Two Week Menu Plan {11/7 – 11/20} and a Baked Fish Recipe

Healthy, real food cooking is not for the faint of heart. It’s certainly not for lazy women. If you want to feed your family real, nutritional food you have to be willing to put in the work. Bottom line.

Now, confession … I am lazy. I like love comfort and ease. I love to procrastinate. I do not like foods that can’t be put together in two minutes. Period.

I am so consumed with myself and my agenda that I have failed to provide my family with good nutritious meals lately. Yes, can I give you 101 excuses?

And on and on it goes. But the bottom line is that I care more about myself and my agenda than I do caring for my family right now. *blush*

Living intentionally by grace means sometimes you have to really understand grace. God has been taking me through an obstacle course of humility honing my heart to reflect His, and for that I am grateful. I think in order to understand grace, you must first understand your depravity. You have to see yourself rightly – lazy, selfish, imperfect.

With that said, this week, I’m getting back in the groove. My only focus is feeding my family well. It’s going to be hard because I’m out of practice. However, I have to start somewhere. First, I’m taking my microwave to the garage. I’m done with it. I rely on it too much for “quick fixes.” Then, each day I will be intentional to plan, and  carry out my plan.

So without further ado, here is my two week menu plan.
11/7 – 11/13

Breakfast

Monday – Scrambled Eggs, Peaches & Yogurt
Tuesday – Baked Oatmeal Sweet Potato, Kefir Smoothie
Wednesday – Pancakes w/ homemade syrup
Thursday – Baked Oatmeal Sweet Potato (Leftovers), Kefir Smoothie
Friday – Egg in a Hole, Kefir Smoothie
Saturday – Pancakes w/ homemade syrup
Sunday - Immune Boosting Breakfast Lentil Soup w/ Rice and Bok Choy

Lunch

Shredded Chicken Salad x 2
Peanut Butter & Blackberry Jam w/ Carrot Sticks x 2
Leftovers x 2
Loaded Salad

Dinner

Monday – Baked Whitefish (recipe below) w/ steamed broccoli & carrots w/ butter
Tuesday – Mark Grill – Chicken Breast however he wants w/ Brussels sprouts and sauteed bok choy
Wednesday – BBQ Ribs in Crockpot w/ sweet potatoes & green beans
Thursday – Cajun Chicken Pasta w/ green salad
Friday – Crockpot Beef Stew
Saturday – Leftovers
Sunday – Tacos w/ black beans and rice

11/14 – 11/20

Breakfast

Monday – Scrambled Eggs, Blueberries & Yogurt
Tuesday – Leftover Immune Boosting Breakfast Lentil Soup w/ Rice and Bok Choy
Wednesday – Pumpkin Granola, Kefir Smoothie
Thursday – Egg in a Hole, Kefir Smoothie
Friday – Pumpkin Granola (Leftovers), Kefir Smoothie
Saturday – Pancakes w/ homemade syrup
Sunday – Soaked Quinoa Porridge

Lunch
Peanut Butter & Blackberry Jam w/ Carrot Sticks x 2
Leftovers x 2
Loaded Salad x 3

Dinner

Monday – Shrimp – not sure how I want to make it yet
Tuesday – Mark Grill – Pork Chops (however he wants) w/ broccoli & carrots
Wednesday – BBQ Ribs in Crockpot w/ sweet potatoes & green beans
Thursday – Chicken Enchiladas w/ Black Beans and Rice
Friday – Spaghetti w/ Salad
Saturday – Leftovers
Sunday – Tacos w/ black beans and rice

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 Baked Whitefish

4 filets (flounder, tilapia, or cod are some of our favorites)
juice of 1 lemon or lime or orange
1 T of coconut oil (at least)
Salt to taste
Fresh Ground pepper to taste
1 T fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, rosemary are some of our favorites) or 1 t of dried herbs
Cayenne pepper to taste (optional)

Place fish in a well oiled baking dish. Squeeze juice of fruit over the fish, add herbs and seasonings, spoon out your coconut oil over each piece (I don’t worry about melting the oil first, it will spread as it melts). Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake at 300-350* for about 10-15 minutes. Don’t over cook or it will be leathery.

Serve with a fresh salad and seasonal veggie.


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So what about you? Do you ever grow weary of making “real” food?

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This post is linked to Orgjunkie.com’s Menu Plan Monday.

