The 2020 week 37 menu plan is complete. Luckily I have a great supply of meals in the freezer. Unluckily I have no more freezer space. It is time to utilize what is already prepared and not only increase my freezer space, but also actually clean the freezer and reorganize it.
Breakfast
The 2020 week 37 breakfast plan finishes the breakfast casserole and utilizes both the peach cobbler and the giant breakfast pancake that are housed in the garage freezer. The one new recipe planned is highly intriguing to me. My daughter introduced me to Starbucks egg bites. This particular recipe is from one of my new favorite blogs…flavcity.com. I have not tried many of their recipes, so I am anxious to try this one.
Lunch
I will continue with soups for lunch during week 37. In fact, more often than not, the soups tend to feed us for more additional lunches than I had planned. Soup is a quick heat and serve and works when the two of us are on separate schedules midday. I have two more new soups planned, the chili and the Italian. I purchased two large portobello mushrooms and plan to create my own version of pizza with some leftover alfredo sauce.
Italian White Bean and Spinach Soup
Dinner
Dinners for 2020 week 37 utilize many freezer cook once/eat again offerings. No surprises and no new recipes are planned, making for a relatively easy tour of duty in the kitchen most evenings.
Hits and Misses
I have found a new and reliable quick healthy breakfast. Months ago, maybe years ago, I made these egg white muffins found in Trim Healthy Table. Why haven’t I made these since then? So easy. Put some chopped spinach, chopped tomatoes, and any other chopped veggies that you like in the bottom of muffin cups, fill with white egg whites and bake until done. Baking time is determined by the size of the cups. I use large silicone cups and they bake for 30-40 minutes. Delish and they keep/freeze well too.
The Cream of Spinach and Chicken Soup from page 112 of Trim Healthy Table was delicious. A great crock pot recipe that was not only easy, but a healthy cook once/eat several times lunch. I picked the recipe because the ‘Ole Buckeye loves creamed spinach…he also loved this soup. This will be added to family favorites!
Cream of Spinach and Chicken Soup
I have never in the past tried to make Thai dishes. In fact I learned quite late in life to truly enjoy Thai food, but that was at Thai Restaurants. This spring I planted Thai Basil and since it was overgrowing the pot, I decided to utilize it. The Thai chicken salad became an eat again meal, so I decided that my planned burgers for the beginning of the week should be Thai as well, with the left over salad as a side. Great decision, because these burgers were outstanding. They will definitely be on future menus!
With our family favorite chicken enchiladas I served guacamole salad. This has become a summer favorite at our house and it even keeps fairly well for additional enjoyment. I have included the recipe link once again in case you missed it.
The biggest accomplishment for the week for me was the dessert on Labor Day. We had our favorite Club Marinated Chicken (Marriott Chicken) and the meal was fairly easy. I decided to go all out on dessert. We had a Keto Coconut Cream Pie. Wow! Blue Ribbon worthy. (It was made with a whipped cream top…next time I will try a meringue top to recapture a true childhood memory.)
Food for Thought
Avoid canola oil and vegetable oil. These oils are so highly processed and refined changing them from a polyunsaturated fat to trans fat making them toxic to the body. They are also mass produced using GMO vegetables. The best oil to use for cooking is olive oil. For really high heat used for frying avocado oil is the best choice however it is quite expensive. Organic expeller pressed oils are cheaper alternatives for frying. When checking ingredients on the foods purchased at the grocery store, check for expeller pressed oils in the ingredients as well.
Recap
We enjoyed yet another great week of healthy eating. Many of the meals actually provided even more eat again meals than originally planned. As that happens I am not only grateful but can utilize those unprepared meals later. Another eating adventure lies ahead. Bon Appetit!
