Yikes!  It’s getting painfully close to Sweet Sally Mae’s birthday.  This is her first time to really be interested in a daily count-down.  It’s been a very real-life demo of why we have to learn subtraction.  Cute!

Her birthday is this Friday and we still don’t have a menu for that yet.  But here’s the rest of the week.

• Monday –  Spaghetti
• Tuesday – Beans and Rice
• Wednesday - Oven BBQ Ribs (Atkins)
• Thursday – Beans and Rice
• Friday – Birthday foods ???
• Saturday – Grilled Chicken
• Sunday – Chili

Ever since I started the Atkins diet I have been thinking about BBQ sauce.  I mean, I’m eating meat all the time, but no BBQ sauce in sight.  Couldn’t figure it out.  I can make BBQ sauce, and it’s delicious, but it takes honey.  Can’t have that kind of BBQ sauce any more.  Cool thing though.  If you go to Atkins.com and sign up (it’s free) be sure to allow them to send you emails, and they will send you recipes via email.

And since yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday I got an email from Atkins with a recipe for (among other, less important things) BBQ sauce!

I didn’t even know there was such a thing as sugar free pancake syrup.  Seems a little useless to me, you know?  Kinda like ordering a diet Coke to go with your Big Mac.   I mean, if you’re eating pancakes…

Anyway, sugar free pancake syrup in the BBQ sauce.  It’s delicious!  And guilt free!

Oh, and if you are concerned about Spaghetti and Beans etc being on my menu while I am on Atkins click here and read how I’m managing my food while still feeding the family what they like.

Here’s your shortcut back to Menu Plan Monday!

As you may have surmised from my rant last week, it’s a bit of a bummer cooking for folks who are free to eat whatever they fancy while I’m on a diet (even though I love my diet).

I’ll post the menu plan for the family, and then explain what I’m eating and it’ll be clear why I don’t need a rigid menu plan for myself.

• Monday- Chicken Tacos (I get to eat the chicken sans the tortillas.)
• Tuesday- Beans and Rice
• Wednesday- Spaghetti
• Thursday- Beans and Rice
• Friday- Pork Ribs (me too!)
• Saturday- Grilled Burgers (yup, mine has no bun!)
• Sunday- Chili and Rice

The Atkins induction phase is quite simple.  I think lots of folks might get bored eating this way, but I like it.

• I eat bacon and eggs for breakfast every day.
• Lunch is a piece of meat and maybe a salad or half an avacado.  The meat is either something I cooked a bunch of and have waiting for me in the freezer (packed in ziplock bags in individual portions) or I thaw a piece of boneless, skinless chicken thigh and do a quick stir-fry with a bit of onion, bell pepper and add some soy sauce at the end.  Very yummy, and I barely even miss the rice.  This can cook or heat, as the case may be, while I slap together some sandwiches and fruit for the kids.
• For supper I either have a modified version of what I’ve prepared for the family or do a repeat of the lunch plan.

I serve salad with every supper, and sometimes a cooked vegetable, but only the kind I’m allowed to eat.

I make my own salad dressing, it’s very tasty (and low carb) and much cheaper and easier than buying something that fits my diet.

For snacks I keep a bowl of boiled eggs in the fridge.  I also buy cheddar cheese in the 2 lb brick and use my trusty kitchen scale to make 4 oz. snack bags of cheese cubes.  (How did we ever live before ziplock bags?)

The reason that I don’t get bored with this plan is that it is wonderful to have clear limits and a workable plan.  I’m too busy with the rest of my life to get bored.

I know I can have a snack, and I know it’s ready and waiting for me, so I don’t flip out when I get hungry and can’t think of  any “allowed” food to eat.  It just doesn’t happen.

Did I mention? Bacon and eggs everyday, baby!

Sound too good to be true?  Check out my Fit as a Farmhand posts to follow my progress, and come back tomorrow to find out how much I’ve lost.  I’ve only been at it for 16 days!

Here’s your link back to OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Mondays.

Tex and Hank had compassion on their Dad and the frustration that he was having at trying to grill enough meat for the whole family on the grill that we bought a few weeks ago.  It was simply not big enough!

Here’s the “old” grill.

This is the wonderful new grill that the two eldest Cowboys gave their Dad for Father’s Day.  That oughtta get the job done.

Guess what we’re eating this week!

• Monday – BBQ Chicken Fajita Tacos
• Tuesday – Grilled Smoked Sausage
• Wednesday – BBQ Chicken
• Thursday – Grilled Hamburgers
• Friday – BBQ Country Ribs

I might do the country ribs in the crockpot.  Might not.

I think we’re on our way to being BBQ experts!

Here’s your shortcut back to Menu Plan Monday.

I haven’t done a Menu Plan Monday in a long while.  I’m trying some new recipes this week so I thought I’d post the menu.

• Monday – Homemade  Macaroni and Cheese w/Ham*
• Tuesday – Beans and Rice
• Wednesday – Veggie Lasagna*
• Thursday – Ham Salad and beans
• Friday – Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza
• Saturday – Ham, brown rice, green beans from the garden*

My grocery had ham for $0.99 lb so that’s the focus this week.

Items with a * will be cooked in the roaster out on the back patio so I don’t heat up the house with my regular oven.  We are still having too many clouds to be able to use the solar ovens.

While you’re here check out my poll in the right sidebar about air conditioning.  Have you voted yet?

Here’s your shortcut back to Menu Plan Monday!