GF Meal Plan for the Week of 2010.01.10

Here is my meal plan for this week. It's more focused on "me time" and less on cooking so much. Happy Eating!

	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Exercise	Swim	Yoga	Swim	Yoga	Swim	Swim	Yoga
Breakfast	Eggs w/ spinach, tomatoes & cheese Fruit 1/2 a bagel butter	cold cereal milk eggs with veggies	bagel cream cheese tea	toast with peanut butter & honey milk	oatmeal with cinnamon tea	eggs with chorizo 1/2 bagel cream cheese coffee	bagel cream cheese smoked salmon
Snack	Orange Almonds	peanut butter apple	hummus carrots bell peppers	celery peanut butter	raisins coconut walnuts chocolate chips	orange pecans	apple peanut butter
Lunch	Peanut Butter & Jelly Chips	sandwich with leftover chicken	leftovers from eating out	spinach tuna salad walnuts	soup	sliced meat mustard cheese sandwich chips	bacon, egg & cheese sandwich
Snack	Bean Salad in flat bread or with corn chips	bean salad	pecans dried cranberries	dark chocolate almonds	grapes cheese	toast tomato Basil boursin cheese	chips salsa
Dinner	Roasted Chicken Mashed Potatoes Broccoli	Stir fry with noodles & leftover chicken	Roasted scallops rice	pizza with meat, veggies fruit	romaine ranch dressing toasted walnuts beans	salmon pasta pesto	pasta basil tomatoes olive oil bacon bits chicken cheese
Snack/ Treat for me today	Strawberry Chocolate Tea Read before bed	hot chocolate Bubble bath	tea chocolate play a game with family	ice cream take dog for walk	decaf espresso read	tea bath	decaf espresso pedicure

GF Meal Plan for the Week of 2010.01.03

Here is my meal plan for this week. I will try to post one each week, at least for January so you can get ideas and motivation (it will help me make this a habit, too!).

	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Exercise	yoga	walk bubbie	swim	walk bubbie	swim	yoga	walk bubbie
Breakfast		cold cereal milk	Farm-style Veggie Frittata 1/2 bagel cream cheese fruit juice	oatmeal w/ cinnamon juice	scrambled eggs w/ veggies 1/2 bagel cream cheese juice	scrambled eggs w/ veggies cold cereal fruit milk	scrambled eggs w/ veggies oatmeal w/ cinnamon smoothie
Snack		apple & peanut butter	hummus & carrots	chips & salsa	peanuts & raisins	cheese & crackers	almonds & dried cherries
Lunch		Fresh whole leaf Spinach salad with: walnuts Italian dressing sliced chicken grated Parmesan cheese bell pepper sliced tea	Peanut butter & jelly tea	Tangy Bean Salad with Carrots and Green Onions on bread	Fresh whole leaf spinach with leftover bean salad on top	Tuna fish salad made with ranch dressing, Dijon mustard & celery on bread	Leftovers
Snack		clementines & almonds	canned fruit almonds	smoothie walnuts, coconut & raisins	popcorn	almonds & orange	canned fruit almonds
Dinner		Roasted Shrimp in Tomatoes over rice	Chicken fajitas	Brown Rice Pasta Tomato Sauce	Fettuccine with Fresh Tomato and Chickpeas	tilapia veggies roasted potatoes & onions wine	rice paper rolls
Snack/ Treat for me today		hot chocolate Read	1 scoop ice cream/ sherbet Hot bubble bath	spiced cider catch up on TV & Read	chocolate square Go to bed early	hot tea & cookie Cook & Bake meals to freeze	1 scoop ice cream/ sherbet Plan next weeks menu!

*Note- Bubbie is my dog.

Happy planning & eating!

Easy Additions to Jar Spaghetti Sauce

I love spaghetti and red sauce, but don't love the jar tomato sauce. Here is what I add to it when I do not make my own.

Onion, diced
Garlic, minced
Tomatoes, raw diced or canned
Buffalo or Beef, ground
Chorizo, ground
Baisil leaves, chiffonade
Spinach leaves, chiffonade
Carrots, shredded
Black or Red Beans

You can add any veggies you want. It's a nice way to hide them from picky eaters, including yourself!

This is great over brown rice pasta with a little cheese on top.

Sticking to Gluten Free Eating through Meal Planning

I think the hardest thing about being gluten free is sticking to it! I find this gets easier when you make a meal plan for the day or week. This also helps you feel more fulfilled in your eating, and less like you're missing out. Here are some resources to help you make a plan and stick to it.

Calorie Counter
Here is a calorie counter to help you track all your foods and nutritional values. I like it because it is free, it has a wide selection of foods in its food bank, and you can add your own foods and meals to it. You can also customize the daily nutritional values. This site also has a wealth of information including blogs, recipes and support discussions.
http://www.my-calorie-counter.com/calorie_counter.asp

Everyday Health Meal Planner
If you feel like planning your menu for the week is just too daunting, here is a Meal Planner that will find recipes for you. You can change them out, tell it you are eating leftovers for that meal etc. I like it so much because you can tell it how many calories per day you want, and you can click a gluten free option, as well as vegetarian, diabetic etc.
http://www.everydayhealth.com/toolkit/mealplanner/viewweek.aspx

Eat Real Good Meal Planner
My favorite meal planning aid is this simple recipe finder. You can tell it what ingredients you have on hand or would like to incorporate in to your meals for that week, and it will find recipes that uses those ingredients. It also has a place where you can click any or all of the following options: dairy-free, gluten-free, crockpot, vegetarian, vegan, 5 ingredients or less and low-carb. I also really like the shopping list option, which makes a shopping list for ingredients in the recipes you did not enter, has a field for you to add your own items and allows you to print it.
http://mealplanner.eatrealgood.com/plans

Below is a simple template I made and use each week to plan my meals. Feel free to use it! A hint: you can print this out, e-mail it to yourself or paste it into an application like Google documents and view it from there (that's what I do). Then it is easily accessible from any computer or smart-phone, so no excuses for not having it!

	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Exercise
Breakfast
Snack
Lunch
Snack
Dinner
Snack

Good luck and happy eating!

Whole Foods Flourless Brownies

As you may have guessed, one of my favorite websites is Whole Foods. I love them! Here is a very tasty recipe for Gluten Free brownies with a very unique "secret ingredient". You can also check out the comments on the website for ingredient substitutes and sugar free versions from users.

Flourless Brownies

Makes 16

No one will ever guess the secret ingredient in this recipe: black beans!
Ingredients

• 1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup melted butter, more for the baking dish
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cane sugar
• 1/2 cup gluten-free semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Butter an 8-inch baking pan. Place the black beans, eggs, melted butter, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Remove the blade and gently stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan. Bake the brownies for 30 to 35 minutes, or until just set in the center. Cool before cutting into squares.
Nutrition

Per serving (1 brownie/about 2oz/60g-wt.): 160 calories (80 from fat), 9g total fat, 4g saturated fat, 50mg cholesterol, 35mg sodium, 17g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 12g sugar), 4g protein

Tags: Family Friendly, Make Ahead, Wheat Free, Low Sodium, Vegetarian, Gluten Free

Note: We've provided special diet and nutritional information for educational purposes. But remember — we're cooks, not doctors! You should follow the advice of your health-care provider. And since product formulations change, check product labels for the most recent ingredient information. See our Terms of Service.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipeId=2594