The Thanksgiving kitchen chaos is over. We didn’t really have a traditional celebration this year, but I still spent three days in the kitchen making food. We brought dinner to my grandparents on Thanksgiving and had a guest over the next day. It took a lot of work to prepare and deliver an entire Thanksgiving dinner. I’m glad to finally have my kitchen and refrigerator back…and leftovers put away/mostly used up.

It was tough to rotate food with a refrigerator literally bursting with leftovers. But I did my best to at least go for some variety.

It was nice to have Justin home last week. I was able to go to a yoga class (I’m still sore!) and finally go clothes shopping. I got quite a bit but I still have a few items I need.

This week is back to the normal routine. Plus I have an appointment with my psychologist. And I’m hoping to go to a couple yoga classes. We also have Bible study.

I’ve really been trying to rotate foods and get more variety. Last week my list of vegetables included squash, pumpkin, peas, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, fennel, brussels sprouts, avocado, lettuce, mushrooms, carrots and white beans. Not bad. I honestly think it’s  helping. I know it’s too early to really tell. But overall I think it’s good. And it does help pick out problem foods. I’ve found that I still can’t tolerate my big culprit foods (like onions and carrots). But I have been able to eat small amounts of some foods like nuts, dried fruit and grapes. I still struggle with much fiber in my diet. But I am trying to eat more fruits and vegetables.

Meals this week were tough. I have quite a few prep ahead nights, which limits choices. It doesn’t help that I didn’t start planning until last night 😛  I was so busy all week in the kitchen and keeping up with other writing/posts. So I did my best. I’m sure some things will change as the week goes on.

I’m not sure what my extras will be this week. I really would like to focus some of my energy on sewing. Other possibilities are banana bread, homemade cereal, granola, soaked grahams, Christmas cookies, Oreos and yogurt.

Lastly I wanted to remind everyone to check out Village Green Network. It is a wonderful resource/network for Real Food writers and readers.
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S (prep breakfast and lunch, church, prep smoothies)
  B – banana pineapple yogurt w/ granola, grapes (J), vanilla yogurt w/ mac. nuts, raisins and soaked grahams (M)
  L – turkey shepherd’s pie, sea foam salad, rolls, fennel, avocado
  D – pumpkin pancake and sausage muffins (w/ coconut flour and white rice flour), fresh pineapple, pumpkin pie milkshakes

M (make banana bread, milk, PS, yoga, soak beans)
  B – smoothie, banana bread (J), broccoli and cauliflower w/ hummus (M)
  L – leftover shepherd’s pie (J), salad (M)
  D – (separate/prep ahead) – cp peppercorn steak

T (cook beans, boil egg, prep dinner, KM, make muesli, Dr. V.)
  B – hard boiled egg, toast (J), sauteed kohlrabi and mushrooms w/ avocado and beans, pineapple (M)
  L – shepherd’s pie (J), chicken nuggets w/ honey mustard, sauteed cauliflower (M)
  D – (prep ahead) – bean burrito bake, peas (J), salad (M)

W (make yogurt, bake cookies, PS)
  B – smoothie, banana bread (J), yogurt, blueberries, graham crackers, peas (M)
  L – at work (J),  squash soup, peas, kohlrabit (M)
  D – baked salmon, mashed cauliflower, caramelized brussels sprouts, french fries

Th (prep breakfast, baking w/ Rebecca and Abram – coconut flour bread, yoga)
  B – yogurt, muesli, fruit (J), squash soup, mashed cauliflower, brussels sprouts, broccoli, avocado (M)
  L –  peppercorn steak (J), coconut flour bread w/ butter (M)
  D – (separate/prep ahead) – leftover burrito bake, broccoli, peaches

F (prep breakfast, make mayo, sewing, PS, BS)
  B – TBD from freezer (J), sauteed veggies w/ scrambled egg yolks (M)
  L – burritos (J), sauteed veggies, soaked grahams (M)
  D – (easy clean up) – french toast, sausage, beans, fresh fruit

S (clean, shop?)
  B – french toast, sausage (J), smoothie (M)
  L –  spaghetti (J), sauteed veggies/salad (M)
  D – TBD chicken, baked carnival squash

We did it! We survived a week without my husband (in another country no less). I’m so thankful he’s home now. It was a long, busy, sleepless week. But we did it. The kids didn’t kill each other, and I didn’t pull out all my hair 😛  There were plenty of tears, early bedtimes, missed naps and sleepless nights. But we also got to see family, Rebecca lost her first tooth, we had a good check up for Abram, we played at the children’s museum and we baked some delicious treats.

