Meal Plan & Grocery List Week #4

It’s been one full month of sharing my meal plans & grocery lists with you! I am getting such great feedback from you all! Thank you so much!
Let’s jump right into week 4’s meal plan! And yeah us, we have Thanksgiving leftovers to work with!!

This week we are having:
Monday: Grilled Turkey & CranberrySandwiches
Tuesday: Turkey Noodle Soup
Wednesday: Carnitas
Thursday: Tater Tot Casserole
Friday: Skillet Sausage & Veggies

Monday: Grilled Turkey & Cranberry Sandwiches

Ingredients:
Sliced cooked turkey
Sliced cooked bacon
Provolone cheese (or your choice)
Mayonnaise
Cranberry sauce
Wheat bread (or your choice)
Butter (for grilling)

Directions:
Smear mayonnaise on one side of sliced bread. Smear cranberry sauce on the other slice of bread.
Layer turkey, bacon and provolone on one side of bread and top with other slice of bread.
Using a skillet or grill pan, grill sandwich with butter and remove from heat when cheese has melted. Cut sandwich into 2 halves and serve.

Tuesday: Turkey Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
BROTH:
1 leftover turkey carcass (from a 12- to 14-pound turkey)
2 cooked turkey wings, meat removed
2 cooked turkey drumsticks, meat removed
1 turkey neck bone
1 medium unpeeled onion, cut into wedges
2 small unpeeled carrots, cut into chunks
6 to 8 garlic cloves, peeled
4 quarts plus 1 cup cold water, divided

SOUP:
3 quarts water
5 cups uncooked egg noodles
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups diced celery
3 cups cubed cooked turkey
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
2-1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Place turkey carcass and vegetables to an 8-qt. stockpot. Add 4 qts. cold water; set aside. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3-4 hours.
Cool slightly. Strain broth; discard bones and vegetables.
Skim fat from broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer.
Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, bring 3 qts. water to a boil. Add noodles and carrots; cook for 4 minutes.
Add celery; cook 5-7 minutes longer or until noodles and vegetables are tender.
Drain; add to simmering broth. Add cubed turkey; heat through.
Stir in the parsley, salt, thyme and pepper.

Wednesday: Carnitas

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 jar salsa
1 (4 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
2 cups chicken broth

Directions:
Mix together salt, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, coriander, and cinnamon in a bowl.
Coat pork with the spice mixture.
Place the pork in slow cooker.
Pour the chicken broth around the sides of the pork, being careful not to rinse off the spice mixture.
Cover and cook on Low until the pork shreds easily with a fork, 8-10 hours.
Turn the meat after it has cooked for 5 hours.
When the pork is tender, remove from slow cooker, and shred with two forks.
Use cooking liquid as needed to moisten the meat.
Serve in warm tortilla shells & top with salsa.

Thursday: Tater Tot Casserole, the old standbye!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 pinch salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 (16 ounce) package frozen tater tots

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cook and stir ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat until no longer pink and completely browned, 7 to 10 minutes; season with salt and black pepper.
Stir cream of mushroom soup into the cooked ground beef; pour the mixture into a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Layer tater tots evenly over the ground beef mixture; top with Cheddar cheese.
Bake until tater tots are golden brown and hot, 30 to 45 minutes.

Friday: Skillet Sausage & Veggies

Ingredients:
9 oz Sausage
2 (1 cup) red potatoes, small
1 large head Broccoli
1/2 tsp Garlic powder
3/4 lb Green beans
1 tbsp Oregano, dried
1 tbsp Parsley, dried
1 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp Pepper
1/4 tsp Red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp Salt
Oils & Vinegars
6 tbsp Olive oil
2 Large or 6-7 mini (1 and 1/2 cups) sweet bell peppers

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Line a large sheet pan with foil or parchment paper.
Prep the veggies:
Chop the red potatoes (pretty small pieces here so they will be tender in time), trim the green beans and halve, chop the broccoli, chop the peppers into thick squares, and coin the sausage in thick slices.
Place all the veggies and sausage on a sheet pan. Pour the olive oil and all the spices on top. Toss to evenly coat all the veggies and meat.
Bake 15 minutes, remove from the oven and flip/stir all the veggies around. Return to the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are crisp tender and sausage is browned.
If desired, sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan cheese over the veggies and sausage as soon as they come out of the oven.

Grocery List:

Produce:
red potatoes, small
1 large head Broccoli
Baby Carrots
3/4 lb Green beans
1 Celery bunch
2 Large or 6-7 mini (1 and 1/2 cups) sweet bell peppers
Fresh parsley
Garlic Cloves
1 med. Onion

Meats:
Sausage
1 pound ground beef
1 (4 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
Left over turkey, enough for 2 meals.
Bacon

Canned Goods:
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
Salsa
Chicken Broth
Mayo
Cranberry Sauce

Pantry:
Oregano, dried
Dried Parsley
Paprika
Pepper
Red pepper flakes
Salt & Pepper
Oils & Vinegars
Olive oil
Garlic powder
Ground cumin
Ground coriander
Ground cinnamon
Dried Thyme
Egg noodles
Bread

Dairy:
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
Provolone cheese

Frozen:
Tater Tots

Happy Cooking!
sjb

 

Meal Plan & Grocery List Week #3

Hello! So how did you like last week’s meals? The Chicken Enchilada Skillet was a new one for us & we loved it! It will definitely go into the rotation!

