Week One

Making It Easy for Mom

I’m just a mom on a budget, trying to keep my family healthy.

"US health spending was US$2·7 trillion in 2011, which is $8700 for every person in the country, and represents 17·9% of the economy—far greater than any other economically advanced country. But spending on health care bears little relation to good health."  The Lancet, January 2013

As a country, we are on a journey together to get well and be financially stable.  In hopes to inspire others, I am going to be blogging meal plans with grocery lists, book reviews, podcast links and educational games to play at dinner with your kids.  

Fact: Kale is awesome for you and it tastes great!

Kale chip recipe:  I always use organic kale because conventionally grown is full of pesticides.  So, super easy.  Wash the kale and rip it all into pieces.  Put it on a cookie sheet or mesh oven racks.  Brush on the following mixture:  two squeezed limes, olive oil to your liking, and some kosher salt.  Bake on the lowest setting in your oven until crispy.  I usually stick a wooden spoon to prop open the oven door for air circulation.  

Grocery List: This is based on a family of four.  
Cold Stuff
-3 dozen Eggs
-1 bag shredded Mexican cheese
-2 rolls Jimmy Dean Sausage
-2 boxes Hormel (brown and red boxes that contain nothing artificial) lunch meat
-2-4 lbs ground beef
-2-4 chicken breasts
-Cut up chicken pieces (like breasts, thighs, legs, etc...) for arroz con pollo
-1 chicken to roast
-Container of Philadelphia cream cheese
Produce
- Bunch of bananas
-2 cucumbers
-2 boxes organic spinach
-Organic kale if you want to make the kale chips
-1 box organic salad spring mix
-2 avocados
-1 red onion
-3 yellow onions
-3 baking potatoes
-small bag of carrots
-2 limes for kale chips
-3 lemons
-3 tomatoes
-2 pineapples
-1 box of poultry spice fresh mix
-Bag of organic apples
-Bag of clementines

Random Dry Stuff
-jar of olives
-Coconut Milk (if you want to make shakes in the am, plus my kids like to drink this milk)
-Container of natural raw almonds
-2 Boxes  of chicken stock
-2 small cans of  tomato sauce
-2 cans pinto beans
-1 box gluten free panko bread crumbs
-1-2 bags of tortillas
-1 bag of quinoa or rice
-1 bag gluten free flour
-Protein powder mix if you want that to be a breakfast option

Check your pantry:
-Gluten free baking flour
-paprika
-salt
-pepper
-olive oil
-garlic powder
-onion powder
-italian seasoning
-worcestershire sauce
-toothpicks
-Muffin baking tin
-Horseradish Mustard
-Ketchup
-Soy sauce

Sunday:  Cut up both pineapples, wash all apples, and peel your clementines and put them in a tupperware in the fridge.

Breakfast Daily:  I am a strong believer in eggs with sausage and cooked spinach, but realize you might get tired of them.  So here are a few options:

Option 1:  Fry up some Jimmy Dean sausage, then throw in a handful of spinach.  When the spinach is cooked add your eggs to scramble this all together.  

Option 2 : Protein powder mixed with coconut milk and a banana

Option 3:  Deviled eggs.  I like cooking these with a dozen eggs on a Monday and leave them in the fridge for a snack too.  I just crush my yokes up with a fork and mix with horseradish mustard.  

Monday

Breakfast: Eat some breakfast.  And make your dinner to put in the crock pot.  

Lunch:  Meat roll-ups
Take some lunch meat (like 5-6 pieces) and spread cream cheese in each piece.  Then roll up the piece and stick a toothpick in it to keep it rolled.  Cut up one cucumber into strips and salt them.  Grab a handful of almonds.

