September Meal Plans: Week 2 Review and Week 3 Options

Rice, Salmon, Green Peas, Peach Chutney
(Thursday Dinner)

I'm late with my meal plan reviews and options, this week.  But, better late than never!  This was my September Week 2 meal plan option:

Brunches:  Eggs, sausages, and fried potatoes✔; French toast✔, Raisin buns with bananas✔, Tortillas with scrambled eggs and lunu miris, Fried rice✔, Tuna salad sandwiches✔, Congee✔

Sunday Afternoon Potluck (daughter & friends):  Pasta salad (daughter), whatever daughter's friends might bring!  Meat pies and potato balls (with a meat filling) from a popular Cuban cafe, croissants, homemade mooncakes, some with lotus seed paste and some with red bean paste

Dinners:  Rice with sauteed salmon and cucumber salad✔; Rice with chicken curry✔, sauteed cabbage, beetroot curry, and eggplant curry; Pork chops with mashed potatoes and vegetables; Leftovers, Rice with Chinese sausages

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit, ice cream, chocolate cake, smoothies, raisin buns

Here's how that turned out:

Monday Brunch

Monday:  Labor Day (put air to the car tires, picked up traps to catch the kittens to be neutered, shopped at the Asian grocery store, ordered regular groceries)
Brunch: Eggs, sausages, fried potatoes
Dinner:  Rice, Chinese sausages, corn on the cob, cucumber salad

Snacks/Dessert: Raisin buns, rambutan, congee, watermelon, chocolate cake (me), taro cake (daughter)

Congee (Chinese Rice Porridge with Beans and Seeds)

Tuesday: (Grocery delivery)

Brunch: Raisin buns and bananas (me); Congee (daughter)
Dinner:  Rice, Salmon sauteed with onions and canned Italian style tomatoes, cucumber salad

Snacks/Dessert: Rambutan, watermelon, raisin buns (yes, I snacked on them at tea time, too, in addition to having them for brunch!)

Wednesday: (Post office to mail a package)

Brunch: Fried rice
Dinner:  Leftover rice, salmon, and cucumber salad

Snacks/Dessert: Raisin buns, banana, rambutan, watermelon,  ice cream, 

Thursday: (Dr's appointment)

Brunch: Tuna salad sandwiches
Dinner:  Leftover rice and salmon with green peas and peach chutney

Snacks/Dessert: Raisin buns, bananas, rambutan, ice cream, congee

Vegetable Rice & Chinese Sausages
(Friday Dinner)

Friday: (9/11 - 25th Anniversary)
Brunch: French toast
Dinner:  Vegetable rice (rice cooked with green peas and grated carrots) and Chinese sausages

Snacks/Dessert: Raisin buns, banana, crackers with peanut butter

Pasta Dinner

Saturday:
Brunch: Bagel with butter and pineapple jam (me); not sure what daughter had
Dinner:  Pasta with pesto sauce, roasted red bell peppers, and canned chicken breast (daughter made the dinner)

Snacks/Dessert: Tuna salad on crackers, wafer cookies, tangerines

Sunday: (Daughter & Friends Afternoon Tea/Potluck) 
Brunch: Tuna salad on toast (me)
Afternoon Tea: Pasta salad, meat pies and potato balls (with meat filling), croissants, homemade mooncakes, some with lotus seed paste and some with red bean paste (each with a salted preserved duck egg yolk in the middle representing the full moon)
Dinner:  Leftovers from afternoon tea

Snacks/Dessert: Leftovers from afternoon tea!

Well, I didn't cook all the dishes I had listed as dinner options; for one thing, with temperatures of 105F on a couple of days during the week, I didn't feel like cooking much, but, we didn't go hungry!  

This week is much cooler and I am planning to do some cooking, eventually, once we finish up the leftovers!  Here are this week's meal plan options (9/14 - 9/20)

Brunches:  Leftovers from Sunday's Afternoon Tea (Monday and Tuesday); pancakes or waffles;  Eggs, bacon, and toast or fried potatoes; leftovers

Dinners:  Leftover Pasta (on Monday); Breakfast for Dinner (Eggs, Bacon, Toast - Tuesday); Pork chops made over with rice and vegetables; Chicken Kottu Roti made with tortillas instead of roti; Rice and curries (chicken, beets, cabbage thel dala, etc.); leftovers

Snacks/Desserts: Bananas, peanut butter and crackers, mooncakes, tangerines, watermelon, cantaloupe, muffins or bread pudding

As always, I am grateful for the blessing of having plenty of food to eat, variety, and choice and for friends who bless us with gifts of food.