This week we are having:
Hot Ham & Cheese Buns
Meatloaf
Homestyle Ribs
Runzas 
Spaghetti Chicken

Monday:
Hot Ham & Cheese Buns

Ingredients:
12-24 Deli Sliced Ham Slices
6 Slices of Cheese (your choice, I use Muenster)
Hamburger Buns
Butter

Pre-heat oven to 350
Butter both the top & bottom buns
Put 2-4 slices of ham & 1 slice of cheese on each bun
Wrap each sandwich individually in tinfoil
Place in over for 20 minutes
*I sometimes add a bit of Italian Dressing to the top bun to give it a little zing

Tuesday:
Meatloaf

Ingredients:
1 C. ketchup
3 to 4 TBS packed brown sugar
1 tsp. ground mustard
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 C. Crispix cereal, crushed
3 tsp. onion powder
1/2 to 1 tsp. seasoned salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
3 lbs. hamburger

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar and mustard
Remove 1/2 cup for topping; set aside
Add the eggs, Worcestershire sauce, cereal and seasonings to remaining ketchup mixture.
Let stand for 5 minutes
Crumble beef over cereal mixture and mix well
Press meat mixture into a 9X5 loaf pan
Bake at 375° for 40-45 minutes. (check from time to time, my oven takes forever!)
Drizzle with reserved ketchup mixture; bake 10 minutes longer or until meat is no longer pink and a thermometer reads 160°

Wednesday:
Slow Cooker Homestyle Ribs

Ingredients:
4 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs
2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup prepared mustard
1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Place ribs in a 5- or 6-qt. slow cooker
Combine the remaining ingredients; pour over top
Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours or until meat is tender
Remove ribs and keep warm
Skim fat from sauce; serve with ribs

Thursday:
Runzas

Ingredients:
Frozen Bread Dough Loaves – thawed
1 lb Hamburger
2 C. Chopped Onions
4 C. Chopped Cabbage

Directions:
Pre-heat over to 350
Brown hamburger, onion & cabbage
Roll out dough very thin
Place meat mixture into onto one half of the rolled out dough, fold the other half on top of the meat mixture & seal at the edges
Bake for 20 minutes

Friday:
Chicken Spaghetti

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts, diced
1 pound thin spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces
2 1/2 C. shredded sharp Cheddar
1/4 C. finely diced green bell pepper
1/4 C. finely diced red bell pepper
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Two 10 3/4-ounce cans cream of mushroom soup
Chicken Broth
1 medium onion, finely diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Cook the spaghetti until al dente, do not over cook
When the spaghetti is cooked, combine with the chicken, 1 1/2 cups of the cheese, the green peppers, red peppers, seasoned salt, cayenne, soup and onions, and sprinkle with salt and pepper
Stir in 1 cup chicken broth, adding an additional cup if needed
Place the mixture in a 9- by 13-inch casserole pan and top with the remaining 1 cup cheese
Bake immediately until bubbly, about 45 minutes

Grocery List:

Produce:
Cabbage Head
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
2 onions

Canned Goods:
2 cans cream of mushroom soup

Dairy:
Cheese slices, your choice
2 1/2 C. Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Butter
Eggs

Meat:
Deli Sliced Ham, 12-24 slices
4 lbs. Hamburger
4 lbs. boneless country style ribs
3 Chicken Breasts

Pantry:
Spaghetti
Crispix Cereal
Ketchup
Prepared Mustard
Brown Sugar
Ground Mustard
Worcestershire sauce
onion powder
seasoned salt
garlic powder
lemon juice
pepper
Maple syrup
Soy Sauce
dried minced garlic
salt
cayenne pepper

Bakery:
Hamburger buns

Frozen:
Frozen Bread Loaves

Happy cooking!
sjb

Meal Plan & Grocery List Week #2

Here is your Meal Plan & Grocery List for week 2! This week I am focusing on one dish meals, mainly suppers you can whip up in the skillet. Aside from my crockpot, which I’m using twice this week, cooking in just 1 skillet is my preferred way to prepare supper! Easy clean up & it’s generally a fast prep & prepare meal! Win~Win~Win!
Also, you will notice I do not include side dishes with my meal plans or add any ingredients for them on my list. That is because all my side dishes are Green Giant or generic brand steam veggies in those handy dandy microwave packages. I throw them in the micro while I’m cooking & everything is ready all at once! We don’t do a lot of carbs, so we hardly ever have a dinner roll or even potatoes for that matter, as a side dish. On the rare occasion that we do, I will note it at the end of the recipe. 😉 You’ll also notice, we eat a lot of chicken!!

