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Gluten Free Meal Plan: Spring Edition

This week’s menu theme is a spring gluten free meal plan. I hear from many readers their questions about adopting a gluten-free lifestyle, and what does that mean? What will they eat? I hope the recipes in this week’s gluten free meal plan help you understand that it doesn’t need to be complicated. There are simple swaps to make, and the emphasis is on adding more plants to your plate.

There are a couple of helpful gluten-free swaps I want to mention. Here’s a list of products you want to switch out if you are trying a 100% gluten free meal plan.

  • soy sauce—> use tamari, or coconut aminos
  • worcestershire sauce –> coconut aminos
  • whole wheat pasta –> use brown rice, kamut, or quinoa pasta
  • corn starch–> arrowroot starch
  • flour–> the swap depends on the recipe. I often use almond flour or coconut flour.
  • bread –>brown rice tortillas, or use vegetables as buns, like sweet potatoes or portobello mushrooms
  • shredded cheese –>bagged cheese often has cellulose/flour to prevent it from caking. Shred your own.

This is just a starter list. When I work with clients making a major overhaul, we go through the whole pantry so I can teach you how to read labels and avoid the places where gluten is hiding. I’ve created gluten free meal plans for clients with children who have been diagnosed with celiac disease, autism, and attention deficit disorder. These custom gluten free meal plans cover the full day of meals and snacks, and below are some of the recipe inspiration I used for my latest plans.

sheet pan maple mustard salmon gluten free meal plan

Gluten Free Meal Plan

Dinners

Lunches

Breakfasts

vegetable egg bake brunch gluten free meal plan

How lovely does this look? Recipe from @thekitchn

For more inspiration, check out the years of past dinner plans here, my Pinterest collection here, or OrgJunkie for a link-up of weekly meal plans.

What’s your favorite recipe here on this week’s spring gluten free meal plan? As asparagus arrive at the farmers markets, it’s time to mix them into your weekly meals. If you wish to talk about a custom meal plan for you or your family, send me an email at hello@emilyroachwellness.com. Let me sort through recipes, map it out, and save you some time in the kitchen.

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Spring Paleo meal plan

Welcome back to weekly meal plans! I’ve missed sharing some new recipes and I’ll be continuing the long standing tradition here going forward. The new part I’m playing with is organizing the meal plans into searchable themes, like this week’s Spring Paleo Meal Plan. I know a lot of people are following the paleo style of eating and I want you to be able to click over to the database of meal plans and search for what you need. You can expect to see plans that are anti-inflammatory, low-allergy, vegetarian, paleo, and Whole30. If you have some specific requests, leave a note in the comments.

Spring Paleo meal plan with paleo sweet potato quiche

Spring Paleo Meal Plan

Pick and choose recipes that can work into your own meal plan for the week ahead. The guiding principles for a Paleo meal plan is lots of protein and plants, and no dairy, gluten, and legumes. My exception will be my favorite Irish Soda bread for the St. Patrick’s Day holiday as I haven’t mastered a gluten-free version. Yet.

Dinner:

Lunch:

  • Tuna salad stuffed avocado from my past meal plan.

Breakfast:

  • Sweet potato quiche from Real Simple Good -it needs to bake for 45 minutes, so prep ahead! This will make a great lunch too.

 

For more inspiration, check out the years of past dinner plans here, my Pinterest collection here, or OrgJunkie for a link-up of weekly meal plans.

Let me know what you are making this week. Enjoy the Spring Paleo Meal Plan!

 

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Fall Harvest Meal Plan September

Who’s ready for a fall harvest meal plan?! September is such a gorgeous month with beautiful produce and fresh products at the farmers markets. The air starts to cool, the sky looks bluer and the apple trees are ready for picking. This weekend we spent Sunday picking a very large haul of McIntosh and Gala apples. The crisp I made turned out great, however we ate it so quick I forgot to take a picture for a recipe post. Guess I’ll have to make it again!

The fall harvest meal plan this week highlights apples in a slow cooker recipe, plus some new ideas to as the grilling season slows down. In the coming weeks, the meal plan format here will change. I’m going back to school and starting at the Academy of Culinary Nutrition. I’ll have “cooking homework” and it may not jive with my traditional meal plans here. If you are game to join me during the raw food week…let me know! I’ll be sharing more about how to meal plan, highlighting new recipe ideas and offering healthy eating tips along the way.

click here if you want to get on the list and get my free Smoothie recipe book!

