Meal Plans Week of 7-21-13

Ahhh...60's.  Last week was HOT!  Yesterday the heat wave finally subsided.  And this morning it is a nice cool 62 degrees outside :)

Last week was busy, busy, busy.  We had quite a few places to go.  Plus I did lots of baking.  And I scrubbed the house top to bottom - especially the kitchen.  We've been dealing with little fruit flies that just won't go away.  So I do a major clean up in the kitchen - in the dishwasher, in the cupboards, walls, doors, floors, etc.  Thankfully there are no longer fruit flies everywhere you look :)

This week will be a little different for us because Justin is on vacation.  The opposite extreme of his 2 weeks of crazy hours.  It'll be strange to see him around so much!  He'll be busy on house projects, but we might make a trip to the beach.  And we'll be visiting his family.  I also have to go to the farmer's market and the grocery store.  It's been over 2 weeks since I went grocery shopping.  And we're running out of some basics.

Unfortunately my body is not recovering as quickly as I had hoped.  So I'm heading back to the doctor tomorrow to make sure things are ok.

As usual in the summer I'm not sure what my kitchen projects will be until I know what produce I'll have.  I'll still be freezing beans (I've got about 2 - 3 gallons so far).  I need to freeze some of our zucchini and maybe bake and cook with some of it.  I'm still waiting on the good blueberries.  They might be ready this week or next week.  When we get them I'll freeze a bunch and make some blueberry pie for sure.  My favorite!!  If I have time I'll make a new batch of ice cream.  And I might have to do some baking to have food for our trip.  Plus I have to pack.  One of my absolute least favorite things to do.

I finally got a chance yesterday to shop and buy a few things that fit.  I've gained about 15 lbs. in the last 2 months.  Most of it was out of my control.  And I don't know if any of it will naturally come off once my body is fully recovered.  But I guess I needed some of it anyway.  So I'm just accepting my body the way it is right now and focusing on health.  God knew that I couldn't give up the control on my own.  So he took control to get me where I need to be.

I'm finding that when I stop worrying about my weight and trying to maintain a certain number on the scale (since it's impossible right now) my worry about food has gone way down.  It's much easier to eat for nutrition and not worry about anything.  We went out for dinner last night.  Instead of debating over and over about what to get/what really sounds good/what I "should" get I just glanced at the menu.  One thing stood out that sounded good and was something I could tolerate.  I ordered it.  And that was that.  I didn't stuff myself.  I just ate what I wanted/to fullness like I do at home.  I didn't eye everyone else's food thinking it looked so good.  I was totally satisfied and didn't leave feeling sick or stuffed or anxious.

I've also noticed that I don't crave "treats" anymore.  Last week I made cherry pie and cherry ice cream.  I had a couple pieces of the pie.  And since then it hasn't even tempted me.  Not that I don't like it.  But other things sound better.  And I'm not trying to sneak bites or craving it.  For snack last night I got the pie out to cut a piece for myself.  Mostly because I figured I should...it needs to be eaten while it's fresh and I can eat it.  But then I put it back in the fridge.  One of my homemade soaked rice bars sounded a lot better.  So I just had one of those and some raw milk.  No big dessert.  Just a little snack before bed.  And I haven't had ice cream in about a week.  I just haven't wanted any.  It's so nice to not be controlled by food and to be able to listen to my body.  Eat when I'm hungry.  Don't when I'm not.  Choose nourishing foods.  Eat a treat once in a while if it sounds good.  And just enjoy life.  Getting back to balance.

I'm finding that it works pretty well to focus on plenty of carbs/starch in the morning.  Then making sure I get enough protein and enough calories with lunch.  And eating a little lighter overall and heavy on the veggies in the evening.  Now that I think about it this is exactly how I ate in college...when I got back to health without even trying/knowing anything about health.  I always ate a huge bowl of cereal for breakfast (not healthy I know, but tons of carb/starch).  Then I often ate lots of meat for lunch.  And I loved eating salads for dinner.  Things get messed up when we overthink things and stop listening to our bodies.

I think my body might not be ready for eggs yet.  I've been having some of my food intolerance symtpoms flair again.  It could partially be hormones.  But I think it's the eggs.  So I'm cutting them back out for now.  I'm also trying to see if zucchini bothers me.  I think I do ok with it if it's peeled and seeded.  All that fiber is too much for my tummy.  But I still have to experiment to be sure.

My meal plans aren't 100% complete because I still have to figure out what we're bringing on our trip.  But I have most of it figured out.

Trust in God and eat the food.  Eet Smakelijk!
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S (prep lunch, freeze zucchini, church, prep smoothies, soak flour)
  B - baked oatmeal w/ berries (J), berry yogurt (R/A), cherry pie yogurt, chick peas (M)
  L - cp roast beef w/ potatoes, carrots, zucchini and onions
  D - french toast, fresh fruit, sausage, peas

M (make garbanzo flour scones, make gummies, Dr. Y., HH?, beach?)
  B - smoothie, granola bar (J/A), cheese, snap peas, rice bar (M), granola bar (R)
  D - beach/picnic? or TBD

T (fm)
  B - zucchini bread, fruit
  D - fish sticks, baked sweet potatoes, beans

W (Meijer)
  B - smoothie, muffins (J/A), toast w/ almond butter (R), fried duck egg, toast, fruit (M)
  D - beef and veggie stir fry over rice

Th (skim cream, make ice cream, pack)
  B - egg puff, toast (J), gummies, golden grahams (R/A), gm yogurt, amaranth bar (M)
  D - fried chicken breasts (gf version), peas, french fries

F (travel)
  B - TBD
  D - beef stew, salad

S (travel)
  B - TBD
  D - reception - bbq ribs/chicken, cornbread, potato salad, baked bean