This week we will be having:
Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings
Chicken Enchilada Skillet
Sausage & Peppers
Simple Chicken Breasts
Mississippi Roast

Monday:
Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings

Ingredients:

1 large onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 10.5 oz can cream of celery soup
1 10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup
1 TBS fresh parsley
1 tsp poultry seasoning
Black pepper to taste
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
2 C. low sodium chicken broth
2 C. frozen vegetables or peas and carrots, defrosted
1 can (8 pieces) refrigerated biscuits

Instructions:

Add onion to 6 qt crock pot and top with chicken breasts.
In a small bowl, combine cream of celery soup, cream of chicken soup, parsley, poultry seasoning & pepper. Spread over chicken breasts.
Top with chicken broth and cook on high 5 hours.
One hour before serving, roll each biscuit thin & flat. Cut into 4 strips. Add vegetables and biscuit strips to the slow cooker and stir.
Continue cooking for the final hour.
Remove chicken breasts and slightly shred. Add back into slow cooker and stir. Let cook an additional 10 minutes and serve.

Tuesday:
Chicken Enchilada Skillet:

Ingredients:

12 corn tortillas, cut into bite sized pieces
3 cups shredded or diced cooked chicken
1 10-ounce can RoTel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chiles
1 10-ounce can red enchilada sauce
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 cup grated Cheddar
1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack
1/2 avocado, sliced thin
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (I omit this, we don’t like it)

Directions:

Spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray & heat the pan over medium heat.
Add the corn tortillas and cooked chicken to the pan and cook until heated through, stirring often.
Pour the undrained RoTel, enchilada sauce, & tomato sauce into the pan with 1/4 cup of each cheese.
Stir to combine well. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Sprinkle on the remaining cheese, top with the avocado & cilantro before serving.

Wednesday:
Sausage & Peppers

Ingredients:

2 pkgs Polish Kielbasa
2 Green Peppers
2 Red Peppers
1 Yellow Pepper
1 Med. Onion

Directions:

Add 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil to warm skillet
Thinly slice peppers & onions & add them to skillet. Cook until onion is translucent
Cut Kielbasa into coin size & add to skillet & cook until sausage coins are warmed through, about 5 minutes
Serve over rice

Thursday:
Simple Seasoned Chicken Breast

Ingredients:

6 boneless & skinless chicken breasts
1/2 tsp.Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

Directions:

Mix seasonings in a small bowl
Add 1-2 TBS extra virgin olive oil to warm skillet
Season chicken breast on both sides with salt, pepper & garlic powder mixture & add to skillet.
*You can add more or use less of any of the seasonings. It’s really per taste. 😉
Cook on each side for 3 minutes, 4 minutes if the chicken breasts are really thick.

We eat these as is, but you could add cheese or salsa to the top or any type of vegetable to make it a more of a stir fry.

Friday:
Mississippi Roast

Ingredients:

4 lbs chuck roast
1 (1 ounce) envelope ranch dressing mix
1 (1 1/4 ounce) envelope au jus mix
1⁄2 cup butter
4 -5 pepperoncini peppers

Directions:

Place roast in the slow cooker and sprinkle with a little black pepper and a little seasoned salt
Sprinkle the top with the ranch dressing mix & the au jus mix
Place peppers on top of mixes
Add the stick of butter on top
Cook on medium for 8 hours
You do not add any additional water to this

Grocery List:

Produce:
1 avocado
1 bunch celery
2 green peppers
2 red peppers
1 yellow pepper
1 med. onions

Meat:
3 C. cooked chicken from deli
2 pkgs. Polish Kielbasa
10 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I buy mine in a frozen bulk package)

Canned Goods:
Rotel Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies
1 – 10 oz. red enchilada sauce
1 – 8 oz. tomato sauce
1 cream of chicken soup
1 cream of celery soup
1 – 48oz. can of chicken broth

Dairy:
1 pkg shredded cheddar cheese
1 pkg shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 tube of refrigerator biscuits
1 pkg tortillas

Frozen:
1 pkg steamed rice
1 pkg frozen peas & carrots

Pantry:
EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Dried Parsley
Poultry Seasoning
Seasoning Salt

Happy Cooking!
sjb 

 

Meal Plan & Grocery List Week #1

For years I have been making a meal plan & saving my grocery list to save myself time on grocery day. I really dislike making out a meal plan. I dislike grocery shopping even more, but if I have a ready made plan & a grocery list to grab, I find I don’t dread it as much!
I asked a few lovely ladies I know on Facebook if they would find value in a weekly meal plan and a grocery list to accompany it. I got a RESOUNDING YES! Thank you, Bits of Life Facebook friends!

