The Maker's Diet Phase 1 Menu Planning Ideas

Here is a consolidated list of menu ideas for Phase 1 of The Maker's Diet. I also previously posted a "shopping list" for Phase 1 here.

Breakfast:
*Anything with eggs: scrambled, fried, poached, boiled, crustless quiche, omelets (stuffed full of veggies...onions, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, goat cheese, etc).
*Turkey bacon (no pork)
*Turkey or 100% beef sausage or deer sausage (no pork)
*Smoothies (spinach, goat yogurt, raw almond butter, coconut oil, flaxseed meal, chia seeds, fresh or frozen raspberries/blueberries/strawberries, water)
*Goat yogurt (plain) with strawberries/blueberries/raspberries/blackberries
*Grain-Free muffins or Grain-Free Waffles
*Veggies sides to any of the above: sliced tomato, sliced avocado, salsa, sauteed spinach & onions

Lunch/Dinner:
*Tuna salad over lettuce with tomato, avocado, celery, cucumber, etc.
*Chicken salad over lettuce or with veggie dippers
*Green salad with lots of veggies and leftover chicken/beef/boiled eggs/fish/etc -- easy dressing: olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, herbs whisked together -- add a little plain goat yogurt to make it creamy
*Fish patties (you could also use canned salmon or tuna)
*Turkey or 100% beef hot dogs (preferably nitrate/nitrite free)
*Baked or roasted chicken and veggies (carrots, onions, squash, zucchini, etc)
*Grilled chicken and veggies/Greek Grilled Kabobs
*Taco Salad/Bowl (seasoned ground turkey or ground beef, lettuce, avocado/guacamole, cilantro, tomato, shredded goat cheese, plain goat yogurt, salsa, onion, etc)
*Chicken or beef fajitas (without the tortilla) with sauteed peppers and onions, guacamole, salsa, plain goat yogurt, shredded goat cheese
*Baked or grilled fish with steamed/grilled veggies
*Chicken (or beef) stirfry (use soy sauce or tamari sauce instead of a bottled high-sugar stirfry sauce) with lots of veggies (sugar snap peas, snow peas, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, onions, squash, etc)
*Meatballs: Asian with chopped spinach & tamari sauce/soy sauce or plain with spaghetti sauce served over them or meatballs/meat sauce served over baked spaghetti squash (the "meat" shreds like noodles)
*Bunless hamburger patties with toppings (lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, etc)
*Any other meat besides pork grilled/roasted/baked (grilled steaks, baked roast, grilled lamb chops, etc)

Snacks:
*Fruit (fresh or frozen): strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, grapefruit
*Raw nuts/seeds (soaked/dried): pumpkinseeds, almonds, sunflower seeds
*Smoothies
*Plain goat yogurt with berries
*Carrot & celery sticks with guacamole
*Grain-free muffins/waffles
*Trail mix: raw nuts/seeds (above) with Just Veggies (dried peas, blackberries, blueberries)
*GoRaw Flax crackers or chips (check ingredients for correct Phase 1 foods)

The Makers Diet Day 9: Coconut

We are still going strong. I feel like my cravings for grains have really subsided (almost nonexistent, except for chips & salsa! I could always eat those). But, I am not missing bread, rice, quinoa, oatmeal, cereal, etc at all. And I really think the kids are doing fine as well. They've been asking for more fruit (esp bananas) more than anything. But, I added clementine oranges and some apples in this week, so they're satisfied as well.

I found a link to a great blog post about the benefits of coconut here on the Broccoli Cupcake blog :) I used coconut flour in these delicious cupcakes...I use coconut milk as creamer in my coffee (I use a lot too and it's so good!) or drizzled on top of berries as a dessert...and we use coconut oil in our smoothies. If you look at the fat content in the coconut products, it looks really high. But, it's good fat...and I can vouch for actually losing weight while eating a good bit of coconut products. I've lost 4lbs now since starting The Maker's Diet! Hubs has not lost any weight, but he didn't need to lose. So, I really think that if you're hanging onto extra weight, then it will come off eating this way. Otherwise, it will just stabilize your health.

So far, the only foods from phase 2 we have added in are clementine oranges & apples on a daily basis. We all had black beans on our taco salads on Sunday, and the kids and I have had a bit of corn products in taco shells for the kids on Sunday and corn chips for myself Friday night. Other than that, we're still fully eating phase 1 foods.

