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Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Meal Plan: 2/3 - 2/9

The snow is making me a bit nuts, so I'm going to try to control those things in my universe which are controllable. Can't control the damn ice dams, but I can control my food (sort of - emotional eating notwithstanding).

Thursday
Breakfast: kids will have leftover oat pancakes (nom nom nom). I will have yogurt and fruit (we have yellow bananas!!)
Lunch: I will have leftover soup. Kids will have leftover pesto ravioli.
Dinner: Ellie has been mentioning turkey chili mac over the past few days. Ask and ye shall receive.

Friday
Breakfast: yogurt/fruit for me because it's quick. oatmeal, Cheerios, yogurt, leftover pancakes (likely none by Fri.) at kids' requests.
Lunch: leftover turkey chili mac
Dinner: fish, green veggie (I think Aaron bought broccoli!), rice, challah

Saturday
Breakfast: learning from last week, I need to eat breakfast before Caleb gets back from ice skating. He needs a second breakfast after skating. I may make myself an omelet/scramble while he is out, and everyone else's food will be thrown together from standard stuff. Besides, we might go to the market again this week, and the kids usually get treats there (scones, honey bunches)
Lunch: Maybe I'll get around to making the tuna salad I mentioned last week. Thinking sandwiches, maybe soup and grilled cheese for the kids.
Dinner: I'm thinking chicken of some kind or maybe pseudo-Mexican. At least I know I'll have time to cook dinner on Saturday.

Sunday
Assuming that I am teaching (not a guarantee given the pending snow on Sat.)
Breakfast: yogurt, fruit
Lunch: yummy sandwich made by dear Aaron (my husband is awesome)
Dinner: Up to aforementioned awesome husband. Maybe he'll make a chili, but that might be too much chili in a week - is that possible?

Monday
Breakfast: standard quick stuff (non-cooking)
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Cheesy lentil rice casserole - easy to make and usually well-received.

Tuesday
Breakfast: omelet for me, whatever kids request (within reason). Maybe I could make them smoothies if I'm feeling motivated.
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Soup and bread! Not sure which soup I'm craving... ok, I know which soup I want (tuscan pumpkin white bean), but I don't have all those ingredients. SO... perhaps either butternut squash as it is close to what I'm craving OR the 15-bean since I seem also to crave protein this week.

Wednesday
Breakfast: quick stuff
Lunch: leftovers (love reruns of food)
Dinner: pasta for kids, "special dinner" for me and Aaron

Just found out that my mother-in-law will be arriving on Friday and leaving on Sunday. I may switch my chicken day with the soup day to meet everyone's dietary preferences.

I have 2 complaints about this rough plan. First, I don't have any new recipes in it. I like expanding our options. Second, I have not specified side dishes, but I tend not to plan those. In general, I aim to have a "true" vegetable for a side dish at every meal - something green or not terribly starchy - and some dishes just lend themselves to certain side dishes. Chicken tends to get green beans whereas fish tends to go with broccoli, for example. This week, Aaron chopped up some raw vegetables and set them in a bowl on the table before bringing all of the meal. The kids went to town on cucumbers, broccoli, and even tried the red bell pepper a bit. When I get stuck about vegetables, I look to our fruits. No, they are not local, but I have decided to let that battle go for the winter months. The kids have been enjoying the dark red cherries and grapes. Clementines seem past whatever peak they may have experienced, but they were good for a while. And a lot of things I have planned for this week (and I suppose more generally) don't really need side dishes. Turkey chili mac has protein, fat, and carbohydrate covered. No, it doesn't have a green vegetable, but it has lots of beans. Surely beans count for something. Cheesy lentil rice casserole is another dish that doesn't really need a side. Sure, I might want an additional texture at the meal, but nutritionally the dish covers a lot of ground.

So that's the plan, with a commentary about side dishes. It is a guideline and certainly subject to change. I'll report throughout the week to let you know how we're holding up despite the tundra in which we seem to live.

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