This Week In My Home: Summer Time and The Living Is Easy



Time to plan another week of menus.  The week just past was awesome, hard, fun, and naturally tiring but it was just that, a natural tired.  I think I'm getting my feet under me once more.  I even spent the morning contemplating a Monday morning routine for tomorrow.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to do a thorough wipe down of the kitchen this afternoon.  No fears, I'm not pushing myself too hard yet but I am feeling restless and a bit more energetic.  I've taken care to limit myself to a load of laundry, fresh bed linens and emptying the dishwasher today.

I did rather well overall with meal plans last week but at least one day I seemed to be 'off' somehow, either with carb or fat counts, not sure which.  I'm giving myself leeway to make mistakes and figure things out.  I have a goal starting this week: figure out just what carb count works best for me on a per meal basis.  The nutritionist told me to never go below 130 grams per day.  The dietitians recommended  60 grams per meal for an 1800 calorie a day meal plan.  There's a balance point in there somewhere that will keep my sugar at a normal level and I mean to find it.

I'll share all about this past week in an Iced Tea Chat post later.



I did have a few questions from a few of you about what I eat for breakfast.  I've pinned several ideas on this board on Pinterest along with other healthy tips about diabetes management.  If it seems a few recipes on that board are not diabetes friendly, rest assured it's there because I felt I could alter the recipe, but most are from one diabetic friendly site or another.



Now on to my meal plans...and just for fun, I'll share all three meals for the next seven days.  It will help me and perhaps help you, too.  I will include a snack or two here and there but find overall I'm quite satisfied to eat the three meals a day.  I usually only eat a snack at night IF my blood sugar numbers are below 115.  If it's higher than that I tend to skip it.  Check out that Hearty Healthy Soul board linked above though...there are plenty of snack ideas on there as well.

Sunday:
Spanish Egg Plate, V-8, coffee with milk
I fried an egg (used the same pan I cooked John's breakfast in but didn't add any oil, just residue from previous cooking), warmed a small tortilla (10gms carbs), 1/2 ounce low fat sharp cheddar cheese cut into thin slices, 1/4 avocado, 2 tbsp. salsa and 1 tsp non-fat yogurt, fresh cilantro.  I piled all the ingredients on top of the tortilla.  You could roll for a burrito or brown the tortilla and make it more tostado like.

Hot Wings, Carrot and Celery Sticks, Oven Baked 'Fries', Blue Cheese dip, Diet Ginger ale with lemon wedge
I made sure to buy the wings that are NOT breaded (decreased carbs) but let's be real.  These are high in fat and therefore I tried to be careful with portion control.  I think I'm going to buy wings and make my own at home for future meals.  I made sure to keep my potatoes portion controlled.  Just three fingerling potatoes made 1/2 cup of potato wedges.  I mixed 1 tbsp blue cheese dressing with 1 tbsp of nonfat yogurt, a trick one of you shared with me and it's worked beautifully to reduce carbs.  I have to be careful with the dressing measurement as it's another higher fat food.

Chef's Salad, Whole Wheat Crackers, Low Carb Dressing, Milk, Plum
We bought a bag of salad for John's work lunch and forgot all about it.  I'll use some of that tonight with about 1 ounce of slivered low fat turkey luncheon meat, an ounce of cheese and one boiled egg along with tomato, carrots, peppers to make my salad for supper.  I have a low fat/low carb dressing in the fridge and will have fruit and milk to complete the meal.

Monday:  
Vegetable Omelet, Hash Brown Potatoes (for John, none for me), Milk and Toast

Beef  and Vegetable Shish Kebab, Salad, Whole Wheat Roll, Peaches and Cream (FF Whipped)
Note that both breakfast and supper are featuring lots of low carb vegetables today.  I will use onions, peppers, squash for the kebabs. 

Turkey Wraps, Salted Almonds, Chocolate Milk, Apple Slices
I'll use the last of the turkey luncheon meat, spread a small tortilla with 1tbsp of cream cheese with a little pesto added for flavor, Swiss cheese slice, lettuce leaf and thin sliced tomato.

Tuesday:
Banana Bran Muffin, Hard boiled Egg, Milk, Coffee, Cantaloupe
I found the recipe on the box of cereal we just bought and noted it called for skim milk, egg whites and bran flakes.  I think this should be no more carbs than a slice of whole wheat toast.

BBQ Chicken, Black Eye Peas, Summer Slaw, Strawberries
Summer Slaw: Just regular cole slaw made with a diced tomato and a bit of green pepper.  It's very refreshing in summer when these vegetables are all to had fresh.

BLT Sandwich,  Cashews, Sugar Free Pudding

Wednesday:
Whole Wheat Waffle, Turkey Sausage, Banana, Milk

May go out: definitely will have salad and perhaps chicken or fish

Vegetable Beef Soup, Crackers with Cream Cheese, Peach

Thursday:
Scrambled Eggs, Banana Bran Muffin, Banana, Milk

Roast Beef with Root Vegetables, Tossed Salad, SF Pudding

Roast Beef Sandwich, Carrot Sticks, V-8, Plum

Friday
Peach Smoothie, Peanut Butter on Toast

Southwestern Chicken, Whole Kernel Corn, Green Salad with Avocado

Leftovers, Banana Bites rolled in nuts and mini chocolate chips 
I'll watch my carbohydrates on this meal but I'm pretty sure we'll have something in fridge that needs to be used up.  I'll limit myself to 1 tbsp of mini chocolate chips for my banana half, which I'll break into three or four 'bites' and roll in chopped nuts and chocolate chips.

