This will be my first Menu Plan Monday in weeks - rest assured we have actually been eating, LOL. I'm in the midst of reworking my Eight Week Menu Plan so that will come shortly. But here's the first week while I finish up the full plan.
Monday ~ Spaghetti Bolognaise (garlic bread, salad)
Tuesday ~ Chicken Burgers
Wednesday ~ Birthday dinner out with family (normally this would be Frittata and salad)
Thursday ~ Beef Stirfry (rice or noodles - haven't decided yet)
Friday ~ Fridge & Freezer Fare (ie, leftovers and freezer meals, or 'Fend For Yourself Friday', LOL)
Saturday ~ Crockpot Chicken Casserole with Dumplings
Sunday ~ Roast Chicken Dinner (baked potatoes, vegies, gravy)
If you've read anywhere else on Lizzie's Home you'll see weight loss is a big part of my life right now, LOL. Or the idea of it at least! So I'm going to approach these meals with the view to altering them as I go along - something like this:
Monday ~ Portion controlled pasta, no garlic bread, and large salad.
Tuesday ~ Plain baked chicken breast steak (not the crumbd and frozen type) with two pieces of wholegrain toast instead of a bun (the others will have the bun), fill 'er up with salad and a little low fat sauce.
Wednesday ~ This one will be tricky. All I can really hope for is to have the conviction to choose something healthy!
Thursday ~ The meal itself is really healthy, but the noodles/rice are a danger zone for me. I have to learn to steer clear of rice for a while - even in modest serves, I bloat up like a balloon. I'll have a half cup of whatever carb I serve up on the night and try not to drool at the others' plates, sigh.
Friday ~ I'm making a batch of soup this week for two of my lunches, so there's that option, as well as simple sandwiches, eggs and so on. This one is easy.
Saturday ~ Hmmm. Not sure about this one. I don't have a recipe yet so it's hard to work out. I'll probably have a small dumpling (it's more like a crust) and heap the casserole with vegies. The sauce, I don't know. Anyone have any non-creamy sauce recipes with which to base the casserole around?
Sunday ~ Breast meat, skin removed. Portion controlled potatoes, loads of vegies. Oh, and I figured out a while back that the 'lite' gravy powder I'd been buying was HIGHER in calories than the regular stuff, and it tasted like cardboard. But I put up with it because, well, it was 'lite'. Check your boxes folks! The good stuff tastes so much nicer.
For Lunches: I have two diet books (gosh I hate that term) that follow along with the basic plan I'm on. I thought I'd make a new batch of soup (there are a few good recipes in the books) each week for lunches (mixing it up with sandwiches and salads). I'm also going to be baking some time this coming weekend, so (eek!) fingers crossed for that. Maybe it's good that baking day (Sunday) is right before my weekly weigh-in - if it had been earlier in the week, I'd have been tempted to eat lots because weigh-in was 'so far away' and I'd think I could get away with it!
So there you have it. One week of meals including variations for a dieter, LOL.
For more Menu Plan Monday participants, swing on by I'm An Organizing Junkie :)
Cheers,
Lizzie
Monday ~ Spaghetti Bolognaise (garlic bread, salad)
Tuesday ~ Chicken Burgers
Wednesday ~ Birthday dinner out with family (normally this would be Frittata and salad)
Thursday ~ Beef Stirfry (rice or noodles - haven't decided yet)
Friday ~ Fridge & Freezer Fare (ie, leftovers and freezer meals, or 'Fend For Yourself Friday', LOL)
Saturday ~ Crockpot Chicken Casserole with Dumplings
Sunday ~ Roast Chicken Dinner (baked potatoes, vegies, gravy)
If you've read anywhere else on Lizzie's Home you'll see weight loss is a big part of my life right now, LOL. Or the idea of it at least! So I'm going to approach these meals with the view to altering them as I go along - something like this:
Monday ~ Portion controlled pasta, no garlic bread, and large salad.
Tuesday ~ Plain baked chicken breast steak (not the crumbd and frozen type) with two pieces of wholegrain toast instead of a bun (the others will have the bun), fill 'er up with salad and a little low fat sauce.
Wednesday ~ This one will be tricky. All I can really hope for is to have the conviction to choose something healthy!
Thursday ~ The meal itself is really healthy, but the noodles/rice are a danger zone for me. I have to learn to steer clear of rice for a while - even in modest serves, I bloat up like a balloon. I'll have a half cup of whatever carb I serve up on the night and try not to drool at the others' plates, sigh.
Friday ~ I'm making a batch of soup this week for two of my lunches, so there's that option, as well as simple sandwiches, eggs and so on. This one is easy.
Saturday ~ Hmmm. Not sure about this one. I don't have a recipe yet so it's hard to work out. I'll probably have a small dumpling (it's more like a crust) and heap the casserole with vegies. The sauce, I don't know. Anyone have any non-creamy sauce recipes with which to base the casserole around?