 

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Two Week Menu Plan – A Little Different Approach

If you remember, I had plans to create a two week menu plan this week. However, some changes were made to our calendar, and I won’t be needing it after all. To be honest, I’m a little relieved since it takes a little extra time to plan for two weeks worth of meals.

meal planning
We’re packing our bags, bringing in a house/dog/plant sitter, and taking a road trip to see my hubby’s family. We’re looking forward to spending time with them, and I’m especially looking forward to my mother-in-love’s cooking. Did you know I despise in-laws? Anyways…

In the meantime, here is our menu plan for the week, and my plans for the food we will be taking with us.

Typical Breakfasts – we mix and match the following:

Typical Lunches

  • Salads usually topped with some sort of nut (walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds), fruit, veggies
  • Almond Butter & Homemade Jam sandwich
  • Soup & Salad
  • Leftovers

Typical Snacks

  • Nuts
  • Fruit
  • Raw veggies

Dinner this week

  • Monday: Lentil Soup
  • Tuesday: Mawmaw’s Homemade Vegetable Soup (they are here visiting and cooking for me; win-win!)
  • Wednesday: Lasagna (from the freezer)
  • Thursday: Leftovers

Looks like an easy cooking week for me, huh? Because it’s going to be an easy week on the dinner front, I want to prepare us for the trip.

We do eat a little differently than our family; therefore, I will take some foods with us to help pack nutritional punches when we need it. Not to mention, I have to be sure Samuel has enough to eat (this kid can eat!).

—-
Here is my prep plan for traveling.

Make Sweet Potato Cookies – {from Nourishing Traditions}.
Roast a Pumpkin (more on this Wednesday).
Make crispy Walnuts – soaked walnuts and dehydrated.
Buy extra fruits and vegetables.
Make salsa with our surplus of tomatoes.
Get an extra gallon of raw milk and two dozen eggs.
Make kefir/yogurt.
Make hard boiled eggs for snacks.
Make Probiotic Ranch Dressing.

 

That’s it for now! I’m sure I’ll think of a hundred more things I want to make between now and then.

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In other news, my friend, Nikki at Christian Mommy Blogger, has started a mini-series on cloth diapers. You can read her introduction here. She’s asked me and Mindy from The Purposed Heart to share about our routines and what we do in extenuating circumstances (like travel, overnight, etc.). So we’ll be joining her in this series over the next couple of weeks. So check out her intro, and stay tuned!

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This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday @ I’m an Organizing Junkie & Plan-It Don’t Panic @ Keeper of the Home. Btw Keeper of the Home has some great tips today on how to use leftovers!



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Menu Plan Monday: 10/17 – 10/23

Recently, I tried out a new way of menu planning – two week planning. It was wonderful! I loved it. The only problem? I didn’t do it based on our two week budget.

What I mean is, I planned the menu and one week of the plan was on one two week budget, and the second week of the plan was on a different budget. Since we get a new budget every two weeks, I wanted to just plan this week’s menu; then, start back to two week planning on Sunday so that my plan and my budget coincide.

If that doesn’t make sense (and I’m certain it doesn’t), then suffice it to say, I love planning my menus every two weeks instead of weekly. You should try it. Bear with me this week as I re-organize my plan and budget. I will be back to planning my menus bi-weekly menus next week.

Typical Breakfasts – we mix and match the following:

Typical Lunches

  • Salads usually topped with some sort of nut (walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds), fruit, veggies
  • Almond/Peanut Butter & Homemade Jam sandwich
  • Leftovers

Typical Snacks:

  • Hummus
  • Crackers
  • Nuts
  • Fruit
  • Raw veggies

Dinner this week:

* – experiment, which means there is no set recipe.

I have found that I am not great at following a recipe and sticking to a budget. It’s one or the other for me. However, I have learned a few basic cooking skills, and learned Swagbucks Search engine is my friend. I am constantly searching for substitutions for ingredients I do not have on hand, are too expensive to buy, etc. I rarely follow a recipe to the T. And sometimes, I just make things up. The asterisk indicates when things are going to get a little hairy in my kitchen. ;)

 

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Your turn: What’s on your menu this week?

This post is linked to Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday and Keeper of the Home’s Plan-It Don’t Panic Challenge.

