Next Week's Meal Plan

[ A note about the tables and other pictures in this blog: you can click on any picture such as the chart above to enlarge it, then use your browser's back button to return to the blog post.  If I make them bigger, they overhang the blog portion of the page and it just looks funny.]

If you've read my last "Meal Plan" post, you'll see that I have added calculations to figure our daily percentage of carbs.  This has proven to be sort of eye opening after I applied the formula to things we've already eaten, so you won't see some of the meals we had before showing up any time soon. But we are on track now and I like having the extra check in there.  In case you're curious, the carb percentage is fairly simple - just total the day's carbs (column G), multiply by 4 to figure the number of calories that are consumed from carbs (column H), then divide the "Calories from Carbs" number by the daily calorie total (Column H / Column B) and format it as a percentage.  If anyone is interested, I'm happy to share the workbook via email and you can fill in your own likes and dislikes.  For me, it's a living document, and it will change and grow from week to week.

My goal with this next week's meal plan is to use up some things I've got in the freezer, limiting my grocery expenses.  The last time I made the turkey meatloaf we're having Monday, for example, I made 4 mini meatloaves and froze two of them.  I also have a chuck roast in the freezer, which will become the shredded beef for Tuesday.  I'm really looking forward to that one!

When I bought the ham steaks we're having on Wednesday, I bought them at Sam's so this will be the third time we're having that recipe and I think I still have about 3 left.  This as a great find - they're individual ham steaks, individually packaged, and they come wrapped in netting to sort of resemble a larger ham.  I love that there's no prep work on this - just pop them in the freezer until ready to use.

The mock Lo Mein recipe for Thursday, from the cover of the latest Diabetic Living magazine my dad subscribed me to, calls for 12 ounces of top sirloin, also in the freezer.  So other than lunch items, produce and dairy, I don't have much on my grocery list this week.  Here's my list for the menu items above, ordered by the way we cruise the store:

We do our grocery shopping on Sunday after church, and we shop at Sam's nearly every week even though there are only two of us.  The reason I don't put specific veggies on the list is because I tend to get what looks good to me, and that varies from week to week.  I love Sams' brussel sprouts and their hericot verts (very skinny French green beans) and their English peas are just to die for.  They also sometimes have a giant package of baby spinach, which I really can't get enough of...

This week, since we don't have to buy much meat, we're going to stock up on 100 calorie packs for snacks, as well as diet pop, if it's on sale.

When we get home with the groceries, we throw away old stuff left in the fridge, and then go "shopping" in the freezer for that week's meat, which goes into the fridge at the same time we prep our produce and put away the groceries.  This plays into the 30 minute cooking concept as it's quicker to pull it out and use it if it's already cleaned before I put it away.  Peter also makes all of his lunch sandwiches on Sunday, plus his bags of celery and carrots or whatever he's taking for snacks that week.

In case you want any of the recipes, the following are the ones for which I have links:

Tex Mex Beef Wraps
Grilled Ham Steak with Mustard Sauce (adapted, see below**)
Blackeyed Peas with Bacon and Escarole

** Adaptations for Grilled Ham Steak with Mustard Sauce - I use sugar-free honey-substitute and sugar free apricot preserves for this recipe, and I make it indoors on the Calphalon grill pain Peter bought me for Christmas one year.  Don't be mad at him or feel sorry for me - it's not the only thing he bought me and I told him I wanted it!

Finally, here are the recipes for this week that aren't online:

Sweet Asian Beef Stir-Fry
3 T low-sugar orange marmelade
2 T light teriyaki sauce
1 T grated fresh ginger
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 box low-carb spaghetti
1/2 of a small red onion, sliced
1 c julienned carrots, cut into bite-sized strips
2 t canola oil
12 oz boneless top sirloin steak, cut into bite-sized strips*
3 c shredded napa cabbage
1t toasted sesame seeds

In a small bowl, combine marmalade, 2 T water, teriyaki sauce, ginger, and crushed red pepper; set aside.

Cook pasta in boiling, salted water, according to package directions.

Meanwhile, coat a large nonstick skillet or wok with nonstick cooking spray.  Preheat over medium-high heat.  Add broccoli and onion, stir fry 3 minutes.  Add carrots, stiry fry 3 minutes more or until vegetables are crisptender.  Remove vegetables from skillet.

Add oil to the same skillet or wok.  Add beef strips.  Stir-fry over medium-high heat 3-5 minutes or until beef is slightly pink in center.  Return vegetables to skillet, along with sauce and cabbage.  Cook and stir 1 minute or until heated through and cabage is just wilted.

Serve immediately over hot cooked spaghetti, sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.

* Tip:  For easier slicing, partially freeze steak before cutting it.

Serving size for the nutritional values listed in the spreadsheet above is 1 cup of cooked spaghetti with 1 cup of beef stir-fry.

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
1 pound medium red boiling potatoes (sometimes I use Yukon gold, or a combination of red & gold)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 t salt
1/8 t black pepper
2 T snipped fresh chives (optional)

Place potatoes and garlic in large saucepan, adding enough water to cover; bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 20  to 30 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender.  Drain.

Drain potatoes and garlic and return to hot pot.  Mash with potato masher until smooth.  Add buttermilk, salt and pepper and stir until just blended.  Sprinkle with chives before serving.

Recently I read that potatoes are not all created equal; that the smaller potatoes with the thinner skins metabolize differently in the body, as if they have lower carb counts.  COOL!  A bonus is that you don't have to peel them, and much of the fiber is in the skin, which will also contribute to less carb consumption.

Turkey Meatloaf
1 pound 93% lean ground turkey
1/2 cup grated unpeeled zucchini
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup diced green bell ppper
1/4 cup uncooked old-fashioned oats
1 egg, beaten
1 T ketchup
1 t dried thyme
1 t dijon mustard
1/2 t salt
1/4 t black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine all ingredients in large bowl.  Divide into 4 portions and form mini meatloaves.  Bake on cookie sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray for 1 hour or until meat thermometer inserted in center of loaf reads 165 degrees.  Remove from oven.  Allow to rest 15 minutes before serving.  Individual loaves can be frozen and then thawed and baked later.


You might notice that we have used the grilled ham steak and the blackeyed pea and escarole dish before.  That's our favorite meal so far.

Comment if you're enjoying the blog, so I don't come to the conclusion that I'm wasting my time.  :)

Next Post: Good Carbs (slow) vs. Bad Carbs (fast)