So many things are changing right now. Although I love homemade soups, a simmering stockpot full of chicken bones and veggies does not exactly spell “Home Sweet Home” to most people. So it’s out . . . for now. Plus, although Daniel and I REALLY enjoy our weekly exploration venture to a new restaurant, it is requiring some creativity with our budget to keep it up. (Some of these places are pricey, some aren’t. We want to try them ALL.)

So for now, I’m setting aside some of our regular fare and hunting for new recipes. To make our “dining out” budget more affordable I am planning one or two meatless entrees per week. This is a real challenge because protein and iron intake are essential for a healthy pregnancy, and I typically don’t absorb iron from plant sources very well. To avoid a thorough scolding from my awesome midwife I will be using a lot of quinoa, which is high in protein and also contains iron.

This week I also included a sampling from our breakfast menu. Lunch is usually leftovers from dinner the night before so I left it out. We are still waiting on our meat order so I can’t make the new P.F. Chang’s-style lettuce wrap recipe that I think about almost every day. Somehow, though, I’m still managing to look forward to this weeks meal plan : – )

Monday

Breakfast

Egg Sandwiches – Egg and cheese  and onion on a sprouted hamburger bun.

Dinner

Bleu Cheese & Bacon Burgers – These are delicious. We have tried making our own hamburger buns but no success so far. We use Alvarado St Sprouted Burger Buns and continue to work on our own recipe. Regular bleu cheese leaves the burger a little dry, so we use Cindy’s Kitchen Real Bleu Cheese dressing.

Sides –

Sweet Potato Fries

Avocado Chutney

Tuesday

Breakfast

Soaked whole-grain pancakes with ground flax. I make a full batch and then freeze half to serve later in the week.

Dinner

Quinoa Loaf with Mushrooms and Peas – I found this recipe on Whole Food’s “Budget-Friendly Recipes.” Although this recipe doesn’t call for it, I do plan on soaking the quinoa, oats and garbanzo beans overnight to neutralize phytic acid.

Side –

Steamed carrots with butter

Wednesday

Breakfast

Southwest Potato Hash

Dinner

Mongolian Beef - I haven’t tried this recipe yet but it looks good! We are going to add pineapple, broccoli and peas as our fruit/veggies.

Side –

Nourishing traditions soaked brown rice

Salad Greens

Thursday

Breakfast

Scrambled Eggs with Tomatillo Salsa

Sweet-Potato Fries

Dinner

Gyro – Style Lamb with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce – I’ve savored the gyro meat at Cafe Medi for years but hadn’t seriously considered making this dish at home until I saw this recipe.

Sides –

Quinoa

Caesar Salad

Friday

Breakfast

Soaked Oatmeal

Scrambled Eggs

Dinner

Margherita Pizza – I am using this recipe from Whole Foods, but substituting a few items:

Real pizza dough instead of pita bread

Mozzarella instead of goat cheese

Homemade pesto instead of pre-made

Side-

Salad Greens

Saturday

Breakfast

Scrambled Eggs with Tomatillo Salsa

Toast

Dinner

Kitchen CLOSED!!! – Out exploring a new restaurant that serves local, organic or grass-fed ingredients.

Sunday

Breakfast

Soaked whole-grain pancakes with ground flax (frozen from earlier and then the week and quickly warmed up)

Scrambled Eggs

Dinner

Roasted Chicken Breasts with Brown Rice, Mushroom and Apricot Pilaf - For me, chicken and rice is comfort food. Not sure if I am alone on this or not, but it always seems to satisfy. Check out the pilaf recipe here.

Side –

Salad Greens

ENOUGH about what’s going on in my kitchen!!!

What are you making this week?