The 2020 Week 18 Menu Plan is filled with old standbys and eat again meals. I have ingredients on hand to prepare all of the recipes without relying on grocery deliveries, although deliveries are planned. If I receive all that I order I may make menu changes, but I plan to keep the cooking relatively simple, allowing for more time to clean and reorganize our home.
Breakfast
The 2020 week 18 breakfast plan concentrates on THM E and Fuel Pull meals, all of which are on the regular rotation. I have both berries and pineapple that need to be utilized, as well as vegetables begging to be incorporated into healthy eating.
Lunch
The lunches planned for the week are meals that are becoming part of the rotation. The chipotle chili is a winner, and made a huge batch of smokey, spicy deliciousness. Because of its’ heat, it is extremely filling, thus creating many additional eat again lunches. Frittatas have proven to be a great way to incorporate vegetables that need to be eaten and are becoming more and more desirable for any meal.
Dinner
2020 Week 18 dinner plans include the last of our Green Chef dinners. There was a great deal of menu juggling last week due to a delayed delivery by Green Chef. (Arriving Friday instead of Tuesday). Luckily rearranging meals was easily handled. Wednesday will be a night out/in evening. The East Beach community has lined up a local food truck each Wednesday in order to support local business. The food tends to be off plan, but all of us have a craving for gyros, which is on the menu at Pittsburg’s Best Food Truck. The queso chicken bake moved from last week to this week, but all of the other entrees are rotation repeats.
Hits and Misses
Breakfast
Since we have enjoyed the BAM waffles so much and my waffle maker has proved to be quite dependable, I decided to branch out. When I put these 5 ingredient waffles on the menu plan I designated that they were an E breakfast. I was wrong. These waffles fall into the THM S category. Not only were they very good…light and fluffy, but they can be served with butter and sausage or bacon on the side. The only change I would make to the recipe is completely omitting the stevia. Sweetness was unneeded. I did however add vanilla.
OK, so I broke away from the menu plan. Weeks ago I had planned the biscuits and gravy but did not take the time to make them. I surprised the ‘Ole Buckeye on Sunday morning with this special treat. He was in heaven. I can’t explain how decadent this savory breakfast is. Over the top.
Keto Sausage Biscuits and Gravy
Lunch
So, I mistakenly classified the 5 ingredient waffles as an E…I also was wrong about the chili. I thought it was an S, but clearly it is an E. It makes a huge pot of smokey well seasoned deliciousness. There are not many E meals that would be satisfying enough for dinner, but this would be one of them. It is clearly a cook once/eat again and again recipe.
Sweet and Smokey Chipotle Chili
Occasionally I find a recipe that sounds good enough to satisfy an occasional sweet tooth. I especially like something quick, easy and pantry friendly. This concoction was ok…the ‘Ole Buckeye was not a fan, but my daughter loved it.
I was so looking forward to recapturing my mom’s ham and beans and dumplings and I found this recipe on the internet. The ham and beans were excellent…the dumplings a huge disappointment. I didn’t realize that my mom’s recipe is part of the family cookbook. Bummer. I have leftover ham in the freezer, so I plan to make this again using her dumpling recipe (which is much different than this one). Dried navy beans have been added to my grocery list!
For the second time I made this lemon cake. The first time I took it to my son’s as a dessert contribution for dinner. It was gone in a flash. I wanted to recreate it, so that we could actually enjoy it after several meals this week. This is very close to a lemon pound cake and we totally enjoyed every bite.
Recap
I will again attest to the quality and flavor of meals from Green Chef. It was unfortunate that our delivery was several days late, but luckily we weren’t totally tied to a schedule. We enjoyed all three meals, but the Shrimp with Ginger Lime Aioli was outstanding! If we could only figure out the sauce.
Food for Thought
I will admit that I am not a tea drinker. The ‘Ole Buckeye likes iced tea. I occasionally like hot tea, but usually only drink it consistently if I have a cold or sinus congestion. I am attempting to rectify that. The more research I do on various teas, the more I have deemed it important to include them in my daily routine…green tea in particular.
Benefits of drinking green tea include reducing inflammation, fighting cancer, improving brain function, and increasing the burning of fat, among other things. I have not been a great fan of the flavor, but accidentally purchased this…
I am loving the mild peach infusion. This will truly make beefing up healthy eating/drinking more enjoyable.
It’s a Wrap
I will admit that the social distancing and staying at home for this “home body” has not been as life changing for me as it has for many. I really miss hugging my grand girls and occasionally running errands. It has probably been fortunate that we are experiencing a rainy, cool spring which would have kept me indoors regardless of the pandemic. I continue to be extremely vigilant about food availability. I not only plan my menus, but also try to keep my freezer and pantry stocked. We continue through this new reality one day at a time, but maintain our goal of eating healthy as we do. Bon Appetit.
