2020 Week 5 Menu Plan

The 2020 Week 5 Menu Plan features recipes from the original Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook. 

I have decided to focus on specific points of view over the next weeks and I think it will be easier to pick and plan meals by concentrating on one cookbook or one blog. If I confine my research to one resource I can concentrate on the most interesting recipes from that source.

Breakfast

The new breakfasts planned from the first cookbook include a hearty S breakfast casserole and a lighter Fuel Pull breakfast quiche. I am also attempting to make more shakes especially on mornings that the “Ole Buckeye doesn’t need a formally planned breakfast. Adding the BAM cake which is in the first cookbook, has become one of our top all time recipes from Trim Healthy Mama. In fact, I make it and freeze individual servings. It has become the ‘Ole Buckeye’s “go to” breakfast accompanied by yogurt and blueberries. 

Fussless Fuel Pull Quiche page 151

German Chocolate Shake page 413

Tuscan Sausage and Egg Bake page 152

Cottage Berry Whip page 374

Lunch

The lunches planned for week 5 2020 are all soups, three of them new recipes from the cookbook. I am also making sure that each daily plan has a least one fuel pull or E meal. We really enjoy soups and the weather is perfect for a hot meal at lunch. I am hoping that by preparing lots of soups this week I can depend on cook once/eat again lunches next week!

Zuppa Toscana page 86

Creamless Creamy Chicken page 78

Lentil Soup page 89

Cheapskate Soup page 88

Dinner

I am really excited about my dinner plans! There is a lot of cooking for the lunches this week, but I am not preparing a dinner meal until Sunday and that is “iffy” since it is Super Bowl Sunday. I am guessing that our plans might change. In addition, 2 of the new recipes planned are crock pot additions and the orange chicken I have prepared in the past with a note to make some small changes. 

Orange Chicken page 72

Wipe Your Mouth BBQ page 43

Smarty Pants Stroganoff page 44

Recap

I made several repeat recipes last week to reacquaint myself with whether they remained in the rotation mix category. The berry oat breakfast cake remains a keeper as does the Sloppy Joe Casserole, although it needs some refining. The meatball parm casserole is a family favorite and I really should make it more often. 

There were two additions not on the menu plan. I really want to incorporate more “sippers” during the day, but had not found one that I would really consider. The Zingy Moonshine seems to fit the bill and even the ‘Ole Buckeye became a sipper this week. I have finally made a batch of Briana’s baking blend, but have not used it as yet.

Berry Oat Breakfast Cake

Zingy Raspberry Good Girl Moonshine

Cast Iron Sloppy Joe Casserole

Briana’s Baking Blend

The biggest surprise this week was a fabulous new recipe for pork tenderloin. I fix pork tenderloin often and this find is wonderful and so very simple. 

Let me explain that I often listen to the Food Network when I am cooking or working in the kitchen. For some reason the ‘Ole Buckeye picked a series to watch rather that live TV. It is a series called 5 Ingredient Fix with Claire Robinson. If this recipe is any indication of her limited ingredient recipes, I am excited to explore more of them.

Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

The meatball parm casserole remains an all time family favorite. 

Meatball Parm Casserole

All in all it was a great week of eating even though I was definitely under the weather all week fighting a sinus cold that has invaded our area affectionately called “the crude”. Although I am still congested, I am definitely getting my energy back and feeling much more motivated. 

Wrap Up

Week 5 2020 is in the books. It is exciting to be back on track, even though the weight loss continues to be slow going. I can’t even seem to get back to my weight before the holidays. I became even more dejected when the ‘Ole Buckeye announced significantly more weight loss, and he isn’t even strictly on plan! Sigh.

And so we continue…good healthy eating with an organized plan. Bon Appetit!