Meal Planning

theartistformerlyknownas

I'm trying to get better about this so we waste less food, plus we're on a natural/unprocessed foods challenge we we can't just resort to shawarma or those frozen skillet pasta dishes anymore. This is what I have going so far for this week... what about you? Anyone meal planning today?

Sunday: We'll probably do baked salmon tonight before we go to the movies, with roasted butternut squash and broccoli. I have a whole chicken brining, which I'll roast in the crock pot all day tomorrow.

Monday: Roasted chicken breast. Probably with sauteed spinach and baked sweet potatoes? Then I'll pull the rest of the meat off the bones for later, and cover the bones with water and cook again overnight to make stock.

Tuesday: Zoodles! I got a Paderno spiralizer for my shower and it's AWESOME. So I'll do spiral zucchini noodles with homemade pesto. I'll probably have sauteed mushrooms with mine and H will have a grilled chicken breast (he refuses to eat fungus, lol).

Wednesday: put the pulled chicken and stock into a homemade white chicken chili with great northern beans, corn and chipotle peppers.

Not quite sure where to go from there. I have some chicken meatballs and green beans to work with too but don't know where to work them in. Will probably snack on the beans with hummus and take the meatballs to work for lunch - H also won't eat meat in ball form. We're not eating any white flour, sugar, pasta or rice for 100 days (90 from now!).

Anybody have any good crock pot pork chop recipes? Thinking that might be a good change of pace from all this chicken. (When I met H he ate a chicken breast and sweet potato every day, and would still be happy to do so.) Maybe with spiralized roasted butternut squash noodles and apples??

lurkergirl

I'm not too helpful because you're basically avoiding my favorite food groups and I never use my crock pot.

However I do make lots of pork. If you butterfly a tenderloin you can grill it up in about 15 minutes. It's a staple in my house! I marinate in soy sauce, honey, dijon, and garlic. I guess you would modify the soy sauce and dijon part?

Most of my pork chops involve gravy with flour

What about pulled pork? There are zillions of recipes for it. I make it in the oven, but it still cooks a long time, so I bet you could do it in the crock pot.

theartistformerlyknownas

lurkergirl said:

I'm not too helpful because you're basically avoiding my favorite food groups and I never use my crock pot. However I do make lots of pork. If you butterfly a tenderloin you can grill it up in about 15 minutes. It's a staple in my house! I marinate in soy sauce, honey, dijon, and garlic. I guess you would modify the soy sauce and dijon part? Most of my pork chops involve gravy with flour What about pulled pork? There are zillions of recipes for it. I make it in the oven, but it still cooks a long time, so I bet you could do it in the crock pot.

I could sub liquid aminos for the soy sauce, and probably use regular or whole grain mustard for the dijon (does dijon have sugar? I don't have any in the house to check). I'd have to sneak it in since H also hates mustard (he seriously makes my life difficult sometimes. good thing he makes up for it by doing the dishes). 

I can make gravy with a whole wheat flour roux though! I made a really yummy whole wheat chicken alfredo that way the other day.

holyguacamole79

We are on the Advocare 24 day challenge right now, so I feel ya. We are doing chicken kabobs later (H is determined to get on the grill despite the weather). We haven't meal planned too much because I'm headed to NYC on Tuesday, so H is fending for himself for a few days.

theartistformerlyknownas

holyguacamole79 said:

We are on the Advocare 24 day challenge right now, so I feel ya. We are doing chicken kabobs later (H is determined to get on the grill despite the weather). We haven't meal planned too much because I'm headed to NYC on Tuesday, so H is fending for himself for a few days.

Haha yep I'm still using the grill! He eats grilled chicken for lunch, so I cooked up a whole batch of it yesterday when it was like 9° out.

RebeccaB88

I only meal plan 2-4 things each pay period (2 weeks), because I'm just cooking for one, I've had bariatric surgery so I eat smaller amounts, and I put a lot in the freezer and end up eating out of there quite a bit.  If I'm not eating out of the freezer, I  do something simple like a roast bone-in chicken breast with veggies, stir fry, or an omelette, which is stuff I always have around and don't really have to plan for.

Do you guys eat beef? (I didn't see it up there.) I made an awesome taco chili in the crockpot yesterday.  I browned 1 & 1/2 pounds of chili grind ground chuck with 1 packet taco seasoning, drained the fat, and put that in the crockpot. Added 1 diced onion, 2 cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained (you can use black beans or kidney beans too, whatever you like),  1 bag frozen corn, 1 large can (28 oz?)  Rotel tomatoes & chilies with the juice, 1 chopped bell pepper, a couple big spoonfuls chopped garlic, another packet of taco seasoning, 1 packet ranch dressing mix, half a box of beef broth, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, and a few shakes of hot sauce.  Cooked about 8 hours on low. Garnished with the usual taco fixings - cheese, salsa, sour cream, avocado.  Freezes awesomely. The recipe called for a can of white hominy, rinsed and drained, but I'm not wild about it so I left it out. You could also sub a whole ton of different beans for the meat, or use ground turkey.   Substitute chicken for the beef and chicken broth for the beef broth, and you have chicken tortilla soup.

lc07

Lettuce wraps would be a good way to re-purpose the pulled chicken.

lurkergirl

Ah, fi is a picky eater too. Zero adventure in that man's culinary life!