How about you?  Did you make a meal plan for the second week in September?  If so, did you follow the plan?  Did/are you making a meal plan for this week in September?

September Meal Plans - Week 1 Review and Week 2 Options

 

Ala Thel Dala (Spicy Sauteed Potatoes)

My September Week 1 meal plan options were as follows:

Brunches:  Fresh fruit; Milkrice and seeni sambol (September 1); Scrambled eggs and fried potatoes; Pancakes and syrup; French toast, Tortillas with scrambled eggs and lunu miris, Protein shakes

Dinners:  Rice with leftover beef curry and/or chicken curry and vegetables; Sauteed spicy potatoes; Macaroni and cheese (boxed mix) with tuna;  Pork chops with vegetables and rice or baked potatoes or a boxed pasta mix; leftovers

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit, ice cream, protein drinks; peanut butter and bread; gelatin or pudding; fruit juice/ade.

Here's how that worked out:

Monday (August 31; dental appointment in the early afternoon):
Brunch: Protein drink (me); not sure what daughter had - a frozen burrito, maybe?
Dinner:  Ala thel dala (Spicy sauteed potatoes; me); rice and leftover curries (daughter)

Snacks/Dessert:  Slice of bread with peanut butter (me); bananas; hot cheetos (daughter)

Tuesday (September 1):
Brunch:  Milkrice and seeni sambol
Dinner: Tuna Mac & Cheese: boxed macaroni and cheese with a can of tuna, frozen green peas, chili powder, and ketchup  stirred into it

Snacks/Dessert: Protein drink (me); ice cream; tangerines

Omelet with Spicy Potato Filling

Wednesday:

Brunch:  Omelets with spicy potato filling

Omelet with Ala Thel Dala Filling

Dinner:  

Rice, Beef Curry, Sauteed Moringa Leaves, Cucumber

Snacks/Dessert: 

Thursday:

Brunch:  Pancakes and seeni sambol (me); pancakes and syrup (daughter)

Pancakes and Seeni Sambol

Dinner:  Leftover milkrice (me); rice and chicken curry (daughter)

Snacks/Dessert: Watermelon

Friday:
Brunch:  French toast
Dinner:  Pork chop and salad (daughter); ramen noodles with sliced pork chop added (me)

Homemade Potato Chips with Chili Powder & Salt

Snacks/Dessert: Homemade potato chips, chocolate cake and ice cream

Saturday:
Brunch:   Egg salad sandwich
Dinner:  More egg salad sandwiches, cheese, salami, & crackers (picnic meal at the park)

Snacks/Dessert:  Chocolate cake, calamondin-ade

Sunday:
Brunch:  Prayer gathering lunch at cousin's: Rice and an assortment of curries, salad; assorted desserts
Dinner:  Appa (hoppers) with chicken curry

Snacks/Dessert: Bread pudding, flan, jello, berries, watermelon

Appa/Hopper

I sort of followed my meal plan options during September Week 1 and it all worked out quite nicely.

Moving onto September Week 2, here are my meal plan options:

Brunches:  Eggs, sausages, and fried potatoes; French toast, Raisin buns with bananas, Tortillas with scrambled eggs and lunu miris, Fried rice, Tuna salad sandwiches, Congee

Sunday Afternoon Potluck (daughter & friends):  Pasta salad (daughter), whatever daughter's friends might bring!

Dinners:  Rice with sauteed salmon and cucumber salad; Rice with chicken curry, sauteed cabbage, beetroot curry, and eggplant curry; Pork chops with mashed potatoes and vegetables; Leftovers

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit, ice cream, chocolate cake, smoothies, raisin buns

As always, I am grateful for the blessing of having plenty of food to eat, variety, and choice.

How about you?  Did you make a meal plan for the first week in September?  If so, did you follow the plan?  Are you making a meal plan for the second week in September?

