It's Use it Up Week here at my house, which means creativity at its finest! I've decided try weekday vegetarian, eating meat only on Saturdays, sometimes Sundays. My girls are free to eat the same thing I'm eating (which they usually choose) or some of what dad's having, instead. I just feel better eating less meat, and I know it -- but I do love me a juicy burger or Porterhouse steak. I'm just reserving my indulgence for the weekends! I'm also trying to do away with dairy almost completely, because it doesn't agree with any of us. The Hubs loves cheese, so we'll always have it around. However, there are delicious alternatives (none of those fake cheese slices do it for me, but I'm going to show you some that meet my approval throughout the next few months). Those alternatives don't make me feel congested, sleepy, and icky. And I've never been a huge cow's milk fan anyway, so I'll be using non-dairy milks exclusively now.
Don't worry -- the change won't impact the deliciousness around here. And anywhere I use almond milk, you can easily use cow's milk instead, if that's your preference.
By the way, I'm also trying to lose 20 pounds. Saturdays are my cheat days, otherwise, look for moderately healthy meals all-around.
Monday:
Breakfast: Kids - cereal with milk / me - Whole Grain English Muffin with Flax & Cream Cheese
Lunch: Kids - homemade corndogs / me - Almond Grain Burger on Roll with mustard & fries / husband - turkey & cheese wrap with lettuce & onion & peppers; peanuts; dill pickles
Dinner: Lentil-Rice Tacos with Nutritional Yeast Sauce ("cheese" sauce), onions, peppers, and lettuce (husband's on Atkins: Shrimp & broccoli in garlic-butter sauce
Tuesday:
Breakfast: Kids - cereal with milk / me - oatmeal & juice
Lunch: baked beans & sweet potato coins / husband - turkey & cheese salad; hickory smoked almonds; dill pickles
Dinner: Pizza loaded with fresh veggies and olives (husband: steak & cauliflower)
Wednesday:
Breakfast: Tortilla with Peanut Butter & Raisins (Kids will also have a smoothie)
Lunch: leftover pizza / husband - chicken salad on lettuce; peanuts; dill pickles
Dinner: soybean & rice tostadas with nutritional yeast sauce (husband - chicken & broccoli bake)
Thursday:
Breakfast: Kids: oatmeal pancakes with cherry topping / me - oatmeal with raisins
Lunch: Peanut Butter Pasta (husband - chicken salad; beef jerky; dill pickles)
Dinner: Butternut Squash Ravioli with garden veggies, olives, garlic, and olive oil and flat bread (husband: shrimp of some sort)
Friday:
Breakfast: Creamy Breakfast Rice
Lunch: Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins and Fruit Smoothies (husband - banana peppers stuffed with ham salad; dill pickles; low-carb almond butter cookie
Dinner: Bean Burritos & homemade tortilla chips (husband - taco salad without shell)
Saturday: (Saturday is our big shopping day. Not only are we food shopping, but we're also school shopping. We're starting early and won't be back until dinnertime.)
Breakfast: Out to Eat -a sit-down, down-home breakfast as a family
Lunch: Out to Eat - a mall food court or drive through, most likely
Dinner: nibbles at home
Sunday:
Breakfast: Bacon, Eggs, Berries, and Toast
Lunch: ?? depends on sales
Dinner: ?? depends on sales
Things I'd like to bake this week include:
- magic wands
- cupcakes just like Hostess
For more menu plans, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie each Monday morning. Have a good week. I'll see you back here throughout the week for some yummy recipes.
The cupcakes are so colorful. I love black beans; I believe they might be my favorite bean. You can prepare them in a variety of ways from black bean hummus, vegetable stir fry, black bean burgers, and even brownies too.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on trying out the weekday vegetarian, I hope you enjoy it. I've been a vegan since 1992, you definitely don't sacrifice taste if you choose to eat plant based foods, your only limit is your imagination. It's a good thing I'm creative, however, if you're not there are plenty of books, vegetarian/vegan websites out there. :)
I love your pictures, they are mouthwatering!
ReplyDeleteI would love to do a vegetarian DAY but all three of my boys would throw a fit. I've tried it before and was met with a lot of resistance. Our meatless day around here is pizza. :p
Have fun shopping!!
Hope this helps in your weight loss quest... it's so easy to feast on a Saturday... everything looks so good and tasty... thanks for sharing... come visit when you can...
ReplyDeleteTwitter: SolarChief
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ReplyDeleteYour pictures look awesome! Very interesting menu this week, I've gotten several ideas for future menus. :)
The cupcakes are so cute! And pb&j muffins sound so, so good ... :)
ReplyDeleteI don't think I could live without dairy. That would mean giving up cheese and ice cream. Can't do it. nope not me.
ReplyDeleteI admire your discipline. I'm sure your followers (including me) will enjoy follow-ups to your plan.
ReplyDeleteThose cupcakes are making me hungry!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeletewe have at least one vegetarian meal on the menu each week...i have some rice balls and mozz sticks coming up soon and they aren't what you think they will be! i think perhaps you might enjoy them!
ReplyDeleteand how did i miss the cupcake recipe? YUM!
What a wonderful menu plan! I'm always so envious of people who are organized enough to plan all three meals. Butternut squash ravioli are one of my favorite treats in the whole world! Yum!
ReplyDeleteHave a great week of cooking, and good luck with your weigh loss goal. I've been puzzling for a few weeks about how I randomly lost 9 lbs between doctor's visits (I don't have a scale at home so that's the only time I know my weight) because my weight is usually pretty consistent. Today I finally realized it might have something to do with becoming vegan in December! So with being mostly vegetarian and cutting out dairy I think you're going to see big results!