Breakfast:
Kids: 2 turkey sausage links, 2 Grain-Free Blueberry Muffins (they asked for the zucchini ones this morning, but I had run out of zucchini!)
Hubs: 1 egg, 2 pieces turkey bacon, 1 blueberry muffin
Myself: 2 pieces turkey bacon, 1 blueberry muffin, coffee with coconut milk

*The kids are still drinking their cup of "tea" in the mornings (1 Tbsp of Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar with 1 Tbsp raw honey in warm water), and I've been drinking 1 Tbsp in a cup of water...sour without the honey!!

Lunch:
Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs (with spinach added in...the kids don't mind it at all) with fruit & leftover veggies

Dinner:
probably Turkey hot dogs with quick sides (we're going to a baseball game at dinnertime)

The Makers Diet Day 5: Keeping the Pace...

We're still keeping the pace...no more detox symptoms, feeling good. The kids woke up this morning asking for cereal or oatmeal and made faces at me when I told them we were still not eating those foods :) But, after offering to make another batch of Zucchini Muffins they were happy! I definitely have to be ready and creative to keep the pace with the kids. But, it still seems to be working out fine.

Hubs and I are going out to eat tonight with some friends at a Mexican restuarant, so that should be interesting. I know we should be fine with a grilled chicken taco salad (omiting cheese, sour cream and whatever else we can't eat!). I've decided I'm adding a small quantity of corn in (a phase 2 food) tonight (aka: CHIPS for the salsa) -- ha! But, I still think we'll do fine with the taco salad...and a small amount of chips :)

So, here is the plan for today:

Breakfast:
Kids: 2 zucchini muffins each, turkey sausage, fresh strawberries
Hubs: turkey bacon, 1 egg, 1 zucchini muffin
Myself: turkey bacon, fresh blackberries, 1 zucchini muffin & cup of coffee (no, I haven't dropped it but I have been using coconut milk in it instead of any sort of creamer...my blood sugar does not drop doing that & it is filling)

Snack:
3 year old: fresh blackberries, goat cheese, 1 boiled egg

Lunch:
Kids: turkey lunch meat, fresh blackberries & raspberries, raw sprouted pumpkinseeds, raw seed "crackers" & smoothie (spinach, frozen blueberries, frozen raspberries, almond milk, coconut oil)
Leftovers for Hubs
Greek salad (cucumber, tomato, red onion, dried dill, dried parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper) with tuna & a smoothie for myself

Dinner:
Leftovers for the kids (chicken salad, chicken/apple sausage, carrot sticks, fruit)
Adults out to eat!

The Maker's Diet Day 3: Grain-free Waffles

I woke up with slightly more energy than usual this morning :) I didn't feel like I needed a cup of coffee as soon as I made it to the kitchen! So, maybe I'm starting to see some improvements.

Breakfast:
I made these Grain-Free Waffles this morning, using coconut flour & almond meal and coconut oil. They were SO good! I have a regular size waffle maker that makes two square waffles. This recipe filled the waffle maker one time. So, I doubled it to make 4 waffles. They were very filling...the kids ate blueberries on theirs and some turkey sausage.

Lunch:
*Both kids are at school today for lunch, so I sent leftover meatballs for the 5 year old and turkey hot dogs for the 3 year old with strawberries and one zucchini muffin.
*I had a chicken salad, and hubs took leftovers from last night to work.

Snack:
Trail mix (pumpkinseeds, sunflower seeds, dried peas & dried blackberries)
Goat yogurt with blueberries
Fresh raspberries

Dinner:
Taco bowls (turkey taco meat, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, plain goat yogurt, goat's milk cheese, salsa)

End of day recap: We seem to be holding on :) The kids are doing great! They are eating such a variety of foods now that we've taken out their staples of crackers & bread. And they have not complained at all (amazing for a 3 yr old & 5 yr old!). :) Hubs and I are both craving "crunchy" foods right now...chips! Everything right now is soft! But we're staying full, so there really are no complaints. He felt some possible die-off effects this morning...dizzy and drugged feeling. He drank a ton of water and started to feel better and was fine through the rest of the day. I have not felt any of those effects yet, but I have been doing other detox things before starting this diet where I felt all of that. So, maybe I'm not going to? Or maybe later? So far so good though.

