What's For Dinner: Weekly Menu 5/25

Last week I had a shortened menu since I knew I was having company over for the weekend and put off buying a few days worth of meals until this week.  Bonus meals in this week's posting! It's a BBQ weekend for Memorial Weekend, so burgers 2 weeks in a row!

• Burgers (lettuce wraps this week), Yam Fries, Fruit Kabobs, Veggie Sticks
• BBQ Chicken and Ribs, Veggie Kabobs, Brussel sprouts w/uncured bacon
• Brats (not uncured, it's a cheat ) and Sauerkraut (in a Romaine Wrap), Deviled Eggs, Pickle and Tomato Slices
• Baked Sweet Potatoes, Filet Mignon Steak, Steamed Carrots
• Fish Tacos in Cabbage Leaves, Avocado Slices, Cantaloupe Slices
• Mexican Meatballs, Garlic Mashed Cauliflower, Wilted Spinach
• "Spanish Rice" (Stuffed peppers recipe with cauliflower rice mixed in)

What's For Dinner: Weekly Menu 5/21

• Open-Faced Burgers (your favorite recipe) on Sauteed Portabella Mushrooms (add tomato slices and spinach leaves), and Yam Fries
• Stuffed Peppers
• Paleo Pad Thai
• Uncured Sausage, Eggs, Avocado and Tomato Slices
• Chicken Piccata, Steamed broccoli, Zucchini Noodles
• Salmon/Cherry Tomato Salsa, Spinach Salad, Steamed Asparagus

Menu Resources

When starting out, I wanted to get a couple new cookbooks to help give me ideas.

 I've started with The Paleo Diet Cookbook by Loren Cordain and Everyday Paleo by Sarah Fragoso. So far, both cookbooks have winners and losers. But both warrant keeping and still using daily. (Next up I plan to purchase Well Fed by Melissa Joulwan.

Another resource I browse daily and have printed out several successful recipes: www.reddit.com/r/paleo. Great information, pictures, and recipes.

And Pinterest as well - I share my recipes, and find others that have gone really well. My pins are at pinterest.com/dragonflyjen/paleo.

Under the Paleo Diet Cookbook, for example, here are some recipes we've tried:

pg 86 Chicken Marsala is great. (I haven't made homemade broth from it yet, just use storebought still)
pg 88 Turkey Burgers - have had twice, I like - everyone else can take it or leave it
pg 98 Beef Tenderloin Roast is good, but what it really did was open my eyes to buying the filet mignon roast and using as rare steaks - now that meat is good! The kale leaves were bitter, and the chopped onion sauce on top I didn't like, so just go for the meat next time lol
pg 100 carne asade with the holy guacamole on pg 100 on lettuce leaves were nummy
pg 102 Beef Bourguignon turned out to be stew when I didn't know, thought it was a roast LOL - had this for jim's birthday and it was really good - would do again
(pg 114 stuffed bell peppers were gross, don't do this one, the one I have pinned we've done 3x now and much better than this one!)
pg 132 the Grilled Snapper Recipe - we like the seasoning, and do it one whatever fish we do (Tilapia or Cod)
pg 138 Diablo Crab Legs - yes please! Was good.
pg 142 Paleo Tilapia Tacos were good.

pg 162 Roasted Baby Squash and Carrots was awesome side dish! We love this one.
pg 170Carb Lovers Cauliflower - is a mashed cauliflower with a zuchini mashed with it (did it in the blender the first time, now use my immersion blender) This is AWESOME! little bit of chicken broth, 6 garlic, so good!
pg 172 eggplant and basil saute was okay - no one else cared for it but jim and I.
(pg 185 the creamy coconut curry that goes on pg 82 coconut cashew chicken was not very good.)
pg 228 baked yam fries are my favorite!!

I'm not a Caveman

Intro:
I want to have a place to organize my family's journey on Paleo/Primal. I've had questions and want to share my weekly menu's to help others in the same boat. I didn't start out my journey knowing I was Gluten Intolerant, but I ended up realizing it when I started moving foods out of my diet and introducing things one at a time to figure out the horrible bloating, stomach issues, etc earlier this year. I always knew I was lactose intolerant, but the gluten intolerance should not have surprised me since my mom is allergic to wheat and my dad does have Crohn's disease. I should get tested to help my body, but so far, the Paleo has really been helping.

Backstory:
In January - I decided to cut out all breads and pastas because I was getting more and more bloated despite cutting back my serving portions, and exercising and was still gaining weight (fat not muscle). So I opted to cut it all out on my own -- whatever the family had, I would eat the meat and veggies, but throw in a handful or two of spinach leaves for the rice/pasta substitute. No one had to "suffer" because I was cutting out breads and pastas. I still breaded things and made sauces at the time, so it wasn't strict and an easy way to ease into it.

After a couple months my husband notices my energy levels increasing and my weight loss - my husband noticed, he notices nothing! He said, "wow how much weight have you lost?!" - After that he wanted to try all of the family going Paleo Diet which is Zero Grains (not just gluten free which makes substitutes of things) - so now we eat all fresh, nothing from packages really, meats and fruits and veggies -

Meals:
Right now we own two cookbooks: Everyday Paleo, and the Paleo Diet. A typical dinner can be a roast, Brussel sprouts sauteed in scallions and bacon, and a spinach salad for example. No rice, no pasta, no white potatoes, but we do sweet potatoes or yams occasionally. We have done mashed parsnips, mashed cauliflower, cauliflower rice pilaf, and shredded zucchini makes a GREAT pasta substitute -- dear-hubby(my half-Italian Stallion) actually liked the spaghetti meat sauce over zucchini (julienne peeler to get them skinny).

For lunches I take leftovers with me to work - with tupperware filled with celery and almond butter, an apple, a banana, a baggie of almonds, raisins, beef jerky. These make morning snacks and afternoon snacks throughout the day - I always toss a handful of spinach in my tupperware dish with the leftover dinners - lots of chicken or beef - need to be able to stay full.