Monthly Menu

Weekly grocery shopping is such a time hog that I decided to find a way to shorten the time spent every month. My time in the actual store is only about 45 minutes, but when you add on the driving, putting everything away and pre-planning, you have a pretty lengthy process. I would guess I was previously spending 2-2 1/2 hours per week total, not including cutting coupons. I'm not into extreme couponing and don't stockpile, so I only cut coupons for the items I actually plan to purchase. I also only shop primarily at the commissary with occasional trips to Publix for their BOGO deals. I simply don't have time in my day/week/month to spend cutting, planning, organizing, shopping, storing and figuring out what to do with all of the products I would accumulate if I was an extreme couponer. If it works for you, great! I don't have the brain energy to do it.

I do, however, plan to start making a monthly trip to Whole Foods, Earth Fare or Trader Joe's and a twice monthly trip to the farmer's market. I also plan to increase my order from Bread Becker's to take advantage of their bulk grains and beans. I would love to be able to order from Azure Standard, but it doesn't look like it's a good deal to have it shipped to the east coast.

As always, I started with the internet and began researching monthly menu planning. I've done this in the past, but haven't stuck with it for any length of time. I found that in the past I didn't spend enough time planning everything out before trying to implement it. This time around I'm spending several weeks getting the menu just right, making sure it's filled with foods we won't mind eating on a monthly basis and making sure we have plenty of variety. As part of my healthy eating goal I've made sure the majority of the meals utilize healthy cooking techniques and ingredients.

For now I'm going to try to plan one menu to last us at least 3 months. The menu will simply repeat itself at the beginning of each month. I did not plan for holidays or special events, but figure that should not be a problem as we get to them. Each day of the week uses a different meat or type of dish. Sunday is pork, Monday is chicken, Tuesday is fish/seafood, Wednesday is wraps/sandwiches, Thursday is soup, Friday is beef and Saturday is meatless. With the high cost of grass-fed meats, though, I might find myself searching out more meatless meals. I have already decided to cut back on the quantity of meat in most meals. For dishes that previously used one pound of meat, for instance, I'll cut it down to 1/2 pound or 3/4 pound.

I did not include lunches since those are normally leftovers or sandwiches, but I did include breakfast for six days. Again, I tried to shoot for variety and have things like eggs/toast, pumpkin pancakes or waffles with orange syrup, oatmeal, creamy rice pudding, sausage/egg rollups and biscuits and gravy. My family loves dessert so I included one dessert per week, but will probably make a few more depending on how much of a sweet tooth we get.

To make shopping easier I made a twice monthly shopping list that details everything I will need for two weeks. I did not get nitty-gritty and include things like baking soda and flour, but I did include things like pecans, eggs and buttermilk. I want to make sure I get the correct amount of eggs,milk, cheese, etc. from wherever I decide to purchase them and not run out before I get a chance to get more. Since I'm trying to stay grass-fed and pasture-raised, I don't want to get store-bought milk and eggs if I can avoid it.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do a screen-capture or upload a copy of either the menu or shopping list. If you are interested in either one, please leave me a comment and I will email them to you. I'm bummed because it would have looked so cool in the post.

Healthy Eating

I've been doing quite a lot of research the past few days on healthy eating. I've decided to avoid using a specific "plan" as outlined in any number of books, but rather to simply strive to go back to nature. God gave us food abundantly and in perfect form. He didn't create foods intending for us to alter them with chemicals. Our bodies are designed to live and thrive with the foods He gave us.

I've decided to take this whole lifestyle change gradually. I typically jump in too soon and then fail when it becomes overwhelming so I'm not doing that this time. I'm not going to stress myself out with everything I could be doing and all of the things I could be buying and making. One thing I'm going to do that I believe will help is to make a schedule for my time each week. It is going to vary each week, depending on outside appointments, so I need to plan each week as I get to it. I plan to schedule in things like starting my bread dough (which needs to sit overnight to soak), making and checking on yogurt, and possibly sprouting some grain.