I had thought about making a cookbook with a downloadable grocery list, but honestly….that was a lot more work than I wanted to do. 😛 So I decided I’m just going to make a Weekly Meal Plan & Grocery List blog. It’s FREE to everyone & hopefully helpful!
Each meal is quick & easy. I don’t do hard. And I don’t use fancy ingredients because they are hard to find. We do not have any dietary restrictions, but most of these recipes could easily be converted to tailor anyone with a food allergy or is wanting to cut back on carbs, sugars or red meat. I very rarely cook on the weekends, so these meals are for busy weeknights, Monday-Friday. All of my recipes make enough to have left overs for one or two people.

So, without further ado…here we go with post 1 ~ Week 1!

This week we are making:
Monday: Smothered Chicken
Tuesday: Beef Stroganoff Melts
Wednesday: Cabbage Wedges with Beef
Thursday: Ham & Rice Bake
Friday: Cauliflower Soup

Monday: SMOTHERED CHICKEN 

Ingredients:

6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
Garlic Powder & seasoned salt to taste
1 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 4.5 oz. Jar Mushrooms, drained
1 C. shredded Mexican Cheese
1/2 C. chopped Green Onions
1/2 C. Bacon Bits

DIRECTIONS: 

Flatten chicken into 1/4″ thickness. Sprinkle with garlic powder & seasoned salt.

In a large, non-stick pan, brown chicken over medium heat,  3 minutes per side.
Top with mushrooms, onions, cheese & bacon bits. .

Cover & cook until cheese melts & the juices run clear.

Tuesday: Beef Stroganoff Melts

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Hamburger
1 C. sliced mushrooms
1 med. onion, diced
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 C. sour cream
6 hamburger buns or french bread, sliced
6 slices of Muenster cheese (or any cheese you prefer)
1 med. green pepper thinly sliced
2 med. tomatoes thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS:

In a large skillet, brown beef, onions & mushrooms until meat is no longer pink. Drain.

Stir in the salt, garlic powder & pepper. Remove from heat & stir in the sour cream.

Butter tops & bottoms of hamburger buns (or french bread slices) & place under broiler until butter is melted & edges are crisp.

Take out & place cheese on tops of the buns. Place back under broiler until cheese is melted.

Remove from broiler & place meat mixture on bottom bun.

Top with 1 green pepper slice & 1 tomato slice.
(If using french bread, just top each slice with meat mixture & vegetables)

Wednesday: Cabbage Wedges with Beef

Ingredients:

1-1/2 lbs hamburger
1/2 C each of onion, celery & green pepper
1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
3 TBS. cider vinegar
3 TBS. brown sugar
1-1/4 tsp salt
3 TBS. quick cooking oats
2 TBS. minced parsley (dried or fresh)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp pepper
1 Med. cabbage

Directions:

In a large skillet, cook hamburger, onion, celery & green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain.

In a bowl, combine tomato sauce, vinegar, brown sugar & salt. Add to skillet.

Stir in the oats, parsley, garlic powder & pepper.

Core the cabbage & cut into six wedges, arrange over meat mixture.

Cover & sir for 15-20 min. or until cabbage is tender.

Thursday: Ham & Rice Bake

Ingredients:

2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 C. shredded cheddar cheese, divided
2 package frozen California blend vegetables, thawed
2 C. cooked rice (I use the microwave steamed brown rice)
2 C. fully cooked ham, diced

Directions:

Pre-heat over to 400 degrees
In a large ovenproof saucepan, combine the soup & 1 cup of the cheese.

Cook & stir until cheese is melted.

Stir in the vegetables, rice & ham.

Sprinkle remaining cheese on mixture & place in oven for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.

Friday: Cauliflower Soup

*This one takes a little more time, so I save it until the end of the week when we aren’t so busy. But the extra time is worth it! 😉

Ingredients:

1 stick Butter, Divided
1/2 whole Onion, Finely Diced
1 whole Carrot Finely Diced
1 stalk Celery, Finely Diced
2 Whole Cauliflower Heads, Roughly Chopped
2 Tablespoons Fresh Or Dried Parsley, Chopped
2 quarts Low-sodium Chicken Broth Or Stock
6 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
2 cups Whole Milk
1 cup Half-and-half
2 teaspoons To 4 Teaspoons Salt, To Taste
1 cup (heaping) Sour Cream, Room Temperature

Directions:

In a large soup pot or dutch oven, melt 4 TBS butter. Add the onion & cook for a few minutes, or until it starts to turn brown.

Add the carrots & celery & cook an additional couple of minutes. Add cauliflower & parsley & stir to combine.

Cover & cook over very low heat for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, pour in chicken stock or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat & allow to simmer.

In a medium saucepan, melt 4 TBS butter. Mix the flour with the milk & whisk to combine. Add flour-milk mixture slowly to the butter, whisking constantly.

Remove from heat & stir in 1 C. half & half. Add mixture to the simmering soup. Allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Check seasoning & add more salt or pepper if necessary.

Just before serving, place the sour cream in a serving bowl, top with 2-3 ladles of soup & stir. Enjoy!

