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Monday, January 20, 2020

Plans vs. Reality

This was my meal plan for last week and what really happened. Rarely do I stick to a plan, but this week I came pretty dang close.

Planned:
1. Keto sloppy joe's, coleslaw
2. Buffalo chicken dip, veggies and  toast. tossed salad
3. Soup and keto crackers
4.Chicken salad "sandwich" (On one of those fake buns that are keto friendly)
5. Scallops, asparagus, alfredo over noodles or zoodles
6. Cheese sandwiches, soup
7. Leftover pork tenderloin, with cauliflower fake mac and cheese, green beans

Eaten:
Monday was the national championship college championship. We had planned a quick meal so we could watch all 4 hours (!?!?!) of the ball game without interruption
Sloppy Joe's on slider buns or keto roll, coleslaw

Tuesday I spent a good deal of time at Mom's. I came home late and just pulled our dinner  (made the day before) out of the fridge to warm up.
Chicken vegetable soup, tortilla chips or not  (if you are the keto one)

Wednesday TheHub went out of town  midday and I had a day away from the house starting with going to Mom's early to fill in the gap of time between sitters, my dentist appointment, Aldi quick shop, running by the house to  make sure TheHub took the things I wanted sent to Son 3 and DIl3 since he will see them Friday and Saturday to help TheHub pack,  3 hours at the cardiologist with Mom, 2 business errands for Mom, then My Beloved Sister and I met to look at nursing homes. I got home and did not want to do anything in the kitchen.
Buffalo chicken dip with veggies and keto crackers

Thursday TheHub was still out of town which meant I could get away with little or no cooking. Win! I bought some zero carb bread at Aldi. I toasted 2 slices, then sliced each of them into 2 very thin slices. (The bread is not exactly like real bread but is a decent substitute and much better toasted)
2 Peanut butter and sugar free added fiber jelly sandwiches, glass of almond milk

Friday I no longer remember what exactly happened on Friday, but it doesn't matter. The day came and went with no upsets so I am calling it a fine day.
Leftover chicken vegetable soup

Saturday TheHub was supposed to be at home in time for dinner, but a missed flight and bad weather changed all that. Instead of cooking I just pulled a couple of leftover things out of the fridge/freezer, zapped it and called it done.
Cauliflower, warmed with shredded cheese over it, leftover chopped pork tenderloin with keto bbq sauce

Sunday We socked in to watch the Titans play ball, watched a movie and then had a late dinner.
Chili with or without beans, (without beans served over cauliflower florets) keto cornbread

Keto crap I needed to make for the week
1. Keto dinner rolls ✔
2. Sun butter cookies (need and want are interchangeable here) ✔
3. Keto fake cinnamon toast crunch cereal
4. Keto soup (most likely chicken broth base with veggies) ✔

Additional keto crap I actually made
1. Curry dill dip
2. keto cornbread

 I am doing some meal planning again this week, which might or might not happen. I am pretty fickle when it comes to food and food prep. Right now I have a ton of fresh produce and a very well stocked pantry. I should have to go to the grocery store for very little, if anything this week. So rather than planning like I normally do based on the Wednesday grocery ads which I get every Monday morning for some weird reason, I am meal planning with what is on hand. As usual these meals are in no particular order and are interchangeable with the exception of Tuesday's meal. I am having bookclub for a belated Edgar Allen Poe birthday celebration to use my new dishes.

1. Scallops, broccoli, mashed potatoes or caulimash
2. Tell tale hearts of artichoke salad,  roast chicken (masking as a raven), roasted, shredded brussels sprouts, blood splattered rice pilaf, almond(illado) desserts
3.  Hamburger patty, keto wild rice pilaf, coleslaw
4, Keto bean soup (which has no beans at all), keto cornbread chaffle
5. Leftover chili over leftover rice pilaf or cauliflower, crackers for the non keto, coleslaw
6. Some Asian chicken stir fry or curry (unsure yet) over rice or cauli rice
7. Spaghetti or zoodles with meat sauce, tossed salad

Keto crap I need to make for the week
1. Keto granola
2. Coconut flour chocolate chip cookies (for the freezer)
3. keto dinner rolls (I still have several in the freezer but am making a fresh batch for book club. 3 people are doing keto so I am making it for them. (I will freeze any leftovers)
4. Almond cinnamon cookies (again for bookclub and leftovers will be frozen)



22 comments:

  1. Good luck.
    I remember visiting nursing homes to scope them out. Any which smelt of urine or cabbage were crossed off immediately.
    The almond cinnamon cookies sound good. Recipe? Relatively recently I made a gluten free,lactose free chocolate brownie for a friend. It was an experience. Coconut flour/almond meal behaves very differently to the flours I usually use. It was an ultimate winner though she scoffed the brownies. Fast.

