Some notes about my menu…
My husband definitely doesn’t appreciate any “weird” foods, so I try to stick to things I know he and the kids will enjoy and foods that are somewhat familiar. I’ve found they are amenable to cauliflower as a substitute for potatoes, pasta, and rice in many dishes. They do not like pizza crust substitutes so I usually make a separate pizza on regular crust. I try not to spend too much money on specialty ingredients; the ones that are included in my menu are the ones I’ve found most helpful and economical.
Breakfast and lunch is usually on your own in our house (my husband eats these meals at work). My oldest makes breakfast for herself and 2 siblings, and they usually are content to eat eggs and toast or yogurt and toast. At lunch, they will usually have quesadillas, pasta, or sandwiches with raw veggies and fruit as sides. I’ve included notes on how I serve dinner to everyone else vs. how I eat- I try to keep it as simple as possible, no separate meals here!
For snacks, I usually rotate between wasa crackers with laughing cow and cucumbers, cookie dough dip, popcorn with nutritional yeast, raw nuts, and chocco pudding. I also have a fat stripping frappa almost every day. My kids like all of these snacks.
Drinks are lemonade or tea sweetened with stevia, GGMS, coffee, and plenty of water.
For eating out, I’ve found that my favorite places are Ruby Tuesday (great salad bar and awesome veggie sides), Logan’s (in-shell peanuts to snack on, yummy steaks and salads, and great veggie skewer side), Cracker Barrel (low carb menu), Wendy’s and Chick fil a.
Sunday:
Breakfast- Protein smoothie.
Lunch- Out (we ate at Jim N Nicks and I had the Pig in the Garden Salad, no croutons, blue cheese dressing- it was great!) (S)
Dinner- Southwest Chicken and Rice Chowder from Stacy Makes Cents (E)
Monday:
Breakfast- Muffin in a mug (cinnamon, with the cream cheese “frosting” from the book), big dollop of greek yogurt on the side and a few strawberries (S). Coffee with cream.
Lunch- Grilled salmon (light spritz of nonstick spray, no fat), baked sweet potato w/ a teaspoon of butter, cinnamon, and stevia, sliced tomato w/ balsamic vinegar (E)
Dinner- Sloppy joes made from this recipe, tweaked by subbing plain tomato sauce for the ketchup and a dash of stevia powder for the brown sugar. I’ll eat mine on a Joseph’s pita and everyone else will eat them on buns. Serve with a salad and steamed, buttered broccoli (S)
Tuesday:
Breakfast- Bowl of fat free greek yogurt mixed with very small amount of finely chopped 85% chocolate, dried unsweetened coconut, and a few chopped raw almonds. Side of strawberries (S). Coffee with cream.
Lunch- Pizza made on Joseph’s pitas (tomato paste, pizza spices, light mozzerella, sliced green peppers), salad w/ balsamic vinegar- FP
Dinner- Breakfast. Gwen’s “S” pancakes topped with homemade berry syrup and greek yogurt, eggs, and bacon (S)
Wednesday:
Breakfast- Breakfast burritos with leftover crumbled bacon, eggs, cheese, peppers, onions on low carb tortilla or Joseph’s pita (S)
Lunch- Salmon grilled in coconut oil on a bed of lettuce with plenty of non starchy veggies and balsamic vinegar. (S)
Dinner- Baked teriyaki chicken, tweaked by subbing glucci for corn starch and stevia powder for sugar. I also like to throw in a couple of sliced green peppers to cook with the chicken. Served with brown rice and zucchini and the extra sauce for pouring over rice/veggies (E)
Thursday:
Breakfast- Eggs fried in butter w/ nutritional yeast, strawberries, coffee with cream (S)
Lunch- Gyro made on Joseph’s pita with chicken breast and Gwen’s tzatziki sauce , red onion, tomato. Salad with balsamic vinegar. (FP)
Dinner- “Sponge Bob’s Crabby Patties” from the book, served with macafoni and cheese and salad (S)
Friday:
Breakfast- Breakfast tiramisu parfait (E), strawberries
Lunch- Out
Dinner- Baked wings w/ homemade buffalo sauce. Served with veggie platter- broccoli, celery, sliced cucumber, and carrots (for everyone else) with ranch or blue cheese.
Saturday:
Breakfast- FP egg scramble made with non starchy veggies, egg beaters, and laughing cow cheese
Lunch- Leftovers
Dinner- Pizza made on golden flatbread (make one on regular crust for rest of the family), salad (S)
Grocery list
(Some of these are THM pantry staples and you probably already have them- just look through the list and cross off what you don’t need for the week. I’ve made a note beside certain items that I always buy at a specific store because of value.)
Specialty/online only items:
Protein powder
Glucci
Stevia extract powder
Breads:
Sandwich buns
Joseph’s pitas
Whole wheat sandwich bread for family
Refrigerated:
Unsweetened almond milk
1/3 less fat cream cheese
butter
Fat free greek yogurt (Wal-mart brand or Costco)
Heavy cream
Part-skim mozzerella cheese
Bacon
Cheddar cheese (Sam’s)
Ground beef
eggs
laughing cow cheese (Aldi)
Ricotta cheese
Turkey pepperoni
Lunch meat (no sugar or fillers added)
Canned goods:
Can black beans
Chicken broth
Diced tomatoes
Tomato sauce
Dry goods:
Brown rice
Golden flax meal (on the cereal aisle at Wal-mart)
Almonds (Sam’s is the best value I’ve found)
Coconut oil (Costco)
Baking powder
Cocoa powder
Vanilla extract
Oats
Balsamic vinegar
Soy sauce
Hot sauce
Ranch or blue cheese dressing
Nutritional yeast (bulk bins at Whole Foods)
Dried unsweetened coconut (bulk bins at Whole foods)
Canned salmon
85% dark chocolate (Aldi)
Light rye wasa crackers
Tea bags (herbal, green, or black. I like Tazo passion)
Apple cider vinegar (raw, with mother)
Lemon juice
Whole wheat pasta for family
Frozen:
Chicken breasts (Aldi)
Chicken wings (Aldi)
Cauliflower
Berry mix (Aldi)
Wild caught salmon fillets (Aldi)
Produce:
onions
Fresh berries
Sweet potatoes
Tomatoes
Zucchini
Green peppers
Broccoli (Sam’s)
romaine lettuce (Sam’s)
cucumbers
garlic
baby carrots
ginger root
