Way more than anyone ever wanted to know about what I eat

Since my last recipe post, I have changed quite a bit about what I eat. I'm following the guidelines from Marilyn Shannon's Fertility, Cycles and Nutirition. I eat at least: 3 servings of whole grains, 3 servings dairy/eggs, 1 serving complete protein, 1 serving yellow fruits/vegetables, 3 serving leafy greens, 1 serving vitamin C source, and 1 serving unsaturated fat. I have also significantly reduced the amount of sugar/white flour I eat.

I plan out dinners for the week and go grocery shopping on Saturday. I'll be starting to post the meal plan for the week. We have leftovers at least one meal after every time I cook, so I'm planning 3-4 meals a week.

Breakfast: I work early in the morning and my husband is the breakfast cooker so I don't eat a hot breakfast in the morning. I have a smoothie and dry whole grain cereal (I like Food for Life's Ezekiel 4:9 cereal, there's no added sugar and it's available in my local grocery store in my moderately sized city) almost daily. I make a couple batches of the smoothie at a time and freeze them. I use yogurt (I've started making homemade in my crockpot), avocado (as a base since I don't like bananas), berries (I change up the berries), spinach (to get in those leafy greens), flax oil (for the omega-3s) and often a peach/nectarine for a bit of sweetness.

Lunch: Most days, I don't eat leftovers for lunch (since we have them for dinner) so I bring lunch components to work (I work at a house so I have access to a full kitchen). Lunch has probably been the hardest meal for me to plan for. One of the things I often eat is cheese sandwiches. I use the Food for Life bread, what ever cheese I want that week, tomato, and spinach (leafy greens). I recently found Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less by Mark Bittman. It has some very simple ideas for meals that I find perfect for lunch (some I save for weekends). My focus for lunch is eating a leafy green and usually a serving of dairy.

Snack: I keep whole carrots, raw pumpkin seed, almonds, and other healthy snack around for if I get hungry.

Dinner: I'll be posting my weekly dinner plans and recipes coming soon.

Pina Coloda Chicken

(this recipe is also good with shrimp or fish)

2 tbsp garlic

1/4 onion, finely chopped or grated

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp ginger

2 breast chicken, sliced into strips

1/2 can coconut milk

1/2 cup pineapple juice

4 slices pineapple

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp basil

Pepper to taste

Heat skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil, onion, and garlic. Cook 5 minutes. Add chicken and ginger. Brown chicken. Add coconut milk, pineapple juice, pineapple, lime juice, basil, and pepper. Simmer 5 minutes. Serve over rice.

Makes 2 servings.

Cheesy and Creamy Green Bean (or Broccoli) Casserole

This is my favorite holiday vegetable casserole and I make or have my parents make it for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

1 lb. green beans or broccoli (broccoli needs to be chopped)

4 tbsp. butter

4 tbsp. flour (whole wheat flour works)

2 cups milk/half & half/heavy cream

Salt

Pepper

Nutmeg

2 cups shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 325.

Steam green beans for 5 minutes, then place in cool water.  If using broccoli, steam for 7 minutes or until fork tender.

For sauce, melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, nutmeg, and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly, remove from heat.

Gradually stir in milk/half & half/cream. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly; boil and stir 1 minute. Place green beans/broccoli in shallow casserole dish and pour sauce over top. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake uncovered 30 minutes.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Meatloaf

I combined a couple different meatloaf recipes, and came out with one I like. The oatmeal is healthier than the more commonly used breadcrumbs. We have this about once a month.

1 1/2 lb ground turkey (or beef or pork)

2/3 cup milk

1 tbsp Worchestershire sauce

1 tsp fresh sage leaves, chopped

1 cup oatmeal

2 eggs

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tsp Dijon mustard

pepper

Sauce

1/2 cup tomato sauce

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tbsp sage

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix loaf ingredients and place in loaf pan. Mix sauce ingredients in small bowl and pour half over top of loaf. Bake about 1 hour 15 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 165 F.

Pour remaining sauce over meatloaf before serving.

Makes 6-8 servings

Broccoli Ground Beef Casserole

It's fine, but I haven't made it again.

1 lb ground beef

1 head broccoli

1/2 onion

1 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese

1 tbsp dijon mustard

paprika and pepper to taste

cheese to top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Steam broccoli for 5 minutes. Brown ground beef. Put ground beef and broccoli in casserole dish.

Heat saucepan over medium-low heat. Add olive oil and heat with butter until it melts. Add onions and cook 5 minutes. Raise heat a bit and stir in flour and paprika. Stir until roux bubbles up, and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in milk and heat until boiling. Drop to simmer, and cook until sauce thickens. Add cheese and stir until melted. Stir in mustard and pepper. Pour over broccoli and ground beef, and mix. Top with cheese and cook 25-30 minutes.

Makes 6-8 servings.