Menu Planning Monday: Week of October 3

Well, October is here and here with a vengeance. It's cold and wet and I have a throat tickle that is making me very suspicious of its long-term intentions.

This is going to be a weird week for us, food wise. We're continuing to eat low carb, with great success. Mr. Scrimp has lost about 15 pounds since the beginning of August and I've lost 17 1/2. Yep, it's true. By and large, it hasn't even been difficult. But some weeks are easier than others when your groceries are chosen at the whim of someone who doesn't know about your dietary restrictions.




Our CSA was light this week and we didn't get a chance to go to the Farmer's Market, so I'll be making a Whole Foods run tonight. However, I'm trying to keep this week's spending to a real minimum, so my bought ingredients will be cheap ones as much as possible.

What I already have:

• 1.5 lb onions
• 2 lb tomatoes
• 2 hot banana peppers
• 3 lbs potatoes
• 2 green peppers
• 1 bunch collard greens
• 1 bunch radishes
• 4 mild Italian sausages
• 2 lbs almonds
• 2 cucumbers
• 2 butternut squash
• 1 gallon milk

See what I mean about light? Compared to past weeks, this is positively scanty. 

It's a cold, wet week and I'm feeling sick, so I think we're going to end up eating a lot of soup. Here's what I will be looking for tonight at the store:

• Chicken thighs or drumsticks
• 2 bags frozen mixed vegetables
• 1-2 lb dried navy beans
• 2 eggplants
• 1 lb ground beef
• 4 lbs pork neck bones or hocks
• 2 heads cauliflower
• Eggs
• 2 heads lettuce

Monday

Lunch: Salad and leftover cold chicken from last week (Ingredients: Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, cold chicken)

Dinner: Meat loaf with pureed garlic cauliflower (Ingredients: Eggs, ground almonds, onions, ground oats, spices, steamed cauliflower, roasted garlic, grated cheese, milk)

Leftovers: 4 servings meat loaf, 1 serving chicken, 2 servings cauliflower

Tuesday

Lunch: Meat loaf and cauliflower  (Ingredients: Leftovers)

Dinner: Pot luck (bringing pasta and tomato sauce with chicken)

Leftovers: 2 servings meat loaf

Wednesday:

Lunch: Meat loaf lettuce wraps (Ingredients: Leftover meat loaf, lettuce, mayonnaise)

Dinner: Braised pork hocks/neck bones with roasted vegetables (Ingredients: Pork, apple cider vinegar, eggplant, radish, onion)

Leftovers: Pork bones

Thursday:

Lunch: Chicken salad lettuce wraps (Ingredients: Roasted chicken thighs, mayonnaise, onion, lettuce)

Dinner: Butternut squash soup (Ingredients: Pork stock, onions, garlic, butternut squash, milk)

Leftovers: 6 servings soup, 4 servings chicken salad, 4 servings roast chicken

Friday:

Lunch: Chicken salad lettuce wraps with soup (Ingredients: Chicken salad, lettuce, soup)

Dinner: Italian sausage with soup and collard greens (Ingredients: Italian sausage, onions, soup, collard greens)

Leftovers: 2 servings chicken salad, 4 servings roast chicken, 2 servings butternut squash soup

Saturday:

Lunch: Cream of chicken soup (Ingredients: Chicken stock, roasted chicken, garlic, onions, 1 bag frozen mixed vegetables, dried beans, tomatoes, peppers)

Dinner: Salad, soup (Ingredients: Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, leftover soup)

Leftovers: 6 servings chicken soup

Sunday:

Lunch: n/a

Dinner: Chicken soup


As to what I'll do with the rest... well, what doesn't get frozen or stored in the pantry, I'll figure it out. All I want to do right now is curl up with a blanket and eat soup forever.

Do you change the way you eat when fall starts?