Thursday, April 5, 2012

Real Food Meal Plan

I wanted to share my real food meal plan for the last week, in case anyone else is looking to start doing this.  Thanks to Lisa for being an inspiration!  Sorry for the formatting issues, I couldn't figure out how to attach a word document.

MEAL PLAN April 1-April 7

7-DAY “REAL FOOD” FAMILY MEAL PLAN

DAY
BREAKFAST
SNACK
LUNCH
SNACK
DINNER
Sunday
Carrot muffins w/ cream cheese
Grilled cheese and carrots sticks with hummus
Apple slices with peanut butter
Kale, Sausage, and Green Apple “stir-fry” (skip pie crust and just make filling) with whole-wheat biscuits and carrot sticks
Monday
Granola cereal* with milk and sliced mango
Zucchini Muffins
Leftover kale and sausage w/ biscuits and sliced strawberries
Hard boiled eggs w/ salt and pepper
Home-made mushroom and carmelized onion whole-wheat pizza
Tuesday
Strawberrries, granola, yogurt (with honey) parfaits
Peanut, Cashew, and Raisin Trail Mix
Round apple sandwiches made with peanut butter & raisins, carrot muffins and plain yogurt mixed with a little honey
Triscuits w/ Cheddar Cheese and pear slices
Wednesday
Egg in a  (whole wheat) frame w/ grapefruit quarters
GoGo Apple Sauce
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with parsnip sticks
Apple sauce frozen squeezers
Whole-wheat mac ‘n cheese with broccoli added
Thursday
Plain oatmeal flavored with a little honey and cinnamon, topped with raisins
Lara Bars
Leftover mac ‘n cheese
Apple slices with peanut butter
Friday
Granola cereal* with milk and frozen blueberries
Carrot muffins w/ cream cheese
Home-made chicken nuggets with parsnip and carrot sticks
Cherry Yogurt Smoothie squeezers
Leftover night
Saturday
Scrambled cheesey eggs with blood oranges
Leftovers/PB & J
Popcorn

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Get Real

Have you ever noticed how one time-consuming obsession leads to another?  Well, I've been spending a lot of time on Pinterest lately and had noticed a pin for "100 Days of Real Food."  I noted it, but browsed by until one of my friends actually pinned.  Then I took a look, and I got hooked.  There are so many fad diets and trends out there now (gluten-free for everyone?), but this seems to come from principles I embrace, and the author credits Michael Pollen on the first page- so points to her there.

Even before I really started reading the blog (now about 20 posts in), I decided this was something I wanted to do. So, this week we are using up what we can that doesn't fit in with this "diet."  Any highly processed food that is non-perishable will be hidden in the basement by Saturday.

Now, this blog supports using almost 100% organic food.  I like this idea, but I'm going to see how it works in practice.  Additionally, I'm not willing to waste the pound of regular whole wheat flour I just bought, so I'll use what I have on hand, and replace with organic when I run out.  This goes for pasta, cheese, butter and anything else that I'm not just going to throw away.  As time goes by, I should be able to get to an almost 100% organic pantry/fridge.  I imagine if this sticks, I'll eventually need to throw out the processed sugars and white flour I have (but then, I also need to help with cupcakes for my brother-in-laws wedding, so they might be put to good use).

The blog also wants you to eat only local meat, which might be difficult.  Farmers markets around here don't open up till June, and close in September, so I'll be hitting up Whole Foods and Sunflower for my groceries. I'm going to do my best to go local, but CO is not known for its abundant produce.

I think this is going to be an interesting and bumpy ride.  I predict that Dominic will HATE it, Darcy will be fine, and Jason will cheat while he's at work or traveling.  As for me, I have no idea how I'll fare.  I'm thinking sugar in coffee and my nightly handful of chocolate chips are going to be the hardest to give up.

Wish me luck!  (Really, if anyone still reads this after 9 months of silence leave a comment so I know you are out there)