Dinner: Arroz con Pollo (chicken with rice)
Grab your crock pot and set it on low for 8 hours.  Take your cut up whole chicken and dip in the following mixture, gluten free flour mixed with paprika, salt and pepper.  Fry in a little olive oil until the skin is browned.  Then throw that chicken in the crock pot.  In a separate pot, combine one box chicken stock and one small can of tomato sauce with some paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and salt.  Bring that to a boil and add it to the crock pot.  In your fry pan from the chicken, fry up cut up onion, the pepper trio cut up and a cup of rice.  When everything is brown, throw it in the crock pot too.  I always add another cup of water.  And that’s it.  It will be ready when you get home from work.  

When you get home from work throw some spinach in a bowl with some olives.  I don’t use dressing, but rather squeeze a little lemon and sprinkle salt and pepper on it too.  

Eat some of your fruit.

Tuesday

Breakfast:  Eat some breakfast.  Let’s get your muffin tin meatloaf ready to put in the oven when you get home.

Lunch: Throw some left over arroz con pollo in some tortillas and wrap them up in foil.  Heat them up at work before eating.  Bring a container of fruit too.  

Dinner:  Muffin Tin Meatloaf (make enough to have leftovers tomorrow)
I love this stuff.  So just take your 1-2 lbs of ground beef and add a mix of seasonings to your taste (I use kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and italian seasoning).  I also add a little worcestershire sauce to make it the color brown.  Then beat 1-2 eggs and throw them in the mix.  I also use about a cup per pound of gluten free panko bread crumbs.  Mix it all together and put it in your muffin tins.  Smoosh it in there and put them babies in the fridge until you get home from work.  When you get home, spread some ketchup on top of each meatloaf and throw that muffin tin in the oven at 400 for about 30 minutes.  

While that is baking, take one cup of quinoa or rice and fry it in some olive oil.  Add one small can of tomato sauce and the difference of chicken stock according to the bag of liquid needed.   Add some kosher salt and following the timing instructions on your quinoa bag.  

Make another spinach salad.

Eat some fruit.

You are doing great!

Wednesday

Breakfast:  Eat some.  Then hammer out 2-4 chicken breasts and marinate in a little soy sauce, garlic powder and salt.  Stick in the fridge until you get home.

Lunch: Have some leftover muffin tin meatloaf.  Cut an avocado into two pieces and salt.  Eat some fruit.  

Dinner:  Chicken Salad
Take your chicken breast and cut it into small strips.  Fry it up in a little olive oil until cooked.  
Dump your box of salad into a big bowl.  Cut up olives, a tomato, red onion and a cucumber.  Squeeze some lemon and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Put your chicken on the salad and enjoy.  

Eat some fruit too.

Thursday

Breakfast:  Eat some.

Lunch: Meat roll-ups.  Take some lunch meat (like 5-6 pieces) and spread cream cheese in each piece.  Then roll up the piece and stick a toothpick in it to keep it rolled.  Put some fruit in a tupperware.  Grab a handful of Almonds.

Dinner:  Taco Night (make enough to have leftovers for lunch tomorrow)
Brown 1-2 lbs of ground beef.  When it’s brown, sprinkle some gluten free flour into it.   Not a lot, like two tablespoons.  Then add some garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.  Add a little water just to make it seems to have a little sauce.  

Fry up your pinto beans (both cans) in a little olive oil.  Mash them when they seem hot.  

Add cheese, avocado cut up, onions, and tomatoes on top of your taco.  You can also add spinach into your taco.

Eat some fruit too.

Friday

Breakfast:  Eat some.  Take out a stick of butter to get soft by dinner.

Lunch:  Wrap up a couple of tortillas from last night in foil.  Grab some fruit.

Dinner:  Roasted Chicken
Put your chicken in a pyrex and squeeze a lemon over it.  Put the lemon pieces inside the chicken.  Then rub it down with kosher salt.  Then mix your soft butter with a about a half a cup of olive oil and the poultry spice mix and brush that on the chicken.  Cut up carrots, potatoes, and two onions and place around the chicken.  Put in the oven until the chicken is cooked.   Cook at 450 degrees for 10-15 min and then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and roast for 20 min. per pound.  

Make a spinach salad.  

Finish your fruit.  Great job!  How do you feel today?