As usual I did not stick to my game plan or planned menu or anything thing else. Not only that, I got very little that I needed to get done completed. Mom was seriously demanding and had some (more than normal) comprehension and cognitive difficulties last week.Usually My beloved Sister and I swap out the weekday evening rituals Mom needs, but she had a couple of medical issues this week and I was responsible for her morning, evening, and in between time needs. I felt like every moment was filled with either taking care of her non-emergency emergencies or waiting for the phone to ring with yet another one. And sadly, I see/feel nothing will change this week. I wish life could be easier and happier for her.
This is what I had planned (in no particular order):
lazy tired of separating our menu for the week based on the keto food (me) and food for the non keto eater. Imagine, if you will, that for every menu I post from now on, the following will always happen. If a day calls for mashed potatoes I will always be eating cauliflower mashed "non-potatoes". Rice means cauliflower rice for me. Spaghetti will be either spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles depending on how many carbs I have remaining (and if I have zucchini in the fridge since I always have a small pack of frozen cooked spaghetti squash on hand). The same holds true for potato salad, and au gratin potatoes. My serving will be cauliflower based. If a menu plan says french fries, it means I am SOL and will not be eating it. Also any dessert mentioned other than ice cream will be keto, unless someone else cooks it. I will share my keto pie but I am not baking real cookies and not be able to eat them. Selfish? Perhaps but that is just the way the world here works. I figure if I am willing to make you real mashed potatoes from scratch, you can suck it up and either eat keto dessert, ice cream, make your own, or do without.
Monday: Monday was a relatively uneventful day. I messed around in the freezer and found a few items I wanted to use this week, including a half of a roast I had forgotten about. I know we had one Mom "emergency" during the day but for the life of me I don't remember what it was. I do know I did her breathing treatment and came home,
Hot Chicken Salad, broccoli
Tuesday: It was a crappy seriously rainy morning and I decided I needed to do something with the half roast I found in the freezer. I got the crock pot started and was messing around until the phone rang. After getting drenched when I had to make the emergency mayonnaise buying trip for Mom I can home to a simmering meal.
Vegetable beef stew
Wednesday: More blooming rain and I had to do a major grocery shopping run in the downpour. The upside was some unexpected, unadvertised sales at Sprouts.
Roasted turkey thighs, keto "dressing" and tossed salad
Thursday:At 7:15 am the phone rang and it was the beginning of the day's Mommergencies. When TheHub got home we went out for a few minutes to a much needed wine tasting The Pig has every Thursday night (much needed wine, not the tasting)
Stuffed bell peppers, coleslaw, glass of wine
Friday: TheHub had a difficult work week and had to work through the weekend, He wanted to go somewhere cheery for dinner, then we came home, changed into soft clothes and settled in for a movie from Redbox.
Out to eat at Mugshot's
Saturday: TheHub worked most of the day but when he came home we went riding around looking at potential locations when we decide to scale down our housing. Afterward he wanted to run by the grocery store to pick up some bananas but we had to pass the deli on the way to the produce section, right as they were taking the rotisserie chickens out of the oven. It smelled so good and yes, we succumbed and bought one!
Deli chicken, fresh asparagus, fruit salad
Sunday: The day was incredibly gorgeous after a week of torrential rains. We opted to have a pre-Oscar meal grilled outside. And the winner is. . . me because TheHub is the grill master!
Used from the freezer:
2 packs boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 sirloin tip roast
Added to the freezer
3 pounds ground chuck (deeply discounted for our area, ends Tuesday & I will buy more)
10 pounds chicken quarters (cooked, boned, in meal size packs ditto about buying more)
2 packs turkey broth (quart and a half)
6 pint packs super concentrated chicken "jelly" broth
3 quarts regular chicken broth
And the plan for this week will include a lot of asparagus. Sprouts had a stellar deal on it last week, the add runs through Wednesday and will also include the new ad. I will go there Wednesday and cherry pick last weeks ad and pick up anything form the new week that I need. (Fingers crossed for a couple of good bargains)
1: Spaghetti and meat sauce, tossed salad, asparagus, garlic bread
2. Seared scallops, mashed potatoes, asparagus, mixed green salad
3. Chicken Korma basmati rice, green beans
4: Soup and sandwich (unknown what kind yet) coleslaw
5. Cooked beef patties with brown gravy, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts
6. Turkey tetrazzini, coleslaw, broccoli
7. We have to go to a charity function and will eat there (I am betting it will either be some form of rubbery chicken or tough steak. As with every single charity thing I have even been to, you don't go for the food.)
