2012 $50 Weekly Menu Week #15: Part of compiling a menu plan is to take into consideration things that affect your family. Perhaps you have dietary concerns, such as gluten free, heart healthy or you follow a particular diet plan. Perhaps your concerns are less about diet and more focused on convenience-Several years ago I worked to lose nearly 100 lbs, while I can generally maintain a very healthy weight by eating reasonable portions of whatever I like, I find that every once in a while, it really helps to cut out all simple sugars and carbs. This happens to be one of those weeks, here's our low carb, Camping Menu for this week with a grand spending total of $34.57!
Monday 9th: Since yesterday was Easter, we baked a rather large ham. Some of this will be incorporated in this weeks menu, some will be sliced, vacuum sealed and saved for quickie meals later in the month.
* Breakfast: Veggie Omelet
* Lunch: Chef salad with Ham/Cheese/ Hard boiled egg slices, copycat Good Seasons Italian dressing
* Dinner: Grilled Pesto Chicken Kebabs, Salad
Tuesday 10th:
* Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs
* Lunch: Cottage Cheese & strawberries
* Dinner: Cauliflower No Mac & Cheese with Ham (breadcrumbs omitted!)
Wednesday 11th
* Breakfast: Denver Breakfast Casserole
* Lunch: Leftover Cauliflower No Mac/Cheese/Ham
* Dinner: Shrimp Stir Fry (with Jasmine Rice on the side for the kids)
Thursday 12th:
* Breakfast: Cottage Cheese with Blueberries
* Lunch: Steamed Clams (We dug these
* Dinner: Grilled Salsa Chicken, Salad
Friday 13th:
* Breakfast: Salsa Chicken & Cheddar Omelet
* Lunch: Tuna Grape Salad on a bed of shredded lettuce
* Dinner: Grilled Bacon Cabbage Delight
Saturday 14th:
* Breakfast: Cottage Cheese with Chow Mix (This is my personal fave- chow mix is a spicy pickled cabbage recipe that has awesome flavor! It's also known as vegetable Chutney.
* Lunch: Fire Roasted Armadillo Eggs, Garden Salad
* Dinner: Seared Halibut, Coleslaw, garlic green beans
Sunday 15th:
* Breakfast: Veggie & Cheese Omelet
* Lunch: Fire Roasted Spinach Dip Filled Bell Peppers, salad
* Dinner: Steamed clams & Crabs, Salad
Various Snacks:
* Fresh Fruit- grapes, blueberries
* Deviled Eggs
* Homemade Chips & Vidalia Onion Dip
* Cottage Cheese w/ berries or Chow Mix
* Coleslaw
Drinks included:
* Iced Tea (Sweet Tea)
* Coffee
* Lemonade
* Copycat Gatorade
* CopyCat Arizona Green Tea
FYI: This week we've switched to low carb to boost weight loss. Occasionally this is necessary for "maintenance" of our desired weights. Our grocery expense for the week came to $34.57 and included the following: cottage cheese, cream cheese, spinach, artisans lettuce, grape tomatoes, bell peppers, bacon, sharp cheddar cheese, blueberries, cauliflower, cabbage, 2 cans tuna, grapes, milk, zucchini, celery, Chipotle Pepper seasoning (marked down to only .58!- Someone Clearly Made a pricing mistake!!) I bought 5 jars, lol
The following items came from my garden: jalapeno peppers, lettuce, fresh green beans, strawberries
The clams we dig ourselves while camping ocean-side & we catch the crabs ourselves as well. Cheap family fun that tastes delicious! We generally cook & clean these, freezing the meat in 1 c. increments for recipes later in the month/year.
If you're near the ocean and have the opportunity to dig your own steamers or butter clams, here are some tips for you:
1. Wash EACH Clam individually to remove any sand/silt
2. Put the washed clams in a 5 gallon pail and cover with Fresh Water (just until the clams are covered)
3. Sprinkle LIBERALLY with Corn Meal
4. Leave them overnight to eat the cornmeal
5. next Morning, rinse thoroughly and repeat.
We do this to clean the clams out so they aren't gritty when you eat them. Actually, they become breaded from the inside out and have amazing flavor once they're cooked after soaking them this way. I'm sure the carb count must go up a little, but I'd rather have a few carbs than a mouthful of grit!
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