you may have soggy greens and stale nuts - yuck.

Supper – Tofu Stir-fry with Asian Sesame Dressing.  This is a super simple and quick supper.  Nothing too special but some nights you just want something easy and that’s enough…  know what I mean?  I just dice and fry the tofu in a little sesame oil until it starts to brown.  Then I add in a bag of frozen Asian style veggies and continue to stir-fry until the veggies are heated through.  Pour the dressing over and serve.  We had it on its own but you could serve it with rice or rice noodles.  I used the dipping sauce from the panko tofu recipe and a spoonful of peanut butter as the sauce.

Friday

Breakfast - Oatmeal Smoothie & Muffin.  The great thing about smoothies is that pretty much anything goes.  I debated if I wanted a refreshing fruity smoothie or more of a hearty nutty smoothie.  I ended up making the Classic Green Monster from Oh She Glows but I skipped the protein powder (I always do) and added oatmeal and some milk at the end to thin it out a bit.  I also grabbed a Very Berry Muffin from the freezer.

Lunch - Mango Curry Chicken Salad on Pita.  I made a chicken salad with the leftover slow-cooker chicken.  I mixed mayo and plain yogurt with Epicure Mango Curry seasoning and added in some celery and apple.  We had it on pita (packed separately) with some raw veggies on the side.

Supper - Poutine.  Few things in life make me happier than Poutine.  For those of you who aren't familiar with this delicacy it's french fries, cheese and gravy.  Not the healthiest thing on the menu but I feel the joy it brings me is probably good for my heart.  And I'll wash it down with a glass of red wine - that's good for me too right??  My version is a bag of frozen fries (baked), topped with shredded mozza and baked a few more minutes (I like the cheese to melt and crisp up a bit) and then topped with hot poutine sauce.  You can actually buy poutine sauce in the gravy section at some grocery stores.  If you can't find it, your favorite gravy will do.  This is Convenience Food Friday at its best!

And if you're in Halifax a must have is the Lobster Poutine at Cut Grill.  You're welcome!

Week 9– Pinterest “Recipes to Try”

Printable Version of Meal Plan and Grocery List

My magazine inspired week inspired me to tackle my Pinterest “Recipes to Try” board – it was getting a bit out of control with almost 80 pins!  I’d like to say it’s smaller now but I think I went a little pin crazy this week and pinned more recipes than I tried.  I did find some new favorites though!

Recipe Quick Links:
Sweet Potato and Peanut Soup, Healthy Seasonal Recipes
Salmon Cakes, Healthful Pursuit
Brussels sprouts, beet and pomegranate salad, Chatelaine
Honey Lime Chicken Skewers, Kitchen Meets Girl
Chickpea Burgers, Marin Mama Cooks
Kale Salad, Marin Mama Cooks
Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken, 5 Dinners 1 Hour
Loaded Baked Potatoes, Easy Cookbook Recipes
Chocolate Cookies, The Spunky Coconut
Pop Tarts, 100 Days of Real Food
Whole Wheat Cheddar Crackers, Weelicious


Monday – Lunch was leftover Sweet Potato and Peanut Soup from Sunday night.  I picked this recipe on Sunday because I happened to have all the ingredients on hand.  I’ve mentioned before that we’re not big soup people but this one is a winner – so tasty!  Officially moved to my ‘Favorites’ board.  Supper was Salmon Cakes with Brussel Sprout, Beet and Pomegranate salad, both of which were… ok.  I didn’t have a pomegranate so I added a little Pom Wonderful juice to the salad dressing instead.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the dressing and think the salad would have been better if the beets & brussel sprouts had been roasted perhaps – just a little something to bring out a bit more flavor. For something so packed with ingredients I found it somewhat bland. Dave did like it though and he’s not typically a fan of brussel sprouts. I on the other hand LOVE brussel sprouts! I could steam a bowl and make a meal out of them.


