Meal Plan Monday Post

We were spoiled with gorgeous weather at the beginning of the week right before the first day of spring. We enjoyed a few meals outside on the deck before the spring chill arrived. My mom visited at the beginning of the week; she helped with a few errands and we enjoyed catching up. We met one of her friends at Zinburger on Monday night and then the rest of the week was normal meal planning! I met some college friends at a tea room over the weekend. We were celebrating the expected arrival of a baby boy in just a few weeks!

The food challenge this week was no refined or hydrogenated oils. I just made sure not to use any vegetable / canola / corn oil. The cupcakes I made for the St. Patrick's holiday didn't have oil!

Week 10: No refined or hydrogenated oils including (but not limited to): vegetable oil, organic vegetable oil, soybean oil, corn oil, canola oil, organic canola oil, margarine, and grape seed oil.

I probably should've done a little more research on oils before going into this week's challenge. The information sent out through the challenge said extra virgin olive oil was okay which is what we typically cook with. I'm hoping to finally do that oil research before too long because I think there are better options for us to use with high heat cooking. This is one reason I'm liking the challenge. We don't buy margarine anymore and use these refined / hydrogenated oils sparingly but it is making me more aware that I need to be more mindful of what oils we are using in the kitchen. I found this oil comparison chart particularly interesting.

Meal Plan for Monday March 16 - Sunday March 22

   Monday - Zinburger
   Tuesday - Shepherd's Pie, salad
Breakfast bonus - quick potato hash with red pepper and onion, fried eggs and topped with avocado

   Wednesday - Cocktail potluck
   Thursday - Sloppy joes, baked beans, sweet potato fries, pineapple

Breakfast bonus - oatmeal topped with cinnamon, banana, sliced almonds, and chocolate chips

   Friday - St. Patrick's dinner with neighbors
      brought Irish Coffee Cupcakes for dessert
   Saturday - Breakfast Smoothies
      Lunch Whitney met college friends at a tea room; Patrick checked off some small DIY home projects

      Dinner Braised pork with orzo and arugula [inspiration from this pork ragu with broken lasagna]
   Sunday - Brunch French toast (from leftover sloppy joe buns) and fruit

      Dinner Salmon, broccoli

Challenge Meal Plan Summary: Week 1 Fruits & Veggie | Week 2 Beverages | Week 3 Meat | Week 4 No Fried Foods | Week 5 New Whole Foods | Week 6 Labeling | Week 7 Grains | Week 8 Internal Cues | Week 9 No Refined / Artifical Sweeteners | Week 10 No Refined / Hydrogenated Oils | Week 11 Locally Grown | Week 12 No Added Sweeteners | Week 13 No Artificial Ingredients | Week 14 5 Ingredients or Less