What our Menu Looks Like Now

I spent literally hours creating our family's menu for the next two weeks. I haven't made a menu in about 5 weeks because I have been frozen by the overwhelming mountain of learning there is in how to feed my family a completely different way than from what we have always known. Each meal has been pretty painful, and my dislike of our need to eat has grown by leaps and bounds. But alas, as with all things I have come to avoid at one time or another, I finally got to a point this past weekend where enough was enough - by golly, I  was going to get a two week menu together if it killed me.

Photo taken from: amazon.com

I spent a lot of time yesterday going through cookbooks, and also my new favorite book in the whole wide world, Undiet, by Meghan Telpner (I swear to goodness this woman wrote this book with me in mind. I cannot believe how much this books speaks to me) to try and come up with a gluten and dairy free meal plan.

The gluten thing was not something that I was going to attempt quite yet, I wanted to get the dairy thing down first, but Josh is certain that he has a gluten intolerance. He get belly aches regularly after eating, and we have even been to the doctor because of them (with no diagnosis), so after hearing about gluten intolerance he has sworn off gluten on his own accord. I was surprised by his staying power, as he loves bagels, bread, pizza, and all things gluten, but he has been true to his new beliefs (and coincidentally has not gotten a bellyache since doing so). I was skeptical of his idea at first, but know first hand the importance of listening to ones intuition, regardless of what anyone else thinks, so I supported his quest to eat gluten free foods.

So, this is what I have come up with for the next two weeks. A lot of this food is so different from what we had been eating that I am not sure how successful the new food choices will go over with the whole family, but I can tell you that I am very proud of myself for even getting to the point of being able to put a menu together that is not only dairy free, but gluten free too. I know full well though, that as proud of myself as I am now for persevering through all of this forest of food information that I am not at the summit yet. I am certain that I will still have set backs on this road toward recovery. What I have learned is that the high's are really high, but on the flip side, the lows are really low. (I guess that is just what I should expect 6 months out from the type of diagnosis Sarah received last May.)

Here is our menu - if you have suggestions or some food knowledge that you would like to share - by all means please do. I am a sponge when it comes to food knowledge.

Tuesday:

Taco's with chicken (corn tortilla)
(We put corn, black beans, tomatoes, brown rice, lettuce, onion/green pepper, chicken, olives in our tacos. No cheese anymore, and definitely no fake cheese! The more I read about fake products like vegan cheese and garden burgers the more I think that they are just as harmful to my family as dairy.)

Wednesday: 

Salmon 

Amaranth

Asparagus

Salad

Thursday:

Veggie Stir Fry

Tofu

Quinoa

Salad

Friday:

Vegan Chili 

Salad

Saturday:

Eating elsewhere

Sunday:

Eating elsewhere

Monday:

Bean and Veggie Burgers 

(Homemade)

Quinoa Salad

Regular Salad

Tuesday:

Salmon

Millet

Acorn Squash

Peas (for Bob)

Salad

Wednesday:

Eating Elsewhere

Thursday:

Pesto pasta (gluten free)

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Salad

Friday:

Chicken Tacos

I am also going to be careful about the oils I use in cooking. I have done some reading and think that I am going to use olive oil, flaxseed, and coconut oil. I am most concerned about the quality of the chicken and eggs that we use. So, despite the costs I am going to start going back to a local farm that I frequented a long time ago to purchase both of these item. The chickens that produce both the eggs and the meat that I will be buying are pasture raised, and I like the openness of the farm. 

So, that's it. This is what I have been doing in my spare time. It's funny how something so simple as nourishing ones body has gotten so complex, and how much time it has taken me just to come up with something as seemingly simple as a menu.