Menu Plan Monday – May 25, 2009

I’m walking 60 miles in the Breast Cancer 3-day!  Will you help me reach my goal?

Happy Memorial Day, everybody!  We are going to a barbeque latter today with the families from my mom’s Bible study.  I am so excited!  If you have kids, you may like these Memorial Day printables.

For TONS of menu inspiration, see the queen of menu planning, Laura, at Menu Plan Monday.  This week’s Gluten Free Menu Swap is being hosted by me!  I have picked avocados as the theme ingredient.  Besides quacamole, we like avocados on sandwiches (especially BLT’s in the summer), simply scooping out with a spoon, in smoothies (really) and it was one of the first foods all my kids ate as babies.  Checking around the web you can find information on how to grow an avocado tree, how to cut an avocado, and even recipes for avocado ice cream.  To use in a smoothie we blend 1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple, 1 cup orange juice (or or orange-mango juice), 1 ripe avocado (peeled and pitted), 1/2 cup almond or coconut milk, 1 tablespoon honey or agave, 2 teaspoons lime juice and 1/2 cup ice cubes.

Come of back through out the day and see who is contributing to the Gluten Free Menu Swap.  I can’t wait!   Be sure to check each week with Gluten Free Goodness for the temporary swap headquarters for Gluten Free Mommy.

Ester of The Lilac Kitchen is leaving her menu simple yet tasty as her kids are home this week from school.  She has been baking up some delicious sounding muffins (check out how yummy they look), savory and sweet, is wondering what makes a makes a muffin a muffin and when does it become a cupcake?

Cheryl of Gluten Free Goodness loves avocados and even has one for the logo of her nutrition practice!  She has linked a Southwester Quinoa and Bean Salad and a Chocolate Banana Pudding both using avocados.  I am really intrigued by the pudding and am going to have to try that one!  Don’t forget Cheryl is hosting a yum-e-baby-shower for Sea, so please join in with recipes and good wishes for Sea and her little one.

Sea of the Book of Yum has an delicious menu of Avocado-cream cheese sushi rolls, vegan eggplant lentil soup and a Caribbean Pineapple Black Bean Bake that I just have to try.  She found a vegan fudge using avocado in the recipe that sounds interesting, but usually she uses avocado on sandwiches, pizza, tofu breakfast scramble and sushi and onigiri.  Onigiri is a favorite here as my kids fell in love with them when they were little, so I am going to have to try an avocado version.  Thanks, Sea!

You guys are such great inspiration to me every week!  Thank you so much for sharing your menus and your passion!

Sunday:  My hubby ran the Stillwater Marathon.  Great job, honey!

Monday:  Memorial Day/Barbeque with friends

Bring hot dogs, veggie and chicken kabobs for grilling, and bring Napa Cabbage Slaw and a dessert to share.  I am leaning toward gluten and dairy free whoopie pies and vanilla cupcake with red, white and blue sprinkles…

Tuesday:  orthodontist/piano practice (last one until fall)/baseball game/first soccer game of the season

Leftover night, salad and veggie sticks

Wednesday:  mommy volunteer in school library/track meet

Stir fry and rice

Thursday:  middle school transition meeting/mom help in kindergarten/track practice/Girl Scout Bridging and Bronze Ceremony/baseball game (hmm… something will have to loosen up here…)

 Slow Cooker Turkey Meatloaf, salad

Friday:  So far NOTHING!  I can’t believe it!  Woo!

Dinner nachos with cashew “cheese”, quac, shredded zucchini, tomatoes, and black olives and salad

Also this week:  Make cupcakes for up coming piano recital, kindergarten Sunday School party, and Girl Scout Bridging and freeze, start walk training back up after taking off the past 3+ weeks due to yuckiness, make mini pizzas for upcoming pizza parties and freeze, harvest more rhubarb, etc…

Countdown to the 3-day Walk: 13 Weeks

Your Training Schedule for This Week:

I am hoping my week goes smoother than last week…  This past week blew up on me a bit as the kidney infection decided that I am such awesome company that it wanted to hang out with me for awhile.  I know, I know, I’m a slacker who doesn’t like going to doctors and it’s no wonder that it has lasted so long.  I like to think I’m a really healthy person who totally thinks that things get better by themselves if you just wait and drink lots of water.  I know this is a particularly dumb theory for someone who obviously had something really wrong with them a couple of weeks ago.  The irony isn’t lost on me…

On the plus side, I am feeling so much better now.  Better enough that my urge to experiment with food is back which has floundered of late.  Who knew feeling yucky sucks the creativity right out of you?  Luckily, menu planning and having food in the freezer has kept our family fed while mommy was a sicky.   If you haven’t tried menu planning before, I suggest you try it.  It really has saved me time, money, and has been so helpful during busy times.  I love not having to figure out what we are having for dinner, just check the list.