I hope this week will be much more relaxing. Now instead of being on my own Justin will be on vacation all week! Which means I’m going to get some things done…and take some me time. The kids need a little extra Daddy time 🙂

This week is also Thanskgiving. I have one little problem. I have no idea what we’re doing or what we’re eating. Normally I have holiday menus planned out well in advance. But this year it just worked out that we don’t have plans with either side of the family. We might bring dinner to my grandparents. But my grandpa just came home from the hospital. So we’re waiting to find out if that will happen or not…and that will dictate our plans/my menu. If not we’ll probably hold off on our traditional turkey dinner until Friday. We’ll be hosting one of Justin’s co-workers that does not have family in the states. But if we do have our big meal on Thursday then I have to figure out another menu for Friday. So for now I just have a list of options. I’ll fill in the actual menus when we figure out plans…hopefully soon!!

Aside from holiday plans we have quite a bit going on – church, Abram’s 18m check up, yoga (I hope to take at least one class), preschool (only one day!!), Kindermusik, grocery shopping, co-op pick up and hopefully some clothes shopping for myself. We also have 80 lbs. of ground beef ready for pick up. And I still need to get to Heffron Farms.

Last week I tried to keep the kitchen mess to a minimum since it just made more work for me. But we did do some baking. It seems as though Abram has picked up the baking bug 🙂  He is my new helper in the kitchen…and wants to cook or bake all the time. He will hang on the oven door and say “bake, bake.” Or when it’s close to dinner time he’ll stand by the stove and say “dinner, dinner.” If I open the fridge he wants “eggs, crack, crack.” If it were up to him we’d bake twice a day and he’d help with every meal. He pretty much does help me with every dinner now. By which I mean I hold him and do everything one handed and let him help when possible. If I don’t he will hang on my legs and scream. I’m glad my kids love to help in the kitchen at such young ages, but sometimes it is nice to be able to use two hands. So we made ice cream, oreos and cornbread last week. He even helps me with things like mayo. Any time there is a machine that makes noise invovled he has to help. And Abram prompted us to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies yesterday. The funny thing is that he usually won’t touch them. He is not a sweet eater at all. Rebecca could eat half the bowl of dough. Abram won’t even taste it.

So this week I’m not totally sure what’s going on in the kitchen. I know I want to at least make pumpkin pie. Maybe Dutch apple too. I need to make yogurt and vanilla ice cream. The rest will depend on our holiday plans and how much begging Abram does 🙂  I did just get a big Amazon order that included rice flour and coconut flour, so I want to start experimenting with those. I also got rid of my sourdough starter last week. I can’t eat it. And I just wasn’t keeping up with it. I’m sure I’ll make sourdough again sometime, but we’ll take a break for now.

Last week was definitely a week of highs and lows. I had some success with starting to rotate food and with getting a little more direction after writing out my thoughts. But I also had some not so good days (that is part of the process). We did an eval for Rebecca with an OT and I talked to her teacher again. Plus it was overall a rough week for her. It was also hard on me with new information, lots to think about and nobody to talk to about it. I do feel like we are on the right track. But it’s still a long process. We have an appointment with a new psychologist in December that should really help. So I had some rough tummy days due to new foods. But more so I think due to anxiety and stress about concerns and not getting any breaks. It didn’t help that Rebecca had a touch of the flu on Sunday and we all have colds…and haven’t been getting good sleep. We’re kind of a big mess 😛

