Menu Plan Monday Week of 8/8

Another busy summer week ahead!  We will be headed up north for a long weekend so a short menu plan this week.  Enjoy!

Monday:  Leftovers from Sunday (taco fixings - reinvent them into a quesadilla or a salad!)
**tip:  I make dairy free quesadillas by spreading guac on a tortilla and frying it up with some coconut oil in a frying pan.  Tastes great!
Tuesday:  Crock pot beef tips (never got to it from last week) with green beens and rice
**recipe is from my trraditional foods menu mailer but you can find lots of recipes here

Wednesday:  Grilled skin-on chicken breasts with lemon/olive oil/basil marinade, snap peas and caprese salad

Thursday: Headed to the cabin!  (Dinner at Chipotle - great allergy-friendly kids meals!  We ask for the kids meal tacos with no shells and let Ben munch on the corn chips that they serve in a mini-bag for the kids!)

Friday - Sunday:  Cabin!

For more menu inspiration visit Orgjunkie's blog!

Nourishing Snacks

I think the biggest challenge when converting my family to a traditional foods diet (while still being allergy-friendly!) has been weaning us off processed foods almost 100%.  My cupboards used to be full of processed foods - crackers, chips, cereal, granola bars, etc.  I am proud to say they are only about 50% full now (and mostly with rice, pasta and other non-processed staples), but it will take some time to completely convert (and, let's be honest, there will always be busy times when we will have to grab a granola bar or a bowl of cereal)! 

The most challenging time of day for me comes at snack time for my little guy (and for my hubby and I)!  This is where planning and preparation are SO key.

In the past few weeks I have dug up quite a few great resources that I would like to share with you.  Even if you can implement just a couple of these "non-processed" snack ideas into your repertoire, you and your family will be that much better off!

My go-to snacks for Ben include:
Apple slices dipped in coconut milk yogurt
A sprouted corn tortilla spread with Sunbutter (we love Food For Life brand tortillas)
Frozen grapes (I keep baggies of them in the freezer) with ham or turkey roll-ups
Homemade granola and sliced grass-fed beef sausage sticks with peas (toss the sliced sausage with frozen peas!  So easy and great on-the go!)
 
Now I am/will be layering some of these ideas into the mix:

Top 10 Snacks from A Nourishing Home

Easy Pate (yes, liver pate - one of my near-term goals is implementing this incredibly nutrient-dense organ into our diets.  Everything I read and anyone I speak with who follows this diet swears by pate... my little guy loves dipping things so I think this is my best shot at getting him to eat liver!)

e-Book:  Healthy Snacks to Go by Kitchen Stewardship (I just purchased this book for $6.95 and just finished making the granola which turned out great (not soaked because I just can't have my oven on that long in the summer.  But I will do this in the winter!)  The highlight are the "LaraBar" recipes...  great for my hubby and I for pre- or post-workout snacks!)

If you have favorite homemade snacks that you would like to share, please comment here or email me! 

Happy Snacking!

Menu Plan Monday - Menu for Week August 1st

Another busy week on tap for us!  We have a couple of nights out and I am trying to layer in some vegetarian meals, as well! 

This is my last week of my menu plan with Cooking Traditional Foods.  I am thrilled with not only the plans but the education it has provided me with regards to traditional cooking techniques.  It has allowed me to learn without being overwhelmed.  I still have a long way to go, but these menus have provided my family with a solid base of recipes.  I have ventured out to find other resources, as well.  I look forward to sharing them with you here!

Monday:  Dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Tibesar!

Tuesday:  National night out...  grass fed burgers (bring your own meat) and salads (pot luck)

Wednesday:  Moroccan chickpeas

Thursday:  Whole roasted chicken with potatoes and green beans (making more bone broth!)

Friday:  Crock pot beef tips (from menu mailer)

Saturday:  Hosting our Wine Club Summer Paella Party:  Kitchen Window's Paella with a Tres Leches Cake from Cafe Latte (if you have never had this, you MUST order it for your next party!)

Sunday:  Ground turkey tacos (make your own taco seasoning via this recipe!) and all the fixings with refried beans

Pesto!

Now that my basil is in full bloom, I am starting to think about what to do with it all.  My thoughts move quickly to pesto - I love it tossed with pasta, stirred into soup in the fall and adding a dollop to a salad (or whisking right into a homemade vinaigrette!)  I received an email today with this allergen-free pesto that I will definitely be trying in the next week or two so that my whole family can enjoy it!!  I love that the recipe calls for coconut oil, as well!