Grocery List

Produce:
1 med. cabbage
2 heads of cauliflower
1 package baby carrots
1 package celery
3 onions
1 pkg green onions
2 green peppers
2 tomatoes

Canned Goods:
2 cans cream of chicken soup
49 oz. can of chicken broth
2 jars mushrooms
tomato sauce

Pantry:
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Dried Parsley
Bacon Bits
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Seasoned Salt (Lawry’s)
Quick Cooking Oats

Dairy:
1 container sour cream
1 pkg Muenster cheese or your preferred cheese
1 pkg stick butter
1 pkg shredded Cheddar cheese
1 pkg Mexican blend cheese
1/2 gallon whole milk
1 carton half & half

Meats:
3 & 1/2 lbs hamburger
6 chicken breasts
2 pkgs diced ham

Bread:
1 pkg. hamburger buns or 1 loaf french bread

Frozen:
Steamed Brown Rice
California Blend vegetables

Happy cooking!
sub

 

Homemade Breakfast Sandwich

I make my girls a homemade breakfast every morning. I try to include eggs or some sort of protein in each one so they can stay fuller longer. My girls are starving by time their lunch period rolls around if they just have a bowl of cereal or a Pop Tart. And thanks to Michelle Obama’s lunch program, read: starvation diet, they are starving after lunch. I feel that if I give them a good breakfast, I am at least helping to keep their energy sustained a little bit better!

Everything I make takes 15 minutes or less. Trust me, when I first decided I was going to make a full breakfast each morning, my main concern was I wouldn’t have TIME! But once I started making the breakfasts, I realized it really didn’t take much time at all! And it’s so worth it!

Today I made them a homemade breakfast sandwich. Think of it as the McHome McMuffin.

I scrambled 3 eggs & put them in a hot pan to make them into omelet consistency.
During this time I had Pillsbury Flakey Biscuits baking in the oven @350 for 15 min.
While the eggs were cooking, I put 2 Jimmy Dean microwave sausage patties in the micro for 1 min.

When everything was done cooking, I cut the biscuits in 1/2, topped the bottom portion with the egg, put on some cheese, took the sausage patty & cut it in 1/2 & placed that on top & then covered it all with the top 1/2 of the biscuit.

They were yummy & bigger than a McMuffin. I can’t say it was exactly healthier since I used pre-made sausage & biscuits, but remember, I need these to be FAST & easy!

And they were! The girls loved them, so SCORE one for mom! 🙂
sjb

 

sjb’s Yeast Detox

Good Monday Morning, kids! I’m back & like I promised, I have a new, tailored, just for me, yeast detox plan.

As you read, push play & listen to my new theme song! There ain’t no mountain high enough that is gonna keep me from my goal!

Over the weekend I read SO much information it made my head spin! Some stuff was junk, some was stuff I already knew & some stuff was really helpful! I took the best of each bit of information I read & made a yeast detox plan for myself that I think is going to work really well.

Here is What I Learned

Thankfully last week was not a total loss. I did do some things right. And I did notice a difference in how I was feeling over all. But this week I need to cut out all the starches; no potatoes, no rice cakes, no brown rice. And I shouldn’t be eating peas since they are one green veggie that has quite a bit of sugar.

I can, however, have butter which I thought I couldn’t have before, lemons, limes & sour cream! But what good is sour cream & butter if you have no potato to put it on? Well, I am allowed red skinned potatoes, but only once this coming week.

And I already knew I needed supplements. If you really want to clean your digest track, gut & colon of yeast molecules & spores they are a necessity. You won’t be doing much good if you don’t use some sort of supplement plan. What I didn’t know is you need to have a rotating supplement plan. So I am taking 2 different rotations of supplements. The 1st set I am taking this week & the 2nd set I will take next week.

This weeks rotation:

DIDA Clear is a sort of multi-supplement. It contains garlic, carprylic acid, undecylenic acid, grapefruit extract & lactobacillus acidophilus. All of which are needed to kill the yeast fungus & their spores! I take 2 capsules twice a day, which is a heavy dosage, but that is what is needed in the beginning. If I start to feel like I have the flu, that means I am having die off symptoms & just need to back down my dosage.

Olive Leaf is the other supplement I am continuing to take, but like I mentioned on Facebook, I need to up the dosage. I will be taking 2 capsules 3 times a day.

Maca Root is the 3rd supplement I will be taking. It isn’t for yeast detox per say, but it helps with energy. I’ve taken Maca Root for years to help me with my extreme fatigue & already know it offers a great afternoon pick me up, instead of Pepsi, like I used to use.

The 2nd round of supplements is Colloidal Silver, Psyllium Husks & Oil of Oregano. I will talk more about each of those next week.

My Meals for this Week:

This week I am cooking from the cookbook: Robin to the Rescue by Robin Miller. She was on Food Network for awhile. Not sure if she still is, but I love her cookbook!! Tons of fast, but really yummy, & what I would consider, “fancy” meals!

Sunday Night

(back tracking because I got back on track yesterday!)

Breakfast: skipped it. SHAME ON ME! But sometimes I’m just not hungry in the morning & coffee is all I need.

Lunch: I took left over roasted chicken, topped it with salsa mixed with mashed avocado. It was delish & I have enough left over for today’s lunch!