Labor Day Monday

 

Rambutan

Monday was Labor Day and a holiday.  I woke up by 8:00 a.m. and fed the chickens.

Then, after a cup of tea, I drove the car to the nearby tire shop.  I was hoping that they would be open and they were!  They checked my tires and put air in them; such a blessing! I was told to come back if the light comes back on again.  There was no charge for checking the tires and putting air in them, but, I gave the technician a tip and he was very happy.  I was very happy, too, because the car was fine to drive and that meant I could still keep the appointment I had made to meet up with the lady who is helping us with trapping and neutering the garden cats.

After I came home, I made us a brunch of eggs, sausages, and fried potatoes.  We are starting to see yellower yolks in the newer eggs being laid by the chickens!

Then, shortly after noon, we drove to the appointment with D, who runs the cat rescue group.  We had arranged to meet in the parking lot of a diner type restaurant, about halfway between her place and ours, and she lent us three traps to trap the three kittens (who are now quite grown).  One of them, Mochi, is well on its way to being tamed, but, the other two, Mimi and Tora, are still quite feral and will come only when it's time for food.  

On our way home after collecting the traps, we stopped at an East Asian grocery store.  Primarily so daughter could stock up on the various condiments and sauces she wanted in order to make the Japanese and Korean dishes she likes to make and she insisted on paying for this grocery trip so it wouldn't come out of my regular grocery budget.  But, I also picked up a few other items such as a packet of rice sticks and Chinese style sausages:

Chinese Style Sausages

Daughter also treated me to a bag of fresh rambutan, one of my favorite tropical fruits:

Rambutan

The outer peel is removed and the fruit inside has one seed in the middle.  The edible part is the flesh covering the seed.  There was a rambutan tree in the garden in my childhood home and every year, during the rambutan season, there used to be bunches of rambutan hanging from the branches.  The fresh rambutan always tastes better than the canned or frozen rambutan.  At $3.99/lb., they were expensive and I told my daughter to put the bag down, but, she insisted on buying it for me.  Along with a package of my favorite raisin buns:

Raisin Buns

One of the other items she bought was canned congee (rice porridge):  

Canned Congee

This one was made with a variety of beans, coix seeds, and corn:

Canned Congee with Beans, Coix Seeds, and Corn

Daughter shared some of it with me and it was sweet and delicious.  Daughter also treated herself to a slice of taro cake and a taro latte!

About three quarters of the way through the grocery store, I began to feel tired, so, I left daughter to finish her shopping and went to the car to sit down and wait for her.  Then, we drove home and sampled some of the treats daughter bought.

Then, both daughter and I took naps!  She on the family room sofa and I in my bed!

After we woke up, we let the chickens out to run about in the garden and daughter cleaned the coop and enclosure.  Afterwards, I made us a cup of tea, cleaned out the vegetable drawer in the fridge (a couple of lemons and the last bit of a lettuce had to be composted) and ordered some groceries.  Daughter took the trash bins to the curb.

I texted with cousins V and N, exchanged emails with a friend, swept the kitchen, vacuumed the family room with the help of the robot, watched a few online videos and then, it was time to say my nightly prayers and go to bed.  I'd like to say that I am going to bed at a decent time now that I am waking up at 8:00 a.m. to feed the chickens, but, that only happened a couple of times.  I'm back to going to bed well after 3:00 a.m., probably closer to 4:00 a.m.

On Monday, I was grateful for:

- The tire place was open on Labor Day
- The tires only needed some air and it was an easy fix
- The lady from the cat rescue group lending us some traps for the kittens
- Ethnic grocery stores
- Daughter getting us some special treats

Monday's joyful activities included shopping at the ethnic grocery store and eating fresh rambutan!

How was your Monday?  Are there special treats from your childhood that you still enjoy?

August Week 4 Review

 

Partial Eclipse of the Moon 8/27/26
(cell phone photo by daughter)

The last week of August was another hot week, with temperatures in the upper 90s and low 100s, often with a "feels like" temperatures about 8 to 10 degrees higher.  As much as I like warm temperatures, on some days, it got a bit too hot for even me!

