I debated back and forth with whether or not I wanted to post a menu plan here, because let’s face it, they are not the most scintillating or inspiring posts. However, as I’m attempting to get into the meal planning habit, I decided to post today’s, at the very least, to give me a kick-start on accountability. Also, I have friends asking me from time to time about how we eat, since it’s not at all the Standard American Diet (SAD, and let’s face it, Canadians eat virtually the same way). I thought this might be a good way to get a glimpse into how we normally eat at home (very different from when we’re traveling and in other people’s homes, and the occasional tea house indulgence).

So, here we are.

We are a mostly gluten-free house (our three-year-old cannot tolerate gluten), and so our meals reflect that (which isn’t hard, since we don’t really eat a whole lot of grains anyway). Also, we generally only eat whole, REAL foods, and minimize starches and sugars, as hubs is trying to lose weight, and we just believe that’s a healthier way of living, regardless. All items and most ingredients (like mayo and salad dressings) in my menu plan are usually made from scratch.

I am planning breakfasts and suppers only, with a list of ideas for lunches and snacks. For me, that is a good balance between scheduling and flexibility.

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Monday

Breakfast: Cheesy Egg Loaf & Fruit (enjoying the last of pear and peach season while it lasts, and the beginning of apple season!)

Supper: Taco Salad

Tuesday

Breakfast: Eggs & Smoothies

Supper: Turkey Dinner: Gravy, Dressing, Acorn Squash, Peas, Carrots, Cranberries – everything made from scratch except for buying a loaf of rice bread to make the dressing.

*We got a turkey at the grocery store for 97 cents/pound, which was a deal we could not pass up. Ideally we get all of our meat from HERE, but sometimes the budget just won’t stretch quite that far… and their turkeys are 3.5 times more expensive. So we got the grocery store one, because it is one of the most frugal purchases – you can get tons of homemade stock from the bones, and there’s tons of meat for eating, casseroles, etc.

Wednesday

Breakfast: Eggs & Bacon

Supper: Turkey Dinner Leftovers

Thursday

Breakfast: Eggs & Smoothies

Supper: Turkey Stew, Salad (made with homemade broth, of course, with lots of veggies, and a very small amount of starch, like maybe some brown rice)

Friday

Breakfast: Eggs & Sausage (looking for a new sausage recipe to try, as hubs is tired of the old one)

Supper: Meatloaf, Scalloped Potatoes, 2 Veggies, or a Veggie and Salad

Saturday

Breakfast: Cheesy Egg Loaf & Fruit

Supper: Baked Lemon-Herb Salmon, Brown Rice, Steamed Spinach, Steamed Carrots, Salad

Sunday

Breakfast: Eggs & Sausage

Supper: BBQ Burgers, Pear & Feta Quinoa Salad (Hubs makes awesome homemade burgers)

 

Some Things to Note:

1) I don’t have any meatless meals on the menu this week (except that lunches are often meatless), but I normally have at least one or two meatless main meals every week to help off-set the cost of buying better quality meat (or minimal meat meals, like soups, etc).

2) Lunches are generally one of the following: leftovers, a snack tray, smoothies, a quick hamburger and frozen veggies, tuna melts without the bun, etc.

3) Usual snacks: all of the items included in this post: Snack Trays, as well as yogurt, applesauce, etc.

4) I absolutely *love* acorn squash, and find the flavour simply delightful. It takes the place of mashed potatoes quite nicely if you’re trying to eat less starchy carbs (which you probably should…). Just cut it in half, bake it at 400 for an hour, scrape out the guts, scrape out the squash, mash with lots of butter, and salt and pepper. So yummy.

5) When I met him just over ten years ago, my husband did not eat anything remotely green. In fact, his diet was basically steak, french fries, pizza, and caesar salad. Now, he’ll happily eat every single thing in the menu plan above, and more. I credit the last 10 years of retraining his taste buds slowly and surely, his willing attitude, and also the GAPS Diet, which is often credited with reforming picky eaters (long story on how that works, but if you’re interested feel free to ask!). My kids will also eat almost anything since doing GAPS.

6) I don’t always plan which specific veggie to have, because I like the spontaneity of choosing it on the day of. It’s usually either broccoli, carrots, peas, or green beans (the latter two we usually buy frozen, and they are the fastest options).

7) Lastly, our breakfasts are rather repetitive. I would love to have a break from eggs once in a while (though I think they are really the perfect breakfast food), but any wheat-based baked goods are out, and we haven’t been able to find gluten-free oats where we live. Also, if we could afford it, we’d eat meat with every breakfast, as I find that the higher the protein amount in the mornings, the better – for energy levels, healthy weight maintenance, etc.

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OK… I think that’s about it. Thanks for indulging in the ins and outs of our family nutritional habits with me. If you enjoyed this, and would actually find it helpful if I posted our menu planning again sometime, would you let me know in the comments? If you snored your way through this post, you can let me know that too, just be kind 🙂

(Linking up today with Keeper of the Home’s Plan It Don’t Panic Meal Planning Challenge, as well as Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Mondays).