See below for links to previous meal plans
I hope these recipes and the meal plan are helping you! I feel SO much more organized when I make myself plan dinners for 1-2 weeks at a time. It's like getting your to-do list out of your head and into your agenda or task app. Turn all that stuff taking up space in your brain over to your calendar, and then do whatever needs doing each day. Plus, having dinners planned for 1-2 weeks helps me with the bigger picture -- less shopping trips, using leftovers in another recipe, and saving money by only buying what I need.
If you, like me, are trying to eat a lower carb diet, you may be using an app like Carb Manager to track everything you eat. I found tracking my food to be very helpful the first month, so I could understand where my carb allowance is going. But how do you handle the carbs in some veggies? Obviously, carb-heavy vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and peas are pretty much off limits (unless you reduce other carbs on a day when you just can't resist an ear of corn!). Most vegetables have some carbs though, and it can start to add up. A stir fry with lots of broccoli, peppers, and onions can end up being 10, even 20, carbs for a generous serving.
I was worried about carbs from non-starchy vegetables too and was getting frustrated measuring and limiting them. Then I read this on a keto support group: "No one ever got fat eating broccoli." Bam. Issue resolved. I don't track carbs from healthy non-starchy vegetables anymore; in fact, I load up my plate, the more healthy vegetables the better. Green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, even the higher carb tomatoes and onions -- bring 'em on.
November 1-7
Beef Stroganoff
1 lb ground beef
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp brandy
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Better than Bouillon beef base
2 oz cream cheese
1 cup sour cream (if you're following a keto diet, use full fat sour cream)
parsley
Cauliflower rice
- Saute onions in butter until tender. Add sliced mushrooms and saute 5 minutes more. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Brown the ground beef, breaking up into small pieces, until done. Add the brandy, Worcestershire and beef base and stir.
- Add mushrooms and onions back to pan and add the cream cheese, stirring until melted and incorporated.
- Stir in the cream cheese and simmer gently until sauce is thick. Add parsley and salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over cauliflower rice or, for carb eaters, rice or egg noodles.
Basil Coconut Curry Shrimp (based on the recipe in The Dirty, Lazy Keto Cookbook by Stephanie Laska)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1/2 onion, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp ground ginger (I keep a squeeze tube of ground ginger in the fridge; it's a great addition to Asian dishes and so easy to use)
1 1/2 tbsp red curry paste
1 14 oz can unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil
1 lb medium shrimp, shells removed
- Saute peppers and onion in a small amount of oil until softened. Add minced garlic, ground ginger and curry paste. Stir to coat vegetables.
- Stir in coconut milk and fresh basil. Mix well.
- Simmer 10 minutes.
- Add shrimp and stir well. Simmer 5 minutes until shrimp are cooked through and pink.
Serve with cauliflower rice or, for carb eaters, white rice.
Sheet Pan Chicken and Vegetables with Herb-Wine Marinade
1 packet McCormick Garlic Herb & Wine Marinade
1/4 cup oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 lbs boneless chicken thighs or breast, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 eggplant, peeled and chopped into 1 inch chunks
2 zucchini, chopped into 1 inch chunks
1 large onion, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped into 1 inch chunks
- In medium bowl, prepare marinade according to packet, adding 1/4 cup oil, 1/4 cup water, and 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar. Stir well.
- Add chicken chunks to marinade and stir well to coat evenly. Marinate for 1/2 hour or more in fridge
- Line a very large cookie sheet (sometimes I use two) with foil. Distribute chopped vegetables evenly over foil.
- Distribute chunks of marinated chicken evenly over vegetables. Pour any remaining marinade over vegetables and stir lightly to coat.
- Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes. Monitor after 30 minutes to ensure onions don't burn.
For carb eaters, serve with rice.
Instant Pot Beef Pot Roast
Spicy red radishes, when cooked, are very similar to potatoes but they have almost no carbs! They're mild and soft and a perfect choice for pot roast or any other soup or stew. You can even chop them into chunks and saute them for "hash browns".
3 lb beef pot roast, trimmed
1 lb bag baby carrots
4 stalks celery, chopped in large chunks
1 large onion, chopped in large chunks
3 large potatoes, chopped in large chunks
Bag of red radishes, ends trimmed
1 packet McCormick Slow Cooker Savory Pot Roast seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cups warm water
- Cut pot roast into large chunks
- Place all vegetables and pot roast chunks in Instant Pot insert. Mix gently with large spoon.
- Mix packet of seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper with 2 cups warm water and pour over vegetables and beef
- Seal Instant Pot lid on and press Meat/Stew button, set to 42 minutes.
- Double-check after 10 minutes to ensure lid has sealed and button has popped up, indicating that it is now pressure cooking. If button has still not popped, try pressing down firmly on lid.
- After cooking phase is completed, either do a quick release (be very careful slowly releasing all the steam) or let sit for 45 minutes for pressure to dissipate, then remove the lid.
Chicken Parmesan (a favorite with my kids!)
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb pasta
Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Trim chicken breasts of tendons and fat. Cut into large 2 x 2 inch chunks. Place each chunk on a cutting board, cover with a piece of plastic wrap, and pound flat with a kitchen mallet. This step is critical to tender chicken -- don't skip it!
- Choose two wide and flat storage containers or bowls, medium size. In one, mix egg and milk with a fork until well mixed. In the other, combine bread crumbs and parmesan cheese until mixed.
- Dip one piece of flattened chicken in egg-milk mixture, then into bread crumbs. Press chicken firmly into breadcrumbs, turn over, sprinkle more breadcrumbs on top, and press firmly again, so that both sides of chicken are well coated with breadcrumbs.
- Spray a large, heavy skillet or pan with oil spray until well-coated. Heat pan over medium-high heat.
- After each piece of chicken is coated, lay in skillet to cook. Cook for 5 minutes, spray top with oil spray, flip and cook on reverse side for 5 more minutes. Use the side of a fork or spoon to press down on chicken -- if it's firm and solid, it's cooked through. If there's still any "give" to the chicken, leave it to cook a few more minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta in salted boiling water and heat spaghetti sauce in a small pan.
- To serve, place cooked chicken on plate, cover with a spoonful of hot spaghetti sauce, and sprinkle generously with shredded mozzarella. Add a serving of pasta.
For low-carb eaters, use almond flour and parmesan cheese instead of breadcrumbs, or pan-fry flattened chicken breast without any coating. Add sauce and shredded mozzarella and serve with cauliflower rice or a generous serving of other non-starchy vegetables.
Links to past plans:
Oct 18-24 Meal Plan: Introduction, low-carb recipes and shopping list for chili, baked salmon, chicken fajitas, shrimp jambalaya, and ham, potatoes & beans
Oct 25-31 Meal Plan: Staying motivated plus recipes and shopping list for roasted chicken, beef & broccoli, chicken soup, zucchini lasagna, and shrimp
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