#Grain-Free Menu Plan & Shopping List (Week 1)

grain free

Since deciding last Tuesday, sort of on a whim, to try being grain-free for a month, I’ve been fumbling in the dark as far as what to cook.

Basically I’ve been eating a lot of vegetables and fruits, some cheese (like feta or parmesan on my salads), and grilled chicken.

Well in just five days, we blew thru almost $125 worth of produce and chicken from Costco. Oops! I’m thinking this grain-free thing might be a bit more expensive than the carby ways of yore, but I’ll fill you in as I figure it out.

I finally sat down today to make a detailed menu plan for the week, including breakfast, lunch and snacks (as well as dinner, of course).

Here’s what we’ll be hopefully eating this week. And note that since I’m not ready to turn grain-free cooking into a full-time profession, I’m sticking to simple 30-minute or less type dinners. Each week, I’ll experiment with one new recipe – which this will be these crackers from Elana’s Pantry.

orange creamsicle smoothie

Breakfasts

:: 3x Fruit smoothies (like my strawberry banana smoothie – hold the oatmeal; or my orange creamsicle smoothie) with a handful of spinach tossed in for good measure (I can’t quite stomach green smoothies yet, so I’m taking baby steps)

:: 2x 2-Egg & Veggie Omelettes, cooked in coconut oil

:: 2x Quinoa “cereal” (my friend Anne shared this recipe – and told me it lasts for several days, so my plan is to have this Friday and again on Saturday for breakfast)

Quinoa Cereal

3 tbsp chia seeds
1/3 cup dry quinoa
1 cup almond milk (add more if needed)
1 tsp vanilla
stevia to taste

Toppings options:

1 chopped banana
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 tbsp cacao nibs
1 tbsp goji berries

Mix the chia seeds, quinoa flakes, almond milk, stevia if using, and vanilla in a bowl and set in the fridge overnight. Add more almond milk in the morning if it’s too thick or pasty.

Top with fruit and nibs, and enjoy!

Lunches

:: 4x Huge salads with avocados, hard boiled eggs, feta cheese, steamed salmon, or grilled chicken. Lots of fresh veggies, olive oil, red wine vinegar and a smattering of walnuts

:: 3x Left-overs “stir-fried” up with a big batch of quinoa and any veggies I have in the fridge

Snacks

:: raw or roasted nuts

:: fresh strawberries & blueberries

:: carrots & hummus

:: apples (with peanut butter for an extra pick-me-up)

asian turkey burgers veggies

Dinners

:: Spaghetti (Squash) & Meatballs, big green salad (If you don’t know how to cook spaghetti squash, here’s a great tutorial – just ignore the butter & garlic part at the end)

:: Grain Free Burrito Bowl, ‘cuz I can’t live without Mexican!

:: Asian Turkey Burgers with mashed sweet potatoes and pickled vegetables

:: Cauliflower Pizza (Thursdays are pizza night and that’s sacred in our house!) topped with tons of veggies and mozzarella cheese

:: Unstuffed Cabbage, served over mashed cauliflower

:: Lemon chicken, roasted potatoes (for my kids & guests), tabouleh made with “cauliflower rice”, homemade hummus, cilantro pesto, grain-free crackers for dipping

Grain-Free Menu Plan Shopping List

If you are interested in replicating this menu plan, I’ve put together a comprehensive shopping list. You probably already have a lot of these ingredients on hand, so just cross those off the list.

Shopping list based on feeding 2-3 people
(Increase quantities as necessary for your family)

Fresh Produce

Bananas – at least 7

Blueberries – fresh or frozen (at least a pint’s worth)

Strawberries – fresh or frozen (at least two pint’s worth)

Oranges – at least 6

Apples – enough for snacking

Mango – fresh or frozen

Pineapple – fresh or frozen

Lemons (or lemon juice)

Limes

 

Avocados

Mixed Greens (I always give the big container at organic mixed greens Costco)

Romaine Lettuce

Fresh spinach (I always get the big container of organic spinach at Costco)

Cauliflower – at least 2-3 large heads, fresh

Broccoli – fresh or frozen

Mushrooms

Bell peppers

Spaghetti Squash – at least 1 large one

Cilantro – 2 large heads

Mint

Garlic

Ginger, Fresh

Baby Carrots

Cucumbers

Yellow or White Onions – at least 5

Green Cabbage – 1 large head

Tomatoes – for flavor, I like the grape tomatoes at Costco

Sweet potatoes

 

Dairy & Eggs

Eggs – at least 1 dozen

Hummus (Sabra brand is definitely gluten-free, and probably others are as well)

Mozzarella Cheese

Feta Cheese

Parmesan Cheese

 

Meat & Chicken

Chicken breasts – at least 4 (grill these up at the beginning of the week, and then put them away in your fridge to slice up for salads)

