Menu Plan: Dec 2-9

In two weeks I will be leaving for the better part of a month, and only half the preparations have been done but I feel right on schedule. This is the week I expect to start freaking out about making sure to-do lists and menu plans are completely taken care of before I leave. I hate to contribute to the stereotypical sexist trope of the man who can't keep the house clean and himself (or his parents) fed without his woman around... But well, in this case it's at least partially true. In this partnership, he keeps me calm and sane and I organize the to-do lists. 

Breakfasts this week:

Peppered eggs, a la Pinterest

Home fried potatoes and eggs

Smoothies and the last of the zucchini muffins

Lunches:

Roast beef sandwiches

Quesadillas

Veggie snacks

Dinners:

Monday: Pork ribs, green beans, and couscous. Testing out making couscous from bulk bins instead of a box with seasoning mix. [meat; freezer; bulk]

Tuesday: Clam Chowder in the crockpot, bumped from last week when the rice & beans for the fush tacos didn't finish cooking in time and we had to make it into a tasteless crappy crockpot soup. [fish; crockpot; comfort food; batch]

Wednesday: On Your Own/Date Night. Mr. Moon and I are going to play some video games and watch a movie, eat some steak and who knows what else. Mum & Pops are having friends over for cards and making pork chops, sweet potatoes and corn. [On Your Own; meat; date]

Thursday: Fish, quinoa and some sort of vegetable. Haven't really picked a flavor profile yet... [fish; bulk]

Friday: Chicken Stew & Dumplings. Mum has been requesting this for 3 weeks now (we only had it 3 weeks ago anyway...) and I didn't feel like I should bump it to next week when we realized that shepher'd's pie, chicken stew and clam chowder were basically the same meal: Meat + potatoes + gravy (so we subbed in sloppy joes for Saturday). [crockpot; comfort; poultry]

Saturday: Sloppy Joe's, made with veggies and lentils and no meat. I need to follow the recipe again because last time I tried to dump-cook it and it came out... just so-so. No idea what to do for sides. [crockpot; vegetarian; batch]

Sunday: On Your Own; Mum requested salad, and I reminded her that things like pork chops with applesauce and salad nights were exactly what the On Your Own nights were for to begin with. Things she wants to cook but Mr. Moon and I are not interested in eating, giving her a chance to cook at least one meal a week and flexibility to have Pops take her out to dinner sometimes. Mr. Moon and I are suffering from the lack of planning and last OYO night I had a pickle-and-cheese plate for dinner, but we also want the flexibility of being able to eat leftovers if necessary. This is where Oh Shit meals come in. Right now our Oh Shit meals are pretty much planned for the time I'm on vacation, but we keep pork ribs and chicken and even steak on hand for times when we planned leftovers and there just aren't any. Or we plan "freezer" meals from these things and eat leftovers instead. [freezer; On Your Own; salad]

So how did we do on our goals?

I... don't even know how to address this. Pops' "vegan" diet is so off track, through no fault of my own, that I feel kind of hopeless. And somehow everything that everyone wanted had meat in it this week and I didn't feel up to fighting over the search for vegetarian recipes. Simply getting Mum & Pops not to say "screw the plan" and eat out when dinner is literally waiting for them, resulting in a lot of wasted food, has been a real chore the last couple weeks. And with Pops' condition and lack of recovery process right now, it seems a little hopeless to worry about things like what he's eating. I mean really, I feel like he's saying, if it gets him an extra day, is it even worth it? 

Of course on top of that, Mum has been diabetic for over 3 years and is STILL not following any single or combined recommended diets for diabetes. Right now, trying to eat healthy or low-carb/sugar while trying to cater to Pops' every whim when every request feels like a Last Supper, probably seems really silly and pointless. Or at least not a priority. Besides and stress-eating that may be going on. 

I'm suffering, as a result. I was pretty low-carb for a good number of years, and moving in here really made it impossible to follow any kind of diet plan when I'm fighting against the requests and demands and temptations of other people. I just don't have the kind of willpower required to keep up with any particular diet/eating plan when the temptations are so easily accessible and I'm not even convinced any of the ideas are "right" to begin with. Plus, without getting graphic, let's just say the PMS cravings have been irresistible for the last year or so. Every 3 weeks, in fact. Ugh. 

I didn't even look at our goals when making the menu this week. It felt so hopeless. 

• 2 vegetarian dinners: Well, only if you count fish. 
• 2 freezer meals: Check!
• 2 batches for the freezer: Check!
• 2 OYO Days: Check! I could probably take this off the goals list, as it's the first thing I write on the menu these days. 
• 1 fish day: Check! plus bonus fish day.
• 1 salad day: Meh, we switched these to OYO nights.
• 1 crockpot meal: Check! Plus bonus. 
• 1 meat-based dinner: [buzzer] FAIL. Better luck next time!

Food prep:

We've been doing this for... I guess 3 weeks now? It's working great, actually. No last-minute changes to the menu based on "oh crap we didn't thaw that" sort of things, or "I don't feel like chopping potatoes today." More snacks and lunches available a LITTLE more "on demand" than previously. I know things will get out of whack while I'm on vacation, but I hope not too badly. 

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What have you been working on? Making, fulfilling, or failing any goals lately? Starting New Years' Resolution eating plans early? or just making do as best you can and hoping for the best?