You could also process your basil with salt, pepper and olive oil and divide it into ice cube trays and then add Parmesan cheese and/or pureed pine nuts to some servings and not to others.  Or just use the cubes for other sauce-making purposes!! 

Menu Plan Week of July 25th

We are back from a wonderful week-long vacation with my family.  Returning from vacation always poses a challenge, especially when we cannot just run out and grab a take and bake pizza (or something along those lines) for a quick dinner.  I ran to the store and picked up chicken tenders (quick cooking) and quickly marinated them in olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper and threw them on the grill.  As a side dish, I boiled some rice noodles and tossed them with butter, defrosted frozen peas and fresh basil from my garden for my husband and I.  My little guy had peas and noodles tossed with olive oil.  All done in about 20 minutes!  If you put your mind to it, a quick and healthy meal is not as intimidating as you would think.

I am looking forward to getting back into a routine and putting some delicious, quick and easy meals on the table! 

Monday:  Crock pot beef roast (add spices of choice and canned, diced tomatoes to the pot, 8 hours on low) with rice and zucchini ribbons (use veggies peel to make ribbons of zucchini, boil for a couple minutes, drain and toss with butter or oil of choice)
tip:  prepare crock pot the night before!

Tuesday:  Crock Pot Summer Fruited Chicken (from my traditional foods menu planner) with green beans and rice

Wednesday:  Leftovers from Monday

Thursday:  Pasta, White Beans and Prosciutto (by Mark Bittman via Parents' Magazine - awesome recipe!)
tip: chop cabbage, onion, garlic and prosciutto the night before.  Cook noodles the night before as well, if desired)

Friday:  Vegetarian Quesadillas with fixings (salsa, guac) and black beans 
tip:  dairy free - I spread guac between two corn tortillas and fry it up - my little guy loves it this way, dipped in salsa!

Saturday:  Grill out - turkey burgers and farmer's market veggies

Sunday:  Whole Roasted Chicken with farmer's market veggies (This slow cooker recipe works well!)

I will also be making a, dairy free version of these pops this week with the awesome silicone push pop holders features in the pops recipe from Amazon (see this link).  A cheaper, healthier version of go-gurt!

See Orgjunkie's blog on Monday for tons of menu planning inspiration!

Menu Plan Monday Week of 7/11/11

This will be a busy week for my family, as we leave for the Milwaukee area for a week-long vacation on Friday!  Traveling always brings a little bit of additional anxiety for those of us Moms that have kids with food intolerances and allergies.  It is all about PLANNING!  I make a list of things to pack in a cooler for my little guy that are car-friendly.  Some great ideas include cubed summer sausage (we love Thousand Hills - local, grass fed beef) and frozen peas in a travel container, frozen grapes, dried apple chips (I can get a box of individual packs of these at Costco), lunch meat roll ups with a little hummus spread in the middle to "seal" the roll-up, and allergy-free breakfast bars (we like Glutino bars for a special treat).

I will be working a couple of days this week, so I am planning my menus based on that.  Quick, easy and crock pot whenever necessary!

Monday:  Crock pot pork tenderloin or chops (yes, I pushed these back yet again so that we could have burgers on the grill on Sunday - I'll blame our busy summer schedule for this!) :) with carrots and rice

Tuesday:  French Chicken (from my Cooking Traditional Foods Menu Mailer) with polenta and green beans
**TIP:  Prep the polenta in an 8x8 baking pan the night before.  We use Bob's Red Mill polenta.

Wednesday:  Breakfast for dinner - Baked Oatmeal (dairy and egg free using coconut milk, ghee and egg replacer)
***TIP:  You can prep this up through the milk mixture and finish making it before baking.  Or bake completely the night before, I am positive it would be just as good re-warmed!

Thursday:  Whatever is in the pantry/fridge and/or leftovers

Friday - Vacation!

Check out Orgjunkie's blog for more menu planning inspiration!

Elevate Wellness: A refresh!

I have officially moved my blog to my new account.  "Elevate Wellness" has always been the goal of my blog, but I feel I have more specific direction now than ever before.  I will continue to focus on the following themes:

• Food preparation techniques and tools that will elevate not only your wellness but that of your families.
• Recipes and menu plans for busy families, with tips to get dinner on the table any and every night of the week.
• Sharing news and information around food that will be relevant to your family.
• Eating organic/whole foods on a budget.
• Sharing my path towards a more traditional approach to cooking and eating.
• Allergy-free cooking.

Of course, this blog will continue to evolve, but by focusing on the themes above, I believe I can be of most value to you each and every week!  If you have other suggestions or ideas, please feel free to contact me!  I am excited to continue to provide you with information and support!