With a port tenderloin I do the grilled method I already mentioned, or I bread it in some way:

-sliced and pounced with the sharp side of the pounder (tenerizer?) Then bread (flour, egg, flour, egg, flour...with baking powder in the flour), fry, and make gravy with drippings, flour, and while milk (omg this so won't work for you....)

-sliced then and panko crusted and served with lemon butter cream noodles

-slightly pound the whole thing then slice (so it's like pork fingers or tenders) and bread and fry like the first one, but instead.of making gravy, dip it in bbq or ketchup.

-attached a picture of my current favorite pork chops.


*I have read this post and realize my unnatural love for breaded and fried foods...ETA and also that these are not within your parameters. BUT I think you cook like me and even if you don't use a recipe sometimes it helps to just spark a different idea...

lc07

If you have extra salmon from tonight, prep salmon cakes while you're at it which make an awesome lunch or dinner and are super quick and easy if you put them together and chill them overnight. I put mushrooms in the food processor and use them instead of bread crumbs. H might not notice? You don't really need breadcrumbs anyway.

theartistformerlyknownas

lc07 said:

If you have extra salmon from tonight, prep salmon cakes while you're at it which make an awesome lunch or dinner and are super quick and easy if you put them together and chill them overnight. I put mushrooms in the food processor and use them instead of bread crumbs. H might not notice? You don't really need breadcrumbs anyway.

We use the individually portioned wild caught salmon filets so there won't be leftovers, but that does sound good. I ground up mushrooms in black bean burgers before without telling him... after he said he liked them I outed myself. He was not happy. :-p

@RebeccaB88‌ we do eat beef on occasion, but nothing from packets. I make my own taco seasoning from scratch... ground turkey tacos in lettuce wraps sound really good now. We already have turkey in the freezer.

lc07

Another way I re-purpose random shit in the fridge so things don't go to waste is to make little egg "muffins" (no flour just egg and random stuff from the fridge) by getting out a muffin pan and putting different stuff in each "muffin" spot. Depends on how much stuff I have. 3/4 of the tray might have goat cheese, some might have onions, two might have mushrooms if that's all the mushroom I have, shredded meat, salmon, tomato, other cheese, lots of things go with egg. Then I throw a bunch of eggs in a big mixing bowl and mix them up, add salt and pepper, and pour into the tins (they will rise when they cook so don't fill to the very top) and throw them in the oven to cook. They freeze well, too, and reheat well in the microwave.

falsara

Could you do a version of pulled pork in the crockpot and then eat it on lettuce wraps.... or make pork taco salad? Thats all I can think of right now.

lc07

I like this game. It's like a puzzle.

So now that you're doing the ground turkey lettuce wrap tacos, you can use extra ground turkey to make your own breakfast sausage and/or make turkey fried "rice" but use cauliflower instead of rice. 

theartistformerlyknownas

lc07 said:

I like this game. It's like a puzzle.

So now that you're doing the ground turkey lettuce wrap tacos, you can use extra ground turkey to make your own breakfast sausage and/or make turkey fried "rice" but use cauliflower instead of rice. 

Ooh yes that sounds good!

theartistformerlyknownas

Oh holy yum. This needs to happen soon. 

http://damndelicious.net/2014/12/31/lemon-butter-chicken/

lc07

lolo883 said:

Oh holy yum. This needs to happen soon. 

http://damndelicious.net/2014/12/31/lemon-butter-chicken/

That looks amazing. Damn lactose intolerance!

climbingsingle

You could also use the turkey to make turkey meatloaf. I do that often. It's so easy and it comes out great.

theartistformerlyknownas

climbingwife said:

You could also use the turkey to make turkey meatloaf. I do that often. It's so easy and it comes out great.

H will also not eat meat in loaf form. I'm determined to break him of that though, I make the best turkey meatloaf with apples and curry AND we got a fancy meatloaf pan at the shower!

Cookie Pusher

My favorite pork chop recipes:

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pork-recipes/roasted-pork-chops-with-sage-and-champ/

https://justbrowsingopl.wordpress.com/2014/01/13/pan-fried-glazed-pork-chops/

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/slow-cooker-pepper-pork-chops-recipe.html

With the first two, I usually take the leftovers and slice them up and put them on top of a nice salad later in the week.

anjemon

lolo883 said:

climbingwife said:

You could also use the turkey to make turkey meatloaf. I do that often. It's so easy and it comes out great.

H will also not eat meat in loaf form. I'm determined to break him of that though, I make the best turkey meatloaf with apples and curry AND we got a fancy meatloaf pan at the shower!

I'm super curious about this meatloaf recipe. It sounds really tasty. Do you have a link or something for it?

theartistformerlyknownas

anjemon said:

lolo883 said:

climbingwife said:

You could also use the turkey to make turkey meatloaf. I do that often. It's so easy and it comes out great.