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    1. The cookies are easy
      2 cups almond flour
      1/2 cup of butter, softened (margarine would work as well)
      1 egg
      1 teaspoon vanilla
      1 teaspoon cinnamon
      1/2 cup sweetner. I used erythritol under the brand name Swerve. I am pretty sure monkfruit would work as well, as would sucralose
      (if using unsalted butter or margarine, add 1/8 teaspoon salt)
      Simply mix everything together until it is well blended and not lumpy
      I have a very small cookie scoop which I use to measure the dough (maybe 1 1/2 teaspoons) Scoop the dough and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Flatten slightly (I used a dough tamper but fingers work also) Then I used the pointed end of a skewer to make 4 holes (like a button) in each cookie. I have found when using the almond flour it needs the added holes so the center will be baked thoroughly. Not in the recipe instruction but trial and error on my part. (Sunflower seed flour and coconut flour do not seem to need the holes.)
      Bake at 325 for about 8 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet about 5 minutes before removing to a rack. (Honestly I just put them on a plate then) They are very soft but crisp up when they cool.

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    2. Thank you. I will bookmark this for later. We still have rather a lot of Christmas Cake to consume.

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  2. Best of luck with the nursing homes. Sounds like you had a super busy week with your Mom. I like those nights when there is little to no cooking too. :)

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    Replies
    1. Each week with Mom takes a lot of time. I love the no cooking nights too

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  3. Please take pictures of your Poe party. It sounds like fun. What are you reading?

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  4. Is you mother in good enough shape for assisted living or will she go straight into nursing care? Some of the assisted living places my sister and I looked at in this area were really nice and we talked about getting a room together and moving in. But then our parents let us know that they would never want to move here. Too big city for them.

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    1. Mom has missed the opportunity for assisted living and will need nursing care. Some days she can stand unassisted but most of the time she needs help just getting up. With the Parkinson's sometimes her brain does not tell her how to keep stepping so mid walk she will just move her feet and go nowhere.

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  5. You had a very busy day on Wednesday! I hope the other days weren't quite as busy. You did very well with the meal planning and following it, for the most part! Good luck with the search for a nursing home; hope that works out well.

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    1. Thank you Bless. We are fortunate to have private home care for her right now, but we have to make some hard decisions in the not to distant future.

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  6. All the best to you on your keto journey.

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  7. You did so well - and still had a busy week. Best to get your Mom on a nursing home list now, often they take a long wait time to get in. Love your Poe menu, blood spattered rice haha

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    1. We did put Mom on two waiting lists. Sadly if Mom were on Medicaid we could find a place immediately, but the private care rooms are just not as available.

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  8. So it has come to that. I remember visiting homes right before mom passed. She was lucid enough to know what we were doing and asked me not to let her go there. I think she said, "I just don't think it is time yet." So I told her I would protect her from my sisters who were forcing the issue mostly because I was so tired. She died a few weeks later. Funny here if you are on Medicaid here you can't get a place, but if you can do private they have plenty of spaces. This must be so hard on you my friend. Hugs

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    1. Mom is not yet needing one, but we were told we needed to have a plan in place for when it is time. Now I understand why. The place we would really like her to be has 47 people ahead of her on the waiting list.

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  9. I hope your search for a nursing/care home goes well. It's never an easy decision.

    This may or may not make you laugh...but I really don't know what else to say. Out of university I was working at a nursing home as an accountant. One day everyone else left the office for lunch and I was left alone to answer the phones. A call came in from a family member checking to see where their parent was on the waiting list. I can't remember now but it was the double digits. They asked how much longer it would be and I answered, it depends. Bad answer because of course they asked, it depends on what. I'm not one to sugar coat things, and though I tried to be tactful my answer that people only leave here one way still didn't satisfy the caller. He asked, what does that mean and I had to say, people have to die. The response was "oh" and a click as he hung up!

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  10. I really didn't (not don't) know what else to say. Typo!

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    Replies
    1. It is funny, but also not funny. I do understand how people leave!

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  11. Sounds like you had a busy week. I too hope your search for a nursing home goes well.

    Thank you for the almond cookie recipe. 😊

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    Replies
    1. It was a good week and not having to cook for three days was a bonus!

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