This is what I had planned (in no particular order):
1. Stuffed bell peppers, rice, cauli rice, cucumber salad,
2. Chicken Korma, basmati rice (TheHub) cauli rice (me) green beans
3. Hot chicken salad, Brussels sprouts, tossed salad, rolls (TheHub) keto "roll" (me)
4. Seared Scallops, mashed potatoes (TheHub) cauli mash (me), spring greens, green beans or asparagus, rolls or keto rolls
5. Ham, leek, and cheese frittata, veggie chop salad, grilled keto bread or toast
6. Keto pizza, tossed salad
7. Leftover meal
I am getting 3. Hot chicken salad, Brussels sprouts, tossed salad, rolls (TheHub) keto "roll" (me)
4. Seared Scallops, mashed potatoes (TheHub) cauli mash (me), spring greens, green beans or asparagus, rolls or keto rolls
5. Ham, leek, and cheese frittata, veggie chop salad, grilled keto bread or toast
6. Keto pizza, tossed salad
7. Leftover meal
Monday: Monday was a relatively uneventful day. I messed around in the freezer and found a few items I wanted to use this week, including a half of a roast I had forgotten about. I know we had one Mom "emergency" during the day but for the life of me I don't remember what it was. I do know I did her breathing treatment and came home,
Hot Chicken Salad, broccoli
Tuesday: It was a crappy seriously rainy morning and I decided I needed to do something with the half roast I found in the freezer. I got the crock pot started and was messing around until the phone rang. After getting drenched when I had to make the emergency mayonnaise buying trip for Mom I can home to a simmering meal.
Vegetable beef stew
Wednesday: More blooming rain and I had to do a major grocery shopping run in the downpour. The upside was some unexpected, unadvertised sales at Sprouts.
Roasted turkey thighs, keto "dressing" and tossed salad
Thursday:At 7:15 am the phone rang and it was the beginning of the day's Mommergencies. When TheHub got home we went out for a few minutes to a much needed wine tasting The Pig has every Thursday night (much needed wine, not the tasting)
Stuffed bell peppers, coleslaw, glass of wine
Friday: TheHub had a difficult work week and had to work through the weekend, He wanted to go somewhere cheery for dinner, then we came home, changed into soft clothes and settled in for a movie from Redbox.
Out to eat at Mugshot's
Saturday: TheHub worked most of the day but when he came home we went riding around looking at potential locations when we decide to scale down our housing. Afterward he wanted to run by the grocery store to pick up some bananas but we had to pass the deli on the way to the produce section, right as they were taking the rotisserie chickens out of the oven. It smelled so good and yes, we succumbed and bought one!
Deli chicken, fresh asparagus, fruit salad
Sunday: The day was incredibly gorgeous after a week of torrential rains. We opted to have a pre-Oscar meal grilled outside. And the winner is. . . me because TheHub is the grill master!
Used from the freezer:
2 packs boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 sirloin tip roast
Added to the freezer
3 pounds ground chuck (deeply discounted for our area, ends Tuesday & I will buy more)
10 pounds chicken quarters (cooked, boned, in meal size packs ditto about buying more)
2 packs turkey broth (quart and a half)
6 pint packs super concentrated chicken "jelly" broth
3 quarts regular chicken broth
And the plan for this week will include a lot of asparagus. Sprouts had a stellar deal on it last week, the add runs through Wednesday and will also include the new ad. I will go there Wednesday and cherry pick last weeks ad and pick up anything form the new week that I need. (Fingers crossed for a couple of good bargains)
1: Spaghetti and meat sauce, tossed salad, asparagus, garlic bread
2. Seared scallops, mashed potatoes, asparagus, mixed green salad
3. Chicken Korma basmati rice, green beans
4: Soup and sandwich (unknown what kind yet) coleslaw
5. Cooked beef patties with brown gravy, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts
6. Turkey tetrazzini, coleslaw, broccoli
7. We have to go to a charity function and will eat there (I am betting it will either be some form of rubbery chicken or tough steak. As with every single charity thing I have even been to, you don't go for the food.)
I know we laugh at many of your stories about your mom but I understand that it usually isn't funny and I feel for you and your sister. I guess you have to laugh or you would cry wouldn't you!