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Free Kefir Recipe eBook from Cultures for Health

Menu Plan: October 3 – 16 {Two Week Menu Plan}

I am working on planning my menus out two weeks at a time. It takes a little time on the front end, but I think it will save me time over the long haul. It’s an experiment. We’ll see how it goes. :)

Typical Breakfasts – we mix and match the following:

  • Eggs – mostly scrambled
  • Waffles
  • Oatmeal/Porridge
  • Quinoa
  • Granola
  • Fruit
  • Yogurt/Kefir
  • Smoothies

Samuel – Egg yolks, fruit (blueberries, peaches, pears), yogurt

 

Typical Lunches

  • Salads usually topped with some sort of nut (walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds), hard boiled egg, dried fruit, veggies
  • Leftovers

Samuel – Squash, sweet potato sticks, carrot sticks, banana, yogurt

 

Typical Snacks:

  • Nuts – almonds for Mark (I can’t tolerate almonds), walnuts for me
  • Fruit – canned peaches (will have to can more next year!), bananas
  • Raw veggies
  • Raw milk
  • Smoothies

 

Dinner this week (October 3- 9):

Dinner next week (October 10-16):

Samuel - Squash, Carrots, Potato Soup, Tilapia, Beans, Pumpkin, Cottage Pie, Beef Stew

 

Side Items: You will notice that I do not plan side items. I use what I have on hand, and what we receive from our weekly CSA pick up.

 

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This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie and Keeper of the Home. Check out her link-up for 100s of more menu planning ideas.


What about you? What’s on your menu for this week? 

Menu Plan: 9/25 – 10/2 Plus a Time-Saving Kitchen Tip

I want to get back in the habit (again) of posting my menu plans for you. As I have observed the content that my readers check out most frequently, menus and freezer cooking top the list. Since this blog is here to (hopefully) serve you, I want to post what you want to read. :)

Here is our menu plan for the week, including Samuel’s meal plan, and a make-ahead tip to replace cornbread mix from the store.

You will notice our lunch plans look a little different. We have discovered that I am allergic to yeast. I have been experiencing a lot of migraines lately, and as I evaluated my diet, it has become very clear that me and yeast do not mix. Good bye breads, chips, and just about anything packaged from the store (yeast extract is in everything!). So lunches have thrown me for a loop right now. I’ll write more on this later though.

Typical Breakfasts – we mix and match the following:

  • Eggs – mostly scrambled
  • Waffles
  • Oatmeal/Porridge
  • Quinoa
  • Granola
  • Fruit
  • Yogurt/Kefir
  • Smoothies

Samuel – Egg yolks, fruit (blueberries, peaches, pears), yogurt

 

Typical Lunches

  • Salads usually topped with some sort of nut (walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds), hard boiled egg, dried fruit, veggies
  • Leftovers

Samuel – Avocado, sweet potato sticks, carrot sticks, banana, yogurt

 

Typical Snacks:

  • Nuts – almonds for Mark (I can’t tolerate almonds), walnuts for me
  • Fruit – canned peaches (will have to can more next year!), bananas
  • Raw veggies
  • Raw milk
  • Smoothies

 

Dinner this week:

  • Monday: Jerk Chicken, Black Beans & Rice, Fried Plantains {cook whole chicken in crockpot for freezer, broth, and stock}
  • Tuesday (friends over): Homemade Stew in the Crockpot & finish in oven topped with potatoes {Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Cookbook} served with homemade cornbread and tossed salad {make up extra cornbread bags – see below}
  • Wednesday (Hosting Small Group): Take-out
  • Thursday: Honey & Herb Grilled Pork w/ grilled apples and peppers *New Recipe*
  • Friday {company in town}: Baked Potato Soup w/ Salad and Cornbread
  • Saturday {company in town}: Grill out
  • Sunday {company in town}: Mark’s Chili w/ Cornbread & Salad

Samuel - Fried plantains, Butternut Squash, Carrots, Pork, Potatoes and Summer Squash

 

Time-Saving Kitchen Tip – Put together several batches of cornbread mix. Combine all the dry ingredients of your cornbread recipe in zip top baggies or other storage container. Write or print labels with instructions on the wet ingredients and baking instructions. Now, you have “boxed” cornbread on the cheap! Go ahead and make up a few batches to save even more time.

 

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This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie and Keeper of the Home. Check out her link-up for 100s of more menu planning ideas.


What about you? What’s on your menu for this week? 

 

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Menu Plan: 6/26 – 7/3

Typical Breakfast Options

Typical Lunch Options -

  • Cold cut sandwiches on Sourdough Bread
  • Salads usually topped with some sort of nut/seed (walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds) & fruit (apples, raisins, cranberries, strawberries)
  • Almond Butter & Jelly sandwich
  • Pasta or Rice Salad
  • Leftovers

Typical Snacks:

  • Nuts
  • Fruit
  • Raw veggies
  • Hard boiled egg
  • Avocado
  • Granola

Dinner this week:

  • Monday: Chicken Skillet Dish
  • Tuesday: Hamburgers w/ sweet potato fries
  • Wednesday: Blackened Fish w/ CSA veggie
  • Thursday: On the road – Chicken Salad Sandwiches w/ raw carrot sticks
  • Friday:  Rehearsal Dinner!
  • Saturday: Wedding!
  • Sunday: Breakfast for Dinner

What’s on your menu this week?