Supper: Flank Steak with Ancho-Honey Mayo:

One 1 1/4 lb Flank Steak

salt & freshly ground pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

Ancho-Honey Mayo

1/2 c. mayo; subbed sour cream because I cannot have mayo, & it was fantastic!

2 tbls. honey

1 tsp ground ancho chilies; we don’t have these in our store, so I used green chilies. No clue if this is a comparable substitute or not because honestly, what the heck is an ancho chili?

2 tbls chopped fresh cilantro; MKB hates cilantro, so I used fresh chopped parsley.

*Don’t ya love how I follow a recipe! 🙂

Preheat broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Season steak with salt, pepper & garlic powder

Place under broiler for 5 minutes, each side. Remove & let set for 10 minutes before cutting into 1/4″ thick slices.

In a medium bowl, whisk together mayo, honey & ground ancho….or whatever substitutes you came up with. 😉

Top steak slices with sauce & fresh cilantro, or parsley just before serving.

Since I can’t have most potatoes or bread, I am trying to make my veggie sides as interesting & fun as possible. I hit a homerun first time out!

Side: Roasted Tomatoes, green beans & olives

Coat a baking sheet with olive oil

slice tomatoes & olives in half, place on baking sheet (any olives will work, I used California Green Ripe)

Toss green beans onto the sheet

Drizzle with olive oil & salt & pepper to taste (I used seasoned pepper, no salt because the olives were salty enough)

Put in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. I go a little longer because we like them reaaally roasted.

This was an awesome meal!! It was seriously the best thing I’ve made in a long time! The meat & the veggies were so equally good, I didn’t know which to shove in my mouth next! MKB piled his veggies on his meat so he didn’t have to decide! Ha, ha!!

Monday’s Meals

Breakfast: back to the pomegranate oatmeal & hot lemon water. Really gonna try & stay away from the coffee this week!

Lunch: Chicken & salsa/avocado mix

Supper: Mulligatawny Stew

2 c. instant rice (omitting)

1 tbls olive oil

1 c. chopped onion

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced (additional garlic to my diet will do nothing but help me!!)

2 tsp peeled & minced fresh ginger (1st time I’m cooking with fresh ginger! I’m excited!)

1 1/4 lb boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1″ pieces

1 tbls curry powder (great seasoning to chase away the yeast!)

3 1/2 c reduced sodium chicken broth (I made my own from the roasted chicken carcus!!)

1 14 oz. can unsweetened coconut milk (GREAT to heal you of anything!!)

1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro (using parsley again)

salt & pepper to taste

Cook rice according to directions

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic & ginger. Cook until veggies are tender, about 3 minutes.

Add chicken & cook until golden brown. Add the curry powder, stir to coat & cook for 1 minute longer.

Add the broth, bring to a simmer, & continue to simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Add the coconut milk & simmer for another 2 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in cilantro & season with salt & pepper. Spoon stew over rice in bowls, if you’ve made the rice.

Side: Not sure what side I will use tonight since this is a stew. We usually have some sort of bread with a soup/stew & THAT is out this week. Sooo, when I decide, I’ll leave the recipe on my Facebook Page. 😉

SNACKS

My snacks will be pretty much like last week, minus the rice cakes. And what about the wine?? I really shouldn’t, but I’m not going to say “no” completely. The supplements I am taking help me to digest the sugar in the wine better, so if I’m really jonesing for a glass, I’m not going to deny myself a glass or two.

Sorry this is such a long post, kids. But I learned a lot this weekend. Most of all, you need to go back in time. Back to before people cooked with margarine & other fake products. Most of my research led me to kitchens of the 1920’s & earlier. This is a time when people were also using Colloidal Silver to treat chest ailments, as well as many other diseases, since penicillin hadn’t been invented yet! Colloidal Silver was quite affective, but once penicillin came on the scene in 1928, Colloidal Silver was long forgotten. That is why it is being used in my detox. It works to rid the body of not only yeast, but many other infectious “bugs”! We actually use it during cold & flu season to stave off those nasty bugs! Nothing we have tried works better!

As a new addition to sjb, I am going to leave you with a “Short Cut” from my 1950 Betty Crocker Cookbook:

If you feel tired, lie down on the floor on your back, put your hands above your head, close your eyes, and relax for 3 to 5 minutes. 🙂 REFRESHING!

Love ya, kids!

sjb

Yeast Detox Fail!

Ok, so here’s the deal. I had finished writing up my post for today & then went to look for a picture to show a tongue of a person with yeast overgrowth, since that is an easy way to tell if you have a yeast issue. I found a picture, clicked on it to save & use, & then “Why The Yeast Detox Diet Won’t Work” caught my eye. It was the article that went along with the picture.

My heart sank as I read the article. Everything I am doing is wrong. Potatoes are bad, beans are bad, peas are bad, ripe fruit is OK, butter is OK, on & on & on.  “Nothing will work until you fix the walls of your digestive tract.” Do you know how long that will take? Two years. TWO! Two years of not eating sugar, dairy (cheese!), any grains, most veggies, most fruits & alcohol.

