Preparation Week Phase

Well, it's finally here. I can hardly believe it's time to start the UltraMind Solution and its seven week program. This week is Preparation Week and we spent quite a while this morning coming up with this week's plan of action food wise.

Weekly Menu:

Breakfasts:

• Enjoy Life Granola with Milk and Fruit
• Cottage Cheese with Fruit
• Banana Muffins (the Banana Quinoa Muffins that we altered to not include quinoa)
• Applesauce Pancakes
• Eggs
• Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
• ?Grits?*
• ?Yogurts?

Snacks:

• Carrot Sticks and whole wheat homemade bread^ with almond butter
• Trail mix - almonds, dried blueberries, cashews, walnuts, pecans, ?raisins?, ?sunflower seeds?, add pumpkin seeds the day of
• Hard Boiled Egg
• Cheese Stick w/ Fruit
• Cottage Cheese and Fruit
• Snack bars (Trios, Lara Bars)

Lunches:

• Leftovers
• Sandwiches - almond butter and jam (no sugar), cheese, or lunchmeat and cheese on homemade whole wheat bread

Dinners:

Monday:

• Chicken Stir Fry - bagged stir fry veggies, carrots, chicken, wheat free tamari, sesame oil, ?teriyaki sauce?, ?pineapple chunks? w/ brown rice

Tuesday:

• Mexican Night - Tostadas (corn tortillas, black beans, cilantro, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, homemade guacamole, salsa, ?corn?), baked tortilla chips, rice

Wednesday:

• Creamy Braised Chicken w/ mashed potatoes and frozen corn

Thursday:

• Lasagna w/ spinach and strawberry salad (baby spinach, sliced strawberries, toasted walnuts, shredded mozzarella cheese)

Friday:

• Fish w/ potatoes or rice for Mel, date night for Mom

Saturday:

• Turkey burgers for Mom and Mel, regular burgers for rest of the family, fruit, baked potato chips

Sunday:

• Honey Pecan Chicken**, Baked Potatoes/Sweet Potatoes, Fruit and Veggies, homemade whole wheat bread

*Anything with question marks around it means we have to check into it and try to make sure it is free of what it needs to be or it's something we may or may not add.

^We are only eliminating white flour this week flour-wise, so we are still eating whole wheat stuff until next week, the book and guide were a little confusing, so that is how we're interpreting it. We are also not starting to eat all organic fruits and veggies until next week.

**We are interpreting that it is okay to use honey sparingly, as some of the recipes Dr. Hyman has in the guide include honey or agave nectar

I will try and post the recipes we use and like as we use them, as well as what we find and where at the stores here in Lubbock.

Tips and Tricks/Local Finds:

So far one thing we have found is that the local United Supermarkets and Market Streets have a brand of chicken called "Full Circle" that is all natural (no added hormones, antibiotics, vegetarian fed and some is free range). It is fairly expensive regularly, but this week we found some in the 40% off bin. The only thing that is important to know about United's chicken, though, is that all of it is previously frozen, so if you don't find some that is still frozen, you need to eat it very quickly. Supposedly they set out the meats in the 40% off bin from 8-9 each morning, so that is a prime time to look for specialty items that tend to be rather expensive. Also, Market Street has some grass-fed, organic beef that you may be able to find in the 40% off bins on occasion. We found two packages of Full Circle drumsticks that were still frozen this week for about $3 apiece.

I think that is about all we have to update at this point. UltraMind Solution here we come!

Namaste,

Mel G.