Saturday Set-Up - March 8, 2014

This week's Set-Up has a brand new purpose to it.  That's because I just walked into my 6th week of pregnancy and the morning sickness has begun!

I'm only getting it in waves right now, so it's already better than my past pregnancies. This morning, though, I felt awful for a time and I knew I had to get some foods prepped to get me through the coming week.

Seeing how quickly I can go from fine to Vomit Ready, I know my appetite is going to drop off a lot this week.  My focus right now is to get in enough foods to meet the folate requirements this baby needs to grow and develop safely.  Using this chart, I found that's not hard to do in any way when I'm eating normally with the 6 week plan as my base.  But, when my stomach is starting to turn at just the smell of fresh greens, I know I need a plan for getting the basic necessities down.

Survive the Green Plan

Folate Goal:  600 mcg

Green Smoothie  = 115 to 150 mcg folate
1 cup of lentils   =  358  mcg folate
1 PB ball  =  100 mcg folate

If I only get these three items in each day, I am very close to my goal of 600 mcg of folate daily.  If you consider that the lentils I eat are prepared with onion, mushrooms, and cooked greens, I'm even closer if not fully over the daily need.

And, Lord willing, I'll be able to add in another bowl of beans, steamed broccoli, or even a roasted beet which will put me well over my daily goal. 

So, today, after my ginger tea got me feeling better, I packed up some freezer bags filled with fruits and veggies for green smoothies. I was inspired by the tutorial at this link.

 

I used 1 cup of cantaloupe, 1 cup of strawberries, and 1/2 cup of blueberries for the fruit...

 

I had a mix of beet greens, kale, and bok choy for the greens. I firmly packed a heaping two cups into the bags.  I added a palm of walnuts and a palm of a mixture of sliced almonds and raw pumpkin seeds.

 

These pretty little bags are all tucked in my freezer now. I'll add a TBS of chia seeds and water to the blender to mix these up for my daily smoothie.  I may end up decreasing the fruit as I move along this pregnancy so as to keep my sugars low, but for now, I want to make sure I like this taste while I'm dealing with the nausea.

 

I also made some protein rich power bits for the freezer. One of these each day will give me 100 mcg of folate and enough protein to help my stomach stay busy and, hopefully, more settled during the day.

 

 

Another quick treat my daughter made for me today was a pan of roasted chickpeas.  These are a little too good to resist, though.  The first pan was gone before the day was out and I didn't even have one! We made a second pan for our dinner salad tonight. It's a good thing these are easy to make, so I can still rely on them for a high folate food that is easy to get down.

 

 

1 large can of garbanzo beans, rinsed, sprinkled with Mrs. Dash seasoning and roasted at 400 degrees until crispy. 1 cup = 282 mcg folate. 

 

I'm feeling confident about this plan.  Even at my worst, I'm pretty sure I can keep this minimum food down. It will be in texture that soothes my stomach and is easy to digest. 

 

Now, I can sit back, welcome the green, and enjoy this gift of a first trimester knowing that this little one is being fed the best I know how.

Saturday Set-Up: Pack A Lunch

We've made some decisions this week that will make some big changes in our family.  Changes for the good, praise the Lord on that.

The changes will require a little more kitchen duty on Saturday, though.  I will now need a packable picnic style lunch ready for Sundays.  It may only need to be a snack size portion, but I need something packed and ready to eat since we will be driving a good distance for church each week.

I went over to my pinterest boards this morning and looked through some recipes to add to my Pack A Lunch board.  I didn't add in all the baked goods since I know I could choose any of those. But, I did put on some things that will help me think outside of the box a bit for lunches.

If I can swing the time, I'd really like to try making some gnocchi to pack. Ya' think those would be something fun for dipping in a marinara sauce?  Almost like a chicken nugget...but...well, GOOD. ;)

I need to get crackin' on my list for the week and see if I can fit those in.  I'm also planning to branch out and make a new bean burger recipe. I just haven't decided which one yet. ;) Whatever I do, I'm hoping to make enough that I can freeze some for later use.

Today's List:

Granola Bars
Baked Oatmeal
Pancakes
Banana Blueberry Bars
Vegetable Broth
Marinara Sauce
Stuffed Shells
Gnocchi
Bean Burgers
Veggie tray filled
Salad dressing
Peanut Butter Munchy Squares

Saturday Set-Up: January 19, 2014

I'm posting this on Sunday, while my feet are up and resting from a busy prep day on Saturday. ;)  We got some good stuff done. :D

Oatmeal Almond Bars (only, we used walnuts in place of almonds) Scroll down to the bottom of the article on the link for the recipe. But read the article, too. It's a good one!

 

Chef AJ's Just Banana Muffins

 

Baked Falafel Burgers (I used the recipe at this link for the mix, but then I bake them in the oven at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour.)

 

Two pans of Baked Oatmeal (recipe on the tab at the top of the blog) and pancakes for the freezer.  (no real recipe for those. My dd just tosses in various flours, fruits, juices that we have on hand. They turn out different each week.)

 

Crunchy Veggies to go with our burger for dinner. I tried my recipe I made up on my last post.  This time I dipped broccoli, zucchini, and summer squash as well. I put it on broil and it was better. Crunchy and the mushrooms didn't go rubbery.  I still need to work on my technique, though. 