Monday, August 24:  I woke up at 8:00 a.m. and tended to the chickens, wetting down sections of the outer enclosure with water to provide them with damp soil to help them cool down.  Daughter has been placing bottles of frozen water in the coop and enclosure, too, so they could sit close to them to cool off and their water container has bottles of frozen water to cool their drinking water, too.  

I tooked the second tray of pork chops and a chicken curry, a pot of fresh rice, and made a cucumber salad.  Later in the evening, daughter helped me to take the trash bins to the curb and we let the chickens out of the enclosure and they enjoyed walking around the area immediately in front of the enclosure.  They seem to love the gazania plants, which is funny because everything we've read online states that chickens generally don't like the taste of gazanias!  It's not toxic to them, but, apparently they don't like the taste.  Obviously, no one told our chickens that!

Feasting on the Gazania Plants

Tuesday, August 25:  I woke up at 8:00 a.m. to tend to the chickens and then, watered the backyard, a few of the plants, including the pomegranate tree, in the frontyard, and brought in the emptied trash bins.  I also picked a few of the pomegranates as the birds have found and started pecking at the biggest and ripest of them!  I did a load of laundry and spent some time sewing more hexagons to my quilt top.

Wednesday, August 26:  M was here to tend to the garden in the afternoon.  He brought us a jar of pesto and a container of almonds that were seasoned with herbes de Provence that another client had given him, which he didn't want.  Daughter and I were happy to receive them.  M enjoyed a piece of the bread pudding I had made on Saturday.

In the evening, I had the pleasure of getting the hens into the coop for the night.  Usually daughter puts them in for the night, but, she will be leaving for an in-person office meeting in a few weeks and she wanted to reassure herself that I could manage to get them in the coop by myself when she's away.  Also, once the time change takes place this Fall (if it takes place), then, she'll still be working when it gets dark and getting the chickens ready for the night will become my responsibility.  So, I got to get the hens in the smaller, inner coop (which has been made more predator proof with hardware fabric all around).

Thursday, August 27:   On Thursday morning, Henny Penny managed to get out of the enclosure when I went to feed them.  She dashed past me before I could shut the door because she had seen a scarab beetle!  She managed to catch it and I left her to enjoy it while I went into the shed to get the chicken feed.  When I came out of the shed, just a couple of minutes later, Henny Penny was eating some of the gazania leaves and both Fluffy and Mochi were eyeing her!  They both retreated when I got closer and I got Henny Penny back in the enclosure without any problem.  

On Thursday night, my daughter and I watched the partial eclipse of the moon, which reached peak coverage around 9:00 p.m.  Daughter took a picture of it with her cell phone.

Friday, August 28:  Daughter had the day off from work.  It was another very hot day and in the afternoon, she put the a/c on in the bedroom and started cutting out a sari blouse for herself.  She downloaded a free pattern from the internet, printed out the pattern, and cut the blouse pieces using some fabric we had in the fabric stash.  I read, did some paperwork, and ordered some groceries to be delivered on Saturday.

In the evening, M arrived to tend to the garden.  I was seated in one of the garden chairs watching over the hens while daughter went into the house to drink the cup of tea I had made for her, when, Niwatori decided she wanted to perch on me for the first time!  I fully expected her to hop onto my lap, but, no, she flew up onto my head!  I wasn't expecting that!  Those claws are sharp!  I asked M to call daughter and she came and got Niwatori off my head!  Then, she sat down in the other garden chair with Niwatori perched on her shoulder and Henny Penny decided to perch on daughter's head!  These hens are too funny!  

Saturday, August 29:  My groceries were delivered in the morning and I posted about that.  Later, since I still had almost $50 left in my August grocery budget, I ordered coffee from the other grocery store, to be delivered on Sunday.

In the afternoon, we put the a/c on in the bedroom and daughter continued to sew on her sari blouse while I took a long nap!

I wore a straw hat when I went to watch the chickens in the evening, to protect my scalp from sharp claws in case a hen decided to perch on my head, again.  But, this time, Niwatori decided to aim for my shoulder, except the wide brim of my hat confused her and she landed on my upper arm, instead!  She was trying to find a foothold and left a few scratches on my arm before daughter managed to get her off my arm!  I need to wear long sleeved tops if these hens decide to use me as a perch!