Tuesday – If you’ve been following me you’re no stranger to the quinoa salad we had for lunch – have made something similar a few times already this year. I made this version on the weekend and liked it so much I made it again. Really like the addition of the kale and I used the greek dressing from Week 4.  Supper was Honey Lime Chicken, rice and some raw veggies to give our plates some color. The chicken was good, the marinade is full of flavor… I will say however that this is a grill recipe and would likely be much better cooked on the BBQ as opposed to using the Foreman as I did.  But I will definitely pull this one out come BBQ season! This would be a great marinade to add to chicken to toss in the freezer for an easy summer supper.  After supper for a treat I used up the almond pulp from the latest batch of almond milk to make these chocolate cookies. I made these a couple of weeks ago adding a little whole wheat flour – they were good but not great. This week I added a little coconut flour and coconut (as suggested by my sister who I now have hooked on homemade almond milk!) and they were really good!! I set aside half the batch to eat and half to make ice cream sandwiches… we ate those Wednesday night. OMG – so good! So now that I have a healthier cookie for my ice-cream sandwiches I have to find a healthier filling (currently using Dream Whip). Guess I’ll have to make more almond milk so I can continue experimenting!   

Wednesday – Lunch was tuna salad, veggies with dip and crackers. This is what I call “munchy lunch”. It’s nothing special but easy to throw together and always good.  But let’s not talk about lunch – supper was most definitely the highlight! A couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon this blog called Marin Mama Cooks. Of course, being “Marin’s Mama” I had to check it out and before I knew it I had spent an entire lunch break browsing this gorgeous site.  Her recipes all look delicious and are also super easy to follow because she documents each step with beautiful photography.  I tried the Chickpea Burgers and Kale Salad – both really good!  I knew I couldn’t even come close to doing this meal justice so I asked her permission to use this photo...  
Photo by Jacquelyn Grandy @ MarinMamaCooks   

Ingredients for this meal included chickpeas, cilantro, avocado, tzatziki…. seriously if I personalized the song ‘These are a Few of my Favorite Things’ these would all be in my list so it was no surprise I enjoyed it so much.  The kale salad is something I can see making quite often. Here’s a funny kale story – I’ve been trying to find kale for weeks, Marin has even been making special requests for green chippies.  Last week while at the grocery store I could see the kale from a distance and I said ‘Marin, guess what??? I see KALE!’ and we both literally cheered! We made green chippies as a snack last weekend.  As she was eating this salad she was saying ‘mmm….I love kale!’  I just love that I have a 4 year old who knows what kale is! So definitely try this meal and definitely check out Marin Mama Cooks… just make sure you have a good chunk of time before you do!  

Thursday – Dave didn’t need lunch so I got to enjoy the leftover chickpea burgers and kale salad!! The only thing better than leftovers for lunch is leftovers that I know are so darn yummy!  I think I actually ate early because the lemony goodness of the salad was calling my name and it was in fact better on day two.  But unfortunately supper, Honey Sesame Chicken, was a big disappointment.  And I was really looking forward to trying this one.  In fact I had it pinned twice I wanted to try it so bad!  I have to say though I don’t think it was through any fault of the recipe, it was just that 9 hours was far too long and the sauce burned. I’m keeping this one on my Recipes to Try board so that I can give it another shot and it might be time to invest in a slow-cooker with a timer so that I’m not limited to 8-10 hour recipes.   

Friday -- The plan shows leftover honey chicken but since ours was pretty much burned to a crisp that didn’t happen. We just ended up having hard-boiled eggs, veggies and dip and some whole wheat cheese crackers. The recipe refers to these as a homemade version of Goldfish crackers. I find them nothing like Goldfish but in fact much prefer them. Just 4 ingredients and if you have the right tools they are a cinch to make! 




Supper was inspired by this recipe for Loaded Baked Potatoes.  In reality I went a bit more ‘potato skins’ with this meal… I microwaved a couple of potatoes and cut them into rounds, brushed them with bacon fat and baked them until crispy.  Then I topped them with cheese and bacon, served with sour cream.  Not the healthiest meal we ate this week but pretty darn good just the same!

 



Sneak peek for next week - Winter Favorites!

Happy meal planning everyone!

