Winter Meal Plan – 8

 

	Breakfast	Snack 1	Lunch	Snack 2	Dinner
Monday	2 Scrambled eggs and a grapefruit	25 almonds or other nuts or seeds available	Farro Salad and Apple	String Cheese	Cabbage Rolls
Tuesday	Omelet and banana	Yogurt	Cabbage Rolls and apple	Gorilla bar	Grilled Chicken, Farro Salad, steamed broccoli
Wednes-day	2 Scrambled eggs and a grapefruit	Yogurt and 25 almonds or other nuts or seeds available	Cabbage Rolls and apple	Banana and String Cheese or favorite cheese	Leftovers
Thursday	Omelet and a banana	Dried fruit and nut/seeds	Tuna Sandwich and apple	Gorilla bar	Salmon roasted in butter and Sautéed green beans
Friday	Omelet and grapefruit	Yogurt and banana	Farro salad and apple	Hummus and carrots	Pan Roasted Chicken with steamed green beans and rice
Saturday	English Muffin Breakfast Sandwich and Grapefruit	String cheese or favorite cheese and nuts	Tuna sandwich and apple	Popcorn	Leftovers
Sunday	French Toast and citrus	Dried fruit and string cheese	Tuna sandwich and apple	Hummus and carrots	Steak Tacos

 

In order to save time and money, I make a meal plan every week. This is my meal plan for next week.

Also, I like to have a good mix of quick to grab convenience foods and fast prep meals interwoven into my week. I have lots of recipes that are consistently in our diet, but I also like to try new recipes. Next week I will be trying a couple of new recipes that get pretty high ratings on other cooking sites.

Anyway, happy cooking everyone!

 

Farro Salad

Every month we take a trip to Costco to load up on bulk items, such as flour, rice, canned beans, and canned tomatoes, etc… I have to admit, I love shopping there. Sure at first the crazed busy shopper experience got on my nerves, but now I am a pro. I know how to navigate the store, going in a counter clockwise direction around the store. This navigational trail seems to put us out of the course of frenzied craziness and only on the outskirts of traffic. If you must put yourself through the gauntlet of traffic, wait no, you want to swim upstream at this store!

Anyway, last week I picked up a large sack of farro, thinking hmmm… I have never had farro before. Looks healthy… says its organic… I wonder what that tastes like… Sold! (So if any of you have farro recipes, send them my way!)

Farro tastes like rice and barley mixed together. It has a nice chewiness to it. I made a cold salad out of it which was such a delicious side dish to grilled chicken, but also ate it on its on as a lunch. Anyway, enjoy everyone.

Ingredients

Argentinian Inspired Empanadas

These Argentinian Empanadas are so delicious. I like to add extra veggies to them to make them more well rounded.

creative noshing

I have had a pretty blah day. Nothing much happened except I watched a few movies that I recorded over the weekend. I pulled a muscle in yoga class the other day. Went too deep into a back bend, so I am out of commission until I re-cooperate.  It was stupid and I was foolishly trying to be too competitive with myself. I should have known when my yoga instructor said, “Wow, you are really going deep into your back” and my chest swelled with pride that that was a bad sign. It isn’t the first idiotic thing I have ever done and by far it is not the worst. A saying that we had at my last job was, “for every idiot proof system devised, a new improved idiot will arise and overcome it.” Oh well. So I bring you an empanada that I made last week to use up…

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Berry Smoothie

I love smoothies! Especially when I have a sweets craving and I don’t want to turn to a cookie.

creative noshing

Below is my favorite smoothie recipe. Of course you could add a few of your favorite fruits: mango, papaya, pineapple, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, etc… That’s what I love about smoothies, they are so versatile.

If you have any leftovers, you can place in a container and freeze. Later you can scrape it for a delicious fruit ice similar to a granita. A healthy and delicious sweet treat.

Today in yoga, our instructor read a Rumi poem called the guest house that really struck a chord with me. Enjoy!

THE GUEST HOUSE

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out

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Mixed Vinaigrette

This vinaigrette is easy and delicious. The perfect quick dressing for a work week lunch and nice enough for company.

creative noshing

Over the past year, with all of the fresh produce available to me, I have become a salad convert. Where I use to cringe at the the thought of a salad, now I delight in the idea of creatively bringing the salad together.

