Comments on: Weekly Meal Plan

By: Julie

Julie — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:51:12 +0000

Thanks for your in depth answer, Kristen. Makes sense to me. I am trying to get the fermented foods in my thinking more and more. I have a crock of sauerkraut in the basement, I’m going to make komchucha scoby soon, and I do try to consume yogurt more and more, but would like to add new and different fermented foods.

By: Henny

Henny — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:07:55 +0000

thanks for stopping by my blog =)

I haven’t been here before – I like it! I think I may just have to add it to my feed reader!

Henny

By: KristenM

KristenM — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:02:34 +0000

Chrissy — Hi! Glad you’re visiting. It’s basically this recipe, but I use homemade chicken broth instead of water. Plus I add about 1/2 tsp cinnamon, some garlic, and 1 tsp. cumin. It’s really tasty!

Debbie — Oh, I rarely use recipes! I just add spices to things until they smell right.

To a pound of ground beef, I add a small minced onion, about 1/2 cup of tomato sauce, and splash of vinegar. Then I use the following as a taco seasoning substitute: To a pound of ground beef, I add APPROXIMATELY: 1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder, 1 tsp. cumin, 1/2 tsp garlic, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1 tsp oregano, and plenty of salt to taste.

By: Debbie

Debbie — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:38:54 +0000

Great ideas! Can you please tell us how you season your meat for your taco salad? Certainly not with the McCormick envelope?! (gasp!) Thank you!

By: Chrissy

Chrissy — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:25:31 +0000

Hi! I found your site through MPM on OrgJunkie. I was wondering if you minded sharing your recipes for your Wednesday Dinner. It sounds great and I’m always looking for something new to do with lentils!

Thanks!

By: KristenM

KristenM — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:35:31 +0000

The Fat Dietitian — Thanks for commenting. Yes, this is one good thing about living in a warmer climate where stuff grows pretty much year round. While we’re tomato-less (apart from the canned stuff), we’ve still got some zucchinis and yellow squash. I love winter squash, but most of them require cooking. That means we only eat them every other week or so.

By: KristenM

KristenM — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:32:16 +0000

Julie — Well, there are two things playing out here.

The first is that we’re Orthodox Christians, so we keep a vegan fast every Wednesday, Friday, and before the major festal seasons (i.e. Lent before Easter, Advent before Christmas, etc.). These dietary rules get bent a lot of the time in our family because young children and pregnant or nursing mothers aren’t expected to keep them, but we do try to keep to the spirit of the fast in other ways.

The second is that we don’t have the finances to be heavy on the pastured/wild meats and fish. Our monthly food budget for a family of four is $400, and we don’t hunt. We get smokin’ good deals from local farmers on the meats we do eat — $2.69/lb for grass fed and finished beef, $2.50/lb for pastured hens. But, you get the idea. Even with low prices, we’ve got to be frugal in our use of the most expensive food items in our home. Even raw milk and cream get strictly rationed since the purchase of those drinks alone takes up 16% of our food budget.

Oh, and here’s a third principle which is coming into play. (Think of it as a bonus.) One of the more important things we learned from NT is that traditional people groups consume 60-80% of their calories in raw or fermented form. I’d be willing to wager that many folks on the NT-bandwagon don’t strive to do this (yet). They’re still transitioning to eating more animal fats, sprouting/soaking their grains, drinking raw milk and kefir, making bone broths, and experimenting with fermented foods.

By: The Fat Dietitian

The Fat Dietitian — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:42:46 +0000

Your menu looks great, seeing all of the zucchini and squash on the menu makes me anxious for spring and summer! Have a great week…

By: Julie

Julie — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:23:22 +0000

Hi Kristen,
I notice that your menus are not heavy on the meat or fish. please explain. I have no problem with it, just observing that your menu seems different than others who follow the NT principles. I may be not observing correctly though.

By: Oreganic Thrifty

Oreganic Thrifty — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 07:10:32 +0000

Hey Kristen!

Great menu! Looks so yummy. It’s so nice to see a paleo/gluten-free/Orthodox food planner like myself! I could practically cut and paste your menu for our family! I love it!!!

BTW, what is your understanding of the use of “pulses” in the paleo diet? I’m trying to figure out how to use them for Lent…just sprouted raw?

Thanks!

Carrie
http://oreganicthrifty.blogspot.com

Oreganic Thrifty