sweet peas and other things » the family behind sweet pea photography

Breakfast : my standard yogurt concoction, blueberry-pomegranate juice, water

Lunch : a picnic lunch outside on this lovely day… jalepeno polish sausage (I LOVE grilling!!), carrots and ranch dip, grapes, water

Dinner : grilled chicken (marinated in olive oil, oregano, basil, and garlic salt), fruit salad (oranges, strawberries, kiwi, red raspberries, banana, and yogurt), peas, milk and a brownie with a dab of peanut butter for dessert

Bedtime snack : milk and strawberries

These bananas are currently in the freezer, getting ready to become tomorrow’s dessert… banana ice cream!!

We’re only one week into this adventure, and I’ve been surprised at how many people have had questions for us… about the diet, how/why we’re doing this, how difficult or easy it is to do… so I thought I’d share whatever answers I can! (Feel free to leave a question/comment if you have one and I’ll try to answer it as we go…)  Friday is grocery shopping day, so I thought that would be a good place to start – just so you can see that we’re still buying lots of normal foods, and just eliminating the things that we don’t need!  Oh, and keep in mind that I shop for one week’s worth of meals, so this list might be shorter than you’re used to.  Weekly shopping isn’t my favorite (in the past I’ve tried to stretch it out as long as possible between trips to the store… 2, 3, 4 weeks if I’m really lucky) but with all the fresh fruit we’re eating, it’s necessary to go every week. So… today’s shopping list:

2 gallons of milk (1 skim, 1 whole)
half & half
sugar-free creamer
8 cups of light yogurt
18 eggs
2 lbs. butter
1 pkg. of 24 cheese sticks
4 c. pkg. of shredded colby-jack cheese
3 8oz. pkg. of cream cheese
1 pkg. bacon
1 pkg. lunch meat (sliced ham, chicken, or turkey usually)
1 jar green olives
ranch dressing mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 pkg. broccoli
1 bag spinach
1 bag grapes
3 peaches
2 bunches of bananas
2 avocados
3 sweet potatoes
1 large onion
2 pkg. frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries)

I think that was about it for today, along with a few non-grocery items, and the total was right around $100. Usually I also include frozen chicken, fish, or other meat, as well as juice or other fruits and veggies… so you can keep an eye on my recipes over the next week and see these ingredients show up! Now, on to today’s menu…

Breakfast : scrambled eggs (about 1.5 eggs and 1/2 c. chopped ham), cottage cheese, 5 strawberries, 1/2 banana, coffee (I tried but I just can’t do plain milk in coffee… gonna have to stick with sugar-free creamer)

Lunch : the rest of the leftover Ham Casserole, milk

Snack : a bunch of grapes

Dinner : Guacamole Cilantro Lime Cheeseburgers, broccoli and ranch dip (made with sour cream and powdered mix), water

Bedtime snack : yogurt, sliced almonds, 4 huge strawberries

Breakfast : an omelet (1 egg, cilantro, cheese, ham), 1 c. of blueberry-pomegranate juice, a cup of coffee with sugar-free creamer

Lunch : grilled pork and spinach salad with strawberries, oranges, avocado, grape tomatoes (Can you tell I often have leftovers for lunch? We had some of the fruit left over from last night, and it kept just fine in the fridge – yay!), milk, 3 cookies

Dinner : Ham Casserole, fruit salad (pineapple, strawberries, blueberries), milk, 1 cookie for dessert

Bedtime snack : 3 cookies and a glass of milk

Ham Casserole

2 c. cubed ham
2 c. frozen hash brown potatoes
1 can peas
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. melted butter
2 Tbsp. almond flour
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. salt
shredded cheese

Mix ham, potatoes, and peas in 9×9 dish. Mix other ingredients (except cheese) and pour over ham. Cover and bake at 350* for 30 minutes, then uncover and top with cheese. Bake 5 more minutes.  This turned out okay… could’ve used more seasoning (pepper) and thickening, but I’m not sure how to thicken without using regular flour… something to figure out…