Planning ahead

This week I am determined to do a better job meal planning. So before I went to the grocery I sat down and went through several cookbooks I hadn't touched in years.

Two in particular gave me great ideas and new recipes. The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook this book was written by two registered dietitians, Cheryl Forberg and Maureen Callahan. It was chock full of fresh and all natural meal ideas. I found a tasty recipe for Portobello Mushrooms with Thyme and Garlic. The other cookbook I revisited was Cookshelf Vegetarian. I book marked a ton of recipes from this one! I have planned to make homemade Spinach Gnocchi with Tomato and Basil sauce and Green beans and Edemame in Lemon and Herb sauce. Even though the gnocchi is potato based I am going to use whole wheat flour and even out the meal with vegetables as the side dish. I am excited to post how these new recipes turn out.

Once I get the inspiration for the week's meals I sit and plan it out. Let me give you an idea of how simple ingredients turn into a week's worth of meals. To begin I write down the categories of meals I plan to prepare: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and dessert. Then I list the dishes I plan to make for each category. Then I dissect each meal into it's ingredients and just write down the things I don't already have in the house. Here's the breakdown. (Note how all this food is fresh or frozen and never processed.)

Breakfast: 100% whole wheat bagels, yogurt and berries, scrambled eggs
Need: bagels, butter, yogurt, raspberries, eggs, Swiss cheese

Lunch: egg salad, tuna salad, chicken wraps, grilled shrimp and wild rice, salad with walnuts and goat cheese
Need: 2 cans of tuna, celery, chicken stock, white onion, button mushrooms, red onion, wild rice, mixed greens, goat cheese

Dinner: whole wheat gnocchi with green beans and edemame in lemon and herb sauce, grilled portobello mushrooms with asparagus, garlic scallops, warm shrimp salad
Need: vegetable stock, edemame, 2 lemons, 1 large potato, spinach, tomato puree, portobello mushrooms, asparagus, scallops, shrimp, yellow bell pepper

Snacks/Dessert: kiwis, oysters, salmon slices with cream cheese, dark chocolate, strawberries, green apple, mint tea

This week the groceries rang up to about $140. This will feed my husband and I for a full week. I also plan on some of the dinners to give me left overs to eat as lunches too.

Let the eating begin!!!