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Monday, March 30, 2020

A Man A Plan A Canal Panama

Sorry about the title but I am bored and amusing myself seems to be a necessity. I like palindromes and it was either this or "Able was I ere I saw Elba"  and I thought that was a tad obtuse for a title about a meal plan.

Sunday night or Monday morning I start thinking about the week to come. And because times are so strange, last week I actually was stupid enough to think there would be very little flexibility in what we would eat.  Little did I know that we would be just as fickle in our tastes and wants as we normally are, but my hard and fast rule was that I would not make any trip anywhere to get anything that was not absolutely necessary.

I had talked with all of Mom's sitters and had done a personal inventory (translation, I cleaned out her refrigerator and pantry) and knew I would run pick up a few things she needed early Wednesday morning. Although I did not really need anything a few things may have jumped in my buggy while I was shopping for Mom.

Based on what I had on hand this was the menu that was planned for the past week:

1. Keto Turkey casserole, tossed salad, garlic toast or none
2. Hamburgers, tater tots (or none), coleslaw
3. Mac and cheese or keto "Mac" and cheese, turnip greens, keto cornbread
4. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes  or cauliflower mash, brussels sprouts, sliced tomatoes
5.  Soup, salad and rolls 0r keto rolls.
6. "Out to eat" take out from a locally owned restaurant
7. " Out to eat" take out from a locally owned restaurant

Monday: I had looked at my food list of  foods I had cooked and frozen previously when I made my menu. I found a small loaf pan of cooked meat loaf, so I took it out and thawed it. A quick zap in the microwave and a couple of sides and dinner was on the table.
Meatloaf, leftover potatoes. tossed salad, brussels sprouts, garlic bread or keto cornbread

Tuesday: I absolutely could not face making a turkey casserole, but I had taken the cooked turkey out of the freezer to thaw, so I was committed to using it. The day was really warm and it screamed for something warm weatherish.
Big tossed salad with turkey and cheese salad, toast or no toast.

Wednesday: When I was out shopping for Mom I was sad to notice there was no chicken and virtually no beef. I did find one nice porterhouse steak. TheHub and I always split a steak so I put up no protest when it leapt into my buggy.
Steak, baked potato (or not), steamed cauliflower (or not if you could have the potato) tossed salad

Thursday: I was just not feeling it. I was not really feeling sorry for myself, or maybe I was. I'm not sure. So I headed outdoors and mostly read until it was about time for TheHub to be home. Then I  headed to the freezer to see what I could find and honestly did not care what it was.
BBQ chicken, coleslaw (Not sure I can really call it bbq chicken though since it was really and truly just cooked chicken I took out of the freezer, nuked it and poured some bottled sauce over it)

Friday: It was gorgeous outside and I was not about to cook anything in the house that I could cook on the grill.
Grilled hamburger patty, wilted spinach salad, pickles, tater tots (or none)

Saturday:  We went to the lake to meet some people who were interested in seeing the house. I took several bags to bring back foods that I had in the pantry or freezer there. I had no idea there was so much! I had taken a large freezer bag and one of those big blue Ikea bags. They were both filled to the gills but I still had to round up several more plastic grocery bags for the overage. Who would have "thunk" it!
We headed home later in the evening and in spite of all the food we were bring back we stopped on  and picked up some real bbq, unlike the fake bbq on Thursday night.
Take out pork plate with coleslaw and collards

Sunday:  Sundays are my non keto day. Don't ask if I made the brownie mix I found at the lake place or don't ask if we had blueberry pancakes for breakfast just to clean out  the remnants of a box of pancake mix stuck in the lake freezer.
PF Chang frozen bagged meal, (chicken something but no idea what kind it was) rice

And now for the new menu plan for the next week (In no particular order);

1. Pork tenderloin, tossed salad, baked potato (or none), broccoli, keto cornbread
2. Chopped Salad, garlic bread or keto dinner roll
3. Ham slices, carrots, green beans, coleslaw, keto cornbread
4. Hamburger helper, coleslaw or cooked cabbage (undecided) I am fasting one day this week so TheHub can have this and then have leftovers for lunch a couple of days
5. Take out from a locally owned place
6. Mac and cheese (or fake mac and cheese, since there is no such thing as keto mac) turnip greens, coleslaw, keto cornbread or real cornbread for the non ketonian.
7. "Night at the movies meal" Snacks that are non-keto for the keto day off. Right now I am thinking popcorn and a corndog, but it is subject to and probably will change.

