menu plan // 04.13.13

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Firstly, I must thank my awesome sister-in-love Marissa, for sharing her menu plans with me for the last month. She diligently plans each meal her sweet family will enjoy each week! She inspired me to start planning breakfast and lunch as well, and has shared many tips on how to get it all done and stay within budget! Thank you Marissa!

April 13-19, 2013

13 Saturday

Breakfast: Eggs, Avocado Slices, Kiwi Fruit, Banana & clementines
Lunch: Order pizza
Dinner: Raid the Pantry/Fridge (fend for yourself)

14 Sunday

Breakfast: Blender Banana Oat Pancakes (first time trying these :)
Lunch: Leftover Pizza
Dinner: Salmon Cakes (Practical Paleo pg. 310) Mashed Faux-Tatoes (Practical Paleo pg. 344) and Sauteed Cabbage

15 Monday

Breakfast: Banana Bread Muffins
Lunch: Hard Boiled Eggs, raspberries & blueberries, cucumber slices, carrot sticks, and avocado slices
Snack: Raw cheese & apple slices
Dinner: Blackeyed Peas (soaked the night before) and Cornbread with sauteed Collard Greens, and Sauerkraut (Bubbies brand)

16 Tuesday

Breakfast: Monkey Salad (will probably sub another nut for the cashews.)
Lunch: Baked Sweet Potato & Kale (Whole Food Kitchen recipe)
Snack: Popcorn & Smoothies
Dinner: Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

17 Wednesday

Breakfast: Personal Baked Eggs with Greens & Bacon
Lunch: Applegate Farms Hot Dogs or Almond Butter Sandwiches with fruit
Snack: Kale chips & raw cheese
Dinner: Super Porktastic Bacon-Topped Spinach and Mushroom Meatloaf (will use ground grass-fed beef from the farm)

18 Thursday

Breakfast: Berries, coconut flakes, chocolate chips, almonds, and almond milk (aka: "Cereal")
Lunch: Salad & Leftovers
Snack: Cuties & Larabars (on sale and had a coupon this week)
Dinner: Mustard Glazed Chicken (Practical Paleo pg. 266) Honey Glazed Carrots, & Sauerkraut

19 Friday

Breakfast: Omelets
Lunch: Avocado Chicken Salad in lettuce leaves
Snack: baby carrots, cucumber slices & "Ranch" dip (homemade with yogurt)
Dinner: Grain-Free Mini Pizzas & Pepperoni Pizza with Gluten-Free Crust

menu plan // 04.06.13

Here's my plan for this week.
We're going a little lighter on the meat because my budget has little wiggle room, and to ensure good quality, meat is something we do not skimp on.
I only planned dinners this week (hoping we have leftovers), but have in recent weeks planned breakfast and lunch which was an enormous help. I plan to get back to that next week.
Special thanks to my amazing Sister-In-Love, Marissa for sharing her plans week after week and inspiring me!
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Saturday

Pizza Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Pepperoni Pizza (dough in freezer)

Sunday

Vegan "Cheesy" Spaghetti Squash Bake with Salad (I'll use this as my base recipe and use cooked spaghetti squash instead of pasta.)

Monday

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Hash
(Beans will soak as per Nourishing Traditions)

Tuesday

Winter Squash and Sausage Soup
Crockpot

Wednesday

Salmon Cakes with Faux-tatoes and sauteed cabbage

Thursday

Blackeyed Peas and Cornbread
(Beans and rice will soak as per Nourishing Traditions)

Friday

Pizza - Roasted Apple, Butternut Squash, and Caramelized Onion Pizza
(experimenting with Gluten-Free varieties)

5AM

Today I have been up since 5AM...bleh! Not by choice...I think this baby boy is re-wiring my internal clock. I predict he will be awake around 5AM every morning once he joins this world, because that's usually when I am laying in bed wide awake these days!
I figured if I was up I may as well make it as enjoyable as possible.
I came downstairs while everyone was still sleeping and dove into all my cookbooks and magazines to prepare this weeks menu. I also wanted to get a head start on meals I would like to prepare while my Mom is here, and for when the baby comes in about 3 WEEKS!
I prepared my breakfast of choice these days: toast with butter and jam

I have received many fabulous homemade jams from friends lately. Alaskan Blueberry Spice, Alaskan Raspberry, and this one just yesterday from a sweet new Momma friend:
Alaskan Lowbush Cranberry and Banana. Boy, was it YUMMY!
I prepared a steamy hot latte as well, and enjoyed digging through my books and planning many yummy meals.

As I was sitting in church yesterday, I was suddenly struck with a bit of panic, realizing that our baby boy is due to join us in LESS THAN A MONTH! 3 weeks! We're ready to meet him, and as ready as we can be for a newborn to come and live with us!
Happy Monday!