I had fun at the commissary this morning trying to find new products. It was kind of frustrating at the same time, though, because I didn't find everything, which means I will have to shop at at least one additional store each week/month. Some of my finds include coconut flour, coconut oil, and cage-free chicken at a decent price. I also wrote down the price for a 3L jug of olive oil and found that it was cheaper than at World Market by $5.

Some websites to learn more:

Nourishing Gourmet

Keeper of the Home

Kitchen Stewardship

Health, Home and Happiness

Heavenly Homemakers

Dinner menu for the week:

Tonight-Caribbean Jerk Chicken, sweet potato fries and green beans

Saturday-Spaghetti with homemade sauce and rolls

Sunday-Meatloaf, mashed potatoes

Monday-Tilapia, cornbread stuffing

Tuesday-Black-eyed pea soup, bread

Wednesday-Beef Noodle Soup, bread

Breakfast:

Steel-cut oatmeal with apples

Cinnamon scones

Apple-Cinnamon muffins

Maker's Diet vs Eat Right 4 Your Type

I've struggled for years with digestive issues, fatigue and headaches. My headaches are finally somewhat under control with a new medication I'm on, but I still have around 14 headaches per month. I've had allergy testing done and know I'm not allergic to any of the commonly tested items. I've also had a gluten test done and it came back negative. I believe my problem has two culprits, over-eating and an unhealthy diet combined with dehydration.

I never went without food as a child, so I'm not sure why I overeat. I can't stand to waste food and have a hard time throwing food in the garbage. I tell myself I'm being a good steward by finishing the last few bites. I also eat because food tastes good and I'm bored. I eat even when I'm full because I can't get my mind off of a particular item of food. Another part of my problem is unhealthy eating and dehydration. My typical diet consists of coffee with cream and sugar, yogurt with granola for breakfast, leftovers for lunch, chips/cookies/ice cream for snack, and meat and carbs for dinner. It doesn't seem to matter what I eat, as I've experienced pain after eating salad, dairy, wheat, processed foods, etc. You name it, I've probably had pain after eating it.

I've owned Eat Right 4 Your Type Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo for several years, but was recently loaned The Maker's Diet by Jordan S. Rubin by a friend. I'm desperate to find an answer for why I can't eat without pain. I don't need to lose weight, so I'm hesitant to say the books are diet books. I consider them more along the lines of lifestyle books. Both books cause you to radically alter your current way of thinking and living and both offer good suggestions and make a lot of sense. I agree with much of what both gentlemen put forth, but there are some big differences between the two plans.

The Maker's Diet tells you to avoid all shellfish, soy milk, commercial dairy products, pasta except kamut or spelt, and all breads unless they are made from sprouted grains. It also recommends the use of special supplements throughout the day. It takes you through three phases, with the first phase being very strict and the last phase less restrictive. The first phase is "designed to stabilize insulin and blood sugar, reduce inflammation, reduce infection, enhance digestion, and help balance the hormones in your body" (p199). Phase two continues with the above benefits, but allows you a greater number of foods to choose from, and phase three is the maintenance phase.

Eat Right 4 Your Type says that our food choices should be linked to our blood type. I, for instance, am type O. Type O is characterized as a hunter and should eat lots of meat with very little grains and dairy. It also says we have hardy digestive tracts, are intolerant to dietary and environmental adaptations and respond best to stress with intense physical activity. This book goes into great detail about what to eat and what to avoid, even down to condiments and spices.

According to the dietary guidelines, I should be eating:

6-9 servings of meats and poultry weekly

3-5 servings of seafood weekly

3-11 servings of dairy and eggs weekly

10-18 servings of oils, nuts and seeds weekly

1-2 servings of beans and legumes weekly

2-3 servings of cereals weekly

0-3 servings of bread and muffins daily

0-6 servings of grains and pasta daily

6-10 servings of vegetables daily

3-4 servings of fruits daily

2-3 servings of juice daily

Does anyone have any experience with either of these plans? I don't really want to put forth the time and energy needed to successfully carry out either of these if they aren't worth it. I also want to make sure I'm fully prepared when I do decide which one to follow. I tend to jump in too quickly and then fizzle out just as quickly. I think if I put more time and effort into the planning stage, the actual doing stage will go much smoother.