ReplyDeleteWe laugh all the time because we both have a dark sense of humor and can find something funny in almost any situation.
DeleteLOL. Our menus seem to have a split personality disorder. If it has bread, pasta or rice assume I didn't eat it either. :)
ReplyDeleteYep! I just got tired of listing the differences.
DeleteI'm not on any special diet (although my husband is on WW) and I have always found the idea of substituting cauliflower for potatoes silly. While I like cauliflower, it is not potatoes. However, the idea is starting to grow on me. Do you have a favorite way to make mashed cauliflower or rice?
ReplyDeleteYou have to understand that keto is a high fat mid protein low carb way of eating so there are not low calorie. I cook the cauliflower until it is soft, drain it well, then I mash it with a potato masher, though all recipes suggest using a food processor. Add butter heavy cream and parmesan cheese and stir like crazy. salt and pepper to taste and it truly is delicious. My Dil prefers them to real mashed potatoes and she is not doing keto.
ReplyDeleteI bet they do taste good with heavy cream and butter. :)
DeleteMy daughter once had a cauliflower/mashed potato (not sure if it was half cauliflower and half potato) that she thought was great! But then, she likes cauliflower. I don't.
ReplyDeleteI think you did very well with meals this week, given all that you had going on with your mom, etc. I don't blame you on the desserts, one bit! I don't know how you manage to cook two different types of "rice", "pasta", "potatoes", etc., the real stuff for your husband and the substitutes for yourself! I would find that too much!
I cheat and keep single servings of riced cauliflower in the freezer all the time . I also make mashed cauliflower about once a week and freeze it in individual serving portions, so all I ever have to do for mine is grab it and heat it in the microwave on my plate right before mealtime. I will also cook enough rice for a couple or 3 meals and do the same with mashed potatoes so all I have to do is re-warm them. That being said, for meals like the turkey tetrazzini where everything is all baked together, he will be eating zoodles instead of pasta because I am not making 2 of those
DeleteI love asparagus, I grows wild along the railroad tracks here and in the ditch banks, but you have to be fast to get it before someone else does.
ReplyDeleteI love asparagus too. I would love to grow it, and have planted it a couple of times. Our summers are too brutal for it and I have never had one that lasted long enough to get a first harvest from it.
DeleteI have never made cauliflower rice or mashed cauli but I LOVE cauliflower and I think I could eat it every day, especially with butter and cheese!
ReplyDeletemy mum doesn't have emergencies but she is always too frantically busy (doing what I don't know) to accept any invitation i make. she also lets me know how much i am inconveniencing her schedule if i drop by or phone so at least i don't get caught going over there in thunderstorms!
I love the cauli mash. I do eat cauliflower in some form nearly every day.
DeleteBe glad your mom is busy. Mine used to be, but now age has crept up on her (and me) and she has slowed in every way. Except for being demanding and she is still very good at that!
I am so glad you told me about grilled keto bread, because I have been enjoying it very much....so much nicer than toasted some times. I also eat a lot of cauliflower, but I love my sauteed shredded cabbage as well....like eating buttered noodles, it has become my new comfort food. Every so often I will also change things up by boiling turnip. I have found turnip in several keto recipes. When summer arrives I will be eating more zoodles, but right now it is still too expensive. In the meantime, I should try some spaghetti squash with meat sauce. I don't really like spaghetti squash on its own, but my sister swears by it as a substitute for spaghetti.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you have retained your wonderful (and dark) sense of humour. That and wine should get you through the worst of your mommergencies (love that terminology).
I think the bread is so much better when it is grilled. I am not a fan of it, but I make it every week because it does fill in the gaps of some of my less than stellar meals.
DeleteI love sauteed cabbage also, but it has been dreadfully high here so I have been doing the cauliflower thing while it is still relatively inexpensive. I need to get about 5 heads of it and make cauli mash and freeze it in portion sizes, because it will be sky high in price soon.
This summer I will be able to buy huge baskets of zucchini from the farmers market for 4 or 5 bucks. I am not sure how well zoodles will freeze but since Birdseye has them frozen as a grocery item I know it can be done. I will experiment a bit and see if I can steam them instead of blanching prior to freezing.
Periodically Aldi has spaghetti squash for a buck each. When they do I buy 5 or 6 of them, cook and freeze the "noodles" in portion sizes for me. I don't like it unless it has a delicious alfredo or meat sauce on them, but when covered it is pretty darn tasty.