July Menu Plan

This month is all about using what is fresh from the garden and the CSA share.  We may also do some gleaning from the food pantry, if things come available.  We'll make use of our food storage in the freezer and pantry, mostly for our proteins.  We have chicken to use in the freezer, and we've got loads of dried beans and legumes. 

Here's the plan for the month:

Breakfasts:

• Smoothies with greens, frozen fruit, and almond milk
• Scrambled eggs with greens and onions (maybe occasionally ham or breakfast meat, but we're low on that) and fruit or toast
• Overnight oats from Not Your Mother's Slowcooker
• Baked pumpkin oatmeal 
• Gluten free waffles from America's Test Kitchen How Can It Be Gluten Free?
• Yogurt parfaits with plain yogurt, berries, and nuts/seeds
• Leftover roasted veggies with eggs or breakfast meat

Lunches: 

• Leftovers
• Tuna salad and tortilla chips/gluten free crackers
• Snack plate (nuts, fruit, veggies and homemade ranch, etc.)
• Occasional school lunches (free for pick up M-Th)

Dinners:

• Chili with ground meat and black/pinto beans with GF cornbread
• Loaded beans and rice (think taco bowl with lettuce, green onions, maybe cheese, salsa, avocado, etc.)
• Lentil sloppy joes over quinoa with salad
• Sausage and cabbage sautee (I do a variation on this with cabbage and slice the sausages to stretch the meat some.  If  I have red onion, that makes it really pretty) with GF cornbread
• Sweet and sour chicken stir fry with Asian slaw (I leave the ramen out to make it gluten free, but if you like it, it does add a lovely crunch)
• Potato and greens soup from Simply in Season with side salad or veggies and dip
• Tacos, nachos, or taco bowls with chicken, greens, sauteed zucchini and squash and other fixin's
• Grilled balsamic chicken, grilled squash and onions, and side salad
• Gluten free lasagna with side salad

Snacks:

• Homemade popsicles (using frozen fruit, milk/yogurt, etc.  The favorite this summer has been vanilla peach popsicles--using the frozen peach cups from school lunches, vanilla yogurt, flax, chia, and some gelatin powder for the gut health benefit.)  We also like blueberry cheesecake ones, mixed berry, banana-chocolate-peanut butter and a request has been made for cherry vanilla ones.  
• Homemade gelatin wigglers (made with gelatin and fruit juice)
• Air popped popcorn with melted butter and salt
• Homemade trail mixes with popcorn, dried fruit, chocolate chips, and nuts
• Berries from the garden (currants are in right now, blueberries will be coming in next week I hope)

Batch cooking:

• Popsicles
• Black beans in crock pot
• Pumpkin baked oatmeal
• Citrus marmalade (I've been saving peels to make marmalade)
• Blackberry jam
• Rice or quinoa
• Spiced nuts

Purchases to make this month:

• Veggies to roast (cauliflower, turnips, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, carrots--some may come from food pantry)
• Tomato sauce
• Potatoes
• Potato flakes
• Gelatin
• Gluten free flour blend
• Nuts

What are your plans this month?  What's up in your garden?  I'd love to hear from you!