I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.

I need to go wheat-free!

Easier said than done for me.  I don’t have Celiac or a wheat allergy.  I feel better when I avoid wheat but I don’t necessarily believe all gluten is bad for me.  I can only lose weight if I don’t eat wheat.

Unfortunately feeling better and easier weight loss isn’t always a big enough motivator for my lazy butt.

My kiddo does better off wheat though.  She’s perfectly healthy *on paper* when she eats wheat…she just tends to have some bloating and issues with weight gain as well.  She’s the healthiest, heaviest Crohn’s kid anyone’s ever seen!  But she does need to slim down a little.  She doesn’t know this yet but eventually some rotten kid is gonna say something to her.  I have high hopes that being wheat-free might help her lose a few pounds.

I can’t stand the idea of meal planning but in thinking about why I hate it so much and never stick to it, I realized that I’ve been doing it all wrong.  I’ve let my perfectionist tendencies totally sabotage myself because I made up silly rules (OCD much?) about how I would meal plan or what the meals would look like.

I finally decided that I need to come up with two weeks’ worth of dinners, based on the “staples” that I can make blind-folded with one hand tied behind my back, modify them to be wheat-free and then be happy with the idea of repeating that two week list, well, every two weeks.

Nothing fancy, nothing complicated and nothing with hard-to-find or store ingredients.  Any fruits and veggies I have on hand can become the side dish and/or dessert.  That part will need to be flexible.  Simplified shopping, simplified cooking and simplified eating.  On the rare occasion I’m in the mood for something more fancy, I can substitute something more interesting but only if I have the time and the motivation to do that.

I’ll be making a PDF of this plan, including recipes, but for now my tentative list includes:

Chicken Tamale Pie with Black Beans and Mexican Rice (or Quinoa) + Salad + Veggies

Breakfast for Dinner (eggs, cheese, bacon or sausage, gluten-free biscuits & gravy. etc.) + Fruit

Shepherd’s Pie (One-Dish Meal) + Salad

Cheesy Chicken & Quinoa + Salad + Veggies

Quiche (One-Dish Meal…I use some combo of veggies and meat, depending on my mood.)

Wheat-free Lasagne with Ground Beef and Veggies (One-Dish) + Salad

Cheeseburgers + Sides + Salad

Meatloaf + Veggies + Salad

Chicken Matzo Ball Soup + Latkes + Veggies

Roast Chicken + Salad + Veggies (Will use carcasses for bone broth.)

Sandwiches (or Wraps) + Veggies

Homemade Pizza + Salad

Pot Pie (One-Dish) + Salad

Roast..pork loin or beef …or Stew….or Soup… + Veggies + Salad

I’m still a little lost on lunches.  Breakfast is easy but lunch, if not leftovers or something sandwich-y (which will be limited for K and I because of wheat) is hard for me.  Some non-sandwich ideas I have but haven’t finalized yet:

uncured hot dogs

eggs salad or deviled eggs

gluten-free mac cheese

gluten-free grilled cheese

soup or pasta

chef salad or cobb salad

When I have time to spend more time here, I’ll be able to finalize lunch/snacks.