Meaty Monday

Menu planning

Menu planning is one of the best ways to continue this life plan on any budget.  If you have unlimited resources you can have your Kobe beef and eat it too.  I am semi-retired and saving for full retirement.  My plan is to become a mentor to all new nurses instead of the very few who are within the sphere of the small hospital I work for.  Therefore, menu planning.

My menu plans are somewhat generic, but I will be publishing a specific menu for my paid subscribers soon.  My plan is to base it around Aldi's or Walmart type of stores.  You could also choose your own.  The goal though is to follow your specific eating habits for the budget you choose.  If I suggest beef and you prefer a different cut of meat, hurray, you are in charge.  It is up to you to choose your preferences, just follow along for suggestions or guidance.  Use it to start your own menu plan.

Basics:

Breakfasts-frittata, omelet, scrambled eggs, scrambled eggs with additions.  Guacamole, cheese, pepperoni, herbs, spices, onions, garlic, no carb sauces, occasional cauliflour hash browns, bacon, ham, sausage.  Add flavor.  Choose YOUR favorites.  Learn your preferences if you don't know them.  Experiment.  Borrow cookbooks from the library, buy from thrift stores, or if you have an unlimited budget, buy them ASAP.  Some of my favorite cookbooks I have both on my Kindle and in my personal library of 600+ books.

Lunch-unwitches, sandwiches without bread.  Add homemade or keto Mayo, mustard, low sugar sauces or ketchups.  Burgers.  Look at restaurant menus for the many ways a burger can be made.  Coleslaw without sugar.  Salads, again low carb.  Grilled and fried chicken.  Skin is good.  Save any bones from your meats for bone broth.  Go to a real butcher and get bones.  You don't even have to claim they are for the dog anymore.  Keto is so mainstream right now, but it is being done as factory food, NOT GOOD STUFF.

Dinner-everything listed.  Plus steaks, chops, lamb, fish, chicken salad, tuna salad (careful of soybeans, it's in the oil).  Even old fashioned cookbooks can help with these dishes, just keep all the fat, all the flavor, avoid added carbs.  Substitute pork rinds for crunch for breading.  Use manageable amounts of nuts for flavors.  Be aware of the carb counts of the foods you eat.  This doesn't mean you have to give them up, just KNOW what you are putting into your body.

Desserts.  Yeah.  Keep them rare.  Learn to substitute other fun stuff.  Good coffee, add a touch of sugar free flavoring.  I like an occasional raspberry mocha coffee.  Look at the coffee bar recipes, they have sugar free combinations that are just decadent.  I will ask my sister, who has had a coffee cart in the past, to do an article for me.  Allow yourself to have a square of dark chocolate, if it won't throw your body into cravings.  It helps to let it melt on your tongue, gives you longer to enjoy it.  Take a stroll with your honey.  Or alone if that refreshes you more.  I dance on my mini-trampoline.  I haven't been out dancing for a year and a half, my trampoline keeps me sane.

What is "dessert" for you?