Day Three hundred and fifty-three

Gluten-free banana muffins.  These were SO good, moist and filling.  I found the recipe online but I didn't write down the source, and now I can't track it down. The recipe is worth sharing, though, so here it is.  Next time, I'm going to try making it as a loaf.

Gluten-free banana muffins

2 c. gluten-free flour blend

1 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

3/4 t. xanthan gum

1/2 t. salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

6 ripe bananas, coarsely diced

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well.  In a separate bowl, whisk first five ingredients ingredients (through salt) then add to sugar mixture, stirring only until moist.  Fold in bananas.  Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until toothpick comes out dry.

Spaghetti squash Parmesan.  If you haven't made this, you should!  It's my older daughter's favorite meal. In fact, this day was her birthday, which was why I made it.

Dinner: Spaghetti squash parm, french bread, and fruit salad.

Pureed yellow squash, for the freezer.

Tomorrow's school lunch: Chunks of grilled chicken, gluten-free crackers, cottage cheese, carrots and apples.

Day Three hundred

Potato cake with (turkey) bacon (Recipe: Rachel Ray)

Sauteed spinach and apples

Dinner: Potato cake with (turkey) bacon, sour cream, and apples (Recipe: Rachel Ray).  I loved that this was a gluten-free dinner I didn't have to think much about, but I loved even more that I'd put it on the menu rotation before we even became gluten-free.  ;)

Day Two hundred and fifty-five

Dinner: Diced turkey with chunks of apples, light ranch dressing, and baby spinach on whole grain bread, and grapes.  I  had a more interesting meal planned, but we had a late lunch and the kids have been under the weather, so I opted for a quick, no-cook dinner.  Afterwards, I was so thankful I'd done so.

Day One hundred and thirty-nine

Vanilla yogurt

Another batch of garden vegetable soup


Lunch: Garden vegetable soup (I threw in some turkey and parmesan cheese for protein), and grapes.

A double batch of Eggplant spinach rollatini-- one for tonight, one for the freezer.



Dinner: Eggplant spinach rollatini (with shredded zucchini), vegetable medley, and apples.

Day One hundred and thirty-two

Snow day lunch: Baked grilled cheese and apples (low fat cheddar), steamed baby carrots, and grapes.

Dinner: Chicken marsala over egg noodles, sauteed collard greens, and strawberries. Since this meal was time-intensive, I doubled the recipe so that we can have it again w/o all the cooking. Whew.

Day One hundred and twenty-seven

Dinner: Turkey tetrazzini (crockpot; recipe: Crockery Cookery), steamed carrots, and apples. We had a big bowl of leftover turkey breast from the other night's mini-Thanksgiving, and this was a good way to use up that extra turkey. I doubled the recipe and froze half to use for a future dinner.

Day One hundred and fifteen

Lunch: Scrambled eggs with shredded low fat cheese, carrot sticks, and sliced apple. I wasn't actually intending to make this for lunch, but when three eggs accidentally cracked as we took them out to boil for dinner, I decided eggs it was!


Veggies in the steamer-- two lbs. of organic baby carrots, two heads of broccoli, and two heads of cauliflower. Some of this ended up being...

Purees for the freezer: Cauliflower



Purees for the freezer: Carrot



And the rest of the steamed veggies ended up being...
Dinner: Big Salad (steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots; romaine lettuce and baby spinach, garbanzo beans, crunchy noodles, and sliced hard-boiled eggs, with light ranch.


Fruit salad with "fairy dust" (aka cinnamon)

Day Seventy-one

Dinner: Turkey and black bean tacos (with butternut squash puree), served with baby spinach, cheddar, sour cream, and salsa. Mangoes, blueberries, and sliced apples followed dinner. To be fair, I should mention that my husband made the turkey and assembled everything (except this taco).

Day Sixty-five

Dinner: Whole grain penne, fresh spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and grilled chicken, in an alfredo sauce. This dish is inspired by a meal I used to love from Macaroni Grill. Yesterday when I made chicken for the fondue, I made an extra few breasts and saved them in the fridge for tonight. When I took them out of the fridge today, all cooked and ready to use, I really loved myself. ;) We had cut up apples after dinner.

Purees for the freezer: Butternut squash

Purees for the freezer: Zucchini/cauliflower

Day Thirty-one

Dinner: Turkey hot dogs, whole wheat rotini made into mac and cheese (with pureed cauliflower; recipe: Sneaky Chef), steamed edamame, and sliced apples. I will admit that this is the turkey hot dog that caused an adult tantrum. 'Nuff said.

Day Twenty-four

Five jars of yogurt, sitting in a water bath until they reach their desired firmness.


Pumpkin bread... one loaf for after dinner and tomorrow's breakfast, and the other for the freezer. (Recipe: Family Circle; modifications were whole wheat pastry flour substituted for white flour, and oats instead of nuts).


Dinner: Spaghetti squash parm. I'll be forever indebted to Danielle B. for introducing me to this meal. It's my older daughter's favorite.

Dinner: Spaghetti squash parm, salad, ciabatta rolls (leftover from yesterday), and an eggplant spread for the rolls. Thanks to Karen S. for the white eggplants!

After dinner: Sliced apples and pumpkin bread