Real Food Menu Ideas

 Introduction

If you don’t eat want to eat from the menu that has been coming at you for your whole life through advertising, your own history or what’s on grocery shelves, it is easy to get stuck on occasion and not be able to think of what to fix. Most of us have been programmed to think in terms of a merry-go-round of pizza, spaghetti, deep fried food, and sandwiches. These are the eating solutions for people without time to cook, and they are engineered to be cheap, fast, and hyper-palatable. When you attempt to abandon those things, it’s easy to get frustrated. Sometimes simple fatigue gets in the way of thinking about what to eat.

These menu ideas are predicated on several ideas that run counter to common wisdom – namely the low fat, low calorie, low salt and low cholesterol advice. These recipes use fats generously; they use grains and legumes sparingly; they use very few processed or packaged products, and they assume that you want to use no seed oils, no added sugar, and no wheat flour. 

The menus are organized to use the same grocery list throughout the week. There are four rather than seven days listed for two reasons: one is to allow for some meals eaten out (take-out or restaurants) and the other is to allow for using up leftovers.The cooking can be spaced in any way that fits your schedule.

Where to find the time to cook? There are a couple of possibilities. One is to batch cook on the weekends or whenever you have a larger than normal chunk of time. The other is to delete something else from your schedule, if possible. A third possibility is to enlist more people to help and share the joy of cooking!

A Very Brief List of Books and Podcasts

     

Books	Podcasts
Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz *	Livin’ La Vida Low Carb by Jimmy Moore
Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It by Gary Taubes *	The Sane Show by Jonathan Bailor
Fat Chance by Robert Lustig *	Dishing Up Nutrition by Darlene Kvist
Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan *	Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper
The Great Cholesterol Myth by Sinatra and Bowden *	Good Food Eating by Jedha Dening
Grain Brain by David Perlmutter	Revolution Health Radio by Chris Kresser
Wheat Belly by William Davis	Fat Burning Man by Abel James

*These are reviewed on The Mike and Susan Reading List.

 

Real Food Menu Ideas - Example 1

Breakfast	Green Smoothie: Chard, spinach, banana, canned coconut milk, berries, nut butter	Uncured bacon Scrambled eggs	Kale/Mushroom Quiche	Twice baked potatoes
Lunch	Green Salad with Smoked trout, cucumber, tomato, carrots, apple and dressing	Turkey tacos with Anaheim peppers and garlic Garnish with cheese, avocado, tomato and salsa (Rice optional)	Turkey Vegetable soup	Turkey Vegetable or Greens/Leek soup
Dinner	Roast turkey with vegetables After roasting 1 ½ hours, put an onion or two in the cavity and place potatoes and carrots around turkey.	Greens and Leek soup	Baked Potato Bar with ground beef, grated cheese, butter, sour cream, salsa, chives	Shish kabobs with shrimp, (steak) and veggies
Groceries	Eggs/Meat/Cheese	Produce	Staples	Spices
	10 – 12 pound turkey 1 pound ground beef  1 ½ pounds Shrimp 1 pound Steak 2 cans smoked trout Cheddar/Swiss/Goat cheese Eggs Uncured Bacon	Chard, Kale, spinach, red leaf lettuce, Tomatoes, Berries, Cucumber, Apple Avocado, Mushrooms Potatoes, russet and red Broccoli, Carrots, Onions,  leeks, Peas, Anaheim and bell peppers, bananas, garlic,	Sour cream Butter Nut butter Corn tortillas Coconut/almond milk OR half and half Olive oil Balsamic vinegar Mustard Rice Tahini	Chives Basil Chili Powder or flakes Salt Pepper Worcestershire or tamari Salsa

Real Food Menu Ideas – Example 2

Breakfast	Eggs and Sausage	Chia Pancakes with Berries	Tomato Basil Quiche	Oat Nut Breakfast Bars
Lunch	Potato Soup	No Pasta Lasagna	White Bean Chili	Grilled Fish with Green Salad
Dinner	Roast Pork with Vegetables	No-Stir Fry with Pork	Pizza with cauliflower crust	Ratatouille
Groceries	Eggs/Meat/Cheese	Produce	Staples	Spices and Herbs
	1 pound breakfast sausage 4 – 5 pound pork roast 1 ½ pound grounds beef OR Ricotta, Mozzarella, Parmesan Cheeses 1 ½  pounds fish 1 pound chicken, fresh or canned  Eggs Monterey Jack cheese	Corn, fresh or frozen Artichoke hearts, canned or frozen Onion Potatoes Summer squash, 4 + pounds Greens: chard, spinach, lettuce Leeks Broccoli Carrots Parsnips Eggplant Tomatoes, 6 large or 10 medium Poblano or Anaheim pepper Berries, fresh or frozen Cauliflower Bell peppers	Butter Olive oil Corn starch Tamari Half and half OR Almond/coconut milk Marinara sauce, canned or homemade Chia seeds Buckwheat groats Navy beans Diced green chilies, canned Cashews Peanut or almond butter Dried cranberries Honey Rolled oats	Salt Pepper Garlic Chives Chili powder Basil Vanilla Cinnamon Cardamom Bouillon Italian seasoning blend Nutmeg Cloves

 


These plans should feed four people quite easily.

NO-STIR FRY

 This is as much of a concept as it is a recipe. In a traditional stir fry, the meat and various vegetables are added at different times depending on how much cooking they require. In this lazy version, those differences are managed with layering. And the cook gets to put his or her feet up while the veggies fend for themselves.


