Menu Plan... can't believe March is almost over!

Last week, we ate:

Black 'n' Bleu salad (essentially a steak salad with bleu cheese)

Chicken sauteed with peppers

Leftovers

Family cookout (burgers, hotdogs, and sausage on the grill)

This week, hubby will be leaving on Wednesday to go to a conference, so ds#3 and I will have 4 days of whatever kind of eating we want! :) We will probably go out to dinner at least two nights with family. The other nights? Well, here's how the week is shaping up:

Sunday~ Leftover chicken & peppers mixed with the new Philadelphia Cream Cheese Santa Fe Cooking Creme... yummmm! A decadent flavor boost with no work at all. Wrapped in a tortilla for the carbers.

Monday~ Leftovers from the grill - burgers, hotdogs, or sausage. Pick your protein.

Tuesday~ Whatever hubby requests on his last night at home for this week.

Wednesday~ Out to dinner with Mimi (my mom - who is now home from the hospital and doing VERY well!!)

Thursday~ Something from the house... some kind of carb-lovers meal, probably :)

Friday~ Out with the grandparents - they are living in an extended-stay while their house is being gutted and rebuilt after the fire

Saturday~ Get ready for Dad's return - probably frozen pizza

Share your menus or get some inspiration at Menu Plan Monday!

March Menu #3

Sigh.

What a month we've had so far!

My grandparents' home caught on fire.

My mother went into ICU.

My Marine son came home.

My mother moved out of ICU into a regular room.

My grandparents are beginning the process of sorting through their belongings and deciding what to keep, what to toss.

All these things can wear a girl out!

But the fam's gotta eat.

So here we go:

Sunday~ Taco salad (did not get to it last week. Hubs loved it - good change of pace for him.)

Monday~ Leftover hotdogs from the grill with sauerkraut for hubby, leftover pizza for ds#3. I'll be at the hospital with Mom.

Tuesday~ Low-carb Texas chili, macaroni for ds#3, cheese crisps.

Wednesday~ Roast in the crockpot with pearl onions, mushrooms, and potatoes (hubby can skip those).

Thursday~ Stuffed peppers and spaghetti.

Friday~ Who knows by then...

Saturday~ OPENING DAY for baseball. Baseball junk food.

Share your menus at Menu Plan Monday!

And here comes March... another menu!

Well, we *did* eat last week; I just didn't get around to posting it.

This protein-heavy diet is working well for my husbands weight loss, but it is tough to plan family-friendly menus around it. We are all eating a little less, which is not a bad thing, but my whole method of menu planning has had to change.

Traditionally, I plan a protein, a starch, and at least one non-starchy veggie.

But now... the starches have pretty much disappeared. At least for now.

They may reappear.

About 100 pounds into our future (however long that takes).

So for now, ds#3 and I are enjoying our starches when Dad is not around, so we don't tempt him.

The plan for this week:

Sunday~ Marinated chicken breasts stuffed with spinach, parmesan and feta, served with green beans w/almonds and rice for ds#3

Monday~ Hubby has class. Leftover burgers & dogs from the grill.

Tuesday~ Taco salad (seasoned ground beef, lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream)

Wednesday~ Alice Springs chicken (I'll make mine in the crockpot, and serve with rice for ds#3)

Thursday~ Fend For Yourself night

Friday~ out to eat with Marine Son

Saturday~ French onion soup and roast

So... if anyone out there has great success or ideas for continuing on this eating plan, I'd love to hear from you! Fat intake is also monitored, so it's not quite an Atkins plan, but I can usually adjust those recipes.

Share at Menu Plan Monday!

February menu: week 4... week 3 of the diet!

We hardly followed last week's plan at all.

It's an adjustment for all of us as hubby learns a new way of eating, and it's a bit of a challenge for me. I'm a carb-lover, and he's a protein-lover, by nature. This new lifestyle requires him to eat lots of protein, and I don't want to tempt him with the carbs, so I'm moderating what I eat as well.

And let me tell ya, it's not easy!

So I had him make a list of foods he wanted this week in an effort to plan FAMILY meals, and not just "make-sure-that-everyone-is-fed" meals.

Sunday~ GRILL!!! We grilled steaks, sausage, and hamburgers, and ate steaks for dinner.

Monday~ Hubs has class. But he *will* be hungry when he comes home, so I will be ready with meatballs for him. Ds#3 has baseball practice, so when we get home, it'll be pasta or chicken nuggets from the freezer.

