Tag Archives: meal planning

Meal Planning for May 29-June 1

29 May

I thought I would ease back into posting with some meal planning, which, frankly, is probably more interesting for me than you. Baby steps!

Here’s what I intend to consume and feed my diabetic this work week:

Breakfasts

  • For me: Tofu scramble; banana
  • For him: Multi-Grain Cheerios with almond milk

Lunches

  • For me: Vegan cornbread casserole
  • For him #1: Asian Noodle Salad with Shirataki instead of pasta
  • For him #2: Hummus with carrots and celery; strawberries

Dinners

  • Tuesday: Free vegan sausages from a nearby bar (but really)
  • Wednesday: Vegan white chili; pineapple
  • Thursday: Vegan white chili; pineapple
  • Friday: Mushroom-barley risotto

I will share the cornbread casserole recipe later this week — it’s a winner!

What’s on your menu this week?

 

PB&J Cookies and more planning

9 Jan

First, let’s get to the good stuff: PB&J Cookies. These were created by looking at a bunch of different recipes, and the end result is a tasty, fluffy, fairly fiber-loaded treat.

PB&J Cookies

  • 1/2 cup unbleached flour
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if peanut butter contains salt)
  • 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • About 1/4 cup warm water, as needed
  • 3 teaspoons (or a little more) jam, flavor of your choice

Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flours, oats, 1/4 cup of sugar, and salt. In a small bowl, combine peanut butter, vanilla, oil, and 2 tablespoons of water, mixing with a fork until combined. Add the wet to dry and mix until just combined. If the dough won’t hold together, add water a tablespoon at a time until it’s workable. I used my hands.

Pour 3 remaining tablespoons of sugar on a small plate. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, roll them in the sugar, and place on the baking sheet. Flatten each ball slightly. Grab your 1/4 teaspoon measure and use it to make an indentation in each cookie. Now use it again to fill each dent with your jam of choice (mine was a strawberry-raspberry-blueberry blend from the Hollywood Farmers Market). Bake cookies for 10-15 minutes. Do not over-bake. Mine were perfect — lightly browned on the bottom and not runny) at 12 minutes.

Makes 12 cookies.

These will go fast! They have the classic flavor of America’s favorite sandwich but with a grown-up sophistication.

I wanted to talk a little more about meal planning. We finalized our plan for the week (after realizing we aren’t allowed to grill on-site — boo!). The plan outline:

Monday: lunch — quinoa soup; dinner — taco salad
Tuesday: ditto
Wednesday: lunch — quinoa soup; dinner — chili
Thursday: lunch — zucchini wrap; dinner — chili
Friday: lunch — zucchini wrap; dinner — leftovers?

I want to prepare all my legumes from dried this week, so I decided to take my meal plan a step further by writing a daily schedule of when to soak or cook what. This will be especially helpful as I use the slow cooker multiple times. Here is the plan

Sunday: day — make quinoa soup in the slow cooker; night — soak pinto beans (for taco salad)
Monday: day — X makes pinto beans on the stove; night — soak black beans
Tuesday: day — make black beans in the slow cooker and soak chickpeas; night — cook chickpeas on the stove
Wednesday: day — make chili (containing chickpeas and black beans) in the slow cooker; night — cook zucchini and make cilantro spread (for wraps)

I’m hoping this plan will keep me organized and de-stressed. I’ll let you know how it goes (and the meals, too!).

I did it!

18 Jun

Friends, readers, country(wo)men — I took the leap. You are now viewing this little blog on her own domain: www.veggingoutinttown.com! Eek! I’m excited, as you can tell. One day, I will upgrade to my own hosting, too, but for now, I’m basking in this first little victory.

I told you about my first foray into diabetic meal planning two weeks ago but was remiss in sharing the actual eats. My apologies. Between the ShakeDown in T-Town Shakespeare Festival 2011 and the crushing pain that refuses to leave my head (16 migraines in 35 days and counting — for realsies), I’ve been a bit negligent. So here’s what we’ve been eating round these here parts lately. I will note that I still consider myself a failure at the diabetes thing. It’s really, really hard and contrary to how I — a carb-loving borderline hypoglycemic — normally plan meals. I am picking up Dr. Barnard’s book on diabetes today, though, so hopefully I will gain some insight.

OK, here was the boy’s favorite meal of last week:

Clockwise from left: Swiss Chard with Garlic Chips (topped with a splash of balsamic instead of the reduction), Refreshing Cucumber Salad with Creamy Mint Dressing (minus the onions), and “Dry” Red Lentils (recipe below). He raved about the whole meal. I enjoyed it, too, though the following morning’s repeat Swiss chard performance was not ideal. (For the record, I blame my own acid reflux problems, not the green or the recipe.) I adored the dressing on the cucumber salad and plan to use it again on something else. Here’s the super-easy-basic lentil recipe.

“Dry” Red Lentils (adapted from World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey)

  • 1 cup red lentils
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 medium onion, cut into fine half moons
  • 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Rinse and drain lentils, then place them in a bowl with water to soak. The original recipe says three hours, but I only did one and it was totally fine. Drain when you’re ready to cook.

