Meal Plan Oct 10
October 10, 2011
I had a realization the other day. Why don’t I make my menus TWO weeks at a time? It would save time – and I could get away with shopping only twice a month! This is my first week (or should I say fortnight?) of doing this. I’ll still post my weekly menu plan since the linkup thing is for a week at a time.
Do you plan your menus weekly, biweekly or monthly?
- Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
(Side: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, garlic rolls)
Blah. I’m not a huge fan of spaghetti, but the kids and hubby love it, so it shows up a lot. I do use grass fed ground beef. And Sadie and I get GF noodles. - Chicken Pot Pie
(Side: salad greens) - Tacos with all the fixin’s
(Side: rice)
I love taco night! I fry the corn tortillas in peanut oil, and serve them with grass fed ground beef, cheese, sour cream, pinto beans, homemade quacamole, and black olives. It’s a perennial favorite around here. - BLTs
(Side: cut up fruit)
For simplicity I try to have one “sandwich” night per week. Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches are my oldest son’s favorite. - Homemade Pizza
(Side: green salad)
We like having homemade pizza around here. Bob’s Red Mill makes a wonderful gluten free pizza crust, and my son makes a regular wheat crust from a favorite recipe of his. After making homemade, we just can’t buy pizza anymore! - Grill Night: BBQ Chicken
(Side: Corn on the cob, whatever veggies I have on hand)
I love grill night because it means hubby cooks! I make my own homemade BBQ sauce.
September Recipes
September 6, 2011
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This month’s recipes feature creative uses for several vegetables that are in season: Swiss chard, cabbage, potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, corn.
Enjoy!
Main Dishes
Coconut Shrimp with Savory Pineapple Dipping Sauce
Mexican Kidney Bean Casserole – I already know this will become a favorite in my family. We love any Mexican inspired dish, especially served with huevos!
Vegetables and Side Dishes
I love Swiss Chard, but other than a simple olive oil saute, I’m not sure how to prepare them. Here are a few recipes that feature these amazingly good-for-you greens:
Mozzarella Swiss Chard Wrap Sticks
Got a bumper crop of cukes in your garden this year? Try these recipes:
Caribbean Chicken Cantaloupe Salad
If you’ve never had this dish before, it’s amazing! Corn Souffle
Kid Friendly
Garlicky Oven Fries are a favorite with my kids. I’ll bet your kids would also love these family favorite chicken nuggets, a much healthier version than storebought. These warm apple toasts would make an awesome after school snack.
Creative Carrot Recipes:
Crunchy Cauliflower Carrot Bake
Carrot and Parsnip “Whip” – it’s a side dish, a soup and pasta topper!
Ah, one of my seasonal favorites: Butternut Squash Soup
Being a good Southern gal, I love some collard greens. If you’ve seen these large leafy greens in the store and didn’t know what to do with them, try these two recipes:
And finally, a vegetarian entree:
Creamy Pasta with Cashew Sauce
Quinoa – A Super Food That Answers Your Nutrition Questions
June 6, 2011
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What is quinoa? If you haven’t heard about quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), you’re not alone. Many people have yet to learn the encouraging details on this super food. Although not a pantry staple in most kitchens yet, quinoa soon will be. This seed (no, it’s not a grain) has a rice-like appearance with a fun crunchy texture and slightly nutty flavor. If you know spinach, Swiss chard, and beets, you know some of quinoa’s relatives. Once called the Gold of the Incas, quinoa is well on its way to becoming revered all over the world. Let’s see why.
Winner of 9 Essential Amino Acids
With just a quick run down of the nutrients in quinoa, it’s not hard to see why this food is considered one of the best super foods in the world. Quinoa is a good source of protein, but not just any protein. The protein quinoa supplies the body is complete protein, supplying all nine essential amino acids. This fact alone makes quinoa the perfect super food choice for vegetarians, vegans, or anyone concerned about getting a healthy dose of protein in their diet. Quinoa is especially rich in lysine, the amino acid that is essential for healthy tissue growth as well as repair.
What Can Quinoa Do For Me
We can start with a few basics you will recognize right away. Besides being a complete protein, quinoa is loaded with dietary fiber, calcium, iron, and phosphorus. Magnesium is abundant in quinoa. Known to be beneficial for relaxing blood vessels, magnesium, along with riboflavin, appears to benefit those who suffer from headaches, even migraines. Manganese joins with copper to form an enzyme which guards against cell damage caused by free radicals.
The health benefits gained from including quinoa in your diet include helping reduce the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cataracts, and gallstones. For pregnant women, quinoa is a great way to increase iron intake naturally, which is important for baby’s healthy development.
Because quinoa is lower in carbohydrates than other grains, many people substitute quinoa for grains because it is a very filling food that releases its energy slowly throughout the body, to satisfy your appetite longer. This is a great way to stay on a weight loss program without starving.
If you are eating a gluten-free diet, this is a wonderful new food to discover. Because quinoa is gluten-free, and has many of the same characteristics of grains and rice, there are numerous ways to use quinoa in your recipes.
What Do I Do With This Stuff
Raw quinoa is most often bought pre-rinsed, but if it isn’t, rinse it in a colander lined with cheesecloth. Then follow the directions on the box. Quinoa is cooked similar to rice; usually a 2 to 1, water to quinoa ratio. Cooked quinoa has a nice light texture and a mild, slightly crunchy and nutty flavor.
Once cooked, you can use quinoa in many pilaf dishes, adding vegetables, stocks, and seasonings to taste. Just try substituting quinoa into any of your recipes that call for rice and see how you like it. Quinoa also makes a nice fluffy side dish all by itself. Add herbs and seasonings if you like and spoon alongside chicken, fish, or meat for a tasty side dish with great crunchy texture.
Another favorite way to serve quinoa is cold in salads. Add sweet corn kernels, spring onions, kidney beans, green bell pepper, and celery into a bowl of cooked and cooled quinoa, toss, and you have a light salad that’s full of flavor. Mix in a balsamic vinaigrette dressing for even more pizzazz.
Quinoa can be served at any meal, and is available in several forms, even flour. For breakfast, you can serve quinoa with berries, nuts, and milk as a cereal. The flour can be used for baking along with whole grain wheat or as a substitute. Fitting quinoa into your healthy diet is not at all difficult with all these choices.
Once you include quinoa in your diet, you’ll be looking for all sorts of ways to serve it. It won’t be hard to find! This is a very versatile super food that deserves a spot in your pantry.