When meal planning this week I had quite a challenge. Justin will be home all week. So I have to plan lunches for him at home. I’m also really trying to rotate my foods more. I’m not going crazy about it, but I do want to really put more effort into variety and more fruits and vegetables and not eating the same leftovers three days in a row. I want to push my boundaries a bit and keep trying new foods and foods that I sometimes avoid. I have been doing it the last few days and it’s been good. I had a smoothie yesterday. I haven’t made myself a smoothie in a LONG time. So that was a nice treat. I also tried black beans and red onions last week. And found that I still can’t tolerate either. But I tried. I still have a lot of healing to do. Hopefully someday I can tolerate them again. The nice thing is that I didn’t go crazy with them. I tried them in one meal and then stayed away from them for a few days. It made it easy to figure out what the problem food was. I’m also finding that I still need a good portion of carbohydrates and salt in my meals…else I’m freezing cold. Like right now. I may need to have a supplemental breakfast soon 😛

So I tried to be more thorough about meal planning this week. Then I don’t have to think about it (which makes my anxiety way less). And if I have a day I feel really good or really bad I can look at my menu and know what did or didn’t work.

Here are my lunch options. I’ll update my menu as the week goes so I can keep track.
lunch options: salad, yogurt, soup, sauteed veg, hummus, custard, chx nuggets

And finally here is our menu. Happy Thanksgiving!
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S (prep breakfast and lunch, church, make stock, prep smoothies)
  B – yogurt, granola, grapes (J), sauteed cauliflower and tuna, grapes (M)
  L – cp rustic chicken stew (without potatoes and onions), zucchini bread
  D – grilled ham and cheese, corn, caramel milkshakes

M (make yogurt, Dr. S., PS, soak beans, strain kefir)
  B – smoothie, zucchini bread(J), pea soup w/ extra broth, soaked graham crackers (M)
  L – tacos, corn, applesauce (J), pea soup w/ extra broth, soaked graham crackers (M)
  D – (separate/prep ahead) – RR – “egg noodle casserole”, broccoli, garlic toast; broth cooked vegetables (M)

T (skim cream, bake/puree/freeze squash, cook beans, make/freeze hummus, KM, Meijer, co-op)
  B – french toast (J), yogurt, nuts, dried fruit, avocado fries (M)
  L – casserole (J), (M)
  D – squash, sausage and white bean soup, homemade breadsticks

W (chop veggies, HF, roast/debone turkey, make broth, make ice cream, clean bathrooms, yoga, soak flour)
  B – smoothie, english muffin (J), sauteed brussels sprouts, kholrabi, mushrooms and broccoli w/ scrambled egg yolk (M)
  L – ham, cheese and apple toasted sandwich, squash soup (J), sauteed brussels sprouts, kholrabi, mushrooms and broccoli, soaked graham crackers (M)
  D – (separate) – spaghetti, homemade breadsticks, carrots

Th (make pies, prep breakfast, make whipped cream, church, Thanksgiving – bring dinner to grandparents, soak flour, make cream cheese)
  B – pumpkin pancakes (J), pumpkin smoothie (M)
  L – spaghetti (J), salad (M)
  D – roast turkey, mashed potatoes w/ gravy, squash, beans, applesauce, soaked biscuits, pumpkin pie, dutch apple pie

F (cook sweet potatoes, make salad, make rolls, make whipped cream, clean, dinner guest)
  B – egg nog yogurt, soaked biscuits w/ jam (J), sauteed cauliflower, broccoli and mushrooms, pumpkin pie (M)
  L – spaghetti (J), squash, beans, broccoli, soaked biscuit w/ butter
  D – brie appetizer; roast turkey in broth gravy, sweet potato casserole, roasted cauliflower and brussels sprouts, sea foam salad, rolls, pumpkin pie, Dutch apple pie

S (shopping?)
  B – biscuits w/ jam, banana (J), turkey, broth, squash, beans, brussels sprouts, cauliflower (M)
  L – brie en croute w/ crackers, broccoli and cauliflower, grapes
  D – coconut flour/rice flour pancake and sausage muffins, caramelized brussels sprouts, Leftover turkey, sweet potato casserole, crispy roasted fennel, sea foam salad