Ground beef – at least 2 pounds

Ground turkey – 1 pound

Roaster Chicken (whole chicken)

 

Nuts

Macadamia nuts (1/2 cup worth)

Almonds, roasted or raw, and walnuts for snacking and salads

Pumpkin Seeds (1/4 cup worth)

 

Pantry

Jarred Marinara Sauce (read your labels), or make your own LINK

Almond Flour (I got mine from Amazon’s Subscribe & Save program ; with my 20% off for having 5 active subscriptions it worked out to be $7.65/16 oz – $4 cheaper than at Vitacost)

Coconut Flour (It’s cheapest at Amazon with Subscribe & Save, but since this our first try baking with it, I decided to get just one bag at Vitacost for $4.41 on sale)

Sesame Seeds

Hemp Seeds (I bought them from Vitacost – they don’t need a hechsher)

Golden Flaxmeal (I got a huge bag at Costco, but you can get a one pound bag at Vitacost on sale for $3.31)

Chia Seeds (I got a huge bag at Costco)

Quinoa (Again, Costco)

Almond Milk (I bought them from Vitacost, but Trader Joe’s has their brand for under $2/carton and there are often coupons for almond milk)

Cacao Nibs (I bought from Vitacost)

Dried Beans (pinto, black, kidney or white – buy them early in the week, so you can cook them in advance in your slow cooker)

Dried Chickpeas (ditto cooking them in your slow cooker)

Crushed Tomatoes, 1 large can (2 if you’ll be making salsa)

Tomato Paste, 1 small can (you’ll have leftovers)

 

Spices, Oils & Condiments

Sea Salt

Vanilla

Stevia

Honey (Dr. Davis says no to honey, so you can sub in stevia)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Coconut Oil

Red Wine Vinegar

Balsamic Vinegar

Garlic Powder

Chili Powder

Cumin

Italian Seasoning

Homemade salsa (will need one large can diced tomatoes and one small can of tomatoes with chilis)

Chicken Broth (I usually use Osem, but I’ll have to read the label before doing that)

So, tell me: What’s on your menu plan this week? 

 

Comments

  1. I never thought to look at actual meat at Costco!! I have to drive 2 hours to the kosher shops, if I want anything besides the chicken at Trader Joe’s. Will definitely check it out this week when I go!! Thanks!

    • Mara Strom says

      Every Costco will carry different merchandise, but ours has really good Solomon’s chopped meat for $4.99/lb. The fresh chicken is $5.99/lb by me.

  2. And they offer a discount if you buy a case.

  3. I have two good friends who have been this for over a year. They swear by it, saying they feel much better. I think this is the way to go for me. What I struggle with are time-issues–I work full-time, in Israel, which means no Sundays, and budget issues. It looks so much more expensive to buy all these flours and specific items than the stuff I usually buy. How are managing to stay within your food budget and do this?

    • Mara Strom says

      Baila – a few things… 1) the flours – skip them. I’mg getting them to try out some baked goods, but you don’t need to do them at all! My kids are perfectly happy with an “ice cream” that I make in the blender… just a few frozen bananas, a tsp of cocoa powder and it’s delicious!

      If you stick to whole foods, single ingredient foods, I think you can definitely keep your budget within reason. Especially in Israel where the produce is much less costly and SO much better than here.

      (And if you do dried lentils, chick peas, beans etc. those are also very inexpensive.)

  4. I made the cauliflower crust pizza and I have to say I was skeptic but it was great! I will deff be making it on a reg basis for our pizza night-maybe one time my kids will actually agree to taste it!

  5. I am very interested in participating, but work full time out of the house so I would need to either do prep on the weekends or have really fast/easy weeknight options. It would just be for me as my kids eat earlier. So if anyone has ideas for 1-2 portion meals that can be made somewhat fast, I’m all for it!

  6. I’m doing grain free for three weeks already and feel better. I limit my cheese and legumes . (I do eat challah shabbos) Sunday I bake a few slices if salmon and cook a whole pot of qinoa, I take that to work with any leftover cooked veggie from supper. Luckily I don’t mind eating the same lunch everyday .

  7. Thanks so much for the shopping list. In South Africa, our kosher food is very expensive (chicken about $8.00 a kilo) but we factor that into the budget. Grocery list is brilliant-wont go over budget. We love salads so that’s a good start. Excited to get started

  8. My husband and I have recently become really intrigued by the the paleo diet and I was so excited to see you mention it recently. I am even more excited that you are venturing into the gluten free world and are posting these super helpful shopping lists and menus. I made the Grain Free Burrito Bowl tonight and it was a hit! Already bought the ingredients for the other dinners on your list. Thank you again!

  9. Is it better to used dried beans or will canned work?

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