Minced garlic
Sliced: carrots, golden beets, leeks, red and yellow peppers, and
Savoy cabbage
2 cups chopped cooked chicken or pork spiced with salt, turmeric and chili pepper flakes (Use sauteed tofu or leave out meat for a vegetarian dish.)

1. Layer the garlic, carrots, and beets on the bottom of a skillet that has been coated generously with olive oil.

2. Adjust heat to a low setting. Sprinkle a little herbed salt on each layer

3. Add peppers and leeks. Spread the cabbage over the peppers and leeks.

4. Then add the cooked chicken on the very top. Cover, mix the sauce, and go read a book for 15 or 20 minutes.

5. Sauce: 1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari 1 tablespoon raw honey 1/4 cup water 1 tablespoon corn starch Mix sauce ingredients and set aside.

6. Add sauce to vegetables when they are cooked. Turn the heat up for a minute or two and then stir. The sauce will thicken and coat the vegetables.

You can obviously substitute other vegetables and meat in this mix. Simply put the long cooking veggies on the bottom and the fast cooking ones nearer the top. Since the meat is already cooked, it goes on the very top and gets stirred in at the end when the sauce is mixed in.

Serve with rice. Add turmeric to your rice for a pretty color and place a scoop right on top of the meat and vegetables.

Best Tomato Soup Ever

This tomato soup recipe is based on the traditional Italian vodka sauce recipe, but without the 

vodka. Carrots are what give the vodka sauce it's sweetness, so they are included here to 

balance the acidity of the fresh tomatoes.

4 medium size carrots - peeled and diced 

12 medium tomatoes - peeled

4 cloves garlic

1 medium onion - cut into chunks 

4 cups chicken or turkey broth 

Tarragon, salt, pepper, basil 

Creme fraiche (Substitute whole fat coconut milk for a dairy free option)

1/2 cup hand grated Parmesan cheese (Leave out for dairy free)

1/3 cup red wine 
2 cups chopped, cooked turkey 

1/2 cup cooked rice (brown, white or wild)

1. Chop the garlic, onion and carrots; put in slow cooker on high  

2. Blanch* and peel the tomatoes. Chop these and remove some of the seeds, 

but don't worry too much about seeds. add them to the cooker. 

3. Add broth and let this simmer slowly for 2-3 hours until the carrots and onions 

are very soft. Cook your rice while the vegetables are simmering and set it aside.

4. Remove from heat. Let cool. If you want to do this over two days, 

you can refrigerate the soup at this point. 

5. Use a hand blender to puree the tomato carrot mix. You can do this 
while the soup is warm, but avoid blending while hot for all kinds of obvious 
reasons. 

6. Return to slow cooker on high setting and add red wine, rice, cooked turkey 

and spices. 

7. Stir in the creme fraiche and the Parmesan cheese. If you're going dairy free, 

simply add some full fat coconut milk instead.

8. Taste and add more seasoning if necessary. 

9. Enjoy! 

*To blanch the tomatoes, immerse them in boiling water for about a 

minute and a half. Cool and peel. The skins should slip off easily. 

Setbacks are inevitable; misery is a choice.

WB Yeats  

Jazzy Stuffed Mushrooms

Holidays are over, but perhaps you have made a resolution to do more entertaining in 2015. Stuffed mushrooms always seem to be popular and these are extra delicious.

20 mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
olive oil for sauteeing
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped, dried fruit
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated cheese

1. Choose large mushrooms and break off the stems. This recipe is for about 20.

2. Chop the stems into small pieces and saute them in olive oil with some minced garlic.

3. Add 1/2cup chopped, dried fruits to the saute mix. Cranberries and pineapple are especially good because of their tanginess, but apricot or golden raisins might work well, too.
5. Put a spoonful of the saute mix in each of the mushrooms and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Serve warm. Try not to eat too many and spoil your dinner, but that will be difficult!

Note: You can use gluten free bread crumbs, or you can use almond flour instead of bread crumbs.

The cost of cheap food is way too high.   Unknown

New Year's Treat

For this delicious drink use equal parts:

Coconut milk
Orange juice
Vodka
Sugar or honey*

Put all of the ingredients in a blender at a medium speed for a few seconds. Pour into a glass and garnish with orange or lime rinds. This drink is also delicious over ice.


* You can cut the sweetener in half and it will still be sweet enough for most people.


Too much virtue is just as worrisome as wickedness...
Sue Grafton                                                                       

 

Chocolate Candy

Whole Food Chocolate Candy

12 ounces dark chocolate – 60 – 80% cocoa

1 ½ cups finely chopped dates

½ cup cashew butter*

½ cup almond meal

Outer Coating:

Shredded, toasted coconut

(I used an unsweetened brand and toasted it in a frying pan with a tablespoon of coconut oil and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup.)

1. Put the chocolate and dates into a slow cooker on low. The chocolate melts fairly quickly. When it is melted enough to stir easily, add the cashew butter and the almond meal and stir. The mixture should be slightly thick.

2. Drop rounded teaspoons full of the chocolate mixture on a wax paper and let them cool. The mix should make about 4 dozen candies.

3. When they are cool, but still soft, roll them in the toasted coconut and place them in a paper liner. These are sold along with the cupcake liners.

*You can use another kind of nut butter. Macadamia butter is a little harder to find (and even harder to finance), but it would be good, too.