Planning for Summer Cooking

Things have been to hectic here but this month they will begin to wind down.  The day after I finish my last class at the co-op I am going to begin My Summer Purge.  I plan to work methodically through August dejunking my house.  I am going to pretend I am a minimalist (except for books).  I am not a minimalist, but I will play one this summer, just to get all the clutter under control!

But right now I am trying to figure out menu planning, as always.  My perennial but frustrating endeavor to cook and eat better and to get the children still living at home to eat better.  This is important because of B's special diet.  But also because of R's health issues and now S.'s weaning off anti-depression meds.  This will be a good summer for this.  He will be working outside a lot.  He'll be waking up at the same time most days and hopefully going to bed at about the same time.  He'll be out in the sunshine getting lots and lots of exercise.  What he needs to do as he winds down the medicine is to start eating really well, with foods that produce serotonin. 

So we need lots of leafy greens, eating the rainbow in terms of veggies and fruits, lots of good protein, herbs and spices that promote good gut health, and also adding in probiotics.  And we need to reduce the refined carbs and sugar.    Now that J is managing the store, he is not outside doing much physical work, except sometimes when they need an extra hand.  But S as a dockhand/landscape maintenance guy will be.  J usually skips breakfast and actually S hates breakfast because he's never hungry.  But when he came home from work he said, he really needs to start eating breakfast because he gets so ravenous by lunchtime.  There is only one source of food at the marina and that's the burger joint there.  There used to be a fine dining restaurant but it wasn't making money.  Well, the burger joint isn't that good and it gets old eating there every day.  Often J will order out from the closest pizza and sub place.  This might be ok for once in a while but they both really need to eat better.  And for S. it is imperative!  So I am also working on hearty, healthy lunches that will provide S. (and J.) with good nutrition.

So first up is breakfast planning.  Did I mention I am also trying to be as zero waste as possible?

This a.m. I experimented with a 'Breakfast Stack' which was delicious.  I totally stole this idea from some Paleo website.  This is how I did it:

Applegate turkey sausage patties (no plastic packaging and the box is recyclable)
Ripe avocado(s) (package free except for the stupid sticker)
Eggs (from CSA - can reuse the egg cartons or recycle them)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Rings from the pint size canning jars

I am going to try to make this a one pan dish too because I am handwashing all my dishes nowadays.

Recipe
In a pan, heat up Applegate turkey sausages according to directions.  Once heated through, set aside.
Add a bit of oil to the pan.  Also oil the canning lid rings
Place the rings in the pan and then crack 1 egg into each.
While the eggs are cooking, mash up the avocado.

I covered the eggs to help them cook through faster.

When the eggs are cooked through, turn off flame and let them cool for a couple minutes.

To make the Breakfast Stack:

Place the sausage pattie on a plate
Scoop a generous dollop of the mashed avocado on top
Using a fork and a kitchen pot holder flip the ring over the stack, then with a fork gently loosen from the ring.  This part is tricky!  I couldn't quite do it without leaving some of the egg white on the rim of the ring, so I just scraped it off and placed on top of the stack.
Season with salt and pepper.

It's delicious!  The flavors of the egg and the avocado go together really well and the turkey sausage is good too!

I'm thinking I'll make these 2x a week (For ex. M, Th)

Then the banana pancakes* 2x a week (with fruit and maple syrup) (T, W - that way I can make enough batter on T morning and then use it up on W morning.  It will keep a day, I've discovered).

1x a week homemade granola with nuts and dried fruit with either cow or almond milk.  Topped with fresh fruit.  This might be good for Sunday morning when they have to leave really early.

Lunches
I want to plan that 3x a week they'll take leftovers to work for lunch.  I have to pay attention to portions, making sure to double stuff up.   For ex. roast chicken and leftover roast veggies.  I just saw a good recipe for Sesame Chicken that I want to try out. 

2x a week, I'm thinking of doing those salads in the big mason jars.  We'll see if they like them.  I'd put in spinach and mixed greens then things like sliced peppers, cucumbers, carrots, onions, then some kind of meat or fish (deli turkey, ham, tuna, salmon, etc) They also need something on the side, like crackers or gf bread or homemade fries or chips. 

I also saw a kind of easy looking paleo recipe for strawberry banana bars.  I think I'll try to make those next.  They might make a good snack between meals.


*Banana pancakes are super simple:  the proportions are 2 bananas to 4 eggs.  Mash and mix them all together, add a splash of vanilla, cook them up in coconut oil.  They are really good.

Anyway, these are my Saturday musings.  I'm off to plan some more!