Place a medium pot over medium heat and add the oil. Add the onion and garlic, stir frying for about 4 minutes, or until the onion browns a little. Add the lentils, stirring for a minute. Add 1 cup of water and the salt. Stir and bring to a boil. Now cover, reduce the heat to very low, and cook until lentils are tender mush, about 20 minutes.

The recipe is pretty much fool-proof, and it’s completely delicious, despite the very small ingredient list. I recommend trying it as is before you start spicing things up.

After dinner, I whipped up some Pumpkin Pie Mousse.

I am total crap at food styling, but this was my attempt. Almost pretty, eh? The mousse is layered with banana slices and topped with a little coconut cream (from the top of the can of coconut milk) and cinnamon. The only changes I made to the original recipe were omitting the maca (didn’t have any) and sweetening with a little honey.

Another successful meal was what I’m calling Continential Breakfast for Dinner.

Clockwise from left: Italian-style Eggs, salad with homemade goddess dressing, and French-inspired Breakfast Potatoes. I didn’t use a recipe for the former, just sauteed two yellow squashes in olive oil and garlic then added four beaten eggs (sourced locally and cruelty-free), two chopped scallions, five or six chopped and seeded cherry tomatoes, Italian seasoning, dried oregano, and a little shredded Asiago cheese. It was incredible, if I do say so myself. I will share recipes for the other two dishes in a separate post so this one doesn’t get too cray-cray.

For my lunches, I made a nutrient-dense salad:

It was inspired by the salad I always get at Chipotle, but mine was awesomer. I made black beans from scratch in the slow cooker, precooked some red bell pepper and portobello mushrooms in a little olive oil, and made salsa. When it was time to eat, I heated up the cooked stuff, piled it on top of greens, and topped it all with salsa and sliced avocado. *Heavenly.* If anyone would like the full recipe, I’d be happy to do a separate post. I was a nice girlfriend and shared this salad for one of my diabetic love’s lunches, but it was hard to part with.

So those are a few of last week’s mostly healthy meals, and I promise there is more to come as I finagle this bidness. On an exciting note, I FOUND MY CAMERA CHARGER! Now all I have to do is find . . . my camera. For real. Sigh. Soon, though, I promise pictures will improve.

What’s your favorite breakfast-for-dinner meal? I’m not a big pancake fan, so I usually stick with something savory.

Lentils on FoodistaLentils

Diabetic meal planning

6 Jun

This is the week I get serious about serving diabetic-friendly meals at home. A doctor visit last week saw an increase in his medication, and I just flat-out don’t like it. So, after doing some research, I have set out to prepare foods that are tasty, mostly vegan, and low in carbohydrates. Luckily this effort coincides with my desire to clean up my own eating and save money. Meal planning and cooking certainly helps with both of those goals, too.

First, let me say that I don’t eat a particularly low-carb diet. When I first started trying to follow Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s eating plan, I discovered that I actually have a very difficult time getting enough calories when following a very clean vegan diet. He encourages very little fat and grains and puts a big emphasis on veggies and beans. I tend to agree, but I quickly learned that I cannot physically eat enough raw or cooked vegetables to take in at least 1,200 calories a day. My solution has been more fat (almost entirely olive oil and nut butters) and more grains. I know neither are as healthful as vegetables and legumes, but there are only so many cups a day of raw, crunchy veggies that I can physically eat.

Adapting my style of eating to the needs of a diabetic who requires way more calories a day than I do is proving a big challenge. In no way do I think this week’s meal plan is perfect, but it’s a starting point. If any of you have resources or ideas to share, please do! I’m still very, very much a novice at this whole thing. Without meal planning assistance from his doctor (he’s supposed to get this info at his next appointment in three weeks), I’m winging it and aiming for 10 servings of carbs a day (or 150 grams). Here’s this week’s plan for both of us (I’ll share recipes later this week):

Breakfast

  • For me: Oatmeal (either lazy-girl or overnight oats) with peanut butter, almond milk, banana, and coconut milk creamer – This is just for me since he doesn’t get up terribly long before the lunch hour. 358 calories, 58 grams of carbs, 12 grams of fat, 10 grams of protein, and 7 grams of fiber.

 Lunch

  • For him: Salads (with either spinach or baby romaine) topped with two hard-boiled eggs, toasted cashews and homemade goddess dressing. 402 calories, 19 grams of carbs, 31 grams of fat, 20 grams of protein, and 4 grams of fiber.
  • For me: Burrito bowls with black beans, Portobello mushrooms, red bell pepper, avocado, lettuce, and homemade salsa. 348 calories, 45 grams of carbs, 14 grams of fat, 16 grams of protein, and 18 grams of fiber.

Dinner (for both of us)

  • Two nights: Sautéed Swiss chard, cucumber salad, and red lentils. 372 calories, 34 grams of carbs, 24 grams of fat, 11 grams of protein, and 12 grams of fiber.
  • One night: Breakfast for dinner! Scrambled eggs with yellow squash, tomato, and garlic and breakfast potatoes. 391 calories, 42 grams of carbs, 24 grams of fat, 20 grams of protein, and 6 grams of fiber.
  • One night: dining out at a pizza place. I haven’t figured this out yet!

