While it’s true that we are now migrating our cooking choices to be compatible with a pre-diabetic diet, it is our goal to also make this a migration to healthier eating over all (as we hope to beat The Tinker’s pre-diabetes diagnosis and get all those percentages and statistics back into the normal range.) So while we may not hit the target with a bullseye on every meal, we’ll keep moving in the right direction.

We got a bit of a setback as I came down with the flu which then morphed into bronchitis and it essentially flattened me for almost two weeks. Fortunately we had the first week’s meals planned and largely consumed before I took to bed, and the pantry and freezers were stocked with more health-friendly foods (and less frozen pizza) that before the first of the year. Here’s week one:

Monday
Blackened Salmon – I buy this salmon frozen (in portions) in the bag at Sam’s Club. It’s wonderful, spicy seasoning is delicious, and it’s super easy to fix, just pop in the oven for about 20 minutes.
Red Pepper Quinoa – Near East boxed, according to directions. I love Near East’s foods!
Peas

Tuesday

Tomato Spinach Chicken Spaghetti – we really like quinoa pasta, which boosts the protein and cuts the carbs right out of this quick meal.

Wednesday
Taco Stuffed Peppers – I used 90/10 ground beef in this, but it would be equally good I think with ground turkey.
Salad (mixed greens, craisins, slivered almonds, and julienned multi-color bell peppers with balsamic vinegar) – I wanted to tie the salad to the meal, so using the tops of the peppers and julienning (word?) them was the perfect bridge.

Thursday
Oven fried cod – I used Jan’s recipe for Oven Fried Fish,  except I crushed up whole wheat crackers to use instead of the panko. I think for the difference in flavor versus the additional carbs, I’ll go back to the panko next time for that lovely crunchiness.
Roasted carrots with walnuts and honey (favor burst variation 1 in the recipe) – rustic and earthy, and a nice burst of color next to the fish.
Cucumber + avocado salad  . My niece found this recipe and shared it on BookFace; it looked so good we made it that night. This would be super refreshing when it’s hot out, but was still a nice burst of freshness in the winter. Tip: eat this in one sitting. The flavors and the avocados aren’t as vibrant the next day.

Friday
Pantry Chili – I was pleased to find some of my favorite recipes are compatible with the “new lifestyle”, and pantry chili most definitely is as long as it’s with lean meat. The 90/10 beef suited the bill.
Whole wheat saltines – picked these up at the local grocery to see if they passed The Tinker’s taste test, and he actually likes them BETTER than regular saltines! Woo hoo!

Saturday and Sunday – and the beginning of the flu. The Tinker made due with Pantry Chili part II on Saturday night, and soft tacos using the leftover stuffed pepper filling on whole wheat tortilla shells on Sunday. For a treat, he made the Ol’ Buckeye’s amazing guacamole – we’ll have to see if we can get the Ol’ Buckeye to share.

I’d absolutely make every single one of these recipes again, so they will go into the rotation.

I’m finally recovered (mostly), so will be picking up the slack in meal planning and prep again – can’t wait to try some of my sisters’ ideas as well!