Saturday
Hard Boiled Egg, Toast with orange marmalade, Milk, Berries
1 tsp only of jam and only if my numbers have looked good during week.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Salad and Mock Tiramisu
The Mock Tiramisu will use 1 graham cracker, 1 serving of pudding, 1 tsp of strong instant coffee to saturate the cracker, fat free whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa powder.  I'll limit my spaghetti portion to 1/2 cup.

Chicken Salad, Broccoli Soup, Peach
I'll make the salad with apple, chicken, toasted pecans, and substitute NF yogurt for some of the light mayonnaise I would use.  I'll serve in lettuce cups.  If I find I don't have broccoli in the freezer as I suppose I do, then I may plate with tomatoes and carrots on lettuce leaves.


Around the House

This week I hope to:

Do a Monday routine and a Shabat cleaning

Tag and take at least 10 new items to the booth.

Must go get lab work done.

Sweep porches and clean storm doors, deadhead and water plants.

Possibly go out to lunch with Mama and pick up mid pay period produce/fruits.

Go to the peach shed for peaches.

I'll leave everything else up to energy levels and John's plans.


9 comments:

Lana said...

Your menu sounds wonderful! I need to go get some peaches, too! It is a 'you snooze you loose' thing and sometimes I let the summer go by without eating enough of them. I was allergic to them for 27 years and really enjoy them now!

This pertains to the last post but....You may not have one in your area but Zoe's Kitchen would be a very diet friendly place for you to eat. If you sign up to get their emails which I never really get other than freebies, you will get a free meal in your birthday month. Hubby will get his in just a few days and I am excited to be able to go and have a healthy meal for 1/2 the price.

Louise said...

ummm is it just me or is there something missing in your menus blog this time.. Like the menu.. I see you explaining your menu but I don't see the actual menu.. Maybe it is just my laptop acting up again.

Also, I am going to enjoy your Pinterest page... it is breakfast that I struggle with.. usually too tired to figure out anything so I end up with a yogurt parfait or something easy.

You are doing very well with your numbers.. wish mine would smarten up. I know I need to exercise but right now I don't have that option due to my breathing issues.

Anonymous said...

I find that there is quite a bit of difference in the carbs in cereals. I have a very small bowl with a 1/3 to a half banana and cinnamon and milk. If they are available and I am still hungry I add in half a grapefruit, yes you can learn to eat grapefruit without sugar, or half an orange instead of juice. I find that if I eat the same thing every day for breakfast it is a lot simpler I was told that I should have 30 carbs for breakfast, 30 for lunch and 45 for dinner with 2 15 carb snacks. When I had my diabetic counseling I was told that I should have several small snacks to help balance out the sugar levels in my body. Of course, that was a few years ago. Cinnamon is one of the things they say helps to control blood sugar and blood pressure. I think there has been some reliable research on it as I have read it in several reputable sources. It sounds like you are doing great. Today a young mom from church who talked to me about 3 months ago because she found out she had diabetes and didn't really want to go on insulin and didn't have a Dr who was very helpful, so she did her own diet with quite a bit of protein, and all really healthy food and has stuck to it was so excited because not only has she lost quite a lot of weight, but her blood sugar is normal with no drugs. I am so proud of her! She says her husband told her time for some new clothes, no more sweat pants with a tie in the front. She feels great and is so happy! I think you will be pleased with how much healthier you feel with this under control and I hope you have as much success as I have had. I got a real scare and made a real effort, really read labels, lost weight, and walk every day and have stuck with it for 15 years and my A1C test is still really good. I can even buy a bag of the tiny bite size candy bars, be happy with 1 or 2 a week for my snack. Before I would have gobbled down the whole bag! Gramma D.

Sew Blessed Maw [Judy] said...

Terri, I am so happy that you are sharing your menus.. And discussing your diabetic diet..
I was diagnoised with pre-diabetic.. My doctor put me on Micformim and told me
to watch my carbs and sugars.. He told me to check my sugar before eating in the am.. This has been about a year ago..Honestly, I don't check it like I should.. and I have not been following my diet..I really need to do better. I appreciate your posting as you do..It is encouraging me. thank you. Hope you continue to improve. Judy

Janell in Georgia said...

I am so glad you are sharing all 3 meal plans. Do you know about the place behind the credit union that does lab work? I use a doctor here in town and he is fine with me using them instead of the hospital. It is a whole lot faster. (unless your doctor does the lab test in office) I was reading the GI on foods and was a little shocked at some of the things that it said were better than others.

Louise said...

I see the menus now so must have been a glitch...

doe853 said...

Hi Terri,
Sounds like you have gotten back to almost normal. You are one strong woman! This is not related to today's blog, bit I just found this blog and accompanying outfit site. I thought you might like it. Dale


http://fiftynotfrumpy.polyvore.com

Karla said...

Such a fresh and healthy meal plan! Several of the items I need to add to my meals here - hard-boiled eggs especially!

Sounds like you are really getting the hang of this. I feel sometimes like you should have been a nutritionist! It would all seem so overwhelming to me but you've handled it like a pro!

Looking forward to the next Iced Tea Chat!

Anonymous said...

It's summertime and our living is busy! Smile. We are into harvest here. Wheat now and soon it will be oats. I cook and take meals to the field every night that the combines run. The garden is also producing now so I've been freezing and canning. I like to see the shelves fill up although it is a lot of work but it really helps with the food budget so it is worth the effort. We have a large garden for two families to share in but that also means the work is shared too. Pam