As you write out your grocery list for the upcoming week check out these healthy family friendly recipes from this week’s menu plan. Each featured recipe includes link to the complete recipe.

pork-stew-slow-cooker

Dinner

Monday: Easy Maple Mustard Chicken Drumsticks with Roasted Radishes and Asparagus. If you’ve never tried roasted radishes, this recipe will change your mind about these cute pink veggies.

Tuesday: Slow cooker Marmalade and Vinegar Pork with sauteed spinach and quinoa. Love when dinner is nearly done when we come in the door from soccer.

Wednesday: Turmeric Turkey, with quinoa and salad. Recipe is from the cookbook, The Stash Plan, which got me hooked on drinking bone broth every morning.

Thursday: Slow cooker Apple Cider Pulled Chicken with Quick Apple Slaw. This will be a sandwich night as people need to eat at different times. Use gluten free buns, or wrap in corn tortillas or just serve the pulled pork alongside the apple slaw.

Friday: CORN = Clean Out Refrigerator Night

Easy slow cooker apple cider pork

Bonus

Thai Coconut Black Rice Pudding– I cooked a side of black rice and it wasn’t well received. Maybe they will all like it in this gluten-free, vegan dessert option.

Have an awesome week! Remember, you can join in the conversation over at our Facebook group: Eat Well, Live Well.

 

For more inspiration, see years of past meal plans here, my Pinterest collection here, or OrgJunkie for a link-up of more dinner ideas.

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Weekly Meal Plan: Week 36 2016

Two more days of summer vacation in our house. We are picking up the last round of school uniforms, labeling everything, making lunch plans and eating ice cream as we wrap up a fabulous summer season. For our friends going back to school today, nothing says back-to-school with a heat warning in Toronto this afternoon!

We have arrived at our one year anniversary living in Canada. Our family decided to celebrate with a BBQ this weekend, AND clean out the storage rooms that hadn’t been touched since we moved in. I found more stacks of recipe swipes in my desk, dishes I no longer need, and a stuffed animal missing since Christmas. It was a great reminder for all of us to clear out the excess so we can find the things we love a lot faster. If you need a little help cleaning up, you can read this post, listen to this podcast, or grab this book.

On to this week’s meal plan! 

Dinner {GF= Gluten Free, P=Paleo, DF=Dairy Free}

Monday: (delayed due to summer fun)

Tuesday: Grilled Salmon with White Bean and Arugula salad and peaches and cream local corn. 20 minute dinner recipe! GF, DF. (Grill basket suggestion for fish.)

Wednesday: Chicken Cutlets with Tomato Saute, GF, P, DF.  There are so many local cherry tomatoes at the market and this recipe is an easy way to highlight them. Quinoa on the side is already cooked and stored in the freezer in family size portions.

Thursday: Paleo Short Ribs, carrots and spinach. (Birthday dinner!)

Friday: C.O.R.N. = Clean Out Refrigerator Night.

Weekend: BBQ with friends and Beef Chili with No Crust Apple Pie to celebrate the return of Sunday football games.

Lunch

Fall Apple and Almond Butter mason jar salad

Breakfast

Pineapple, Banana and Peach Smoothie Bowl

Snacks

Apple Almond Energy Bites

Easy family meal plan recipe ideas

For more inspiration, see years of past dinner plans here, my Pinterest collection here, or OrgJunkie for a link-up of weekly meal plans.

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Weekly Meal Plan: Week 35

Welcome back to another meal plan for the final week of August! I’m so ready for our fall routine to begin, although I will miss our leisurely mornings at home! Focus on meal planning tends to increase when a routine changes. It may be back to school season, the birth of a baby, or a return to work. If you are in any of these camps, now is a great time to carve out additional time to create a plan. Stay tuned for a meal planning challenge to help you make creating a menu plan an easy part of your weekly to-do list!

As you write out your grocery list for the upcoming week check out these healthy family friendly recipes from this weeks menu plan. Each featured recipe includes a link to the complete recipe source.

Dinner {GF= Gluten Free, P=Paleo, DF=Dairy Free, NF= Nut Free}

Monday:  Ginger Honey Cashew Chicken and Green Beans (one pot meal!) from Robyn at Real Food Whole Life. (and she has a great new healthy Quick Start guide that just came out for her newsletter subscribers. There’s some very easy to manage steps she suggests for enjoying a healthier life. You can find the details on her site here along with the recipe.)

