Seven-Day Menu Planner

PLAN AHEAD: Save enough beef and cobbler for Monday.

3/ 30

Heat-and-Eat Monday

Use Sunday’s leftover beef for THAI BEEF SALAD. Whisk together 1/4 cup fresh lime juice, 2 tablespoons canola oil, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons minced jalapeno pepper, 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt. Add thinly sliced leftover steak, 4 cups fresh bean sprouts, 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced red bell pepper, 1 1/2 cups seeded and thinly sliced cucumber and 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves (chopped); toss to mix. Line serving platter with 8 cups lettuce; spoon salad on top and sprinkle with chopped peanuts.

Serve with any deli SOUP and CRUSTY ROLLS. For dessert, heat the leftover COBBLER and add a scoop of fat-free VANILLA ICE CREAM on the side.

3/ 31

Meatless Tuesday

Pretty QUINOA-STUFFED BELL PEPPERS (see recipe) are perfect for a no-meat dinner. Serve with a SPINACH SALAD and EGG WEDGES and WHOLE-GRAIN ROLLS. Stir sliced bananas into BANANA PUDDING for dessert.

4/ 1

Kids Wednesday

Kids will like the taste of PIZZA DOGS. Cut diagonal slashes in 8 less-sodium, less-fat hot dogs and cook them according to directions.

Meanwhile, heat 1/2 cup pizza sauce. Serve the hot dogs on whole-grain buns and top with pizza sauce and shredded 50 percent reduced-fat cheddar cheese. Add BAKED CHIPS and deli CARROT SALAD. Dessert is TROPICAL FRUIT.

4/ 2

Budget Thursday

I adapted a family recipe for BRUNSWICK STEW (see recipe) to the microwave and never looked back. Serve the Virginia (and Georgia) favorite with a ROMAINE SALAD with red onion rings and BISCUITS. For dessert, PEACHES and OATMEAL COOKIES sound good.

PLAN AHEAD: Save enough cookies for Friday.

4/ 3

Express Friday

Make MEATBALL SANDWICHES on hoagie rolls for a quick meal. Buy prepared meatballs, top with no-salt-added or regular marinara sauce and add freshly grated parmesan cheese. Serve with PEAS AND CARROTS (frozen). Munch on leftover COOKIES for dessert.

4/ 4

Easy Entertaining Saturday

Your guests will like the flavor of DILL HALIBUT WITH VEGETABLES, and you’ll like the simplicity.

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Coat 4 pieces of (12-by-18-inch) foil with cooking spray. Center several lemon slices on each sheet. Place 4 (4- to 6-ounce) pieces halibut fillets on lemons. Sprinkle halibut with coarse salt and pepper. Combine 1/2 medium zucchini and 1/2 medium yellow squash (both cut into thin strips) with 1 medium carrot and 1 medium onion (both cut into thin strips). Divide vegetables and top each fillet with mixture. Sprinkle each portion with 3/4 teaspoon fresh dill or 1/4 teaspoon dried dill.

Bring up foil sides. Double-fold top and ends to seal, leaving room for heat to circulate. Bake 15 to 18 minutes on a cookie sheet. When ready to serve, open packet away from your face to allow steam to escape.

Serve the colorful entree with ROASTED RED POTATOES, MIXED GREENS and WHOLE-GRAIN ROLLS. Buy a CHEESECAKE for dessert.

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THE RECIPES

BROILED STEAK WITH CHEESY POLENTA AND PASTA SAUCE (Sunday)

For the polenta:

1 2/3 cups water

2/3 cup yellow cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, divided

1 cup no-salt-added or regular red pasta sauce

For the steak:

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1/4 teaspoon coarse grind black pepper

1 boneless beef top-sirloin steak, cut 1-inch thick (about 1 1/2 pounds)

In a 1-quart baking dish, combine water, cornmeal and salt. Cover and microwave on high (100 percent power) 6 to 8 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons mozzarella and 2 tablespoons parmesan. Sprinkle top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Microwave, uncovered, on medium (50 percent power) 1 or 2 minutes or until cheeses are melted. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Heat pasta sauce on medium 2 minutes or until hot; set aside.

Meanwhile, combine Italian seasoning, garlic, salt and pepper; press onto steak. Place steak on rack in broiler pan so surface is 3 to 4 inches from heat. Broil 16 to 21 minutes for medium-rare to medium, turning once. Carve steak. Serve with polenta and sauce. Serves 6.

Per serving: 220 calories, 25 grams protein, 6 grams fat (26 percent calories from fat), 2.6 grams saturated fat, 16 grams carbohydrate, 62 milligrams cholesterol, 400 milligrams sodium, 1 gram fiber.

Carb choices: 1.

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QUINOA-STUFFED BELL PEPPERS (Tuesday)

1 1/2 cups quinoa

1 tablespoon canola oil

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup whole pitted black olives, sliced

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Coarse salt and pepper to taste

3 large bell peppers (1 red, 1 orange, 1 green), halved horizontally

Cook quinoa according to directions. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium. Add onion and garlic; cook 1 to 2 minutes or until softened. Add olives, raisins and walnuts; cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Combine mixture with cooked quinoa; add salt and pepper to taste. Divide mixture among pepper halves. Place in a baking dish; cover with foil. Bake 45 to 60 minutes or until peppers are tender. (Adapted from “Whole Body Reboot,” Manuel Villacorta; HCI Books, 2014.) Makes 6 halves.

Per half: 278 calories, 8 grams protein, 11 grams fat (33 percent calories from fat), 1.1 grams saturated fat, 40 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 171 milligrams sodium, 6 grams fiber.

Carb choices: 2 1/2.

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BRUNSWICK STEW (Thursday)

1 (16-ounce) package frozen succotash, thawed

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 (14-ounce) can unsalted chicken broth

2 cups cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, coarsely chopped

1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Coarse salt to taste

1/4 cup dehydrated white potatoes

Place succotash in a 3-quart microwave baking dish and cover. Cook on high (100 percent power) 4 minutes, then drain. Put the chopped onion in a 1-cup measure; cover and cook on high 1 minute. Drain and add to the succotash. Add chicken broth, cooked chicken, tomatoes with juice, sugar, black pepper, cayenne pepper and salt; mix well. Cover and cook on high 15 minutes, stirring halfway through. (From now on, you may leave the dish covered for a thinner stew or uncovered for a thicker stew.) Stir in the dehydrated potatoes to thicken and cook on medium (50 percent power) for 10 minutes. Stir once or twice and serve. Serves 4.

Per serving: 341 calories, 29 grams protein, 4 grams fat (9 percent calories from fat), 0.9 gram saturated fat, 49 grams carbohydrate, 60 milligrams cholesterol, 197 milligrams sodium, 7 grams fiber.

Carb choices: 3 1/2.