Our Dinner Spreadsheet for this week.

Yesterday, I posted about my spreadsheet that I have been using for dinner. Actually, I have an entire workbook, with tabs for each week spanning about 20 weeks. At this point, it's easy for me to go back through the spreadsheet and pick and choose from past recipes or weeks based upon what we liked in the past and what our schedules look like for the upcoming week.

So, here is a copy of the spreadsheet that we are using for dinner this week. The only way I could easily share this was to do a screen shot, so the links aren't live. 

If you can see the teeny tiny print, you can see that I try to prepare meals for two days, or double a meal and freeze the extras for another day to make life easier for us when we get home from work on a weekday.  Both husband and I are able to access this from our devices, and pick up what we need at the store. What this doesn't show is that I will go through and use the strikethrough feature on any ingredients we already have in the house so that it's easy to see what we need for the week. 

Pulling together a shopping list from this is fairly easy and makes grocery shopping much less frustrating.

In case if you can't see the recipes, and need the links, here they are:

White Bean Kale Soup: https://midwestfoodieblog.com/white-bean-kale-soup/

Paleo Baked Butter Chicken: https://www.maryswholelife.com/paleo-baked-butter-chicken-meatballs/

The Freezer Meal we are pulling out of the freezer on Thursday night:  https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-chicken-and-wild-rice-bake-216431

Sheet Pan Chicken Tikka: https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-chicken-and-wild-rice-bake-216431

Friday night is my own chili recipe, and prep meal for Saturday. Since I work Saturday, I'm off Friday and will have the time to do a quick meal prep.  I always like to have 3 or 4 meals in the freezer, and when I can, I make a roast on Sunday so that I can use the leftovers for the rest of the week.

What about you? How do you organize your meals for the week? 

Meals

It's been a rough couple of weeks.  I got glutened sometime two weeks ago, and I am struggling to regain my balance.  In addition to the mood swings and the constant stomach pain, the intestinal consequences, the outbreak of boils, and the constant sugar cravings that accompany my gluten reaction, I've had little to no energy to get out and go grocery shopping after a day of work.

I finally started to feel more like myself over the weekend.

I managed to pack my meals for the week on Sunday.  I only work 4 days this week, so I packed 4 lunches.

1) Monday-
(I work 1-9, so I need dinner)
Shepherd's Pie.  I made a big batch - and I froze 4 portions, took 1 to work with me. 
Side salad with lettuce and other veggies in the house.
Banana

2) Tuesday-
GF tortilla wrap with lettuce, sprouts, onions, bell peppers, and other tasty goodness, ham and fake cheese.
Cocunut Milk Yogurt with mixed berries and granola.

Due to the nature of GF bread products, I pack the tortillas separately, and then assemble everything just before eating.  Otherwise, the tortilla falls apart before I get to eat my meal.

3) Wednesday
Bento Box Lunch
1 hard boiled egg
Carrot and Bell Pepper Strips
Hummus
Deli Ham
Fake cheese sliced into quarters
GF crakers

4) Thursday
Salad - a big, green salad with
Lettuce, bell peppers, onions, peas, beets, pumpkin seeds, Craisins, sliced Brussels Sprouts, and grilled chicken.

Friday, we're going to be flying, so I'll be packing my allergen friendly stuff in my purse.  For me, this consists of a bag of tuna, 2 packets of fast food mayo and 1 of mustard.  If I'm lucky, I'll find a packet of pickle relish to add to the pack.  I travel with a spoon and celery sticks.  (Eating this tuna salad on a celery stick is one of the few approved uses of celery sticks!  ha!)   I'll also be bringing this combination back with me on the plane.Fortunately, this is a short hop, and not a 16 hour flight.

Grocery Expenses for the Week

Granted, we're only feeding 3 people and not 5, but sometimes, it's harder to keep expenses down when your feeding a small number of people after years of feeding large numbers of people!  My goal for this year was to keep our expenses for groceries under $250/month.  When you keep in mind that I also have to find food that is gluten, dairy, and soy free, it seems reasonable to keep expenses that high.

Grocery Trip: $75
I picked up 2 packages of chicken breasts: buy one, get one free.
I also picked up sweet potatoes, white potatoes, onions, bananas, celery, and a bag of dried beans.
2 quarts of veggie stock.
1/2 gallon of cashew milk.
1 pound of GF oatmeal.
Frozen Vegetables.
Coconut Milk Yogurt,
5 pound bag of frozen fruit.
And a few other odds and ends.

Here's what we made with it:

Root Vegetable Tagine with Kale:
https://feedmephoebe.com/tagine-recipes/

This very filling recipe provided us with dinner Sunday night and lunch for 2 extra days.

Smoothie Fruit Bowls
My tummy has been acting up for the last month.  This month, my goal is to eat foods that will nourish and heal my GI Tract.  (It's a Celiac Flare-Up.  Not certain where the contamination came from, though.)

Have you had a smoothie bowl?  You mix the yogurt with some fruit and juice, and then pour it into a bowl with nuts, seeds, berries, and other goodness on the top.  I used what I had on hand, so my bowls were made with coconut milk yogurt and pineapple, and topped with coconut, dried mixed berries, pumpkin seeds, and sliced bananas.  So much goodness!

White Chicken Chili 
One of my favorite chili dishes.  I like to take a break from the tomato every once in a while!  This was another huge pot of soup, with leftovers for lunch for several more days.  Both daughter and I take our lunch to work, and reheat it there.  It's always a treat to have some leftovers!

Quinoa Acorn Squash Rings
http://tastefulventure.com/roasted-acorn-squash-with-cranberry-walnut-quinoa-stuffing/

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
Made in the Insta-Pot

Spaghetti 

I had lots of leftovers this week!  We finished most of them off today around lunch time.  I still need to make dinner for tonight - but I'm not terribly hungry right now!

How did you do with your grocery shopping this week?