Menu Plan Monday!

Ahhhh, Monday. It's once again time to plan my menu! And guess what? This week I have a head start on the game because I've already roasted a turkey breast for tomorrow's dinner! Yummm! Yummm!

This week I'm also going to try something different and plan out all my meals for the week--that includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks! I figure this will help me stick to my weight loss plan. Inevitably I find myself eating poorly for those meals I don't plan. So here we go! (Items in bold indicate recipe listed below!)

Monday: Breakfast-light whole wheat english muffin with butter and string cheese; Lunch-turkey sandwhich and green salad; Dinner-Sliced turkey breast, mashed sweet potatoes and green beans
Tuesday: Breakfast-steel cut oatmeal, fruit; Lunch-tuna salad on whole wheat with fruit or green salad or carrots; Dinner-Spicy Chicken-Spinach Bake
Wednesday:Breakfast-light whole wheat english muffin with melted cheese and 1 serving of fruit, Lunch-chicken salad with a green side salad, Dinner-WW Potato-Broccoli Soup and half of a turkey sandwhich
Thursday: Breakfast-eggs and light whole wheat toast; Lunch-turkey strips on salad with walnuts; Dinner-Leftovers!
Friday: Breakfast-muffins of some sort; Lunch-leftovers once again; Dinner-lean hamburgers with broccoli slaw or just plain coleslaw
Saturday:Breakfast-light whole wheat english muffin with melted cheese and 1 serving of fruit, Lunch-leftover Potato-Broccoli Soup and half of a turkey sandwhich; Dinner-Taco salads
Sunday:Breakfast-eggs, toast and fruit; Lunch-Salads for adults; veggies and lean meat for Reagan; Dinner-salmon patties and veggies, leftover coleslaw

Snacks for the week for Josh and I: yogurt, cheese sticks, celery with peanut butter, fruit and popcorn (lowfat or fatfree); Reagan: her usual snacks, which could include any of those listed for us too!

Recipes:
WW Potato-Broccoli Soup
3 cups cubed peeled potato (about 1 lb)
1 cup frozen, chopped broccoli
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
1 14.5 oz can of no-salt-added chicken broth (i usually use reduced sodium!)
1.5 cups of 1% milk
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
6 oz. light processed cheese (such as Velveeta) cubed

Combine first six ingredients in large Dutch oven. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

Combine milk and flour, stirring until smooth. Add milk mixture and cheese to vegetable mixture in Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until cheese melts and mixture thickens.

Serve immediately, or cool and divide into individual airtight containers; refrigerate up to 3 days. Reheat in microwave. Yield: 7 servings of 1 cup each. Points Value: 3

Spicy Chicken-Spinach Bake
8 oz uncooked penne
2 teaspoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2.5 cups 1% milk
1 6 oz. package of fresh baby spinach, coarsley chopped (NOTE: WW said they tested with both fresh and frozen and had better results with fresh, but I'll probably still use frozen, easier to keep on hand!)
1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 teaspsoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
1.5 cups salsa
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350. Cook pasta according to package directions, ommitting salt and fat. Drain.

While pasta cooks, melt butter in a Dutch oven (what is it with WW and Dutch ovens?!?!) over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 4 minutes until tender. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, level with a knife. Add flour to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cool 11 minutes or until thick. Add spinach, stirring until spinach wilts. Remove from heat; add 1/4 cup of cheese, salt and pepper.

Stir in chicken, salsa and 3/4 cup of cheese. Carefully fold in pasta. Spoon mixture into a 13*9 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Bake at 350 fir 39 minutes or until bubbly. Yield: 8 1 cup servings.