Meal Plans Week of 1-6-13

The first full week of the new year.  Time to get back to our normal routine.  That makes me happy :)

Last week was fun, but long.  We were visiting family out of state for half of the week.  And then trying to get back on track the rest of the week.  The kids were a bit out of sorts after travelling.  Last night Abram finally slept decently.

We had fun doing our last Christmas celebration.  I had a chance to talk to both my mom and my sister for a bit.  And Justin and I went out last night and spent time with couples from church.  Lots of relationship building :)

I'm already getting a good start on my January goals.  Making a top ten list for the year and then breaking them down into small pieces each month really is helping make them doable.  I already called my sister.  I've made good progress on my articles.  I'll be making crackers this week.  And I hope to plan our January mommy/daughter date.

My kitchen agenda for this week is to make crackers, golden grahams, mayo, yeast free buns and some kind of breakfast baked good.  I always have stuff on hand in the freezer, but my stock is getting very low.  I want to try some new recipes.  Do you have any good breakfast recipes to share?

Last week I squeezed in a batch of yogurt, kefir and ice cream.  Plus appetizers for our party.

Sometime this month we need to make a decision about whether or not we will continue to get raw milk.  We will have to start getting it every week on our own, find someone else to share the drive with again or put our share on hold for a few months.

Last week was a bit all over the place for me.  Travel is always tough.  But I did a lot better than I thought I would.  I was actually very excited.  It shows I've come a long way even since the summer.  However I know I ate some things I should not have over the course of the week.  And I've got some major inflammation going on right now.  Some emotional stuff plus sleepless nights with Abram just added to it.

I have been eating a lot of yogurt over the last couple weeks.  And I just started a new probiotic a few days ago.  So there could be some die off mixed in with the inflammation.

My body temperature has been all over the place too.  One day I'll eat and get really warm.  The next I'm an ice cube all day long.  I haven't been rotating foods as much as I should (hard to do when you travel and when you come home to an empty fridge).  But I have been trying very hard to listen to my body.  I've been really craving lots of fresh foods.  Raw fruits and veggies.  No added sugars, etc.  Normally when I have yogurt I mix a little maple syrup into plain yogurt.  But this week I'm craving plain, tangy yogurt.  I've been able to finally eat more raw fruits and vegetables.  I've been enjoying blueberries and raspberries from the freezer.  I could hardly eat one bite of fruit all summer when things were fresh.  So at least I'm finally able to enjoy them now.  And I think it's partly why I crave them.  I had to go without for so long.  I love a big pile of vegetables cooked in butter, but right now I'm loving eating some things raw.

Somehow amidst all of this up and down I've noticed improvement in my mental health.  Normally my OCD dictates my day.  One morning Abram was up around 3 am...and stayed up.  So he was with me all morning.  I couldn't get all the things done I had hoped.  I couldn't stick to my normal "routine."  But...I didn't even notice.  I lost track of time.  My usual obsessions didn't even cross my mind.  We finally got him back to sleep around 6.  And I was working on some writing.  All of a sudden I looked down and realized what time it was...an hour later!  My tummy, my worries...totally didn't cross my mind.  To most people this may not sound like much.  For me it was HUGE.  If I can lose track of time and have my mind occupied with things other than my obsessions/compulsions I know I am making progress.  It gives me a small glimpse of what life can be like without some of my psychological issues.  It doesn't mean every day will be like this now.  It may not happen again for a long time.  But I have to focus on these small victories and realize I am making progress.  I am on the right track.

Time for the menu.  I have a good variety of meals this week.  I even managed to plan a different vegetable with our meal every night!  Maybe next week I'll finally have our Christmas ham dinner that we didn't have time for.

What's on your menu?  Have you started tackling any goals yet?  Have you taken time to notice any small victories this week?
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S (prep lunch, church, chop veggies, prep smoothies)
  L - cp pork chops, potatoes and carrots
  D - leftover hummus, veggies and pita, bacon wrapped dates, milkshakes or custard

M (make crackers, milk, PS)
  D - spaghetti, corn, garlic toast

T (make mayo, skim cream)
  D - chicken fries w/ honey mustard, kale chips, squash

W (make scones, make hot fudge, make ice cream, Dr. M., PS, WT)
  D - brats, sweet potato fries, peas

Th (chop veggies, clean)
  D - cheeseburgers, roasted cauliflower and brussels sprouts, chips w/ dip

F (bake potatoes/freeze hashbrowns, clean, PS)
  D - sausage, hashbrowns, beans, bananas w/ milk

S (make donuts, clean, swimming, Little Mermaid show)
  D - avocado turkey salad on buns or toast, broccoli, fries