Food this week

Just a quick look at what I've got planned for meals this week. Nothing interesting or exciting, but planning it and sharing it seems to help me stay on track.

BREAKFASTS (Yep. Same thing for 5 or 6 days. Boooring, but it works for me.)
Omelet with spinach, mushrooms, peppers, ham, and swiss
Oatmeal with almond butter and Maple-Ginger Pearsauce (recipe)

LUNCHES 
I bought a whole roaster chicken for super cheap this week, so I cooked it up in the crockpot and will use the chicken to make assorted chicken salads, like....

Sweet Corn and Bacon Chicken Salad (recipe)
Southwest Chicken Salad (recipe)
Walnut-Tarragon Chicken Salad (recipe) <--- my favorite!

Some raw veggies, some fruit (It's peach season! Yay!), maybe some gluten free crackers. And that's lunch.

DINNERS

Zucchini, Black Bean, and Rice Skillet (sorta like this recipe but I plan to use fresh tomatoes and cauliflower "rice" and add some shredded chicken)
Grilled Pork Chops with Maple-Ginger Pearsauce; roasted sweet potatoes and veggies
Asian Beef and Fried Cauliflower Rice Bowls (recipe)
Chicken Veggie Meatballs with Z'oodles [zucchini noodles] (recipe)

And I'll probably have leftovers so will repeat some meals.

Menu Plan Monday May 27

Click the logo to see more menu plans!

NOTE: All my meal plans are wheat free, gluten free, contain mostly "clean" ingredients,

are (usually) 1400 calories or less, and have less than 100g carbs.


I've really been craving burgers and as I hunted for new recipes
to try I learned that May is National Burger Month. How did I not know this?
So, here are burger recipes for every night this week.
(Serve them naked (bunless) to make them low carb or use gluten free buns.)

MONDAY

Miami Burger (recipe)
beef patty with smoked ham, Swiss cheese, 
garlicky mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and dill pickles

TUESDAY

Buffalo Chicken Burger with Blue Cheese Broccoli Slaw (recipe)

WEDNESDAY

Barbecue Cheddar Chickpea Burger (recipe)
patty made from chickpeas and veggies, 
topped with barbecue sauce and cheddar cheese

THURSDAY

Grilled Hawaiian Teriyaki Burger (recipe)
seasoned chicken patty topped 
with teriyaki sauce and grilled pineapple

FRIDAY

Pepperoni Pizza Burger (recipe)
patty made from ground beef and Italian sausage, 
topped with tomato sauce, provolone, and pepperoni

SATURDAY

Tilapia Burger with Watermelon Salsa and Avocado (recipe)

SUNDAY

Bistro Burger (recipe)
beef patty topped with bacon, egg, Dijon, and frisee

Menu Plan Monday May 20

Click the logo to see more menu plans!

NOTE: All my meal plans are wheat free, gluten free, contain mostly "clean" ingredients,

are (usually) 1400 calories or less, and have less than 100g carbs.

ALL SALADS, ALL THE TIME
(Someone on the 3FC diet blog has challenged us
to eat noting but salads for week. Challenge accepted!)

BREAKFASTS

Breakfast Salad with Maple Vinaigrette (recipe)
eliminate the croutons to make it low carb and gluten free

Greens, Egg, and Ham Salad (recipe)

Sweet Apple Chicken Sausage Salad with Pears, Feta, and Curry Vinaigrette (recipe)

Maple-Thyme Pork Chops (recipe) 

on a salad with broccoli slaw, bell peppers, pears, and pecans

Peperoncini Chopped Salad (recipe) 

add a soft-cooked egg to make a breakfast salad

Chocolate Avocado Breakfast Salad (recipe)

LUNCHES

Spiced Honey-Lemon Chicken (recipe)
on a salad with artisan lettuce, romaine lettuce, spinach, shredded carrots, shredded zucchini,
broccoli, bell peppers, grapes, pistachios, and Lemon-Balsamic Vinaigrette (recipe)

Sriracha Egg Salad (recipe)
on a salad with artisan lettuce, romaine lettuce, spinach, shredded carrots, shredded zucchini,
broccoli, bell peppers, snap peas, edamame, scallions