Tuesday:  Apricot Dijon Glazed Salmon, Roasted Broccoli and Quinoa. (GF)

Wednesday: Honey-Orange Chicken Drumsticks in the crock-pot (GF), with Creamy Yogurt Cucumber Salad.

Thursday: Spicy Shrimp with Yogurt, favorite recipe from the Dinner a Love Story cookbook. Make a lot of the spice rub and save it for those nights when you need to make dinner fast! Grab the recipe here. Since dinner is quick, I have a little extra time to prep a zucchini and fresh corn salad. This is a great time to buy extra corn at the market and freeze the extra!

Friday: Pizza night or dinner out.

Weekend: Labor Day BBQ.

Lunch

Testing out some new school lunches ideas we found here.

Breakfast

Lemon Chia Seed Granola

Snacks

Zucchini Chips

 Healthy-meal-plan-to-help-you-plan-dinners-for-your-family (2)

 

For more inspiration, see years of past dinner plans here, my Pinterest collection here, or OrgJunkie for a link-up of weekly meal plans.

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Weekly Meal Plan: week 34

Are you coming out of the hazy, lazy days of summer and starting to feel the urge to get organized again? Need some routine back in your day? Here’s a new meal plan after taking a summer break to enjoy gorgeous weather as much as possible. I read lots of books, magazines and blog recipes and I spent the good part of Sunday morning trying to organize them. The good ones get saved and shared here in my meal plans, and they also get added to my recipe binder.

A little nutrition lesson about farro, which is included in this week’s meal plan in two recipes. Farro, an ancient wheat grain, is a high fiber food. It has a nutty taste and is a great source of protein, magnesium, B vitamins, zinc and iron. It does contain the gluten protein so swapping it for amaranth is an alternative for those following a gluten free plan.

As you write out your grocery list for the upcoming week check out these healthy family friendly recipes from this weeks menu plan.

Our peach and zucchini summer pizza.

Our peach and zucchini summer pizza.

Dinner {GF= Gluten Free, P=Paleo, DF=Dairy Free, NF= Nut Free}

Monday: Roasted Chickens (2) paired with roasted broccoli and red potatoes. (GF)  Leftover chicken will be used for lunches the rest of the week.

Tuesday: Summer Minestrone Soup, vegetarian. My longtime favorite recipe is this one, but I also have made this Paleo version too in the crock pot. For anyone needing more protein in the soup, the leftover roasted chicken is a quick add.

Wednesday: Garlic-Lime Pork with Farro and Kale. (recipe) I don’t often find precooked farro so here are the simple directions: Bring 6 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan. Stir in 2 cups farro and 1 teaspoon salt; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until just tender, stirring occasionally. Drain; transfer farro to a large bowl. Use half for tonight’s recipe and the rest for the Lunch option.

Thursday: Kid’s request night is Chicken Tenders, steamed Green Beans and rice.

Friday: Summer burgers on the grill, local peaches and cream corn and heirloom tomato salad.

Weekend: Peaches are in season and we made a peach and zucchini pizza from Love and Lemons cookbook this past weekend. Check out your local farmer’s market to find some new combinations to put on your pizza. This summer squash and corn recipe is perfect for this time of year.  Try making your own pizza dough with this recipe.

Lunch

Farro salad with peas, pancetta and radishes. Use the farro made on Wednesday for this salad.

Breakfast

Protein pumped up in this week’s oatmeal recipe from Chatelaine. We made the carrot cake oatmeal and increase the oats by a 1/2 cup. It was a winner!

Snacks

Too  many apples sitting on the counter so we are making a round of dehydrated apple chips with cinnamon. (NF)

Bonus

French 75 cocktail…a minty version is also in the cookbook I mentioned. Why haven’t I tried this before?

Healthy weekly meal plan

Pin this to save for later!

 

For more inspiration, see years of past dinner plans here, my Pinterest collection here, or OrgJunkie for a link-up of weekly meal plans.

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Anti-Inflammatory Meal Plan

This week’s focus is an anti-inflammatory meal plan. So many people are suffering from chronic inflammation and this real food meal plan helps strip away some of the foods that mess with your digestion.

