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Help me with my weekday menu!



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ms5771




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 29 2014, 3:12 pm
First of all, I live in EY so we can get about half the ingredients (particularly vegetables - at least in the store(s) near me) you can in america Wink

So here's the problem. We can't afford meat during the week (except shabbos leftovers and occasionally I make a delicious dish with hot dogs and veggies). My husband doesn't like dairy. And he needs a lot of carbs to get full. He won't get full on salad, that's for sure!

We eat rice, potatoes, pasta.. what else? And what sides? We eat bread for lunch, so I don't usually serve it in the evenings, unless I serve it along soup, in which case I make 'pita chips'.

I really want to make a menu for the week. Help?

Also-
I make separate dishes for my kids, because they eat before my husband comes home. I save up chicken and cholent from shabbos and freeze, cause they don't need more than one or two portions. Or I buy a big bag of ready-made schnitzel for the times when everyone's kvetchy and just take out a few for them. But it would be nice to have something I can just reheat for my husband when he comes home. I don't really know how to do this well yet, to make two dinners right in a row. Do I leave the food to cool, make two batches, make two different meals all together, etc?

Thanks in advance!
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coconutbutter




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 29 2014, 3:22 pm
check out http://www.pennilessparenting.com/

All her menu ideas are budget friendly,with ingredients accessible in Israel, and healthy.

I check her blog daily!
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ms5771




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 29 2014, 3:25 pm
Thanks! Yeah I actually have used a few of her recipes before. She's too healthy for my husband though Smile Problem is, he's really a meat and potatoes kind of guy, he doesn't like anything 'weird' or too complex. Which would be great, if we could afford that. I can't sneak in anything too healthy haha!
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coconutbutter




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 29 2014, 3:34 pm
I hear ya. I've yet to convert my DH to a lentil/bean lover. But I have made tremendous progress in his regards to his "anti-healthy" campaign.

I know you say that having animal meat is not within your budget but it may be more do-able then you think...

I am very big on stretching our proteins for more than one meal to make it more affordable and appealing. It's just me and DH so we can use one package of chicken for 3 meals. I take a whole chicken which is the cheapest, and use the breast for Shnitzel for one meal, the thighs for another and the wings for my soup.

One package of ground meat can be stretched in a yummy stir fry, meat sauce for spaghetti, or go even further with puff pastry and fried onions/mushrooms.

Tuna is expensive but if you add it to a salad, it can be one meal for two. Or make tuna patties using this recipe http://morequicheplease.com/20.....ties/ to get more portions out of one can and giving the carb filler as well.

Chicken on skewers with grilled veggies is appealing and helps create lots of portions.

Make big pots of soups with rice/barley/shredded beef.

ETA: My menu this week was as follows:
Sunday night: leftovers
Monday: Meatballs and spaghetti (this was used for lunch the next day as well)
Tuesday: Hot wings with rice. (Wings are very cheap but also conveniently a big man pleaser when you batter it, fry/bake, and douse in hot sauce.
Wednesday: I made a pot of soup and threw in just 3/4 cubes of goulash meat that I shredded so that it ended up like a really meaty soup with some meat in every spoonful. I usually add barley/rice to this type of soup or you can just make some garlic bread or homemade croutons if your DH feels there is not enough of a carb fix to have soup for dinner.
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ms5771




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 29 2014, 3:43 pm
Thanks for those tips! Yes, my friend also told me that she is able to stretch meat for 3 meals. I don't know why it never lasts that long! I can MAYBE do it for two meals, with very little leftover for the 2nd one. My husband doesn't eat more than any normal man I think, so I can't understand why I don't have more leftover!

When you split up a package of meat into different dishes, how do you do it practically? Like, you defrost and then make all 3 at once?
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coconutbutter




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 29 2014, 3:51 pm
In terms of chicken, I usually buy fresh and use one part for dinner (breast or thigh) and freeze the wings to throw in my soup. Being that you have kids to feed too you could probably use one package in one shot, understandably. If I do not have carb fillers with the meal we also finish in one shot. I usually plate the food with heavy portions of the sides (salad, potatoes, rice, veggies...etc)

It's not ideal as I prefer not to eat too many carbs but the reality is animal proteins are more expensive than that of legumes so....that's life. Sometimes I compromise,and sometimes we go heavy on the chicken/fish and Cheshbon that it's K'dai in the long run in terms of our health. But don't let me turn this into a health debate :p.
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ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 29 2014, 5:30 pm
ms5771 wrote:
Thanks for those tips! Yes, my friend also told me that she is able to stretch meat for 3 meals. I don't know why it never lasts that long! I can MAYBE do it for two meals, with very little leftover for the 2nd one. My husband doesn't eat more than any normal man I think, so I can't understand why I don't have more leftover!

When you split up a package of meat into different dishes, how do you do it practically? Like, you defrost and then make all 3 at once?

You take one package of ground meat, divide it evenly in 3, then place in the freezer. When you want to use the meat, take out only one package and use only that in the dish you are preparing.
Practically, you can saute onion, garlic, lots of veggies. Remove from pan and reserve on a plate. Then place the defrosted ground meat in the pan and brown, breaking up as it cooks. Once browned, add tomato sauce (or paste and water or whatever is cheapest and available). Season and taste. Then add back in the vegetables. You will be left with a huge pan of meat sauce. Serve this over rice or pasta.
It can be filling and you're only actually used a third of the meat you bought even though you're serving large portions. The meat was bulked as bulked up with vegetables and pasta/rice.
You can do the same with a Chinese stir-fry. Loads of veggies. Then just the breast portion of the chicken, cut into tiny strips, added. (the bottom get frozen separately and the wings and neck get frozen in a third bag). Make sauce and add to pan. Serve with noodles or rice.
Or you can do a filling meatball soup using a third of the package of meat to make tiny meatballs formed with breadcrumbs and rice. Drop them into a filling soup made with vegetables, potatoes, rice and dumplings. It has lots of carbs and is very delicious.
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RachelEve14




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 29 2014, 10:55 pm
I agree if you like meat for supper it's just a matter of getting creative and serving it not as "piece of chicken on a plate," but mixed up so it's still meaty.

Shepard's pie I make with homemade baked beans and meat. Use the small white beans. Soak overnight then cook up (I do in a crock pot). When soft add tomato puree, ketchup, soy sauce, sugar, spices and whatever else. When you make the pie instead of using all beef use 1/2 beef, mixed in with the beans.

Chicken breast can be served one piece on a plate, or stir fried with veggies and egg as fried rice.

Ground beef or chicken with tomato sauce and pasta baked all in one pan.

Some people would rather have real meat once or twice a week, even if it means eating lentils and chickpeas the other days, and some would rather have stretched meat most nights. Speak to your husband and sit down together and decide how you guys are goign to work the budget.

As for cooking 2 meals, I don't. Anyone who doesn't want what is for supper is welcome to bread & chummos. I have 5 kids and a full time job. I can't cook 3 different suppers every night. I think there are 3 things that all my kids will happily eat, and one of them is pasta & cottage cheese. So it's eat what is for supper or grab your own. Usually works.
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