Pistachio Cinnamon Chicken Salad (recipe)
on a salad with artisan lettuce, romaine lettuce, spinach, shredded carrots,
shredded zucchini, peaches, dried cherries

Cobb Egg Salad (recipe)

on a salad with artisan lettuce, romaine lettuce, spinach, shredded carrots,
shredded zucchini, broccoli, bell peppers, scallions, grape tomatoes

Sweet Corn and Bacon Chicken Salad (recipe)

on a salad with leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, spinach, shredded carrots,
shredded zucchini, broccoli, bell peppers, scallions, grape tomatoes

DINNERS

Broccoli Slaw with Shrimp and Creamy Cider Vinaigrette (recipe)

sub broccoli slaw for the cabbage

Asian Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing (recipe)

Shrimp, Avocado and Roasted Corn Salad with Buttermilk Pesto Dressing (recipe)

Buffalo Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing (recipe)

Turkey Burger Salad with Pub Dressing (recipe)

Southwestern Avocado and Black Bean Salad (recipe)

add steak for an entree salad

California Cobb Salad with Tarragon Vinaigrette (recipe)

Menu Plan Monday May 6

Click the logo to see more menu plans!

NOTE: All my meal plans are wheat free, gluten free, contain mostly "clean" ingredients,

are (usually) 1400 calories or less, and have less than 100g carbs.

TUESDAY

Breakfast
Eggs, Homemade Sausage, Cottage Cheese & Fruit

Lunch

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs (recipe)

Raw veggies

Sliced strawberries and kiwi

Dinner

Spiced Honey-Lemon Chicken (recipe)
Roasted brussels sprouts and carrots

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast

Ham and Cauliflower AuGratin (recipe) 

Raspberries and peaches

Lunch

Salad with veggies and my favorite tuna salad (recipe)

Gluten Free Crunchmaster Cheezy Crisps

Grapes

Dinner
(working Job 2 so "dinner" will be snacky stuff)

Avocado Deviled Eggs (recipe)

Celery sticks and apple slices with homemade almond butter (recipe)

THURSDAY

Breakfast
(same as Wednesday)

Ham and Cauliflower AuGratin (recipe) 

Raspberries and peaches

Lunch

Chicken Meatballs with Chipotle-Honey Sauce (recipe)

Raw veggies

Sliced strawberries and kiwi

Dinner
(same as Wednesday)

Avocado Deviled Eggs (recipe)

Celery sticks and apple slices with homemade almond butter (recipe)

FRIDAY

Breakfast
(same as Tuesday)

Eggs, Homemade Sausage, Cottage Cheese & Fruit

Lunch
(same as Wednesday)

Salad with veggies and my favorite tuna salad (recipe)

Gluten Free Crunchmaster Cheezy Crisps

Grapes

Dinner
(Girls Night Out!)

Gluten free pizza from my favorite local pizzeria

The restaurant's fabulous mesclun salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette

Wine

SATURDAY

Breakfast and Lunch
Not yet planned

Dinner
(The fam is attending a mother's day banquet, 

so I'm taking food for those of us who need to eat gluten free.)

Antipasto Pasta Salad with Tangy Red Wine Vinaigrette (recipe)

made with Ancient Harvest Veggie Curls Quinoa Pasta

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies (recipe)

WHAT I THOUGHT OF LAST WEEK'S NEW RECIPES (see this post for details)

Baked Oatmeal - Yum. Yumyumyum. This bakes up into something almost like a muffin. I tried three different variations - mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries), apples & pecans & maple syrup, banana & peanut butter. (And with careful measuring and portion control, the carb count is manageable.) So very good.

Mexican Meatballs and Ricotta Meatballs - Okay, but they didn't really blow my mind.

Pineapple Teriyaki Shimp - Delish! Sweet and spicy perfection. 

Easy Cheesy Chili Chicken - This didn't quite work for me. It's like the flavors didn't meld, or something. If I make it again, I think I'll make a bechamel with the roasted veggies and cheese and serve that over the chicken.

