Weekly Eats 1/13 - 1/17

Week 2 of low-carb weekday dinners has been successful!  I'm learning that it isn't that hard to come up with low-carb meals.  And I don't feel deprived when we allow ourselves to have bread and starch in the daytime.

In preparation for the work week, I made 2 bulk meals on Saturday and Sunday so leftovers can be used for lunch.

On Saturday, I made a simple fried rice with eggs and frozen veggies (tip: adding fish sauce and lemon juice makes this dish out of this world) and a quick miso and chili garlic baked chicken tenders with sauteed Chinese greens and mushrooms.

 

Miso and Chili Garlic Chicken Tender with Fried Rice and Chinese Greens

Inspired by Lidia Bastianich's spaghetti and meatballs recipe from an episode of Lidia's Italy on Create TV, I made a ridiculous amount of her unique and veggie-filled meatballs.  What makes these meatballs unique is that you create a vegetable paste, pestata, to mix in with the ground meat.  This breaks up the meat and provides moisture so that the meatball isn't a tight wad of dry meat.  Lidia's recipe uses 3 kinds of meat (beef, pork, and veal) and carrot, celery, and onion for the pestata. 

I used just ground beef and four veggies for the pestata - carrot, fresh shiitake mushrooms, celery, and onion.  Instead of bread crumbs, I used corn meal because I didn't have bread crumbs or bread suitable for turning into bread crumbs. 

The result is delicious, juicy, and light meatballs that we ate throughout the week!

Sauce: Sauteed Onions with Salt, Red Pepper Flakes, and Crushed Tomatoes

Veggies for Pestata: Carrots, Celery, Onion, and Shiitake Mushrooms

Meatball Mixture: Egg, Ground Beef, Pestata, Salt, Red Pepper Flakes, and Shredded Italian Blend Cheese

Oven-baked Meatballs (400F for 45 min)

Sauce and Meatballs

Whole Wheat Spaghetti and Meatballs

Weekday Lunches of Meatball Sliders with Jack Cheese on Onion Rolls

Served with Sweet Potato Baked Fries with Buffalo Wild Wings's Chipotle BBQ Seasoning

With my weekday lunches prepared, the next things to tackle are the breakfasts and actual low-carb dinners!

 

1/13 Monday Meals

Homemade Pork Sausage: Pork, Shallots, Garlic Salt, Maple Garlic Salt from Spice House, Crushed Red Pepper, Fennel, and a touch of Hennesy (marinated overnight)

 

Breakfast: Homemade Pork Sausage Sandwich with Chipotle Cheddar, Fried Egg, and Mustard served with Fresh Pineapple

 

Dinner: Tofu, Shrimp, and Bok Choy Stew with Pear Slices for Dessert

 

1/14 Tuesday Meals

Breakfast: Homemade Pork Sausage Sandwich with Chipotle Cheddar, Fried Egg, and Avocado Slices served with Apples

 

Dinner: (no photo) left over Tofu and Shrimp Stew

 

1/15 Wednesday Meals

 Breakfast: Homemade Pork Sausage Sandwich with Spinach and Cajun Remoulade (Boar's Head) served with Apples and Fresh Pineapples

Dinner: Chipotle BBQ Seasoned Chicken Thigh with Tofu and Shrimp Stew and Sauteed Bok Choy

 

1/16 Thursday Meals

Breakfast: Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Loaf (Reese's Boxed Muffin Mix) with Jiffy Peanut Butter Filling

Dinner:  Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms, Bean Curd Noodle Salad, and Leftover Chipotle BBQ Seasoned Chicken

 

1/17 Friday Meal

Breakfast: Chili Garlic Paratha Bread (Pre-made Frozen) with Bits of Homemade Sauage, Egg, and Sriracha served with Fresh Pineapples

Weekly Eats 1/6 - 1/10

With the start of the New Year, Mike and I have set a resolution of eating no/minimum carbs after 6 PM. 

To hold us accountable and share ideas on no/low-carb dinners, I'll post photos of my weekday dinner menu every week!  Fridays are our day off from our regimen.  :-)

For breakfast and lunch, we still eat regular amounts of carbs so I have to plan ahead and cook dishes where I can separate the veggies and/or protein from the carb for dinner or make the carb-filled meal over the weekend and save for weekday lunches.

Made-ahead Creamy Rice and Veggie Chicken Casserole for Weekday Lunches

 

1/6 Monday Meals

Breakfast: Green Chile Smoked Sausage Egg Sandwich with Fuji Apples, Blueberries, and Strawberries

(I made various versions of this breakfast everyday this week)

 

Dinner: Mushroom, Smoked Salmon, and Asparagus Frittata with Roasted Asparagus Spears and Tomatoes

 

1/7 Tuesday Meal

Dinner: Tofu Simmered in Homemade Chicken Broth and Mushrooms topped with Sautéed Ground Chicken in Black Bean Paste and served with Boiled Chinese Broccoli Stalks and Baked Salted Mackerel

 

1/8 Wednesday Meal

Dinner: Tikka Chicken, Soy-Sugar Cucumber Salad, and Leftover Tofu from the previous night

 

1/9 Thursday Meal

Dinner: Iceberg Salad topped with Tomatoes, Pears, Avocado, and Cheese with a side of Sweet and Sour Pork