2023 Week 3 Menu Plan

2023 week 3 menu plan is complete.

Breakfast

Chia Seed Pudding

Bust-a-Myth Banana Cake Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook page 298

Berry Oatmeal Bake

Lunch

Greek Egg Lemon Soup

Lentil Chili

Dinner

Puttanesca

Gochujang-Glazed Salmon with Quick Pickled Cucumbers

Tex Mex Skillet

Apple Cranberry Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese

Greek Chicken Bake

Salmon with Lemon, Capers, and Rosemary

Roasted Cauliflower with Tumeric and Cumin

Hits and Misses

Fruit smoothies are not the ‘Ole Buckeye’s favorites because he doesn’t feel satisfied. He needs something to chew. Although this was my complete breakfast, he supplemented his oatmeal with it. I added collagen and baobab for extra protein and nutrition. I will add less or no honey the next time…it wasn’t needed.

Frozen Fruit Smoothie

When I am fasting I often make breakfast in advance for the ‘Ole Buckeye. Even though he forgot to add the almonds before eating, he did enjoy oatmeal. He loved that it had lots of blueberries.

Blueberry Almond Overnight Oatmeal

This burrito became a Sunday brunch rather than a midweek breakfast. In fact it could be served any time of day. Although a little precarious to eat, it was delicious and very filling. I used Ezekiel wraps. It easily serves 4.

Breakfast Burrito

This is written as a healthy version of sloppy joes. Over all it had potential, but I plan to develop this into a healthier and more “true” sloppy joe. The next time I will add ground mushrooms to the beef mixture, mash the beans to make a uniform consistency and add more spices…cumin and chili powder. It definitely has potential. I served it on warmed corn tortillas.

Sloppy Joes

I can’t remember the last time I made a vegetable soup. Since my mom made the best ever…I don’t even try. Since the plan was to prepare Food Network’s Healthy recipes, I gave this a try. It was fairly light but had great flavor. It is so nice to be able to throw together a soup and have it ready to eat in no time, without simmering all day. This Tuscan soup is just that…flavorful and chuck full of veggie goodness.

Tuscan Vegetable Soup

Did you ever make a completely new dinner menu and have your husband say “This is like dinner out”? Well that is exactly what happened when I served this meal. It was relatively easy to prepare and exceptionally good. A big plus…it is soooo healthy.

Pan Seared Salmon with Kale Apple Salad

This spinach was so easy and one of the best vegetable sides ever. Thank you Ina!

Garlic Sautéed Spinach

I will warn you…these were time consuming with a multitude of steps. I did not understand the need for the tomato sauce…actually I still don’t. The peppers with the stuffing were quite good, but the tomato sauce was not only lacking in flavor, but also completely unnecessary for this dish. i will need to attempt to use the left over tomato sauce in another way.

Vegetable and Couscous Stuffed Peppers

I have wanted to make Falafel, but was opposed to frying in a lot of oil. This recipe is baked and they were delicious. I served them with hummus rather than making the tahini sauce due to time constraints. The next time (and there will be a neat time) I will make the tahini sauce and serve with pita. Another great veggie meal.

Baked Chickpea Patties

Misses

Big Miss. This sounded interesting…it lacked flavor and made a last minute mess in the kitchen. Definitely not worth a repeat. I will serve the leftovers later in the week as a side.

Fettuccini with Creamy Feta Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

We have enjoyed some great salmon recipes. While this one is quick and easy it was too much tomato overpowering the fish. I have too many great salmon recipes to consider this as a repeat.

Salmon Baked in Foil

Recap

Wow…what a week of great healthy food. We are eating many more plant based offerings and lots of fresh salads. Since we had a chili dinner and game day with our son and lunch out with our daughter, several of the planned meals from last week moved to week 3. We continue to enjoy the discovery of unique flavors. Although food prep takes more time, it definitely pays off in both taste but more importantly health. The journey continues. Bon Appetit!