Sunday, August 30:  The five packets of coffee beans were delivered in the morning and I wrote all the best by dates on the packages and the canned foods in big numbers and daughter put them up in the pantry cabinet.  I did some paperwork (still need to file) and daughter did a load of laundry.  In the evening, when we went to tend to the chickens, I wore a long sleeved hoodie, but, of course, the chickens didn't want to perch on me now that I was somewhat protected from their sharp claws!  LOL.  

Monday, August 31:  Earlier in the week, my cousin P's daughter had texted me to inform me that P's health had declined quite a bit and she was in hospice care in Florida, where they had both moved to almost 5 years ago.  Midweek, both my daughter and I recorded messages which P's daughter played back to P.  Although P could no longer talk, she could hear and her daughter said that P blinked her eyes when she heard our messages.  On Monday morning, P's daughter called me with the sad news that P had passed away earlier in the morning.  Even though I had been expecting the news, it was still sad to hear.  Rest in peace, Cousin.

I had a dental appointment in the afternoon and daughter took the afternoon off from work to accompany me. Two temporary crowns were fitted, one on either side of my mouth (upper left and lower right).  The procedure took almost two hours and I have a follow-up appointment in September to have the permanent crowns fitted and work done on another tooth!  

Cousin V had called while I was at the dentist's office, so I called her back after I came home and we chatted for a long time.  V's father, P's mother, and my mother were siblings.  But, V and cousin P were doubly related; V's father and P's mother were siblings and V's mother and P's father were also siblings.  So they were very close throughout their lives.  

I rested a bit in the evening and then, sat in the garden watching over the chickens while daughter cleaned the coop; then we both watched over the chickens as they explored more of the garden and made sure they kept a safe distance from the garden cats!  

August Decluttering:  Recent decluttering included brochures and magazines, a couple of items of clothing, storage containers and jars, and dried up pens.  I went over my minimum goal of decluttering at least 31 items, but, fell far short of the bigger goal of decluttering 100 items.  But, I am pleased with what I did declutter.

Well, August did bring some changes with it, once again.  Some were good, some were sad, some were intentional, some were unintended.  But, I am grateful for all the many blessings I've experienced this month.

How was your August?

August Groceries - Part 4

Groceries - August 29, 2026

I ordered groceries on Friday to be delivered today (Saturday).  Once again, I chose to order from the second chain of stores (store F) owned by the same parent company which owns store R. since the paid store membership seems to work for both stores.  The deciding factor was the price of the items I wanted to buy.  Store F had the same or lower prices, with the price differences ranging from $0.30 for the bottle of oil to $1.20 for the can of corned beef, and I'm all for saving a dollar or two when I can!  Especially when I am either replenishing my pantry stock or building up my stock. 

We had finished the bananas and the watermelon (and cantaloupe, too) that I had bought earlier, and was coming to the end of the loaf of bread.  Daughter asked for another watermelon if it was still on sale (it was) and I decided to get more bananas and another loaf of bread.

Boxed cake and brownie mixes were on sale with digital coupons at my stocking up price of $0.99@ at both stores.  Since I had just one boxed brownie mix left in my pantry cupboard (and zero cake mixes), I decided to buy the maximum of five boxed mixes (a combination of 2 brownie mixes and 3 cake mixes).*  I know all the arguments against boxed cake mixes, but, they come in handy when I need a quick and easy dessert.

Ice cream was also on sale for $1.99@ with digital coupons and we had finished the last pint of ice cream earlier in the week.  With the temperatures being over 100F and another dental procedure scheduled for next Monday, I decided that ice cream was a necessary item!  LOL.  

The other items were all regular priced.  I had just opened the last bottle of oil I had in the cupboard (purched in April 2026) and I decided to replenish my stock with another bottle of oil sooner (at today's price) rather than later (when the price might be higher).  The same with the coconut milk - I had used two cans earlier in the week when I cooked some curries, and I will be using another one next Tuesday when I make milkrice on the 1st of the month; so I'm replenishing my stock.  Ditto the condensed milk.  As for the can of corned beef, it doubles my stock of corned beef!  I would like to get two more cans of corned beef so I could eat one (corned beef sandwiches or sauteed with onions and tomato and served with rice) and still have three cans in stock.  