Week 5 - Mid-Week Big Batch

Printable Version of Meal Plan, Recipes and Grocery List

I'm changing things up a bit this week in hopes of making things a bit easier.  You probably noticed last week that the Meal Plan, Recipes and Grocery List were posted together in one PDF file, which I think (and I hope you'll agree) is a big improvement over posting them seperately as images.  In addition to posting the link on the Meal Plan page I'll include the link at the top of the Week in Review post.  I'll also include in the weekly post a list of links to any recipes that are availabe on-line.

Weekly Quick Links:

• Fish Tacos, Food Network
• Breakfast Wrap
• Corn Tortillas, 100 Days of Real Food 
• Roast Chicken Drumsticks, Stock Piling Mom
• Brocolli & Cheddar Patties, Weelicious
• Whole Wheat Tea Biscuits, 100 Days of Real Food
• Almond Milk, Oh She Glows
• Ranch Dressing, 100 Days of Real Food

Week in Review

Given that I was not feeling the greatest when I planned this week I feel it came together pretty well and was an easy one to follow.  This week was mostly inspired by a trip to Costco where I picked up some Spinach, Strawberries and Portobello Mushrooms.  I had a variety of Goat Cheese and Pre-Cooked Chicken from a previous visit as well.  To kick things off this was supper on Sunday night...

Spinach Salad with Fig Goat Cheese

Some other ways we used up these ingredients - Southwest Chicken Salads, Portobello Mushroom Burgers with Goat Cheese and Strawberry Shortcake.

I also threw in a Lasagna mid-week which worked out really well!!  I typically think of big-batch meals as a Sunday thing to do to stretch into the early part of the week but really its mid-week when I'm running out of steam!  Dave assembled the lasagna Tuesday night which made for an easy supper  on Wednesday with enough leftovers for lunch Thursday and Friday.   As a result the only meal we made after Tuesday was Thursday's supper - now that's an easy week!  Friday's plan is not a typo - Dave had a work event and Marin had a Birthday Party so we didn't need a meal tonight.

I typically focus on Lunches and Suppers in my review but I'd like to talk a bit about Breakfast this week.  If you're like me you sometimes fall into a breakfast rut.  I tend to throw a variety of breakfast ideas on my plan using things that I know we have on hand - but in reality many mornings I skip the plan and go for a quick piece of toast with peanut butter.  This week I added a bit of variety to my breakfast and it was a nice change!  We had flatbread and strawberries so one day I made a breakfast wrap with PB, Banana, Strawberry and large flake oats.  Delicious breakfast on the go!  I also made Almond Milk this week!!  I can't believe it either.  As a result I had an abundance of almond pulp to use up - yesterday I mixed it with oatmeal and this morning I had it on an English Muffin with a drizzle of maple syrup and topped with, you guessed it... strawberries!


The only meal I want to comment on this week is the fish tacos.  I very loosely followed the recipe that I've included in the plan.  I marinated the fish as per the recipe but pan-fried it instead of grilled.  We had it on corn tortillas... have you made them yet???  If my last picture didn't tempt you maybe this one will?  My main topping was a mango salsa, which was just a bottled variety with added diced mango.  This was my first attempt at fish tacos and I'd definately make them again but I wasn't overly crazy about the salsa - I found it overpowering.  I think a fresh mango salsa would be much better!


Now... my pick for the one meal you should definately try this week.... Strawberry Shortcake!  Ok, ok, I know you can't really make a meal out of it but it was such a treat!  I would also pick this one so that you have an excuse to try these Whole Wheat Tea Biscuits.  I splurged on REAL whipped cream.... yummmmm.  BTW - the whipped cream was a breeze to make in my new Kitchen Aid Mixer.  Have I mentioned before how much I love it??

One quick story before I sign off.  I'm now a month into my meal planning journey and am really happy with the results.  I feel more organized and I definately feel like we've saved money.  One thing for sure is that we've eaten out much less!  This is a true story - on a number of occasions last fall we told Marin we were going out to eat and she would say "um...I'd rather just go home for chicken and a salad".  Last week she asked me three days in a row - 'Mom, can we pleeeease go out to eat tonight??"  :-)