Parmesan-Ranch Breaded Pork Chops - The breading would not stick to the meat (which I always have problems with if I don't use a 3-step breading procedure). But the flavor was fantastic so when I make it again I'll bread it properly. And I have to say: using pork rinds for breading is pretty brilliant! 

Lemon-Thyme-Garlic Chicken Drumsticks and Mashed Cauliflower with Garlic and Parmesan - Most excellent, and these two recipes work well together. 

Menu Plan Monday April 29

Click the logo to see more menu plans!

NOTE: All my meal plans are wheat free, gluten free, contain mostly "clean" ingredients,

are 1400 calories or less, and have less than 100g carbs.

BREAKFAST

Baked Oatmeal with Berries (recipe)
(I plan to spurgle on this one or two days. The other days I'll just have fruit.)
Plus the usual suspects - eggs, breakfast meat, etc.

LUNCHES

I really like to make meatballs for my lunches. I whip up a couple batches on the weekend and portion them out and freeze them. Then in the morning all I have to do is grab one of the containers and toss it in my lunch bag. By the time I go on lunch break at work, it's thawed and ready to warm up in the microwave for a minute or so. Add raw veggies or a salad, and some fruit, and it's a yummy easy lunch.

Here are the 'ball recipes I am trying this week:

Mexican Chicken Meatballs (recipe)
(Use gluten free breadcrumbs, rice, or quinoa to make it wheat/gluten free.)

Ricotta Cheese Meatballs (recipe)
(No breadcrumbs so it's already wheat/gluten free.)

DINNERS

MONDAY

Pineapple Teriyaki Shrimp (recipe)

Cauliflower "Rice" (recipe)

TUESDAY

Easy Cheesy Chili Chicken (recipe)

Steamed broccoli

WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY

I have to work Job 2 in the evening, where breaks are short if they happen at all.
I need something quick and easy, so dinner will probably be
grilled chicken breasts (that I can eat cold) and raw veggies.

FRIDAY

Parmesan-Ranch Breaded Pork Chops (recipe)

(It's breaded with pork rinds so it's low carb and gluten free.)

Roasted green beans

SATURDAY

Lemon-Garlic-Thyme Chicken Drumsticks (recipe)

Mashed Cauliflower with Garlic and Parmesan (recipe)
Roasted asparagus

Menu Plan Monday April 22

Click the logo to see more menu plans!

NOTE: All my meal plans are wheat free, gluten free, contain mostly "clean" ingredients,

are 1400 calories or less, and have less than 100g carbs.

MONDAY

Meatless Monday - see this post

Breakfasts 

Omelet Muffins (recipe) 

Protein smoothies OR cottage cheese & fruit.

Lunches
Salads (lettuce + veggies + protein) served with fresh fruit

TUESDAY

Spinach & Artichoke Dip Chicken (recipe)

Roasted asparagus and carrots

WEDNESDAY

Chipotle-Mango BBQ Chicken Salad (recipe)

THURSDAY

Teriyaki Pork Chops with Blueberry-Ginger Relish (recipe)

Carmelized Brussels Sprouts (recipe)

FRIDAY

Sweet & Spicy Tilapia (recipe)

Cauliflower Gratin (recipe)

SATURDAY

Crunchy tacos 
with seasoned ground beef, lettuce, cheese, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, etc.
Foodie tip - Did you know that you can add finely chopped mushrooms 
to ground beef to make it healthier? You'll never know they're in there!
Mexican Roasted Green Beans (recipe)

WHAT I THOUGHT OF LAST WEEK'S NEW RECIPES (see the post here)

Italian Meatballs - This recipe is very similar to how I usually make meatballs, so of course it was delicious! Tastes make more like Italian restaurant 'balls than most recipes. 

Tuna Burgers with Pineapple-Mustard Glaze and Sweet & Spicy Slaw - So very flavorful and quite delish. I don't know if I'd put it in the regular rotation but it's certainly a recipe I'd consider making again.

Potato Chip Crusted Pork Chops - I used bbq potato chips, and enjoyed all the wonderfulness of barbecue sauce and potatoes without all the sugar and carbs. This one's a winner!

Macaroon Crusted Tilapia, Chilled Asparagus Soup, Spring Salad - This was a perfect meal combination and everything was super tasty. Simple but gourmet.