Here's the receipt (with price comparisons, when there was a price difference, with store R in blue):

Order Summary

Original Item Total$60.03

Item Coupons/Sales-$9.20

Order Coupons-$4.00

Fulfillment Fee+$0.00

Other Fees+$0.60

Sales Tax$0.00

Order Total$47.43

---

Item Details

22 Items

Betty Crocker™ Favorites Fudge Brownie Mix, 16.3 oz$1.98

2 x $0.99 $2.19 each

Betty Crocker™ Favorites Super Moist Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix, 13.25 oz$0.99

1 x $0.99 $2.19 each

Betty Crocker™ Favorites Super Moist Yellow Cake Mix, 13.25 oz$1.98

2 x $0.99 $2.19 each

Fresh Bunch of Bananas – 5-7 Bananas, 1 bunch$1.83

2.65 lbs x $0.69 each (approx.)

Kroger® 100% Pure Vegetable Oil, 48 fl oz$4.19

1 x $4.19 each  ($4.49 at Store R)

Kroger® Half and Half Half Gallon, 1/2 gal$4.99

1 x $4.99 each ($5.49)

Kroger® Premium Coconut Milk, 13.5 fl oz$4.17

3 x $1.39 each ($1.99@)

Kroger® Sweetened Condensed Milk, 14 oz$14.94

6 x $2.49 each ($3.29@)

Kroger® White Sandwich Bread, 20 oz$1.99

1 x $1.99 each

Libby's Corned Beef Canned Meat, 12 oz$7.29

1 x $7.29 each ($8.49)

Mini Seedless Whole Watermelon, 1 ct$2.50

1 x $2.50 each ($4.99)

Private Selection® Double Vanilla Ice Cream Pint, 16 oz$3.98

2 x $1.99 $3.59 each

---

Order Coupons

-$4.00

Store Coupon-$4.00

---

Other Fees

$0.60

Bag Fee$0.60

6 x $0.10 each

My total came to $47.43 

August grocery budget (for food, only) is $250 plus $8.95 carried over from July = $258.95

My August Grocery spending to date:
$0.52 + $45.51 + $75.33 + $40.18 + $47.43 = $208.97

Balance left in the August Grocery budget = $258.95 - $208.97 = $49.98

Which meant that I had almost $50 left in the budget to stock up a bit more!  I gave some serious consideration and decided to spend it all on daughter's favorite coffee, which is still on sale this week, too, for $9.99@ with the purchase of three or more in one transaction at store R (not on sale at store F)!  I had enough points to apply $1 towards the purchase price, which brought down my total to $48.95.  I placed the order this afternoon and the coffee should be delivered tomorrow (Sunday).  I am going to consider that purchase as part of this grocery shopping order, although I haven't received the coffee, yet.  Once the coffee does arrive, then, daughter will be stocked up with enough coffee for a good long time and, any future purchases will be to replenish what has been used.

Spent to date: $208.97 + $48.95 = $257.92

Balance left in the August Grocery Budger = $1.03

I am very pleased with how this month's grocery spending worked out!  

September's grocery budget will be $250 (plus $1.03 carried over!)

I am grateful for:

- Being able to order groceries from both stores to take full advantage of offers and membership benefits
- Having groceries delivered free of charge (with minimum qualifying purchase amounts)
- The availability of groceries
- Being able to stock up while still keeping to my budget
- The blessing of a pantry

How are you coming along with your August grocery shopping?  Do you have a monthly budget?  Are you able to keep to your budget?

* Edited to clarify that I bought a combination of boxed cake and brownie mixes and not 5 brownie mixes only!

