January 2017 Monthly Meal Plan

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Happy new year! Almost. Soon….. please? I’m not much of a resolution person, because who has time for that? But I do like to clean the house after the holidays…partially to get rid of all.the.pine.needles (so many), partially to have nice, new homes for our nice, new presents, and partially because it’s nice to start the year off on a clean foot. And then in three weeks, we can go back to living in filth and chaos. 🙂 Aaaah, the new year!

Before I get to the food, I wanted to mention that the 2016 Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle is being offered again, but just for two days. I used to help out behind the scenes with these bundles and there’s always something in there that looks tempting by itself, but even more so when offered with all the other ebooks and courses (and especially the bonuses!). Here are a few that I thought sounded especially good:

• The Healthy Moving TV Time Action Pack – I love Jen Hoffman. When I was doing work with Keeper of the Home, I interacted with her on occasion and she was awesome. I almost passed this over, but the “TV” part got my attention. Honestly, I have zero time to workout these days, but I know I need it as I see the number on the scale getting a little higher every week. These are workouts I can do while I’m watching TV with E at night….I can get onboard with that!

• Jumpstart Your Urban Farm Ecourse – I checked out a book from the library on turning your backyard into a mini-farm because it’s been a dream for years. Now that we finally have a yard, I had every intention of diving in completely this spring. I opened the book and got lost in a myriad of fertilizers and watering systems and seed dates and natural and synthetic pest control and animals who eat everything and garden structures, etc. etc. etc. Then I closed it and put my head down on my desk and cried. This course says it’s “easy!”…. maybe there’s still hope?

• A Month of Meals: Protein Style – 30 days of gluten-free and dairy-free meals? Sign me up! This isn’t available on her site anymore, so I was glad to see that it’s part of the bundle.

It’s only up until tomorrow, though, so get it before it goes away for this year!

Now on to food! With this meal plan, I’m including five to six gluten-free, grain-free, mostly dairy-free (or very easily adapted to dairy-free) recipes for five weeks. You will see repetition in this list because I find that reusing a few different things (specifically sides) each week, also makes meal planning and cooking in general easier. I discover recipes that my family really likes and that are relatively simple to get on the table, and I add those into the rotation. The more I make them, the faster and more efficient they get, and then I can try new recipes.

A few notes… I’m going to include links to the recipes that are available online, otherwise, I’ll include links to the resource where I got the recipe. In all the recipes where butter is called for, I substitute ghee to make it lactose/casein-free. Also, these recipes are meant to be easy for weeknights, but they do still take time. I usually start about an hour before I want us to eat. Obviously, if it’s a recipe I haven’t made before, it will take more time.

Without further ado, here’s what we’ll be chowing down on during the month of December….

January 2 – 8

Monday – Irishman’s omelet (ITC), sauteed spinach
Tuesday – out
Wednesday –sheet pan fajitas , ensalada mixta (from the old Nourished Kitchen meal plans)
Thursday – bratwurst, colannon, pan-braised green beans (ATK)
Friday – baked cod with creamy dill dressing (from the old Nourished Kitchen meal plans), roasted acorn squash, sauteed spinach
Saturday – Swedish meatballs, roasted beets and carrots, salad with Italian dressing (BTAB)
Sunday – chicken wings with bleu cheese, kale chips

January 9 – 15

Monday – cheesy sausage with spinach baked ramekin eggs (BR), sauteed spinach
Tuesday – out
Wednesday –roasted chicken thighs, roasted beets and carrots
Thursday –roasted spaghetti squash with sausage and kale , sauteed cherry tomatoes (ATK)
Friday – poached salmon with Irish butter sauce (ITC),roasted acorn squash, sauteed spinach
Saturday –beef pot roast with red wine and thyme , rosemary potatoes (NT), salad with Italian dressing (BTAB)
Sunday – out/leftovers

January 16 – 22

Monday – Denver scramble, sauteed spinach
Tuesday – out
Wednesday – one-pan Greek chicken, Greek salad (ATK)
Thursday –sausage, peppers, and onions; sauteed spinach
Friday – twice laid (ITC), sauteed cherry tomatoes (ATK), salad with Italian dressing (BTAB)
Saturday – lazy stuffed cabbage rolls, pan-braised green beans (ATK)
Sunday – potato soup, brown rolls

January 23 – 29

Monday – eggy onion breakfast bread, sauteed spinach
Tuesday – out
Wednesday – roast chicken, roasted carrots & beets, salad with Italian dressing (BTAB)
Thursday – sausage & potato casserole, sauteed spinach
Friday – salmon cakes (PP), creamy dill dressing (from the old Nourished Kitchen meal plans), roasted brussels sprouts, pan-braised green beans (ATK)
Saturday – roasted herb sweet potato bites Swiss steak, salad with Italian dressing (BTAB)
Sunday – out/leftovers

January 30 – February 5

Monday – Denver scramble, sauteed spinach
Tuesday – out
Wednesday – chicken cacciatore, carrots Vichy, salad with Italian dressing (BTAB)
Thursday – one pan healthy sausage and veggies, salad with Italian dressing (BTAB)
Friday – cod sauteed in olive oil with fresh tomatoes, roasted acorn squash, sauteed spinach
Saturday – beef with carmelized onions and mushrooms, rosemary potatoes (NT)
Sunday – chicken wings with bleu cheese, kale chips

Lunch Ideas

We’re pretty relaxed about lunch and usually rely on leftovers if we happen to have any. Otherwise, we keep staples in the house to throw something together fast:

Sardines – I know! Sardines! Gross! Right? But they’re a powerhouse of nutrients, the kids LOVE them, and they’re extremely convenient for packed lunches
Tuna – I get skipjack as it’s lower in mercury than other kinds of tuna
Egg salad – Another of B’s favorites
Hard-boiled eggs
Butternut squash soup – The kids especially like this cold so they can drink it with straws
Roasted chicken drumsticks – Preheat oven to 400 degrees, top each drumstick with a pat of butter/ghee, sprinkle with salt or your favorite seasoning, and roast for 40 minutes
Paleo Wraps with almond butter (NTC) – Paleo Wraps are more affordable through Azure Standard, but they’ve been out long-term for a little while; Natural Grocers also sells them for a reasonable price
Raw cheese slices – We get this through our raw milk dairy; if you buy it from the store, be sure it really is raw as some cheese-producers will claim that it’s raw, but they still heat it to 160 (Azure has Organic Pastures which is also widely sold in California)

Lunch sides: cherry tomatoes, Bubbies pickles, red pepper slices, olives, steamed broccoli/cauliflower/carrots (10 minutes with lots of butter/ghee), sauerkraut (NT), fermented yams, fresh fruit

Breakfast Ideas

We have the same thing almost every day of the week for breakfast because trying to come up with variety in this area would probably make my head implode. Sunday through Friday, we have scrambled eggs and the kids each get half of an avocado. They finish that off with a small bowl of frozen mixed berries (E and I have bowls of GF oatmeal).

On Saturdays, E breaks out the apron and produces a feast: scrambled eggs, bacon, and either home fries (MIP2) or banana pancakes (EGFB).

Resources

You can see my master list of recipes that are currently in rotation here, a list of places where I buy my food here, and a guide for buying kitchen equipment here. I also use Plan to Eat to collect recipes, make my meal plan, and generate grocery lists. It’s a fantastic little tool and I think meal planning would be a LOT more work without it. If you’re not sure about paying for something like this, they offer a free 30-day trial which is the perfect amount of time to give it a try!