I need to make:
keto dinner rolls
keto cookies, because a little sweetness keeps me in check
French bread for TheHub 'cause I am really nice, unless I find some when I go to the store for Mom this week.
keto coconut pie (we both like this)

Maybe this will actually happen of maybe not, but this is the plan, or the man, or a canal__Panama!


20 comments:

  1. Good luck.
    We are being a bit more adventurous (with variable success) in finding meals in the cupboards/freezer.
    In a few hours we will head off to do our grocery shopping and see which shelves are bare, and which are not. I am hoping that there hasn't been a run on fresh fruit/vegies.

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    1. Success is a relative term. To me if we have a meal that requires no shopping it is successful! I am waiting until Thursday to go shopping. I think I have enough produce to last until then. Bread? Who knows, I don't eat it and I can always bake some for TheHub

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  2. Your bbq chicken works for me. Since I bake large amounts of chicken and freeze, the chicken can be anything. I need a book to read and a chair outdoors. I can always sit in the car, i suppose. It is great you had a second house with food. I am feeling Kraft MnC. That or chocolate.

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    1. I wish I had some batting. I moved a couple of chairs from the back yard to the front, but they are kind of uncomfortable and need a chair pad in them. We have found a lot of neighbors are out walking and if we sit there we can have a little social interaction from a safe distance.

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  3. I tried to order some chicken legs on my grocery order but never got that item. I still have some chicken in the freezer. On the upside they were able to fill the request for ground beef family size pack. So tonight is leftovers of chicken salsa soup(me) and hubby will have salmon with leftover rice and steamed broccoli. Trying to use up 100% is not that easy.

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    1. It is not easy to use 100 percent! I am trying hard and failing a little. There always seems to be a piece of this or that left.

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  4. My freezers (both fridge and regular) are starting to empty out but I still have enough food for at least a few weeks. It is warming up here and I will be grilling more too. Love that!

    Take care and stay well!

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    1. We probably have enough for a couple of months, particularly if I plan carefully. I need to get a salad garden planted so I can have some lettuce available.

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  5. I think that's the first time I've heard of that particular palindrome! Very clever! I am glad you found all that extra food at the lake place. I'm eyeing your meal plan with particular interest because it's been two weeks since I grocery shopped and I am not planning to go anytime soon! This weekend, I piggy-backed on my daughter's meal plan and that worked out fine. :)

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    1. I am not planning on shopping much either. I am going to have to pick up some things for Mom later in the week and I will get some more fresh veggies then, but other than that we are set for a good month and a half.

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  6. Your menu plans are still very enticing. Mine are kind of feeling very routine and predictable. This morning I had to use some frozen eggs for my omelette as I ran out of fresh. It was edible. I may soon have to plan a grocery delivery once I know the store shelves have been restocked. What a great "find" at the lake house.

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    1. I am trying very hard to mix up our meals. TheHub is a big going out to eat guy and staying in is hard for him. I think tonight needs to be "restaurant" night in the dining room.

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  7. Aren't you clever! I would suck at those-never do well on trivia night when that's the clue. Menu, or plan, sounds pretty tasty.

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    1. I imagine some of the meals will happen and some will get tweaked or totally disregarded.

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  8. I love your other choice for a title. Do whatever it takes to amuse yourself. I have a box of chocolates that are filled with vodka. They'll amuse me.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. I might rather be amused by your amusements than by playing with post titles!

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    2. The chocolates were on sale online from Old Vermont Country Store. Very inexpensive and might be exactly what you need. Maybe Mom would like a few.

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  9. It's hard thinking of what to cook under normal circumstances, and goodness knows these aren't exactly normal circumstances are they, so well done! And getting all that "free" food up at the lake place is a definite plus!

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    1. I like extending shopping trips most of all with the lake food finds. I am seriously trying to limit my contacts with the outside world to the most essential. I was worried about Mom's drugs. She is on Medicare and they will only fill certain prescriptions after so many days have passed, and all of her meds are 30 day scripts. Consequently they fill at different weeks of the month. Her pharmacy is a small self owned business and last week they changed policies. I call in Mom's renewal and they now have her credit card on file. When I get to the store I call them again and they run it out and stick it (bagged) in a basket. After they go back inside, I pick it up so there is no contact for the transaction. One place I go often, now with minimal risk!

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