A New Week, A New Menu

 Meal Planning

Over the past 15 or 20 years, I had really slowed down on cooking.  I live alone, so for the most part, cooking and cleaning up afterwards seemed like far too much hassle.  I've simplified things to soups or curry, tacos, and ready-made meals I can buy and heat up.  

As I started eating a ketogenic diet a few years ago, I found that cooking made a lot more sense.  With a little planning, I can prepare batches of meals and portion them into meal prep containers to freeze for later.  I'm also finding a renewed love of cooking that I had almost forgotten about!  

Finding and trying new recipes is fun!  So this week I've picked out a group of recipes that I'll be trying next.  I've tried to focus on quick, simple dishes without too many different ingredients to keep costs reasonable.  If you're planning on making all the recipes with me, I've included my shopping list below.

Recipe Links

Keto Tuna Burgers (serves 1) - feel free to add cheese on top, serve with salad and a pickle!

Spinach Artichoke Chicken Casserole (serves 8) - this will be a great one for me to portion out and freeze!

Pulled Pork Carnitas (serves 12) - feel free to cut down the recipe, or freeze for later!  This is a great staple to serve in lots of different ways.  It calls for ethritol.  I have Monk Fruit sweetener on hand, so I'll be using that!  

TexMex Zucchini Boats (serves 4) - The meat filling is easy to freeze ahead.  I also decided to serve the meat over regular sliced zucchini rather that the boats to keep things easier.  So when I portioned the meat into my meal planning containers, I just added frozen zucchini.  

I usually just plan 4 meals per week, but since my Tuna Burgers are only a single serving (and I don't think they'd freeze well), I'm going to add a 5th recipe this week!

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs (serves 6) - serve with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks!  I haven't made this one yet, but I'm planning on just using 1 whole egg rather than 2 egg whites.  Will let you know how it goes!

I also keep a big container of salad greens in the fridge, and try to get a good serving of salad with each dinner. If the main course is just meat, I'll add a big serving of any low-carb veggie or mix of veggies I have on hand.  

Pantry

I'm assuming you have the basics on hand, but add these items to your shopping list if not:

• Eggs
• Salt & Pepper
• Olive Oil
• Mayonaise 
• Crushed Red Pepper flakes
• Onion Powder
• Paprika
• Parsley
• Dill
• Oregano 
• Coconut Oil (can substitute olive oil)
• Butter
• Red Wine vinegar (for salad topping)

Shopping List

Tuna Burgers:

1 can tuna (or more if you want to double the recipe)

Tex-Mex Zucchini:

1 lb ground beef or turkey

Tex-Mex seasoning (I used chili seasoning I had in the cupboard)

Cilantro (optional, I left it out)

2 whole zucchini for boats, or a bag of frozen sliced zucchini

1 c. pepper jack cheese

Pulled Pork:

5 lbs boneless pork shoulder/butt

2 T. keto sweetner (ethritol etc.)

Small onion

2 large jalapeno 

4 cloves garlic 

2 limes

2 C. chicken stock

Spinach Artichoke Casserole: 

1.5-2 lbs boneless chicken (should make 4 cups shredded)

9 oz package frozen spinach

14 oz plain artichoke hearts

8 oz cream cheese

1 C parmesan cheese

1.5 C Mozzarella, shredded

2/3 C sour cream

1/2 C heavy cream

1/4 C mayonaise

3 cloves garlic

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs:

1.5 lbs ground chicken 

2 eggs

1/2 C blue cheese crumbles

1/2 C green onions

1/2 C buffalo sauce 

Blue Cheese dressing & celery for serving

To accompany any of these meals:

Salad greens

Cauliflower

Broccoli

Mushrooms

Okay!  I'm definitely looking forward to making these keto meals this week - I'll update the blog if I find any helpful tips or substitutions.  Let me know how they turn out for you, too! 

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