I could handle the two weeks. But this gal can’t do two years without cheese, chocolate & wine. Nah-uh!! I know, I know…but sjb, you’ve got that debilitating rash. Don’t remind me. It’s the only symptom I have left of the EBV & yes, it drives me insane. That is why I am not giving up completely.

I do need to regroup, do some more research. Way more in-depth research, is what I should say. So don’t give up on me yet. I am going to do this, but I have to find a way to do it that works for me. I know my strengths & weaknesses, so I will fine tailor a plan for myself & I will chronicle it here. I promise!

While I am formulating that plan, I will continue to be the guinea pig for you & keep trying some of the homemade health & beauty product recipes I’ve been collecting. I’m waiting on an order of essential oils to get here & then I’ll be off & running making lip balms, shampoos, conditioners & wall plug ins!! 🙂

So until next time kids, stay tuned until I regroup! Some prayers may not hurt either!

sjb

Yeast & Sugar Free, Day 4

Merry Christmas! I can’t believe it is snowing & blowing outside right now. Mother Nature is MAD today!!

I am now on day 4 of my yeast & sugar detox. Physically I am still feeling really good. None of the nasty side affects have taken over me. I think because my main symptom was body rash, THAT is what has decided to plague me until my body is flushed of it’s toxins. Yesterday was unreal in the itch department. My earlobes even broke out at one point. I went clear until 4pm before I took a Benadryl to stop the itching. I really didn’t want to put a chemical into my body, but I just couldn’t handle it anymore.

The itching does a real mental job on me. I get cranky & worn out. So by the end of the day I was ready to just fall into a heap in my bed. Which is pretty much what I did. I woke up this morning feeling much better. No itching so far & I think the extra sleep did me good. 😉

My Meals for Today:

Breakfast: Oatmeal & eggs. I was craving an egg really bad, so I made 2 over easy eggs & plopped them right on-top of my oatmeal. Sounds bizarre but it was a yummy combination!!

Lunch: Left over cube steak & sweet potatoes. I was supposed to make mashed potatoes last night, but was to exhausted to stand at the stove & mash, so I subbed in the sweet potatoes.

Supper: Roasted Chicken & sautéed green beans. This is one of my favorite meals, so I’m looking forward to it!

Snacks: Celery sticks “frosted” (makes me feel like I’m getting a treat to say “frosted”) with peanut butter & a rice cake for later on if I’m still snacky.

Last night I fell asleep with my make-up on. Hate when I do that, but it did prove to me that the oil cleansing is so awesome. Like I didn’t know already, right? Anyway, while I was in the shower this morning, I cleaned my face with the over the counter junk that was in there just because it was handy. When I got out, my face instantly felt dry & taunt…& not taunt in a good way! So I had to slather on the heavy moisturizer & today my face just feels gross! I will never use that stuff again & I will be making sure my girls don’t either!! I may go as far as dumping it out & putting my oil mixture into it’s container!! Wasting a little money, but I’ll be recycling the container, so it all evens out, right?

Til next time, kids, enjoy the snow & cold because before ya know it, it will be HOT & dry!!

sjb

Results after Day 1 of going Yeast Free!

I am happy to report that my tummy bloat is already ceasing!! 🙂 I was so happy this morning when I went to buckle my belt & I had to return to a notch I hadn’t used in…well, a while. 😉

Photo courtesy of http://www.healthextremist.com

I did stick to my plan, for the most part. While I was preparing supper last night, I caught sight of some golden raisins in my pantry & I grabbed a hand full. They were so sweet & plump. I savored every last one! But other than that, I didn’t cheat! Yeah ME!

My sister texted me yesterday & told me she was proud of me for sticking with it. I had to fess up that I have tried this “diet/detox” 2 previous times & only lasted 3 hours each time!! So I’m not really someone to be proud of. I do have better motivation this time, so I really think I’m gonna make it all the way through!

I did have a major brain fog moment yesterday. I had put some oven cleaner on a spot in my oven in the morning & totally forgot about it until last night when my daughter went to use the oven. Holy smoke balls!! So that was fun.

And I also was pretty itchy by the end of the day. I hadn’t been sweating or had huge amounts of sugar, sugar also sets off my body rash, so I believe the detox is already working & the itchiness is my body’s way of letting me know I’m on the right track!

I was pretty tired by the end of the day, which is a symptom to be expected during the next 2 weeks. I fell asleep pretty easily, but then around 10:30 I woke up & was very jittery, like I had had too much coffee. I had a hard time falling back to sleep after that. Not sure if that is a symptom of a detox or what it was, but I didn’t care for it.

Today I did have my regular cup of coffee. I just can’t drink that tea. Thinking about it made my stomach turn. I looked at the sugar content of my coffee drink & it’s less than the sugar in a sweet potato. I’m allowed sweet potatoes, so I’m putting “coffee drink” back on my OK list. 😉

For breakfast I had the pomegranate oatmeal. It was very good & quite filling! So I’m excited about that.

