REAL FOOD MEAL PLAN 6/3-6/9/12
Trying to get this going today because we will be out of town until Saturday. Going to try and do this every week.
Every time I shop, I have a plan of attack. I have already viewed the store’s sales, scanned for any available coupons, and made a menu plan.
Once my menu plan is made (based on what is on sale or what I have in abundance in my freezer or pantry), I make a list. The list items are written beside the menu items, and later transferred to a master list that is itemized by category (dairy, meat, grain etc.). I then mark each item with “TJ”, “WF”, “W”, “FE” or “V” for “Trader Joes”, “Whole Foods”, “Winco”, “Fresh&Easy” or “Vons”. I even have a route for the trip and can do a two week shopping trip with three kids in tow in about 3-3.5 hours. This inevitably includes a stop at the Whole Foods deli for some pizza along the way. It has become tradition for my kids. I can’t say that I mind.
Every grocery trip in our house is for a two week stint. To keep things simple, I will be doing these postings one week at a time and will try to do it a few days in advance to give you a chance to get ingredients if you wanna try any of the recipes with me. 
This week will focus on chicken as that is what I have a TON of in the freezer. It was on sale at Vons and my mom (who works there) picked up a bunch for us. I also have several packs of ground turkey, some pork ribs and some shredded chicken that I made and froze this week that will be featured.
So here is next week: 6/3/12 - 6/9/12
Sunday Dinner: Roasted pork spareribs, marinated in soy sauce, ginger, cilantro, jalapeno, salt, pepper, garlic cloves, lemon juice, and rice wine vinegar. Served with jasmine rice and sauteed rainbow chard.
Sunday Dessert: blueberry crisp
Monday: Tequila lime chicken: Chicken marinated in lime, tequila, cilantro, jalapeno, salt, onion, garlic, and pepper. Roasted in terracotta chicken crock, served with cilantro salad and corn on the cob. Corn tortillas on the side for hubs.
Tuesday: Shredded chicken tacos w/leftover cilantro salad as topping. Spicy avocado cream sauce and homemade salsa, “frijoles borrachos” on the side (recipe to follow.) Jamaica to drink.
Wednesday: Crock pot chicken breasts (on the bone) stewed with onion, salt, pepper, celery and carrot. Chicken will be pulled from the bone and served in a whiskey/peppercorn cream sauce. We will have this with baked potatoes, roasted asparagus and whole wheat dinner rolls. The chicken bones and vegetables will simmer overnight with more water, then strained. The resulting broth will be chilled, de-fatted, and canned for later.
Thursday: Ground Turkey Meatloaf, brown rice pilaf (with freshly prepared chicken stock), sauteed chard or spinach (whatever we have)
Friday: Pizza Night! Cheese pizza for the kids (although I may get some pepperoni from the whole foods deli since I dont have much meat to buy) and fresh mozz, basil, and tomato pizza for the hubs and I. Fruit salad w/chocolate dipping sauce (midnight moo from TJ’s) too.
Saturday: Spinach and potato frittata, whole wheat biscuits, strawberry/rhubarb crisp and homemade lemonaid.
Breakfasts rotate between Spelt pancakes (flour is always soaked at least 12 hours), french toast, hot cereals, smoothies & toast, and perhaps some type of muffin. Most breakfasts are served with kefir…sometimes yogurt.
Lunches are usually leftovers from dinner the night before, grilled cheese and fruit, or quesadillas w/homemade sour cream.
I will post my grocery list and prices after I have them.