Tuesday~ Meatza for hubby (like pizza but with meat as the 'crust'), meat sauce with mushrooms and spaghetti squash for me, and genuine pasta for ds :)

Wednesday~ Stir fry veggies with chicken. Add rice for ds.

Thursday~ Hamburgers from the grill, reheated in the oven, topped with cheese. No bun for hubs. Veggies on the side for me.

Friday~ Sausage with peppers for hubby, and I'm not sure what for ds#3 and me. (I'd entertain any ideas you may have...)

Saturday~ TBA, based on this week's doctor visit!

Get some inspiration at Menu Plan Monday!

February menu: week 3, week 2 on the diet

We're halfway through February already!

Baseball begins this week... although we don't have a working schedule yet.

This makes it difficult for me to plan meals...

I've make a pound of mini-meatballs, cooked chicken, and am cooking the turkey that I planned for last week but did not get to. Hubby was able to add veggies to his diet this week, so we are definitely excited about that. He's lost almost 11 pounds so far, so I am happy to help him in any way that I can.

Here are my ideas for this week... we'll see how it actually turns out!

Sunday~ Leftover grilled meats for ds#3 and me - mine was tossed with spaghetti squash, grape tomatoes, and feta cheese. Dh had meatballs sauteed with onions, peppers and mushrooms. YEA for veggies this week!

Monday~ Hubs has class. Ds and I will fend for ourselves - probably something starchy that Dad can't have!

Tuesday~ Turkey and green beans that was planned for last week. Maybe with some mushrooms if I go to the grocery store.

Wednesday~ Sandwiches, I think - or some variation with lettuce wraps - oooh!!! I've got it - teriyaki chicken lettuce wraps. That will work! Just have to be careful about the sugar in the teriyaki.

Thursday~ Tuna salad. Been a while since we've had tuna fish, and since I'm needing to include protein with every meal, it's forcing me to be a little more creative.

Friday~ I'm longing for some breakfast for dinner. Hubby goes for another doctor's appointment today, so maybe he'll get to add in some fruits. We'll adjust accordingly.

Saturday~ depends on the doc's new orders! And we may be celebrating my mom's birthday...depends if she has recovered from being sick.

The adventure begins...

Hubby has begun a medically supervised eating plan.

This first week, he is eating pure protein! This is not terribly difficult for him, as he loves eggs and meat of all kinds (it would kill me!!!), but he is not allowed any carbs at all.

In order to be supportive, all of us are modifying our eating a little, so we don't present more temptation than he can take! On Saturday, we grilled burgers, sausage, chicken, and beef tenderloin, so we have a variety of grilled meats to eat during the week. I also made some meatballs.

Sunday~ Meatballs for my man, spaghetti & sauce for ds#3 and me (I'm making spaghetti squash to limit the intake/desire for carbs)

Monday~ Beef tenderloin for hubby, and roasted potatoes and salad along with beef for ds#3 and me

Tuesday~ Grilled chicken (that's all for hubs) and ds#3 and I will add a salad

Wednesday~ Ds#3 and I will have pasta with veggies, and hubs will have the rest of his meatballs

Thursday~ Sticky chicken, and ds#3 & I will add broccoli (maybe with some cheese)

Friday~ Turkey, green beans with almonds. Hubby will have made his second trip to the doc, so he may be able to add in some veggies at this point. YEA! :)

Saturday~ My nephew's b-day party, and my son is going to see the Globetrotters with my dad, so hubby & I may have a date... maybe we'll grill something yummy!

Share your menu at Menu Plan Monday!

February!!! A new menu

Today is the last day of January, and my sister's birthday.

I'm so thankful for her - she is not just my sister; she is my friend!

My hubby is beginning a physician's weight loss program this week, so I'm not completely sure what we'll be looking at as far as food goes, but we'll give it a try!

Our menu for this week looks like this:

Sunday~ out to eat in honor of my sis's b-day!

Monday~ hubby has class; must-goes for ds#3 and me

Tuesday~ Feta-stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon (from this recipe, adapted and inspired by my sis), rice, green beans with almonds, tiropeta (which has been in the freezer from our local Greek Festival)

Wednesday~ Eggplant lasagna (from the freezer), Caesar salad, garlic bread

Thursday~ Hubby's diet starts today, and all I know is that he'll be eating lots of protein. So I'm making a roast in the crockpot, and ds#3 & I will add some veggies.

Friday & Saturday ~ Again, depends on what the doc says on Thursday.

Share your menus at Menu Plan Monday!