 

Warning: Broil on Hi + Parchment Paper = something more dangerous than you want to have going in your oven. Be careful!

 

Mexicali Pasta Salad  Skip the oil, cheese and salt to keep this optimal to your health.

Saturday Set-Up: January 11

Okay, folks. I'm behind a bit, so next week's menu isn't updated.  Thankfully, I plan out the weekend, so I'm good until Monday (and can reuse whatever is on there, easily).

Also, this week's menu was changed often enough that I have meals I didn't make and plan to use this weekend. In fact, the new recipe I had planned for last night I'm making tonight instead for company. A family that follows ETL is coming and my friend and I are going to make the meal together. So fun!

So, my main focus today is to prep the Continental Breakfast for the week along with some other foods. 

Today's Kitchen List:

Baked Oatmeal x2  (Verity  5yo)
Granola Bars x2  (Josh  14yo)
Zucchini Bread x2  (Susannah  7yo)
Oat pancakes x2  (Elizabeth  16yo)
Vegetable broth  (Honoree  3yo)
Mushroom Barley soup  (Benj  11yo)
Boil northern beans for dinner tonight
Biscuits x2  (Ruth  9yo)
Process 2 heads of kale for freezer
Work on next week's menu and shopping list

You'll notice I have a name next to each food item. That's the helper I'm planning to use.  Some, like Elizabeth, I can just assign the recipe and she'll do it on her own.  Most, I have a part of the dish they can help with or I just use this as a time to be with them and help them enjoy the kitchen work.  I like to rotate helpers so that I don't have more than one or two in the kitchen at the same time.  Still working to keep what sanity I have left, folks!

Okay, whew. The list is done. Now the real work begins!  Planning to put on some fun music so I can keep my feet tappin' and maybe burn a few calories.  So long as I don't burn the food, right?

Saturday Set-Up: Revised

Please note: I'm revising this post 6/9/15 to reflect some changes.  Changes marked by the color Green.

January 4, 2013

Today's Set-Up begins with menu planning.  I don't typically leave this until Saturday. I generally try to work on my menu and grocery list on Friday afternoons.  This week, while on break, life is a little different.  I'm planning at will and we're a little more lax on our menu, even.  I decided to try a few new things for breakfast this week.  But, read on to see my *normal* life, that, strangely, does often revolve around food.

I keep my weekly menu on a google document.  I can access it easily from any computer and I can share it easily as well.  I print it weekly and it hangs on the fridge so I and my kitchen helpers can know The Plan. Once it's printed, it's a lovely thing that works for me without anymore brain power needed.

My menu stays very much the same on the weeks we are not on a break from school.  Even then, my days are themed and I can generally switch out a new week's meals pretty fast.

Breakfast is always Continental style during the week. Saturdays lend to something with more effort like pancakes or veggie scrambles. Sundays we can head out for church easily with Baked Oatmeal in our bellies.

That leaves lunches and dinners, which I *theme* because, well, it helps my brain and makes life a little like the circus it really is. As you can see from my menu, I round out the themes with sides and fruit desserts.  Knowing the main dish is what I really need to keep the bit of sanity I still cling to.

Lunch and Dinner Themes

Sunday:
Must-Go's (leftovers), crockpot, and no-cook foods for a day of rest

Monday:
Lunch - taco salad
Dinner - Pasta

Tuesday:
Lunch - Lentils
Dinner - Stir fry OR Potatoes

Wednesday:
Lunch - Wraps
Dinner - Must-Goes with bread

Thursday:
Lunch - Veggie Rice/ Pack-a-lunch (usually pb&j, cut veggies, hummus, coconut yogurt)
Dinner - Soup & Bread

Friday:
Lunch - Cabbage/Must-Goes
Dinner - New Recipe!/Potato Bar

Saturday:
Lunch - Must-Goes & Salad/Soup (doubled for serving as sauce on following Monday Pasta Night)
Dinner - Falafels/Bean burgers & roasted roots

I keep a link for my weekly menu posted on the left side of this blog. You can click here to go there directly, if you'd like.

*Note:  For my weight-loss efforts, I (and my husband) don't eat the same or all the foods listed on this menu.  We are both following the Eat to Live 6 Week plan until we meet our ideal weight goals. That means that I typically drink a Chocolate Green Smoothie each morning for breakfast (he eats a large fruit salad with flax seed).  NOTE: I now eat a Breakfast Salad most every morning in place of the smoothie. (Stay tuned for a post on my famous Breakfast Salad coming soon!) For lunch we have a head of romaine, each, topped with fresh cut vegetables and, usually, whatever beans are being served at lunch time.  For dinner, we eat what the family is eating, often cutting back or skipping the grains. (I.e. on Pasta Night, we have our sauce over steamed broccoli and skip the pasta)

I hope this is helpful.  Saturdays are usually my Kitchen Day.  I have a list of foods that need prepping for the week, and I've been building that list while I work on my menu and grocery list.  Stay tuned for details on how all that comes together. For now, I'm off to don my Supermom Cape, aka Apron, and scale tall stock pots with a single bound!