2020 Week 23 Menu Plan
The 2020 week 23 menu plan has a combination of new recipes, plant based recipes, tried and true recipes and eat again meals. I have also decided to spend some time reviewing past menus. Overtime I have forgotten about successful meals which I also neglected adding to pinterest boards. It would be great to include some of those in future planning.
Breakfast
Last week I pulled a breakfast portion out of the freezer, thinking it was BAM cake. It happened to be a piece of cinnamon pecan baked pancake. I had forgotten just how much I liked this recipe. It is a Trim Healthy Mama S recipe and so good, thus I am putting it on the 2020 week 23 menu plan. I have also discovered a new pancake recipe, which I am interested in trying.
Lunch
The lunches planned for the week feature a lot of plant based meals most of which are repeats. A new recipe for vegetable wraps looks intriguing as does a new keto taco soup. I really have come to rely on soups and left over dinners to make lunches simpler. When we were not “social distancing” and I was out and about during the day, I didn’t want to worry about lunch prep. Hopefully that time will return soon.
Dinner
The 2020 week 23 menu is filled with several cook once/eat twice meals, family favorite Greek turkey burgers and marinated chicken. There is only one new recipe…the chicken enchilada soup, which I hope will also service a lunch in week 24.
Hits and Misses
Several of the new recipes that I tried last week were plant based experiments. The first great find was for these protein bars. They are really great. The ‘Ole Buckeye has really enjoyed them. The only draw back is that they need to be eaten very soon after taking them out of the refrigerator. They are definitely not suitable to carry in a pocket or purse for snacking on the go.
I had to laugh about this sweet potato preparation. We actually had it for a dinner as well as a lunch (whole potato for dinner, 1/2 for lunch). The reason for the giggle, I received an email from Kroger highlighting specials which included a suggestion for a healthy meal. The Thai Sweet Potato, which we had enjoyed all week, was their highlighted recipe.
Sweet Potato with Thai Peanut Sauce
This plant based sweet potato split pea soup although very good, will most likely not be considered for rotational eating. I have other great soups incorporating split peas. Although many of those are not necessarily plant based, I think they could be easily revised.
Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Split Pea Soup
The Spaghetti Squash was reviewed on previous post.
Million Dollar Spaghetti Squash Casserole
The one thing that is appealing to me at this point with the inclusion of more plant based meals it the addition of whole grain pasta. I really enjoy pasta and have actually craved it on our low carb eating plan. This Puttanesca was delicious and will definitely reappear. We enjoyed it twice last week. The second time I added anchovies for the ‘Ole Buckeye (making it more authentic) and chopped kalamato olives on top as a garnish. Excellent.
Food for Thought
I have a new favorite food prep hack. We happen to use a lot of jalapeño peppers. Several of my new soup and salad recipes call for them as well as our guacamole and chili con queso favorites. In fact my con queso calls for 12 jalapeños. Over time the ‘Ole Buckeye and I have become more and more sensitive to the peppers especially when cutting them into halves and removing the seeds. The capsaicin in the pepper, which makes it “hot”, can cause coughing and sneezing…even shortness of breath. My new hack for deseeding the pepper is oh so simple. Cut the pepper in half and using a melon baller, remove the seeds by doing a quick scrape down the inside of the pepper. Voila! Seeds removed quickly and easily.
Recap
Learning about food and researching new recipes has become almost all encompassing. I sometimes feel that I am spending too much time planning and preparing. During the current pandemic, it has been so helpful to be organized, especially when running a quick grocery errand is not what we want to do. Yesterday the ‘Ole Buckeye went to Costco for the first time in over 2 months. He had a good experience, finding it well managed. It was definitely cheaper than having them deliver. We also did a Kroger pickup, quick, easy and free—yes Kroger offers free pickup as well as honoring specials and coupons.
As we continue to adapt to the new normal, we also are more cognizant of the healthy benefits of whole foods. I realize more and more that our groceries come from the perimeter of the store, rather than the center. Actually, at Costco, the back of the store rather than the aisles. We have definitely become fresh food advocates. The journey continues. Bon Appetit.