August Week 2 Meal Plan Options Review and Week 3 Options

 

Chinese Take Out on Friday

These were my meal plan options for August Week 2:

Brunches:  Protein Shake (Monday; me - after dental work getting a tooth ready for a crown); hamburger (Monday, daughter); Pancakes with sausages and blueberry compote (Tuesday); Tortillas with scrambled eggs and lunu miris (daughter); French toast; fried egg and cold cuts sandwiches; hamburgers; leftovers

Dinners: Scrambled eggs and ramen noodles soup (made with half a packet of ramen; Monday, me); Scrambled eggs and rice with chicken curry and peach chutney (Monday, daughter); Rice, chicken curry, cauliflower mallung, and moringa curry; Stringhoppers (me; daughter prefers rice) with kiri hodi (coconut milk curry) with or without eggs and/or chicken curry and seeni sambol; leftovers; Chinese take out (Friday treat); Rice, chicken curry, moringa curry, sauteed kale, peach chutney (impromptu dinner party on Thursday)

 

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit, protein shakes, yogurt, flan, ice cream

Here's how that turned out:

Monday:
Brunch:  Protein shake (me; after dental work); home cooked hamburger (daughter)
Dinner:  Scrambled eggs and ramen noodles soup (made with half a packet of ramen; me); scrambled eggs, followed by rice, chicken curry, and peach chutney (daughter)
Snacks/Dessert: Ice cream

Tuesday Brunch

Tuesday:

Brunch: Pancakes with sausages and blueberry compote
Dinner:   Rice, cauliflower stir-fry (with turmeric, curry leaves, mustard seeds, Sri Lankan spice blend, and lemon juice), chicken curry
Snacks/Dessert: Yogurt (me); strawberries (daughter)

Tuesday Dinner

Wednesday:

Brunch:  Leftover pancakes with sausages and blueberry compote (me0; tortillas with scrambled egg and lunu miris (daughter)

Wednesday Brunch for Me

Dinner:   Rice and chicken curry with cucumber salad
Snacks/Dessert: Yogurt, strawberries

Thursday:

Brunch:  Protein shake (me); bread and chicken curry (daughter)
Dinner: Rice, chicken curry, moringa curry, sauteed kale (not quite kale mallung since I didn't add grated coconut), peach chutney (daughter's friend A and her fiance came over to have us taste test wedding cake samples and I decided to have an impromptu dinner party!) 
Snacks/Dessert: Wedding Cake Taste Testing - 5 varieties of cake/frosting combinations!

Friday:

Brunch: Rice and leftover smoked sausage stir fry (daughter)
Late Lunch: Chinese take out (my first meal of the day; eaten around 5:30 p.m., after my doctor's appointment and trip to the post office!)

Dinner:  Leftover Chinese take out
Snacks/Dessert:  Protein shake; yogurt, last of the strawberries

Saturday:

Brunch: Sri Lankan rolls - crepes filled with curried  and potatoes, breaded and deep fried

Dinner:  Stringhoppers with chicken curry

Snacks/Dessert: Yogurt

Sunday:

Brunch:  Garden salad, pasta salad, mini croissants filled with chicken salad, fresh fruit skewers, berries, cake (Bridal Shower Party):  

DinneRice, Leftover Chinese take out
Snacks/Dessert: Iced shortbread cookie from the bridal shower

And there you have it!  I didn't follow the meal plan to the letter, but, I mostly selected from the options I had listed with some changes.  

On to this week's meal plan options!  Here are the options for August Week 3:

Brunches:  Scrambled eggs and toast (Monday); French toast; fried egg and cold cuts sandwiches; hamburgers; Waffles or pancakes with bacon and blueberry compote; leftovers

Dinners: Stringhopperswith  chicken curry and garbanzo beans (chick peas) curry;  Rice with chicken curry, kale, moringa curry, and garbanzo beans curry;  Burritos (from the freezer); Tortillas and chicken curry; leftovers

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit, protein shakes, yogurt, ice cream, cookies

Those are the planned options.  We might stick to these options or go off them, depending on how things work out.  I am planning to order some groceries mid-week (just waiting to see what this week's specials will be, before I order anything).  The meal plan options might change based on what I buy, too.

As always, I am grateful for being able to make meal plan options and being able to go off plan as the mood strikes me.  It's truly a blessing to be able to do so.B

How about you?  Are you making any meal plans this week?  

