January Menu

Happy 2013! We've made it to the new year and it's put me in a planning frame of mind. This is the first time I've planned my dinner menu for every day of the month. It was definitely a challenge for my undisciplined brain but now that it's done I love it! I printed the menu for the month and some of the recipes and posted them on my fridge so every day I'm ready to cook.

I haven't made any resolutions for 2013 as that's not my style. However I do want to clean up my eating after the over indulgence of holiday treats so I've decided I will not eat any refined sugars for January. That means no cookies, cake, candy, chocolate or any sweets for the month. I did this last January as well and it was a good detox for me as I tend to gorge on chocolate.

I also decided to go gluten free for January. I'm not sure if gluten is a problem for my body so I decided to use this month as a test to see if I feel better without bread, crackers, etc. My hope is that without sugar and gluten in my system my complexion will clear up and this month is my 31 day test to find out.

My menu below contains mostly gluten free recipes. The only 2 things I included that contain gluten are the Pizza and the Salmon Cakes which have bread crumbs mixed in. I'm planning to leave out the bread crumbs from the Salmon Cakes and use a small amount of flax meal instead. On pizza night I'll either make a gluten free pizza with a cream cheese crust (which Joe doesn't like) or I'll have a salad while the rest of the family enjoys their pizza.

I'm on a crockpot kick again and my crockpots will get a lot of use this January! I've got 3 different ones of various sizes and they will all come out of the cupboards. For many of the slow cooking meals I'm relying heavily on Stephanie O'Dea's Make it Fast, Cook it Slow cookbook which is full of many wonderful recipes.

I found the Autism Cookbook at the library and it's packed with gluten free and low sugar recipes that are ideal for kids on the spectrum. My oldest is and because of him the book caught my eye and I brought it home. I love how most pages have pictures to go with the recipe and the recipes are simple but flavorful.

All right January, I'm ready to cook up a storm and eat healthy for the new year! 

January

1 Twenty Clove Crockpot Chicken with carrots & potatoes

2 Baked Salmon, quinoa, steamed broccoli

3 Tacos with Ground Beef

4 Peking Pork Chops, baby carrots, brown rice

5 Pizza

6 Lemon Herb Crockpot Chicken with baked potatoes, steamed broccoli

7 Crockpot hickory smoked brisket, steamed green beans

8 Salmon Cakes, sweet potato fries

9 Crockpot roast, carrots & potatoes

10 Crockpot Chicken Tacos

11 BBQ Crockpot Ribs, steamed broccoli

12 Pizza for kids, Strawberry Poppyseed Salad for parents

13 Grilled Chicken Skewers (from The Autism Cookbook), roasted sweet potatoes & apples

14 Broccoli Beef in Crockpot

15 Baked Tilapia, Quinoa, Steamed green beans

16 Balsamic Chicken with veggies in Crockpot

17 Tacos with Ground Beef

18 Sesame Ginger Chicken and Asian GF Noodles (from The Autism Cookbook), steamed broccoli

19 Pizza

20 Crockpot Chicken with carrots and potatoes

21 GF Spaghetti & Meatballs (from The Autism Cookbook)

22 Sesame Tuna with Avocado, tossed salad

23 Crockpot Carnitas in taco shells with toppings

24 Grilled Steaks, Baked Potatoes, steamed broccoli

25 Crockpot BBQ Beef, steamed green beans

26 Pizza for kids, Strawberry Poppyseed Salad for parents

27 Crockpot Applesauce Chicken, Honey Carrots

28 Skillet Pork Chops, steamed broccoli, roasted potatoes

29 Salmon Cakes, sweet potato fries

30 Crockpot BBQ Brisket, baked potatoes, baby carrots

31Tacos with Ground Beef

You can find even more menus at Menu Plan Monday.

Have you made plans to eat healthier in 2013?