 

This post is linked to OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday. Check out her site for hundreds of other menu plans!

Menu Plan With A Lesson From Last Week

Welcome to another week! I hope you are refreshed from your weekend. We enjoyed time with our nieces and sister-in-law! We are so thankful for family who travels to see us.

As for menu planning and lessons learned, I learned two things last week.

  1. Menu planning is essential in order for us to not eat out. We had carry out twice. Once for lunch because Mark and I mis-communicated, and once for dinner because we had guests over for a dinner meeting. We didn’t want cooking to divert our attention. Therefore, we opted for carry out to facilitate better conversation and less kitchen time. Lesson learned.
  2. Freezer cooking should not be planned when there are commitments outside the home every single day. This was poor planning on my part. However, I learned that you can get a lot of freezer cooking done in several small spurts throughout the day. Freezer cooking wasn’t a failure, but I am not finished with what I would like to have accomplished had I planned freezer cooking during a week that wasn’t already overbooked. By the end of the week, I was completely worn out and had to cancel a play date because I simply couldn’t get off the couch. Oops! Lesson learned.

As for this week, here is our menu plan:

Typical Breakfast Options

Typical Lunch Options -

  • Cold cut sandwiches on Sourdough Bread
  • Salads usually topped with some sort of nut/seed (walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds) & fruit (apples, raisins, cranberries, strawberries)
  • Almond Butter & Jelly sandwich
  • Pasta or Rice Salad
  • Leftovers

Typical Snacks:

  • Nuts
  • Fruit
  • Raw veggies
  • Hard boiled egg
  • Avocado
  • Granola

Dinner this week:

  • Monday: Italian Chicken & Tomato Pasta Toss, Fresh Green Salad
  • Tuesday: Tacos, guacamole & chips, rice
  • Wednesday: Blackened Fish w/ CSA veggie

  • Thursday: Black Bean Burgers, Chips & Salsa
  • Friday: Date Night – TBA :)
  • Saturday: Chicken Rotel w/ Fresh Green Salad
  • Sunday: Breakfast for Dinner

What’s on your menu this week?

 

This post is linked to OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday. Check out her site for hundreds of other menu plans!

Click here to learn to make sourdough

Menu Plan: Getting Back on Track with a Freezer Cooking Marathon

Last week you may have noticed that I didn’t post our menu plan for the week. That was because I didn’t make one. Oh, how I missed having a plan. There were many days my brain was fried, and trying to remember to lay something out for dinner, not to mention, figure out what to do with it just didn’t happen. Mark ended up bringing home carry-out a couple of times last week. Boo!

The value of making a menu plan for the week is truly priceless. By being intentional to plan my meals, it saves me so much energy in the long run, and it assures that my family is eating healthy, wholesome meals.

Lesson learned. Here is our plan for this week!

Typical Breakfasts

Typical Lunches

  • Cold cut sandwiches on Sourdough Bread
  • Salads usually topped with some sort of nut/seed (walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds) & fruit (apples, raisins, cranberries, strawberries)
  • Almond Butter & Jelly sandwich
  • Pasta or Rice Salad

Typical Snacks:

  • Nuts
  • Fruit
  • Raw veggies
  • Hard boiled egg
  • Avocado
  • Granola

Dinner this week:

  • Monday: Italian Chicken & Tomato Pasta Toss, Fresh Green Salad
  • Tuesday: Black Bean Burgers, Chips & Salsa
  • Wednesday: Tacos, guacamole & chips, rice
  • Thursday: Meeting, carry-out
  • Friday: Veal w/ Spanish Rice, steamed greens
  • Saturday: Chicken Rotel w/ Fresh Green Salad
  • Sunday: Breakfast for Dinner

In addition to our regular menu plan, I have plans for a Freezer Cooking Marathon this week. I have not done this yet with a baby, but I am convinced that Freezer Cooking is a must for us. There are days when I’m just too exhausted to cook, and I have wished for my stash of freezer meals that I had when Samuel was first born.

Here is what I plan to make:

Whew I’m exhausted just looking at this list! I’m going to spend Sunday afternoon making all the seasoning and sauces since that should be fairly easy. I will work in spurts and eventually get it all done. I’ll keep you posted throughout the week with my progress!

 

This post is linked to Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday. Check out her sight for hundreds more menu plans!