I've made several trips to the store this week as I've seen what we need to really stick with this diet for the first two weeks. So, here are my recommendations if you choose to try this out :)

-almond meal (the bulk bins at Whole Foods are MUCH cheaper than the packaged version)
-coconut flour (I've only found it packaged...Bob's Red Mill)
-unsweetened coconut flakes (I'm going to try baked chicken nuggets using this instead of flour)
-coconut oil
-coconut milk (really good drizzled over berries for a dessert!)
-frozen blueberries, raspberries, cherries
-fresh strawberries, fresh raspberries
-lemons & limes (for water or salad or seasoning meat/fish)
-raw almonds (I did soak them overnight and then dried them in the oven on the lowest setting)
-raw sprouted sunflower seeds & pumpkin seeds (I found these -- easy!)
-dried berries & vegetables (I bought these blackberries & peas -- make sure to only buy the ones that are allowed in the first two weeks)
-fermented veggies are highly recommended for aiding digestion, but I'm not up to fermenting my own yet :) I have found that Bubbie's products are recommended, so I did buy 2 jars (pickles & sauerkraut) to try it out.
-plain goat yogurt (we have been using Meyenberg for quite some time now...works for all of us!)
-local raw honey (or at least local honey used in small quantities)
-LOTS of fresh/frozen veggies
-chicken, turkey (beef and game are also allowed)
-turkey hot dogs and turkey sausage is still a must for our family right now with young kids
-canned tuna/salmon
-fish to bake

The Maker's Diet Day 2: Grain-Free Muffins & Meatballs

I baked these Grain-Free Blueberry Muffins yesterday...SO good!!! I have the Zucchini Muffins mixed up to try today. I reduced the amount of honey from 1/4 cup to 1/8 cup for the zucchini muffins, so we'll see how they turn out. I thought the blueberry ones were plenty sweet and would probably be fine with less honey.
**Update: The Zucchini Muffins are SO good & only using 1/8 cup honey was perfect. With all of the spices, there was no need for more honey.

I'm also planning on trying out these Chicken Pancakes. I will leave out the banana right now as those are not allowed until week 5. I'll probably add in flaxmeal and maybe a little honey since the sweetness from the banana will not be in there. So, we'll see how they turn out as well.

I have Turkey Meatballs cooling right now for lunch.
1lb ground turkey
couple of shakes of wheat-free teriyaki sauce
couple of shakes of garlic powder, onion powder and ground ginger
1-2 Tbsp of flaxmeal (since I didn't use oats or breadcrumbs)
1 handful of spinach, chopped

Roll into 15 meatballs.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

**Update:
Breakfast:
2 grain-free blueberry muffins + 1 slice turkey bacon for the kids
2 scrambled eggs with purple onion/spinach + sliced cherry tomatoes + 1 slice turkey bacon for myself

Snack:
fresh raspberries and goat cheddar cheese for my 3 year old

Lunch:
grain-free Turkey Meatballs + fresh raspberries + Bubbies bread & butter pickles + frozen cherries

Snack:
Grain-free Zucchini muffin + smoothie (fresh strawberries, frozen blueberries, plain goat yogurt, raw almond butter, coconut oil, water)

Dinner:
Baked teriyaki chicken + stirfried veggies + grapefruit slices

**End of day recap: We did not seem nearly as hungry today between meals as yesterday. I think the grain-free muffins REALLY helped today! And adding coconut oil & almond butter to the smoothies really makes them filling as well.

What I'm most amazed about (after only 2 days) is that my kids are NOT begging for their snacks! They typically snack on gluten-free crackers, dry cereal, GF bread and fruit (with other things thrown in). My 3 year old always wants sandwiches for lunch. And they have not asked for the other food really at all. Again, I think the muffins have helped in that as well. But, they are eating more food at each meal and trying more foods. My 3 year old ate roasted cauliflower last night at dinner and ate all of her fish (she usually picks at dinner), and my 5 year old is eating tons of food as usual...but it's all good choices.

Tomorrow I'm trying out this recipe for Grain-Free Waffles using coconut flour and almond meal. I've decided that we really need something along these lines once a day...we cannot do just eggs/meat/fish, fruit, veggies, almonds/pumpkinseeds/sunflower seeds all day long for two weeks.

Menu Plan Monday: April 5, 2010

This is our first week of The Maker's Diet (you can read more here about why we are doing this and what it's all about). The first two weeks are basically grain-free, sugar-free, preservative-free, and bean/legume-free in order to regulate blood sugars and begin the healing process. The Maker's Diet does allow for a variety of meat and game, however we usually just eat chicken and turkey. So, I want to slowly try other meat to see if that affects us or not.

