Monday Menu 5/21

Excited to present our first Monday Menu. >insert cheering here< Below you will find 1 breakfast, 5 dinners, 2 snacks, and 1 dessert. All recipes are gluten, dairy, and sugar free AND easy!

So here's how it will work. All you have to do is read through the post to get the recipes for this week's menu. Then click on "This Week's Shopping List" in the toolbar above to print out what you will need. Menu planning- DONE. Isn't it always the hardest part?

Breakfast
(B1) Grain-free Granola: I love this recipe, but have made some changes for my tastes. I combine all kinds of different nuts and seeds. I've used almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds- whatever I can get my hands on. I just make sure I use roughly the same amount of nuts/seeds as the recipe requires. I also use unsweetened dried cranberries instead of raisins, and I use pure maple syrup instead of honey. I like to quadruple the recipe and bake four 9x13 pans of granola at a time. Then I freeze what I won't use within a week or two. Add a little coconut milk (vanilla flavored is my favorite) and I am full all morning!

Snacks
(S1) Goat cheese and crackers: I haven't always been a fan of goat cheese, but I found a kind I really like- chevre. It's has a tangy taste but no "barnyard" flavor. I spread it on gluten-free crackers. Yummy snack. Make it grain-free- spread cheese on celery sticks

(S2) Granny Smith apples and almonds: Granny Smith apples are great because they have the least amount of natural sugar compared to other kinds of apples.

Dessert
(D1) No Bake Cookies: Careful! These are addicting! I only use about half of the peanut butter suggested and I love to add slivered almonds. I also leave out the chocolate chips. You can also decrease the sweetener and add agave (lower glycemic index) instead of honey.

Dinners
(Din1) Spaghetti with Salad: You can find gluten-free noodles at health food stores and many grocery stores. I like quinoa pasta as it doesn't turn out as mushy as pasta made from brown rice. I recently learned from Julian Michael's podcast that if you cook your pasta al dente, it lowers the glycemic index. Be careful with the dressing you choose for your salad and the pasta sauce you choose. Many brands have sugar added to them. If spaghetti doesn't sound as good without cheese, try adding goat cheese. Make it grain-free- use quinoa instead of pasta

(Din2) Cauliflower Pizza: This recipe takes a little time to make, but worth it. So good for you and so tasty!

(Din3) Black Bean Sweet Potato Taquitos: I haven't tried this recipe, but I love the combination of black beans and sweet potatoes. Make it grain-free- Serve over quinoa or wrap in lettuce leaves

(Din4) Crock pot Santa Fe Chicken: Another new recipe. This blog looks like it's got a lot of great crock pot recipes. Make it grain-free- serve over quinoa

(Din5) Avocado Roll-ups: Simply wrap up deli meat (check label- sugar often lurks there!), avocado, tomatoes, sprouts, and/or other veggies in a lettuce leaf.

And there you have it! Let me know what you think!