Menu Plan: 5/23 – 5/29

Here is our menu plan for this week.

Breakfasts
We are trying something new this week. A friend of mine sent me a link to Smoothies in a Bowl. It was intriguing, and I am hooked on the idea. I love having smoothies because they pack a nice nutritional punch early in the morning that gives loads of energy. However, it is never filling enough for Mark or me. So, I am excited to try Smoothies in a Bowl this week.

Smoothies in a Bowl x 2
Creamy Quinoa Porridge
Scrambled Eggs w/ Bagel
Cinnamon Apple Toast
Lazy Granola w/ Raw Milk

Lunch – Lots of Salads & Berries in our CSA Basket this week!
Monday – Summer’s Night Strawberry Salad
Tuesday – BLTA Manwich, Raw Veggies
Wednesday – BLT Pasta
Thursday – Loaded Salad w/ Crackers
Friday –Peanut Butter & Jelly and veggies
Saturday – Salmon Melts w/ Raw Veggies
Sunday – Baked Potato Bar

Dinner

Monday – Spicy Filets w/ Toasted Pecans and Fried Okra
Tuesday – BBQ Chicken Quesadillas, Chips & Salsa, Raw Carrots
Wednesday – Spaghetti w/ French Bread
Thursday – Burschetta Chicken, Quinoa, Bok Choy & Carrots
Friday – Sausage Beans & Greens
Saturday – Leftovers
Sunday – Breakfast for Dinner

Wow, so none of my dinners have links. I didn’t realize how much I actually use my cookbooks or make up my own recipes. I’ll try to take some time over the next couple of weeks to update recipes for you. :)

In the meantime, what are you having for dinner? Are you part of a CSA? What has been in your box? Tried any new recipes lately?

Would love to hear from you! Leave a comment and share with us what you’re doing this week in the kitchen!

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie!

Menu Plan Monday: 5/9 – 5/15

Here is our menu plan for this week.

Breakfasts
Monday – Kefir Smoothies, Bagel/Toast, Eggs
Tuesday – Oatmeal or Creamy Quinoa Porridge w/ Raisins, apples/bananas, walnuts
Wednesday – Kefir Smoothies, Bagel/Toast, Eggs
Thursday – Oatmeal or Creamy Quinoa Porridge w/ Raisins, apples/bananas, walnuts
Friday – Eggs or French Toast or Cinnamon Apple/Pear Toast
Saturday – Out of town
Sunday – Out of town

Lunch
Monday – Cold Cut Sandwich w/ raw veg, fruit
Tuesday – BLTA Manwich, Raw Veggies
Wednesday – Loaded Salad w/ Crackers
Thursday – Baked Potato and salad
Friday – Cold Cut Sandwich and veggies
Saturday – Out of town
Sunday – Out of town

Dinner

Monday – Lentil Rice Casserole, Salad
Tuesday – Black Bean & Mango Tostadas (recipe below), rice
Wednesday – Pepperoni Rolls, Salad
Thursday – Spaghetti, salad
Friday – Out of town
Saturday – Out of town
Sunday – Out of town

Black Bean & Mango Tostadas

I got this recipe from the All You magazine. I adapted it to our preferences.

Ingredients:

  • 15 oz black beans, cooked
  • 1 T coconut oil/butter
  • 2 scallions/green onions, chopped (use all of it)
  • 1/2 t chili powder
  • 3/4 t salt
  • Tortillas (4) – or store bought like we’re doing this week!
  • 6 oz grated cheese – whatever you  like, they recommend monterey jack/pepper jack (we didn’t use any cheese)
  • 1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and diced (can substitute/add papaya, pineapple, or kiwi, etc.)
  • 1/4 small red onion, finely chopped (2 T)
  • 1 T lime juice (I used lemon since I didn’t have limes)
  • Cilantro/Parsley (optional, but we think essential)
  • Avocado, diced (optional)

To Make:

  1. Preheat oven to 425*F. Combine beans, oil/butter, scallions, chili powder and 1/2 t salt in a bowl.
  2. Mist a baking sheet with cooking spray (we use coconut oil based spray). Place tortillas on sheet and spoon bean mixture on top. Sprinkle with ceese. Bake until golden and crisp, about 10 minutes.
  3. While tostada are baking, combine mango, onion, lime juice and 1/4 t salt in a bowl. Remove tostadas from oven, spoon mango mixture on top and serve immedietely.
  4. Don’t forget to add the cilantrol and avocado!

What’s on your menu for the week? Have you tried any new recipes that your family loved? Feel free to share about them in the comments!

This blog is linked to Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday.