Happy Monday! Hope you didn't have to drag yourself out of bed to face the new week. Last night my Kiddo told me, "I think kids should be able to decide how many days long their own weekend is." I'm with her on that! Yet in a few short days, we were able to pack in a visit to the Aquarium, girls' movie night, one lengthy play date, church, roller-skating, and sledding.
On Monday mornings, I finalize my meal plan for the week, and make a grocery shopping list. Delicious idea have been simmering in my brain all weekend long. Spend a little time next weekend thinking about meals you and your family would enjoy. Pick up a food magazine at the library, or watch Food Network. If you dread cooking, change the way you think about it. Anticipate spending time in your kitchen, chopping up a few veggies and watching flavorful food sizzling in your skillet. Put on some good music, and do a little cooking dance!
My menu for this week can be found on the right. It may look like a lot of cooking; however, some of the meals are incredibly easy. It may seem like a lot of food. We tend to eat our leftovers for lunches, though, and somehow it will all get polished off. Or frozen. (Or not even cooked. Sometimes a day gets out of control and we end up picking up sub sandwiches. At least there is a plan!)
My hubby is a meat and potatoes kind of guy. Clearly our meals tend to include some kind of meat, which I like to vary throughout the week. There's usually at one chicken, beef and pork meal apiece. I try to serve fish at least once, also. None is listed, but I think I'll grill up some tuna melts to go with my sister Kristi's soup, since it is a simple vegetable variety.
The lamb cutlets I'm planning to cook on Saturday were given to us by a friend, butchered on their family's farm. I've never cooked lamb before - and have barely even tasted it. Thought we'd turn it into a fun "Greek Fest," with Barefoot Contessa's Spanikopita (pastry-wrapped spinach and feta) and a little Greek Salad on the side.
This morning we started our day right with a fruit-packed smoothie. Maybe you already make smoothies for your family. If not, you should definitely give it a try. Making a smoothie is barely more difficult than pouring a bowl of cereal. It's a yummy way to give your kids a nutritional boost with a couple servings of fruit right off the bat. We also enjoy making smoothies in the evening as a healthy alternative to ice cream. The cool, fruity goodness is creamy and satisfying on your tongue. Watch out for "freezer brain," though!
The other thing I love about smoothies is the yogurt. I utilize plain yogurt, so we're consuming scores of healthy cultured bacteria - without all the added sugar or artificial sweetener of individually portioned cups.
For the frozen fruit, use any variety or combination that you like. There's always a giant bag of mixed fruit in my freezer. It has strawberries, pineapple, mango and peaches. It costs about $7, but we get multiple smoothies out of it. I like knowing that quality fruit is readily available at any time, whereas fresh fruit has to ripen, and is often over-ripe and mealy by the time you give it your attention. Today I used the mixed fruit, but also poured in about half a cup of frozen blueberries. Yum! You might like to throw in a ripe banana.
We are not big juice drinkers around here, mostly to save on our grocery bill. Besides, it is more healthful to eat whole fruit with all of its good fiber. For smoothies, I keep a few individual-sized bottles of grape or pineapple juice in my pantry. It takes most of one bottle for good blending.
Berry Good Smoothie
an original recipe by Kelly Jo Vanderstelt
- 2 Cups of Plain Yogurt
- 1 1/2 to 2 Cups frozen Fruit
- 1 Tbs. Sweetener, such as honey. (Or try Agave Nectar, which is natural and doesn't spike blood sugar)
- 1 Cup of Juice (grape, pineapple, apple, orange...any kind, really)
Makes about four 1-cup servings.
Make sure no one is having to watch you if your doing a "cooking dance", or any kind of dance for that matter. :)
ReplyDeleteA frozen banana, which you have previously peeled, wrapped in plastic wrap and popped into the freezer, makes a smoothie really SMOOTH and creamy - almost milkshake like in consistency. I often will save 3 or 4 bananas this way. They stay nice in the freezer for several weeks.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful picture! Looks like I just want to sit down and eat. Yum.
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