Cheers to all the men and their families celebrating Father’s Day this weekend. I hope it was filled with fresh food and yummy food from the grill. We celebrated with a trip to a local farm to get fresh picked strawberries, try out some lunch from the food truck festival and finish off with some strawberry shortcake. Now it’s time to share this week’s meal plan.
As you write out your grocery list for the upcoming week check out these healthy family friendly recipes from this weeks menu plan. Each featured recipe includes link to the complete recipe.

Zucchini spaghetti recipe

Dinner {GF= Gluten Free, P=Paleo, DF=Dairy Free, NF= Nut Free}

Meatless Monday: Cheese, Black Bean and Corn Stuffed Sweet Potato . (Omit cheese for anti-inflammatory.)

Tuesday: Honey Mustard Chicken Stir Fry GF, DF

Wednesday: Modern Tuna Cobb Salad– Cobb salads are the perfect way to clean out your refrigerator. A little produce, a little protein and you are good to go. Bonus- it’s a no cook dinner!

Thursday: Speedy Asparagus and Chicken Piccata  with millet on the side.

Friday: Burst Tomato and Zucchini Spaghetti with Avocado Sauce

Lunch

Sesame Ginger Beet Quinoa Bowl– make it and bring it to the office all week, or a playground picnic. { swap the soy sauce for gluten-free Tamari if needed }

Breakfast

Triple Berry and Soaked Oats Smoothie

Snacks

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Pops (I suggest almond butter instead of peanut butter)

meal plan week 25 pinterest

 

For more inspiration, see years of past dinner plans here, my Pinterest collection here, or OrgJunkie for a link-up of weekly meal plans.

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Weekly Meal Plan: Week 24 2016

This week’s meal plan should really be called operation Clean-Out-Pantry. As vacation draws near for so many of us, now is the perfect time to use up what’s in our freezer and our pantries. Take some time this week to do an inventory of can go first from your freezer. Create your meal plan based on the protein you have on hand. Need a recipe? If you look on the right side of the blog, you will find a Search box. If you have chicken thighs for example, you can find all the recipes I’ve ever shared on the meal plan where you can use up chicken thighs. Easy, right?

Next week, focus on the refrigerator. Toss out all the old stuff, wipe down the condiments and do a reality check. Will you really use what’s in there over the summer? If not, let it go. You will be some happy to have more room when you come home from the grocery store with a full size watermelon to go in your fridge.

As you write out your grocery list for the upcoming week check out these healthy family friendly recipes from this weeks menu plan. Each featured recipe includes link to the complete recipe.

Dinner {GF= Gluten Free, P=Paleo, DF=Dairy Free, NF= Nut Free}

Meatless Monday: Whole-Grain Veggie Burrito Bowl, GF

Tuesday: Spring Vegetable and Quinoa Salad with Bacon, GF, P (swap butter for coconut oil to make it DF/P friendly)

Wednesday: Justin’s Paleo Meatballs (GF, P), zucchini or whole wheat noodles.

Thursday: Grilled Buffalo Chicken Tacos 

Friday: CORN= Clean Out Refrigerator Night!

Lunch

Waffle Iron Turkey Melt Panini

Breakfast

Sweet Potato Toast– yes, it’s the new thing.

Snacks

5 minute Lemon Garlic Hummus

Bonus

Make some watermelon ice to give your water a facelift!

Healthy Simple Weekly Meal Plan

 

For more inspiration, see years of past dinner plans here, my Pinterest collection here, or OrgJunkie for a link-up of weekly meal plans.

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Weekly Meal Plan: June week 23

Are you ready for another week of getting your meal plan organized?! It’s time to put pencil to paper, marker to dry erase board, or fingers to your keyboard. Whatever way you keep track of your meal plan, know that it’s okay to change your system if it’s not quite working for you.

Sometimes you need to make an adjustment as your season of life changes. For many, it’s the end of the school year and you may be juggling kid’s at home more often. Or trying to plan for camp lunches as well.

Maybe it’s time to sit down and plan some themes for your week, i.e. meatless monday, taco tuesday. Putting in even 10 minutes can make your week feel less stressful. If some part of your system isn’t working, try something new. Meal planning is effective if it saves you time and overwhelm. If it’s causing frustration, change course.

Take 10 minutes to write out what you plan to eat this week. (or just write down last week so you have a starting point!)