Sunday ~ Breast meat, skin removed. Portion controlled potatoes, loads of vegies. Oh, and I figured out a while back that the 'lite' gravy powder I'd been buying was HIGHER in calories than the regular stuff, and it tasted like cardboard. But I put up with it because, well, it was 'lite'. Check your boxes folks! The good stuff tastes so much nicer.
For Lunches: I have two diet books (gosh I hate that term) that follow along with the basic plan I'm on. I thought I'd make a new batch of soup (there are a few good recipes in the books) each week for lunches (mixing it up with sandwiches and salads). I'm also going to be baking some time this coming weekend, so (eek!) fingers crossed for that. Maybe it's good that baking day (Sunday) is right before my weekly weigh-in - if it had been earlier in the week, I'd have been tempted to eat lots because weigh-in was 'so far away' and I'd think I could get away with it!
So there you have it. One week of meals including variations for a dieter, LOL.
For more Menu Plan Monday participants, swing on by I'm An Organizing Junkie :)
Cheers,
Lizzie
9 comments:
So funny: I'm trying to lose weight and I'm trying to work out a multi-week rotation for menus! I've come to the right place! I love how organized you are, and how you've planned the main meal and how you'll adjust it for yourself. Now that my babies (3 and almost 2) are eating "big people food" I find that they're driving my meal plans. I used to just make food that had the right number of Weight Watchers points, now I try to get food that is more kid friendly. Your system might be just what I need: thanks! Have a terrific week!
Gosh, you know you're heavily into blogging when you say 'round the blog' instead of 'round the BLOCK', LOL.
Cheers,
Lizzie
Mamasutra -
I've been round and round the blog on the issue of menu planning. For a very long time it's either been 'family friendly favourites' OR it has been 'healthy menu', but not together. Not that we were eating horrendously before, LOL, but more so that the meals weren't in proportion to the amounts of foods I was meant to eat - ie, higher in carbs, or too much fat, etc. All my 'healthy' recipes got the big thumbs down from the troops, auugh. So I'm trying to get into the habit of planning 'normal' family meals like spaghetti, and burgers, and roast dinners but carefully modifying them as I go, or (in rare occasions) subbing in something else for me from the freezer stash (one example of this might be hot dog night - totally off diet and though not nutritious at ALL (LOL) we tend to have this on the menu every month or so, or as an emergency dinner, that kind of thing). I've got to learn to add in an extra salad or some steamed vegies as well - on 'lazy' spaghetti nights I'll often just serve up pasta and bolognaise sauce, without the garlic bread and salad.
There's not too many meals in my rotation at the moment that would require and out-and-out different meal altogether for me, and that's the whole point. I can't see why you couldn't find a happy medium between kid friendly food and mom friendly food, LOL. Just restrict your portions and load up with extras like vegies and salad. Skip the carb-rich sides (I know, it hurts!). Look for kid friendly healthy recipes that LOOK bad for them but aren't (homemade chicken nuggets rather than the frozen type, homemade pizza rather than frozen or pizza place). Hide vegies in pasta sauces. Another thing I do is to serve a platter of fruit plus one *small* treat item each day for morning or afternoon tea - this can be homebaked (and after seeing my September Financial Spring Clean figures, auugh, next month will be ALL homemade, LOL) or simple 'treat' foods like microwave popcorn. Try the cottage rolls recipe in the Lizzie's Cookbook link - my kids RAVE about them and with the exception of the high-fat pastry, they look and taste naughty but they aren't (you could even make your own pastry - something I've not yet tried).
Also, the plan I'm on is one where I'm not counting calories. I was a big calorie counter for a LONG time and I've just had to give it up because a) it wasn't working and b) long term, its hard to keep up. My problem is not the cal content of foods, amazingly. Sounds weird but it's true. It's not the full-fat cheese or milk or the extra slice or two of bread I have - it's the JUNK. So I think as long as you're getting your recommended servings a day and being honest about the rest, losing weight should get a little easier.
Don't take my word for it though - have you seen my weight loss stats? LOLOL....
Cheers,
Lizzie
Happy Monday!
Sounds yummy!
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(¸.·´ (¸.·’ * Annie *
Great ideas for weight loss menus! Have a great week!
that Chicken casserole sounds delicious. Happy Monday.
Great looking menu, everything looks yummy!!!
Happy MPM!
Sandra
Fridge and Freezer fare... now that's novel! What a good idea, and nice to meet you.
You might be interested to know that Marriage Monday has a new home. If you're planning to share your marriage wisdom this week (open topic), I'd love to have you link up at Chrysalis.
Blessings, e-Mom
I've lost over 20 pounds since our family started following the diabetic diet.
We still get to eat our favorites -just low fat, no sugar and smaller portions.
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