August Week 1 Meal Plan Options Review and Week 2 Options

Smoked Sausage Stir Fry with Kale and Chives

These were my meal plan options for August Week 1:

Brunches:  Milkrice with seeni sambol and/or chicken curry (Monday)✔️; Cold cuts sandwiches✔️; Tortillas with eggs and lunu miris;  Pancakes with blueberry compote and/or syrup; Leftover Chinese food✔️Peanut butter toast

Dinners: Hamburgers (for lunch)✔️ with cucumber salad; MilkRice and chicken curry with moringa leaves curry and dhal (daughter)✔️; Fried rice ✔️or frozen burritos✔️; Leftovers✔️Rice and chicken curry (daughter); bread and chicken curry (me)

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit✔️, protein shakes✔️, garlic bread✔️, lava cake✔️, ice cream✔️French bread with dhal (me), Japanese snacks, dates, aloo puri

Here's how it turned out:

Monday:
Brunch:  Milkrice, chicken curry, seeni sambol (me); protein shake (daughter)
Dinner:  Fried rice and one leftover sausage (me); Leftover Chinese food (daughter) 
Snacks/Dessert: Protein shake; apple slices

Tuesday:

Brunch:  Milkrice with seeni sambol and jaggery (me); protein shake (daughter)
Dinner:  Fried rice (me); milkrice with dhal and sauteed moringa leaves (daughter)  
Snacks/Dessert: French bread with dhal, some Japanese snacks, dates

Wednesday:

Brunch:  Fried rice

Dinner:   Bread and chicken curry (me); rice and chicken curry (daughter)
Snacks/Dessert: Aloo puri, apple slices with peanut butter, dates

Thursday:

Brunch:  Peanut butter toast (me); protein shake (daughter)
Dinner: Rice with smoked sausage/kale/chives stir fry
Snacks/Dessert: Japanese snacks, honey garlic bread sticks, apple slices with peanut butter

Friday Dinner: Rice, Smoked Sausage Stir-fry, 
Dhal Curry

Friday:

Brunch:  Banana, French bread with chicken curry gravy and dhal
Dinner:  Rice, smoked sausage stir fry, dhal curry
Snacks/Dessert:  Banana, strawberries, yogurt, flan

Saturday Brunch: Fried egg and cold cuts sandwich

Saturday:
Brunch: Fried egg and sauteed cold cuts sandwiches
Dinner:  Frozen burrito (daughter and I shared one) 
Snacks/Dessert: Banana, strawberries, yogurt, flan, Japanese snacks

Sunday Breakfast: Banana and Peanut Butter

Sunday:
Breakfast:  Sliced banana and peanut butter (me); daughter had bananas without peanut butter

Lunch: Half a hamburger (daughter had the other half)
Dinner:   Rice, chicken curry, cucumber salad, peach chutney
Snacks/Dessert: Strawberries, yogurt, flan, honey garlic bread sticks

Well, that turned out about the way I expected it to!  We somewhat followed the meal plan options I had listed while adding and subtracting  as we went.  Which is fine, actually.  It was a hot week with temperatures going up to triple digits on some days.  I didn't feel like cooking on some days and I didn't feel like eating what I had listed on other days.  Daughter had her own meal preferences and we ate different things on some days and I didn't always keep track of what she ate (I had a hard enough time keeping track of my own meals!) But, it worked out well enough for us.

Moving on to this week...here are my meal plan options for August Week 2:

Brunches:  Protein Shake (Monday; me - after dental work getting a tooth ready for a crown); hamburger (Monday, daughter); Pancakes with sausages and blueberry compote (Tuesday); Tortillas with scrambled eggs and lunu miris; French toast; fried egg and cold cuts sandwiches; hamburgers; leftovers

Dinners: Scrambled eggs and ramen noodles soup (made with half a packet of ramen; Monday, me); Scrambled eggs and rice with chicken curry and peach chutney (Monday, daughter); Rice, chicken curry, cauliflower mallung, and moringa curry; Stringhoppers (me; daughter prefers rice) with kiri hodi (coconut milk curry) with or without eggs and/or chicken curry and seeni sambol; leftovers

 

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit, protein shakes, yogurt, flan, ice cream

That's the plan.  We might or might not stick to it!

As always, I am grateful for the blessings of:

- Enough food to eat
- Plenty of variety
- A well stocked pantry and freezer
- Garden produce
- Fresh eggs from the chickens (who've been with us for 3 weeks for today!)

What about you?  Are you doing any meal planning this week?