H will also not eat meat in loaf form. I'm determined to break him of that though, I make the best turkey meatloaf with apples and curry AND we got a fancy meatloaf pan at the shower!

I'm super curious about this meatloaf recipe. It sounds really tasty. Do you have a link or something for it?

No... I just improvised it after tasting something similar at a restaurant in Detroit. I sautee leeks and chopped apples in olive oil until softened, add garlic, salt, pepper, and curry until it all smells mouthwatering, add to ground turkey with an egg and ground oats or stale bread as a binder. I can't remember how much of anything because I usually don't measure when I cook.

huskypuppy14

lolo883 said:

Oh holy yum. This needs to happen soon. 

http://damndelicious.net/2014/12/31/lemon-butter-chicken/

http://damndelicious.net/2014/06/21/baked-parmesan-zucchini/

From that same website. This is happening in my house this week!

jenna8984

We (I) meal plan every Sunday. Tonight we're going out with friends. Tomorrow night buffalo chicken lasagna, Tuesday chicken, potatoes, and carrots baked in one casserole dish, Wednesday salmon burgers, Thursday steak tips with zucchini, Friday chicken parm sandwiches.

Some of our other go-tos are shake n bake pork chops, baked salmon, steak & rice fajitas, whole roast chicken, Shepard's pie, pasta with vodka sauce. I'm not much help for non processed items as we usually eat those as sides.

Our fave pork crock pot is 2 can cream of chicken, 1 can broth, 6 chops, 2 packets ranch seasoning. Cook on high for 2 hours, serve over egg noodles. I know it's not healthy but it's so good. Snacks we do fruit and string cheese.

Weesh

I've been trying to do this more with my H also, because I'm finding that if we don't plan meals, we end up throwing out a ton of food and we wander the supermarkets aimlessly on the weekends.  We buy stuff we know we like, but don't think about how to cook it.  My problem?  I'm a terrible cook but I'm trying to lose weight, so I'm trying to keep it light but all I'm craving is comfort food.  

I found two recipes this week from Emily Bites Blog that I'm going to try to make on the nights I know I have more time, plus a Skinnytaste recipe for chicken chili.

Here's the one I'm trying for tonight.  http://www.emilybites.com/2014/12/thai-peanut-chicken-wonton-cupcakes.html

Here's a recipe for pork from Skinnytaste that I've tried once and really liked.  

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/10/crock-pot-asian-pork-with-mushrooms.html

theartistformerlyknownas

Weesh said:

I've been trying to do this more with my H also, because I'm finding that if we don't plan meals, we end up throwing out a ton of food and we wander the supermarkets aimlessly on the weekends.  We buy stuff we know we like, but don't think about how to cook it.  My problem?  I'm a terrible cook but I'm trying to lose weight, so I'm trying to keep it light but all I'm craving is comfort food.  

I found two recipes this week from Emily Bites Blog that I'm going to try to make on the nights I know I have more time, plus a Skinnytaste recipe for chicken chili.

Here's the one I'm trying for tonight.  http://www.emilybites.com/2014/12/thai-peanut-chicken-wonton-cupcakes.html

Here's a recipe for pork from Skinnytaste that I've tried once and really liked.  

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/10/crock-pot-asian-pork-with-mushrooms.html

Ooh I have PB2! Love it in protein shakes after the gym. Pinning!

Weesh

lolo883 said:

Weesh said:

I've been trying to do this more with my H also, because I'm finding that if we don't plan meals, we end up throwing out a ton of food and we wander the supermarkets aimlessly on the weekends.  We buy stuff we know we like, but don't think about how to cook it.  My problem?  I'm a terrible cook but I'm trying to lose weight, so I'm trying to keep it light but all I'm craving is comfort food.  

I found two recipes this week from Emily Bites Blog that I'm going to try to make on the nights I know I have more time, plus a Skinnytaste recipe for chicken chili.

Here's the one I'm trying for tonight.  http://www.emilybites.com/2014/12/thai-peanut-chicken-wonton-cupcakes.html

Here's a recipe for pork from Skinnytaste that I've tried once and really liked.  

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/10/crock-pot-asian-pork-with-mushrooms.html

Ooh I have PB2! Love it in protein shakes after the gym. Pinning!

**SITB  Me too!  I'll let you know how it goes tonight.  I wanted to try these and the buffalo "cupcakes" too.  

mrsdee15

I've made this recipe for slow cooker Cuban pork, and it was awesome.  It's great for lettuce wraps or tacos the next day also.  Good luck with your planning! We're trying to do the same thing right now.

http://www.closetcooking.com/2013/03/cuban-roast-pork-lechon-asado.html

[Deleted User]

What about some stuffed peppers with ground turkey? You could omit the rice or make cauliflower rice on the side!  

maeday2

You are a stronger woman than I am to go 100 days without my favorite carbs.

No booze? 

Please tell me this is going to be like vegetarians who eat sausage when it comes to alcohol?

theartistformerlyknownas

maeday2 said:

You are a stronger woman than I am to go 100 days without my favorite carbs.

No booze? 

Please tell me this is going to be like vegetarians who eat sausage when it comes to alcohol?

I can have wine and beer! 

maeday2