First and foremost are the veggies and fruits available through my CSA and local farmers markets. This week, alongside all the apricots, plums, broccoli, celery, and fresh mixed greens were the first picks of Gravenstein apples and lots and lots of zucchini and squash, not a problem, I love these items. I chose to grill my zucchini giving it a charred smokiness. To round out the succulent smokiness, I used the tart crunchy apple and sweet plum.

When choosing a protein for my salad this week, I chose to heighten the smokiness with bacon and used a Toma cheese which is a semi-hard cheese that has a buttery flavor with a…

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Comfort

To grow, you need to become comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Cuban Chicken

An earthy spice rub marries well with the bright citrus marinade! Enjoy.

creative noshing

I have been practicing yoga for three years now and I am still in the beginner classes, but life is about the journey. I have to accept where I am at and trust that one day, the beginner classes will seem easy to me and I will know when it is time to move on.  Anyway, today in yoga class, my instructor brought up the idea of complimentary contradictions.

In yoga, for example, we have to put our bodies through positions that may seem contradictory, in order to get freer and more open. I guess you could apply that way of thinking to all parts of life, such as last night, when I returned home from the grocery store starving. These are my weak moments when I want some fatty deliciousness, instead I fed myself something more complimentary to our new goal of practicing moderation. This flavorful chicken is great…

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Winter Meal Plan – 7

	Breakfast	Snack 1	Lunch	Snack 2	Dinner
Monday	Oatmeal with Dried or Fresh Fruit	25 almonds or other nuts or seeds available	Kale and White Bean Soup and Apple	String Cheese or favorite cheese	Lasagna with a Side Salad
Tuesday	2 Scrambled eggs  and a grapefruit	Dried fruits and seeds	Leftovers	Yogurt	Fennel Roasted Salmon and a side salad
Wednes-day	Oatmeal with Dried or Fresh Fruit	25 almonds or other nuts or seeds available	Frozen Black bean and cheese burrito and apple	String Cheese or favorite cheese	Veggie Burger, side salad, oven fries
Thursday	Toast with jam and a yogurt	Hummus and snap peas	Kale and White Bean Soup and apple	banana and string cheese	Cuban Chicken with Mexico Inspired Rice
Friday	Berry Smoothie	Granola bar	Salad and 25 almonds	Hummus and carrots	Leftovers
Saturday	2 scrambled eggs and a banana	String cheese or favorite cheese	Apple Cheddar Bagel-wich	Hummus and cherry tomatoes	Argentinian Empanadas with side salad
Sunday	2 scrambled eggs and a banana	Hummus and carrots	Out to Eat	Yogurt	Leftovers

 

In order to save time and money, I make a meal plan every week. This is my meal plan for next week.

Also, I like to have a good mix of quick to grab convenience foods and fast prep meals interwoven into my week. I have lots of recipes that are consistently in our diet, but I also like to try new recipes. Next week I will be trying a couple of new recipes that get pretty high ratings on other cooking sites.

Anyway, happy cooking everyone!

 

Banana Crumb Muffins

I love bananas and I love banana flavored baked goods. These are the perfect grab and go breakfast.

creative noshing

I had three bananas sitting in my fruit bowl getting spotty brown. No longer good for a peel and eat, but perfect sugary candidates for these banana muffins.  My husband is a banana bread fan. Well, actually he loves anything banana flavored. With that in mind, of course,  I have a tried and true banana bread recipe.  However, to mix things up, I decided to make muffins and found this highly rated recipe online.

The batter seemed a little stiff, like pound cake batter and I was a little worried that my muffins would be dense. They actually turned out nice and light and the streusel topping really made these. A perfect quick item to grab on your way out the door in the morning.

Banana Crumb Muffins

Banana Crumb Muffin

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 bananas…

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Peas and Carrots

Sometimes the best sides are very basic preparations. This brings out the sweetness in each veggie.

creative noshing

What is more of a quintessential side dish than peas and carrots? It reminds me of 1950’s homemakers who wore pearls, heels, and dresses while vacuuming, ironing, and cooking with babies in toe. A time in American history where women were truly on the cusp grabbing their independence, but it had not happened quite yet.

Later, during my youth, you would find mediocre versions of peas and carrots packed in TV dinner trays. Although waterlogged and tasteless, they were a direct hearkening to flavors reminiscent of times gone by, but not quite forgotten. I thought it was about time to try to make it from scratch myself, since I am too young to have memories of the real McCoy.

Though I have to admit, I wasn’t wearing heels, pearls or a dress; more like blue jeans and a sacrificial t-shirt since I am a messy chef— I know outrageous right?! Anyway, the subtle sweet flavors…

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