Beginning this week, and for the next month or so the menu will revolve around the girls’ favorite meals. There will be no new recipes, no experimenting, etc. – just dishes that they enjoy and either can’t make or can’t get wherever they are.
Coming up with a menu of favorites though was more difficult than I thought it would be. The biggest problem is that I don’t want to fix certain things upfront for Meiling when WenYu will be arriving home the week after and have to repeat them. It was a bit of a juggling act trying to think of what to make early and what to save for later.
We’re picking up a pizza at Costco on Wednesday – that’s the day of the Big Shop and along with the farmers’ market trip I know it’s going to be an exhausting day and I’m not going to feel much like cooking that evening. We’ll let Meiling choose which kind of pizza she wants, and then Brett will fix it out on the grill. Brett is going to make Scotch Eggs on Sunday – Meiling hasn’t had them yet, but we’re pretty sure she’s going to love them.
Here’s what’s on the menu this week:
- Tuesday (this evening): Oyakodon; cucumber salad (I’m skipping the rice)
- Wednesday: Pizza; sliced apples
- Thursday: Turkey divan casserole; roasted mixed vegetables; French bread (I’m having sliced turkey and steamed broccoli instead of casserole)
- Friday: Meatloaf; mashed potatoes and gravy; steamed green beans (no mashed potatoes for me)
- Saturday: Mabo nasu; steamed rice (no rice for me)
- Sunday: Scotch eggs; onion rings; fruit (I’m not having onion rings)
- Monday: Spaghetti with marinara and meatballs; grilled zucchini; garlic bread (no bread for me, and I’ll have my marinara and meatballs over the zucchini instead of pasta)
Cucumbers, bok choy and green beans are the only “must buys” at the farmers’ market, and I’ve got my fingers crossed that we’ll be able to find broccoli (if not, we’ll have to make a run to the store). I also want to get a papaya, some limes and we’ll let Meiling pick out some fruit she wants (like starfruit).
The Occasional Nomads 
I continue to be amazed by your ability to bypass all the carbs, especially while cooking them for your family. I’m guessing it’s like when I forego sugar. After a while, I don’t crave it. And losing all that weight is probably a strong incentive to continue.
Enjoy your family time! 🙂
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Giving carbs up initially was very difficult, and I missed having rice or bread or pasta, but these days I don’t miss them at all. I like sweets, but never really craved them all that much so surprisingly giving them up was less of a problem. I’ve been able to find lots of other low-carb things, like nuts or cheese, to take their place when I just have to have something.
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I’m going to double Laurel – how do you stay out of the carbs when you cook for the kids? So super impressed.
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If you’ll notice, the carbs are set up so that it’s separate easy to not put any on my plate. If I need pasta, I make zoodles. I will be having a slice a pizza though!
I know I’m going to eat carbs when we travel (bread, pastries in France; pasta in Italy, etc.), but think I am “trained” enough now that I can be careful about my portion size.
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I would also say that the pasta serving size (like most foods) is smaller in Italy than we normally see in our restaurants. Americans are used to BIG servings.
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