Snacks

  • Small banana – 93 calories, 24 grams of carbs, 0.5 grams of fat, 1 gram of protein, and 2 grams of fiber.
  • Pineapple – in one cup: 76 calories, 19 grams of carbs, 0.7 grams of fat, 0.6 grams of protein, and 2 grams of fiber.
  • Watermelon – in one cup: 49 calories, 11 grams of carbs, 0.7 grams of fat, 1 gram of protein, and 1 gram of fiber.

Dessert (for both of us – probably once or twice during the week)

  • Vegan Epicurean’s Pumpkin Pie Mousse. 318 calories, 37 grams of carbs, 17 grams of fat, 10 grams of protein, and 11 grams of fiber.

As you can see, my breakfast and lunch alone go over the carb count I want for him. Today, his total will be 53 from lunch and dinner, leaving him plenty of leeway for snacking on fruit. I haven’t decided if I’ll make the pumpkin mousse tonight or not. We shall see.

Are you a carboholic like me, or do you watch your intake?

Meal planning

6 Jan

I’m big on meal planning, as you may have noticed. Fear of boring you with monotony is largely why I don’t tend to share my lunches more than once a week. I shop every weekend with the intention of making a lunch that I will be happy eating three of my four work days. I allow myself one meal out each week, often to my beloved Shish-Kabobs.

Since things have been crazy in my world lately, I’ve been a little too lax, which hasn’t been good for my health or my pocketbook. We open the play in less than two weeks, and I’d like to look my best in sexy Puritan black. Plus, it’s January, the time for everyone to jump (back) on the health bandwagon, so I’m beginning the clean-up process. Not to be confused with the housecleaning process. That may never happen.

I’ve been asked before how I eat more-or-less consistently well and tend to show up for work with tasty, healthy, well-balanced meals. In fact, I’ve attempted to write a post on the subject many times over, but I always have trouble making the very simple steps I take sound, well, interesting. Please bare with me.

My #1 secret to weekly meal planning is writing things down. When I’m in a particularly good flow, I use a basic Word document I created to track what I plan to eat during the upcoming week. It probably sounds crazy, but I filled out the document for next week today, yes, the Wednesday before. I do this for several reasons:

1.    It gives me plenty of time to think things over and change my mind, depending on the following week’s schedule.

2.    I can buy everything I need on my weekend grocery runs and do prep work on Sundays.

3.    I don’t have a printer at home, so I need to make decisions during the work week.

If any of you are interested, I am providing a link to my document here.

It’s currently filled out with my plan for next week. As you can see, at the top, I list what I plan to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I do tend to eat the same thing for breakfast every Monday through Friday because it makes my life a lot easier. Lunches, as I have mentioned, are the same three days of the week. I eat out one work day and usually Fridays, too. Dinner is usually the same two or three nights a week, and then I supplement with whatever catches my eye at the store. Lately, that’s been baked sweet potatoes or winter squash.

Listing the plan like I do allows me to see what I am missing (fruits, protein, etc.), what I’m getting too much of (maybe grains/starches this week), and gives me the chance to tweak. I’m a very visual person, so unless I lay everything out in front of me, I could easily end up eating nothing but pasta for an entire week without realizing there is no food in my food. (Name that movie!)

Below that, I make a preliminary shopping list based on my food plan. In the summer, this section is divided between the grocery store list and the farmer’s market list. The rest of the year, I remove the subtitles because they only remind me of how much I miss the Cherry Street Farmers Market. I don’t make my final list until right before I go to the store, just in case I need to add something. Also, I’m incredibly anal about my lists. I draw checkboxes by every item so I can keep track, and they MUST start with fresh produce, because that is where we start our shopping, and it comprises about half the list anyway. Even so, I always try to be flexible. If I intend to buy broccoli for a side, as is the case with next week, but cauliflower is on sale, I make substitutions. No biggie.

The rest of the document is any recipes I’m using for the week that I found online. Again, since I don’t have a printer at home, I find this is an easy way to make sure I don’t lose track of what I need. Next week, I am basing a soup recipe on something from the Happy Herbivore, so even though I plan to make substitutions, I included it. I also have two recipes from the Vegan Epicurean to try together. As a result, my plan is two pages long. Usually it’s only one, but it ain’t no big thang.

I always do weekly prep work on Sunday evenings, especially lately since I no longer have a concept of a free weeknight. This generally includes making nut milk, simmering soup for the week, making rice, or whatever else I can do in advance. Lunches are almost always reheated from whatever I make on Sundays. This weekly prep work saves me so much time and energy. Plus, I enjoy it. Cooking is fun and enjoyable, and often, Sundays are the only day of the week I really get to do it. I don’t think throwing a sweet potato into the microwave for five minutes really counts. Also, it’s a nice, exhausting way to end the weekend, allowing me to sleep a little sounder for the oh-so-early Monday alarm clock.

So that’s the basics of how I plan my meals. My method isn’t rigid, and God knows there are many weeks that I ignore it completely, but I find it very helpful in keeping myself on track.

Do you plan your meals? If so, what’s your method?

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