Diets and meal planning and stuff like that

Long gone are those carefree days when we could eat whatever we want and not worry about it. Fortunately, neither Norbert nor I particularly need to count calories, but there are other significant factors which I have to consider. And since I am the cook, my needs come first.

I inherited my mother’s high blood pressure and high cholesterol, what fun. I am on medication for both but diet can – allegedly-- help too. Plus I have nasal congestion/post-nasal drip problems which might or might not be helped or hindered be diet.

Cutting out milk and most dairy products helped the nose problem, and surprisingly, I have had little-to-no problem with my arthritis since then. I am now also drinking less coffee (I simply cannot give it up entirely!) and am trying an herbal and ginger tea, which not only tastes good but is supposed to help with the nose. So far I am under the impression that it helps.

The diet for all of the above needs to be tied in with meal planning and, I will be the first to admit, I really need to work on this more.

My ideal week would be poultry 2-3 times a week, fish 2 times, non-meat 1 time, and other meat 1-2 times. The latter fall away on those happy occasions when we go out to eat (once every 2 weeks) or are invited out.

For the low-fat crowd among us, the poultry is almost always skinless boneless chicken breasts, usually broiled or sautéed in a little olive oil. My plan for the summer is to start making my own low-salt seasoning mixes. Ditto with the fish. We have never particularly liked a heavy sauce anyway, so nothing to miss.

Vegetables are served at every meal, and I try to serve a green salad every other day.

So how do I meal plan?

It starts with a freezer and pantry inventory. I just did the freezer inventory this week. Don’t worry if it doesn't make sense, it is a jumble of English and German



I still need to do the pantry inventory.

We are confirmed carnivores, so every meal starts with meat. I can see my choices on this inventory list and go from there. I sit on the sofa once a week and make up the meal plans. Theoretically, at any rate, or perhaps I should say I try to do that.

Of course, sometimes my helper is there, to make things more difficult.



What I struggle with is the side dishes. Meat-starch-veg. The latter two tend to stump me. What I need to do is make a list of the possibilities and keep it with the inventory list. And perhaps even keep a list of what I serve each week.


I am not sure that I am really all that organized! However, it would be a great way to keep track not only of menus but also as a record of my diet and where things need to change. Hmmmm.....

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