Here’s a little cheat sheet of different ways to record your meal plans each week:

  • Your planner or Google calendar
  • Monthly calendar (there’s a new one in the Wellness Library you can grab! Get the code here.)
  • Weekly meal planner
  • Evernote or Trello
  • Pinterest: create a secret board called Meal Plans and add recipes as you plan them. If they are winners, keep them in the folder. If not, delete the pin.
  • Dry erase board
  • Journal (which is what sparked the Dinner: A Love Story cookbook)
  • Plan to Eat app
  • Order meal delivery from Blue Apron, Plated, etc.

Do you have another favorite way of keeping track of your dinners? Share a note in the comments.

On to the menu for this week!

Rainbow vegetable kabobs

As you write out your grocery list for the upcoming week check out these healthy family friendly recipes from this week’s menu plan. Each featured recipe includes link to the complete recipe.

Dinner {GF= Gluten Free, P=Paleo, DF=Dairy Free, NF= Nut Free}

Monday: Sweet Potato Hash with Fried Eggs. (GF)  This takes a little longer than most recipes at 50 minutes, but it looks oh so good for a Meatless Monday.

Tuesday: Salmon Burgers

Wednesday: Spring Vegetable Soup (45 minutes total to prep and cook, GF + DF).

Thursday: Paleo Beef Short Ribs (P), and  Honey Roasted Carrots

Friday: Pizza night with our homemade dough.

Weekend: Yogurt Marinated Chicken, plan 3 hours for the marinade, (GF). This makes enough for a crowd, or for leftover chicken served over salad.  I recommend the Lemon Pepper flavor. Pairs well with Vegetable Kabobs. Once your prep is done, dinner cooks in about 10 minutes.

Lunch

Healthy Buffalo Chicken Wrap. This recipe may end up on our dinner rotation this summer while we are at the beach!

Breakfast

Chocolate Buckwheat Waffles with Berries. This recipe caught my eye in a story about increasing the amount of whole grains in our diet. I’ve started to pickup buckwheat flour from our local, natural food store’s bulk bins and just buy 1-2 cups a week for specific recipes. For an even healthier version, you can swap out the unsweetened cocoa powder for 1 tablespoon raw cacoa powder.

Snacks

Quinoa coconut granola bars. Just made these and they are a winner from Super Healthy Kids. Next time I’m going to make them with sun-butter and pumpkin seeds so the kids can take them to school.

how to make changes to your meal planning routine

 

For more inspiration, see years of past dinner plans here, my Pinterest collection here, or OrgJunkie for a link-up of weekly meal plans. Any Amazon links are affiliate links, thanks for shopping via my site. 

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Weekly Meal Plan: Week 22 2016

Happy Memorial Day weekend! This holiday weekend edition of the meal plan features some simple, healthy recipes for you to test in your kitchen. If you make a recipe you love, share it in a note in the comments. Or, if you are interested, I have started a Facebook Group, Eat Well Live Well, which you can join if you are a newsletter subscriber. Let me know if you are already a subscriber and would like to be added to the group where we are sharing even more recipe ideas and tips for eating well.

As you write out your grocery list for the upcoming week check out these healthy family friendly recipes from this weeks menu plan. Each featured recipe includes link to the complete recipe.

Dinner {GF= Gluten Free, P=Paleo, DF=Dairy Free, NF= Nut Free}

Memorial Day Monday: Homemade burgers, turkey hot dogs, Red White and Blue Quinoa Fruit Salad,

Tuesday: Jerk Sweet Potato and Black Bean Curry. (P, Vegan)

Wednesday: Paleo Taco Bowl with Cauliflower Rice. Here’s another recipe explaining how to make cauliflower rice as I saw it no less than three times this week in magazines. Clearly a new food trend!

Thursday: 20 minute Honey Garlic Shrimp, brown rice and broccoli

Friday: CORN = Clean Out Refrigerator Night. Or Eggs for dinner.

Weekend: Pan Seared Chicken Thighs with Blistered Tomatoes and Basil, with quinoa on the side.

Lunch

Mediterranean Farro Salad– great for a dinner side or a main lunch dish.

Breakfast

Whole grain toast with almond butter and sliced strawberries

Scrambled eggs with pesto sauce

Snacks

Banana split with greek yogurt, chocolate sauce drizzle and sliced strawberries

Stovetop popcorn

Healthy Meal plan recipes to help you make your meal plan

Pin this for the next time you are making your grocery list.

For more inspiration, see years of past dinner plans here, my Pinterest collection here, or OrgJunkie for a link-up of weekly meal plans.

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