This week's menu...

I've been meaning to pick up the habit of creating menus for each week like so many of my friends/cyber-friends have done. I know that it makes things easier for me during the day in addition to helping me keep the grocery bill a bit lower. However, it's just a hard habit for me for some reason. Now that I have to watch what I'm making for meals it's given me a greater incentive to do it!

Because of our schedule for this week and since I'm starting on Wednesday, I thought I'd just plan meals through Monday. It's difficult for me to get to the grocery store on the weekends (and I also don't like being in the crowds!) I'll try to spend some time over the next few days making up several menus. When I was trying to keep a menu system before I was able to have four or five master menus that I would rotate, only this time I think I'm going to leave one or two nights a week open so that we can try new recipes as we go. We tend to get bored with the same old stuff, and we love trying new recipes. Unfortunately, we also have a tendency to never have the same thing twice because we're always trying something new. I'm aiming for balance these days. :) These are also Weight Watchers recipes or things that fit with my points plan.

Breakfasts:
jumbo bran muffins with fresh fruit (strawberries mostly)
low fat waffles with fresh fruit
grits (with soy sauce and nutritional yeast... sounds weird but it's great!)
fruit smoothie
banana bread

I'm not a breakfast person, so I'm just planning on a few things that I can rotate through. It's not uncommon for me to simply eat grits four days in a row. C likes to choose her own breakfasts as it suits her, and dh doesn't eat breakfast before heading to the office. This list is just me!

Lunches:
Oven Fried chicken salad (using left overs from supper)
Salad with a side of minted quinoa fruit salad
Veggie patty melt, salad, fresh fruit
Smoked sausage soup, whole wheat toast, fresh fruit
Smoked turkey and roasted red peppers sandwich, carrot sticks, fresh fruit
Skillet Moussaka leftovers, salad

I'm going to make up a large batch of soup and such to put in the freezer for lunches. Also, I'm planning supper menus that will give me enough to carry over for lunch or to "transform" into something else (such as the fried chicken salad.)

Dinners:
Grilled Cuban sandwiches, roasted broccoli with chipotle butter
Southern oven "fried" chicken, roasted garlic mashed potatoes
Beef and asparagus stir fry
Skillet Moussaka
Pot luck at church
"Free for all"

It's taken me forever to figure out what I want to eat! I've gotten lost in cookbooks today. I am so excited to find a moussaka recipe that I can actually eat! I'm sure it won't be as good as my favorite Big Fat Greek restaurant version, but I'm hoping that it will be close!

Snacks:
low fat cottage cheese
fruit smoothies
fresh fruit
hummus with baby carrots
roasted red pepper dip with veggies
fat free baked chips (for dips)
popcorn
chocolate muffins

Dessert:
Apple Brown Betty
Peanut Butter cookies

Recipes to follow if anything is as good as it sounds!