So, here is our menu plan for this week (I'll add in green salad, steamed veggies and other cooked veggies):

Monday: Baked Tilapia

Tuesday: Baked Teriyaki Chicken with stirfried veggies

Wednesday: Turkey Taco Salads

Thursday: (t-ball night) quick Grilled Chicken and Apple Sausage links with fruit and green salad

Friday: Turkey Burgers (no buns) and toppings

Saturday: Turkey Hot Dogs

Sunday: Roast Chicken and Veggies

Breakfast (rotating)
blueberry/strawberry/almond butter smoothie with turkey sausage
Grain-free Blueberry muffins with Boiled Eggs
grain-free pumpkin pancakes with turkey sausage
scrambled eggs with pancakes/muffins

Lunch (rotating) -- for the kids (hubs eats leftovers from dinner & I eat a salad with various toppings)
chicken salad with fruit and celery sticks
tuna salad with fruit and almonds
meatballs with fruit
turkey hot dogs with fruit

Snacks
raw sunflower seeds and dehydrated peas
raw almonds (soaked & dried)
plain goat's milk yogurt with flaxmeal and frozen berries
smoothies
strawberries/blueberries/grapefruit
goat's milk cheese with fruit

Target Deals: March 7-13, 2010 (Updated!)

I went to Target today and found several good deals I wanted to share... these are all easy deals to do if you're just getting started with grocery savings. You can easily find these coupons and score some good deals.


You can always verify specials using the Target price scanners... they will show gift cards available and buy 3, get one free deals, etc. Also, check out My Baton Rouge Mommy for a full list of this week's Target deals.


Some additional Target tips:
*Check the meat section for peelies (peel-off coupons)...usually the meat will expire in a day or two and they'll mark down the price and put a peelie on, making for some great meat deals! Just stick it in your freezer at home if you don't cook it right away.


*Target places clearance items on the ends of aisles. If you can pair a coupon with a clearance item, you'll score a great deal (ex: Diego bandaids below).

Get a free box of General Mills cereal when you buy 3 boxes

Rice Chex and Corn Chex (both labeled gluten free) $3.04

Use this coupon for $0.75/1 (print 3 copies)

Buy 3 boxes, get the 4th free

Final price: $6.87 for 4 boxes ($1.72/each)

Diego Bandaids -- clearance on end of aisle by pharmacy for $1.58

Use this coupon for $1/1 (I also received one in a Target mailer yesterday)
UPDATE: There is a $0.50/1 coupon coming out in tomorrow's (3/14) RedPlum coupon insert!

Final price $0.58 -- with new coupon = $0.08

Select Tampax & Always products

Get $5 Target giftcard when you buy 2

Always 48ct -- $6.99

$2/1 coupon in the 3/7 P&G insert in paper

Final price $4.99

Tampax Pearl 36ct -- $6.99

$2/1 coupon in the 3/7 P&G insert in paper

Final price $4.99

Total: $9.98 + a $5 Target giftcard to be use on a future purchase (it's like getting them for $2.49/each)

Favorite Gluten Free Snacks

Here is a list of my kids' favorite gluten free snacks (again, read the labels to verify they are indeed gluten free as we mainly follow a wheat-free diet). Most of these can be found at a health food store, or you can order most from Amazon.com as well

Original Tings
Pirate's Booty -- my kids like the Veggie, Barbeque and Sea Salt & Vinegar flavors
Glutino Crackers & Pretzels
EnviroKidz bars, cereals & cookies -- my kids like the Panda (peanut butter) cereal & bars
Barbara's Bakery cereals -- there are several that are Gluten Free, but check the list
Nut-Thins crackers
Frito Lay gluten free list -- good reference, but we try to not buy too many junky chips
Chex cereal -- several are now labeled Gluten Free -- be sure to check for the GF label
Alexia sweet potato fries are a hit -- all of their potato products are GF
Ian's GF chicken nuggets/fish sticks are a treat that we sometimes buy

Naturally Gluten Free Snacks:
There are also plenty of naturally gluten free snacks to choose from as well...

Fresh fruit or frozen fruit
Veggie sticks in dip (my kids like homemade Ranch or peanut butter mixed with a little milk)
Yogurt with fruit/honey mixed in
Dried fruit & nuts (mixed together in trail mix or separately)
Nachos (melt cheese over corn or rice chips)
Chips or crackers & bean dip or salsa
Cheese & crackers
Popcorn
Smoothies
Frozen edamame (thawed with a little salt on top)
Muffins, breads, waffles, pancakes -- we like Bob's Red Mill pancake mix and I use the GF All-Purpose flour mix to make breads/muffins or the Whole Foods 365 brand GF muffin mix