For lunch I am going to have left over pepper steak. That turned out so delicious, I can’t wait to have it for lunch. Plus, I’m excited that I’ve had enough of each supper meal to eat for lunch the next day. I’m not looking forward to egg salad with out the creamy Miracle Whip dressing!! ::shudder:: The longer I can prolong that meal, the better.

Snack today will be a rice cake & some yogurt. This will help with my sweet tooth & hopefully I won’t need to break into the raisins again tonight!! 🙂

For supper tonight I am making chicken breast with roasted asparagus & sweet potatoes.

And as always, I will have my lemon water with me all day.

I hope you are finding these day plans useful. I’d love to hear from anyone that is doing this detox or has done it in the past & what your experience has been.

Tomorrow I am going to share with you some of the other good things I am doing for my body besides changing what I eat. For example, I have been cleaning my face with olive oil for the past few days!! Sounds disgusting, doesn’t it? But wait until you read about my experience with it so far! I bet you’ll be trying it soon, too!

Til next time, kids!

sjb

Day 1 of Yeast Free Diet

I thought I’d outline what day 1 of being yeast free is going to look like for me. If you are following along, share what your 1st day will look like. Suffering is more fun in groups!

I started off my day by walking into the corner of a door. I don’t suggest you do this. It’s painful & you sound stupid when you try to explain you really DID walk into a door.

Next, I made a cup of French Vanilla Chia Tea. I normally drink an English Toffee coffee drink, so thought this may be similar. It’s not. I’m just not a big hot tea person. Give me iced tea any day of the week & I’m happy. Hot tea, not so much. But I need something hot in the morning & I don’t like plain coffee, so this will have to do.

For breakfast I had 1/2 of a cold left over hamburger w/o any toppings or bun. Sounds gross probably, but it really is yummy. I never have time to make a breakfast, so I usually grab something from the fridge or pantry that is easy to shove in my mouth & not messy. Today it was a hamburger. I did buy myself some pomegranate multigrain oatmeal, but by time I realized I was starving, I didn’t feel like waiting 2 minutes for oatmeal.

I took a probiotic supplement after I ate because as my body gets rid of all the bad flora from my gut (again, yummy!) I need to replace it with good flora. I can do this by eating yogurt & taking the supplement. I buy all my supplements & vitamins from VitaCost.com. They are a great company that carries a lot of different vitamins & supplements. I’ve never had a problem with them, except their shipping is extremely slow. Expect a week for your items to get to you if you order from them. Through their refer a friend program, you can get $10 off your purchase & I’ll receive a $10 credit towards my next purchase with them! 🙂 Win~Win! Follow this link: VitaCost.com.

For lunch I plan on having a stuffed green pepper. This is also a left-over from the weekend. I had made Philly Steak & Cheese green peppers with sautéed onions & mushrooms & they were SOOO good! I’ll have to forgo the cheese, but I can eat the rest.

For snack I plan on having some pumpkin seeds & celery sticks with peanut butter.

For supper we are having pepper steak over brown rice & green beans as the side. I’m totally getting all my “greens” in today! And that is basically all you need to know to follow this diet. You can eat any green vegetable to your hearts content. All other veggies are ok, but green are the best.  No fruit, no sugars, no breads, no dairy…the end. Oh, & no alcohol. 😦

I will be drinking my lemon water throughout the day as well. Lots & lots of it. I weighed all the benefits of lemon water compared to plain water & figured that 1 slice of lemon a day was not going to sabotage my yeast/sugar detox. I was worried about the extra sugar, but lemons are a natural dextoxer, so I think I’ll be fine.

So that is the plan for the day. Hopefully I’ll stick with it! It shouldn’t be hard because I’m trying to look at these next two weeks as an opportunity to try new foods. Last night I ate salmon for supper, I never do that because everyone else here hates fish. It was yummy! A little evoo, a little basil & dill. Scrumptious!!

I’ll report back tomorrow & let you know if I stuck to the plan & how I am feeling. I will be weighing myself later, I was going to do it earlier, but running into the door knocked me a little silly & I forgot why I was in the bathroom after that. Not sure if I’ll post my weight, but I will write it down & at the end of 2 weeks I’ll be able to tell you how much I’ve lost. I’m also going to take measurements of my muffin top, tree trunks & bat wings…tummy, thighs & arms. I am hoping to lose a lot from those problem areas! Especially the muffin top!!

MKB is trying to get me to do that Insanity work-out. He said since he’s going yeast free, I should go insane with him. (skipping obvious joke here) Jury is still out on that. I hate to “work out”. I like to take walks, do a little yoga or Pilates, but not all that jumping & hoping around. I’m supposed to look up the infomercial on YouTube today & let him know what I think. Do ya think I can still claim “brain fog” & forget to look it up??

Ok, that’s all for now kiddos. Have a great Monday! Go make someone smile!

sjb